[MohawkUS]

I'd like to get a speaker system put together in my bedroom but I know I'm going to want something small and which doesn't have too much interaction with the room. My room is about as bad as you could get accoustic wise: 10x15', carpeted floor, suspended wood floors. I'm looking at $2K-2.5K for the amp & speakers(and stands?) but for the moment I'm just focusing on the speakers themselves. If you want to recommend an amp please go ahead though I'm more concerned in system matching once I know what speakers I'll be buying.

I will mostly be listening to metal, rock, and 90s electronica so I do not think fullbanders will fit the bill(I'd be happy to be proven wrong however.) My priorities in sound are in having a well textured and followable bass line(no mush, and not too quiet) as well as realistic instrument/vocal timbre/growl. A weighty presentation is also preferred if it can be done with my requirements. Soundstaging isn't a priority and I'm not sure it would be reasonable to expect too much from my room. I'm not looking for something overly punchy/forward as some metal listeners are. If anything I'd want a tinge of mellowness & bloom to compensate for the harsh recordings I enjoy. I know the acoustics of this room can NOT support 10'' woofers from previous experiments with a bass guitar amp.

My thought at the moment has been either Morel or EBTB. I'm not fully sold on the ascetics but they seem like a good fit for my situation. The issue is that they have a number of models at the same price and its not obvious what sets them apart, or what situations each would be best suited for. I am seriously considering their Venus ceiling mounted speakers as I will be doing most of my listening from my bed. Plus that eliminates the need for stands, and is possibly the best form of isolation? I am looking for other options. Would I be smarter to get cheaper speakers and add in a sub?

My other question is if I should move my bed 90o so that the speakers play the majority of the length of the room. As is my bed is situated at one end of the room(large bed, it goes almost wall to wall.) If it would help for me to post pictures please say so.

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

Jeeebuz thats a big budget, I can't even think of small speakers that expensive lol.
 
I was going to suggest Audio engine A2's or A5's. Anthem 225 and some really really nice book shelf speakers?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

My room is about as bad as you could get accoustic wise: 10x15', carpeted floor, suspended wood floors.

 

I think other factors about the room are more important, specifically how you position the speakers within that room. You can have acoustically treated walls and floors but you can still position them wrong (the only reason why this doesn't happen is that people who have such rooms don't have anything but the audio system in it, save maybe for paintings or other collections). Will you have a separate chair in there or will you be listening from the bed? You can use a folding director's chair, that way you can put it out of the way under the bed or standing in a corner when you're not listening. I use one in my room, although I only use headphones now. I uses to fold it up and put it in a corner but right now I use it as a bag stand, what with six different camera and laptop bags in there now (I haven't found a cheap antique hat and coat rack, which isn't a thing here to begin with given the climate - what we have more of are umbrella/parasol boxes). 

 

Given you can't just take out the stuff in it, just a few general tips. At the very least you should be able to position them such that you have an unobstructed "triangle" (your seat and the speakers) and that both speakers are equidistant from the walls. You can always mark spots on the floor with tape or something so you can put them away against the walls then easily reposition them (including your seat, if any) when you're about to listen.

 

My last audio system when I moved back into our old house after college (which is quite sad, considering my college flat wasn't strict on noise and I had speakers there; and my parents got a new house so this one's effectively mine) was in my room, and it had a lot of acoustic issues too. Ceiling had a slope on one side, so that has to be the back wall; I could put up a nice clear triangle, but the problem was the material of the side walls. One wall was the outer wall, made of concrete, with huge glass windows; the other wall was the wood interior wall separating my room from the hallway. The sound was always more forward and brighter on the side by the outer wall, even with minor acoustic treatments.

 

And that was how I ended up here on Head-Fi. You might want to just consider getting a K1000 or something, but then again you don't care about imaging as much, at least for this set-up 

 

My other question is if I should move my bed 90o so that the speakers play the majority of the length of the room. As is my bed is situated at one end of the room(large bed, it goes almost wall to wall.) If it would help for me to post pictures please say so.

 

Don't use photos, no professional wide angle lens will be enough sometimes (and it will just have a lot of distortion). Just do a top view diagram even on Microsoft Paint, marking the furniture and features that can't be moved - like the simplified renderings you see on a real estate development brochure.
 
 
 

I'd like to get a speaker system put together in my bedroom but I know I'm going to want something small and which doesn't have too much interaction with the room. I'm looking at $2K-2.5K for the amp & speakers(and stands?) but for the moment I'm just focusing on the speakers themselves. If you want to recommend an amp please go ahead though I'm more concerned in system matching once I know what speakers I'll be buying.

