[DrOctagon]

Or 'high end one' anyway...

My options for speakers are limited to B&W or Paradigm (I live in the middle of nowhere, and shipping for new or used speakers would be astronomical...) with only two decent audio shops in town. My room is 13'x13', with some furniture (bed/computer desk/shelving etc). I listen to a good deal of bass heavy music, mostly indie pop, hip hop, soul and reggae. I wish to stick with solid state for now, but even so I enjoy a smooth, warm sound in my ss gear. I'd like to buy the speakers new (not only for peace of mind, but shipping any speakers to my location would be absurdly expensive), but am open to buying an amp/dac used.

Initially I was gunning for the Paradigm Studio 100s, but would they see their full potential in such a cramped environment? I thought it might be wiser to put the funds I had allotted for the 100s toward say the Studio 40s and then get a decent sub like the PW-2100 from Paradigm. Considering my tastes in music and the fact that I'll be using these speakers to watch movies (I have no intention of investing in a 5.1 setup anytime soon), am I indeed better off going the Studio 40/PW-2100 route rather than going all out on floor standing speakers? Thoughts?

Amp selection here is painfully limited too. For simplicity's sake, I'd like to just get an integrated...I'll be living with whatever setup I put together for a long time... NAD, Rotel, Bryston (which seems a little out of my price range, new anyway), and soon one dealer will have Cambridge Audio (late Oct.). The Cambridge Audio Azur 840A looks promising, or would it be overkill/underwhelming for the speakers I'm considering? Anyone have suggestions as to which amps mate well with Paradigms?

I have a Squeezebox on the way (I listen almost exclusively to FLACs now), but I'm looking into getting a quality DAC for this speaker setup as well. The Stello DA100 sounds like a great buy, but again would it do the Paradigms justice? Ideally I'd like to keep the DAC cost at the $700 mark of the Stello or lower if I could. I'd like to pull the trigger on the DA100 (if only to see how it stacks up with my trusty modded CD-25), but maybe building the system backwards isn't the best idea (from what I've read people suggest starting with the speakers and then going from there)?

Anyway, any thoughts or suggestions regarding my tentative plans (2.1 or floorstanding setup? Cambridge integrated amp? Stello DAC?) would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[KT88]

After reading only the first few lines I was going to recommend you the Studio 40's, and than I've noticed you thought of them already. IMO they are a very good safe bet.

Yet, on the other hand, full size speakers can fit well in small rooms as well. I've had many speakers over the last few years. Some bookshelves, some floor standing. After about 3 years of non stop upgrades (I'm sure you know how it is always chasing after the best you can get), I've decided I had enough. I've decided that this time I taking each and every speaker to my room and listen to it for a couple of days. This way I can predict how it'll sound in my setup in my room (3.5mx3.5m which is about 12ftx12ft). I first started with smaller speakers like the Proac Response 1SC, the Vienna Hydn Grand, and many others including some Morel USA speakers, some Castle and more. Eventually I've decided these small speakers while sound great wont do the job. As even with the Tannoy S-15 sub I have they just cant produce the real sound I'm looking for in music.

So Ive started looking for larger speakers. To make a long story short, after listening to quite a few I went for a pair of Omega-Audio Encore 705 with an upgraded XO (BTW, Omega-Audio (www.omega-audio.co.il) is a part of the original Morel company and now sales in Israel under the name Omega-Audio and they manufacture quite a few of the Morel USA (renaudio.com) products). These speakers can produce real low bass, but its unbelievably tight so its sound amazing even in such a small room. After about six months I've sold them and brought a pair of Perfect 709 (also made by the same company, mine were originally produced for the American market as they have the Morel USA signature on the back). These speakers are really one of the best pairs I've ever heard. The only bad think about them is the very powerful bass (its not too strong, its just very low and powerful and can feel spaces even 10 times larger than my room). So, after a few months of changing amps, sources, and playing with the speakers I've found the perfect combination. I'm using my original source, cables, speaker placement, but I've found the right amp to make them all sing together. Its an old Rotel 845 amp which is just great.

The point I'm trying to make here is that you'll have no choice but to check the diffrent combinations your self or you wont know what are your options.