I will mostly be listening to metal, rock, and 90s electronica so I do not think fullbanders will fit the bill(I'd be happy to be proven wrong however.) My priorities in sound are in having a well textured and followable bass line(no mush, and not too quiet) as well as realistic instrument/vocal timbre/growl. A weighty presentation is also preferred if it can be done with my requirements. Soundstaging isn't a priority and I'm not sure it would be reasonable to expect too much from my room. I'm not looking for something overly punchy/forward as some metal listeners are. If anything I'd want a tinge of mellowness & bloom to compensate for the harsh recordings I enjoy. I know the acoustics of this room can NOT support 10'' woofers from previous experiments with a bass guitar amp.

 

Sounds like a job for the Focal 706V - they might still be on sale at Music Direct. I've heard a lot of integrated amps driving those but I personally prefer NADs, like my own 304, plus the 320BEE. Not sure about the newer ones but the D3020 sounds a lot bigger than it looks (I haven't tried it on Focals yet though). Or if you have enough space for the amp (and maybe the source too) then check Craigslist or eBay - you might come across a good deal on an already bang for the buck amp (based on SRP).

 

 

  Jeeebuz thats a big budget, I can't even think of small speakers that expensive lol.

 
Off the bat I could list a bunch of small speakers past his budget (plus expensive matched stands that will make you question why not just get a floorstander)...B&W 805, Focal Diablo Utopia, Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor and Guarneri Homage, Aurum Cantus Volla, Dynaudio Contour S1.4 

 

[Lenni]

I've never heard in-ceiling speakers... I wonder how they'd compare to similar priced speakers. Given the room size, in-ceiling is probably a good/best option. Paradigm makes them, so I'd personally consider those.
 
Otherwise, if you have the bed at one end of the room, the only place left to put a speaker system would be at the other end, assuming the door is not there. With a room 10' wide, the speakers can be placed 6' apart and leave about 2' from the side wall. Stick a desk between them for the PC and other components.
 
I'd say stay away from floorstanders or even large bookshelf speakers. The Audience The One is maybe something to consider. That'd leave some cash for a nice DAC.
 
Another option maybe would be the Dynaudio Xeo 3 Bookshelf Speakers. Being wireless, I guess they can be placed anywhere within the room without worrying about cables (or amp).
 
 
note: I'm just making random suggestions...

 

[MohawkUS]

Thank you for the responses so far. Here is the layout of my room done in paint as requested.


I don't always have to listen from the bed but I can't fit my recliner up here and one of the main points of this system was to... ahem.. help entertain company. The sweet spot needs to be at least a few feet wide. Tall as well, I've learned with the boombox that can be another issue. I go from too much bass when I'm leaning back and reading and too little when I'm sitting up and lifting.

It's also worth noting I have no issue spending well under my budget, my room does have its limitations and I don't want to be wasteful. On the other hand I'm pretty demanding so I don't want to sell myself short especially as this stereo is also going to serve as a motivator for me continuing to lift weights. I don't exactly think that part through when I got my Ultrasones, no way was I going to risk whacking them off my head with a dumbbell. :rolleyes:

Space wise I can get a triangle no problem, I don't keep my room too cluttered.

 

[MohawkUS]

I'm wondering, should I be looking for omni-speakers instead? I could budget a pair of Duevel Enterprises if I could sell one of the items in my signature(well not the DAC as I'd have to replace it. ) I would go for the Planets model which is within my budget but the reviews make me believe it wouldn't work well for my genres of choice. Can anyone recommend any other omni speakers that would be more affordable? Any 'regular' speakers with enough leeway as to where I'd be listening from or what angle I'd be at compared to the speakers?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 
 
 
Quote:

Thank you for the responses so far. Here is the layout of my room done in paint as requested.

-----

Space wise I can get a triangle no problem, I don't keep my room too cluttered.

 

I'm looking at the diagram right now, and if I were to set-up a system in that room, I'd look at repositioning those dressers (I'm assuming that's what the brown boxes are). You can fit the speakers in the space marked 2 and have a clear audio triangle, but then it's not only the inside of the triangle that has to be clear of obstruction. When I said you have to keep the sidewalls equidistant, that didn't include furniture along those walls.

 

If I'm going to put a system on that room I'd try it like this (I don't have actual measurements so it might not work with the same proportions though):
 

 
1. I'd put the bed, dresser, and mirror on one side; I'd ditch the other piece of furniture or put it next to  the dresser.
2. That leaves roughly 40% of the room clear for the audio; listening chair/position is red rectangle.
3. Speakers (lighter brown) will be augmented with at least simple rockwool panels (lighter grey), particularly to deal with the window and the narrow space to the walls on three sides.
3. Audio rack (dark grey) off to the side, just use long speaker cables; tape them to the floor then the rug goes over them so you don't trip. Just adjust the angles and position when they get there.
 

I'm wondering, should I be looking for omni-speakers instead? I could budget a pair of Duevel Enterprises if I could sell one of the items in my signature(well not the DAC as I'd have to replace it. 

) I would go for the Planets model which is within my budget but the reviews make me believe it wouldn't work well for my genres of choice. Can anyone recommend any other omni speakers that would be more affordable? Any 'regular' speakers with enough leeway as to where I'd be listening from or what angle I'd be at compared to the speakers?

 

Note that Omni speakers actually need a lot more distance from the back and side walls. On-axis speakers have their dispersion pattern aimed at you, omnis have them radiating around as they're aimed upwards. You don't want strong reflections that will undo the benefits of omni speakers; that said, the benefit is really more for allowing two or more people together to not hear much variance, as the sweet spot isn't too narrow on these.

 

There' the Mirage standmount but I'm not particularly a fan, I like the Duevels better. For HT though I'd always go for the Mirage - less problematic with their center channel (or at least it was when I tried one) but then again that's because they're cheaper and they sell a matched center. 

 

There's a speaker that I forgot about but the thing is I couldn't find any dealer - Swans has a standmount that uses a coaxial driver, the tweeter is mounted as the phase plug/waveguide on the woofer. That at least will minimize phase issues between the tweeter and midwoofer. Haven't heard it though.

 

Another thing, now that I see how little space there is, you should get standmounts with an angled baffle that puts the midwoofer more forward. See if there's an Aurum Cantus dealer within sane driving distance and try out their V3M speaker, and sit at the approximate distance as in your room when you do (baffle is angled but it uses a ribbon tweeter, not sure how it isat that distance as I've only listened to it from 8ft away).
 
Quote:

I don't always have to listen from the bed but I can't fit my recliner up here and one of the main points of this system was to... ahem.. help entertain company.

 

The one thing I immediately thought of reading that was "mind the moisture." Sweat, blood, other body fluids, etc will have water content that has to go somewhere. At the very least leave one of those rechargeable moisture absorbing boxes (the kind cheap people use for their cameras instead of a real dry box) in the room.

 

 

 

[Lenni]

   

 
or something like this...? 

 
  

 

[MohawkUS]

I wish I could make it so easy but I can't exactly put the dresser in front of the door. I also cannot remove the larger furniture from the room.

I have asked for a quote on the Duevel speakers I mentioned, they are taller than the dresser so that means it isn't so relevant for placement? Should I try and align the mirror across from the window for consistency?

I took pictures of the room. Cat picture is just a bonus. https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=E52C15E9D609B16!1468&authkey=!AMRbZpGHJ6S0NEA&ithint=folder%2cjpg

 

[Lenni]

Beautiful cat.
 
 
Dude, you must be joking!?  You cannot have those speakers in such cluttered/cramped place, unless you sacrifice at least some of the furniture.
 
You need professional help; someone who specialises/advice  in making the most of room space, or something. 
 
I suggest you send those pictures to Duevel for their opinion.

 

[Sub-zer0]

B&O beolab 17 wireless powered speakers. They're compact, wireless and powered by 4 160W amplifiers for each driver. They look great too.

 

[MohawkUS]

I will have to see if I can rotate the bed and move the furniture to the sides of it to clear up the front of the room. I will keep everyone updated though it may be a few days. My parents have taken to storing things under the bed and in all the drawers, I hardly have room for my own things. Unfortunately the furniture will not fit elsewhere in the house (My room may be the neatest in the house) and we inherited it when my grandmother passed.

Thanks all for the help, I have planned to consult with Deuvel's North American importer in 30 minutes time.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I'm much more inclined to just go with nearfield monitors than the Duevels - use the dresser as the table then just move your chair near them. It's not like the company you'll entertain from the bed will care a lot about soundstage and imaging anyway. Also as I glean from the other posts this seems to be your parents' house? You might not be able to sneak company in that often.

 

 

[Lenni]

I'd give The One a try ... they might surprise you.
 
if I'm not mistaken, they can be ordered over the phone directly from Audience. they offer 30-day home-trial, and even pay for return shipping.