[Vertigo-1]

In preparation for what might be a painful moment in life, I think it's time I busted this question out...(yeah, this is unfortunately one of those very bad "hint, hints"...

)

In a "money is not a problem" case, what's a SMALL pair of speakers out there that have the highest detailed, resolving power at low to very low volume levels? The key is that these speakers must be small (like typical PC speaker satellite sized), and must be able to give maximum details at low volume levels, to be considerate to my roomates. By low levels, I mean low enough that the music doesn't make it out an open door in a small room, in a late night listening situation.

I'm thinking if there's any sort of electrostatic bookshelf speakers in this world, that'd be perfect. But I doubt they come in below 10 feet tall.

Following that, what should I look into to power these speakers?

Price is not a problem (well, not out of this world either, but I think small speakers can only be so much too)...because my headphone collection is worth what, $3-4000?

 

[wab]

sorry to hear it Vertigo..

I think the best speaker for you would be the Monitor Audio Studio 2. It's small with electrostatic type detail and transparency and with extremely good soundstage. Over here it's ~ $1000 for a pair.

More info here:
http://www.monitoraudio.co.uk/Produc...ge_Studio2.htm

Good luck!

 

[Braver]

Vert, you're not getting the ... the T-word, are you?

the best of luck man

 

[Vertigo-1]

wab, those speakers looks and from the literature, sound very nice. I'll definitely take a close look at them...and their price isn't ludicrous (in my situation). Do you have any idea what their dimensions might be? Given that's a UK company, I'm not sure what metric system they're on, and everybody seems to like mixing up the order they put width, height, and depth in.

Braver...well, basically nowdays I'm walking around with this pain way in the back of my right ear. I saw an ENT and he said "no infection, no fluid behind the eardrum, it's your jaw, take some Motrin". No hearing tests though, and that was not a satisfactory answer to me since he took like all of 3 minutes to check me over, so I intend to go back to the audiologist this time. But, considering just tonight, while listening to Etys at low volume levels, I got little stabs of pain in my right ear, and then with the MSPs...I think I might've blown it. The wierdest thing of all being, I KNOW and can guarantee I don't listen at loud levels. I also only listen for about 2 hours at most each day. Maybe an occasional spike for a song or two, but then I bring it right back down. My roomate listens probably 5 times louder than me, when he comes home with his Sportapros I can hear music clearly just pouring out of the backs. That just does NOT happen with me. Discman levels for me, with a 15mw amp, is between 1.5 and 3. 9mw amp, level 4. MD players with 5 mw amps, level 18. Try this out with some 888s, and that's my typical listening volumes. I KNOW it is NOT loud, not compared to the typical teen who would run my same 888s with my 15mw discman at level 6.

And the funny thing of it all is, guess which headphones, if I did blow it, got me into trouble? GRADOS. Watch those Grados people, they tend to make you want to play a lot louder than might be safe.

 

[Braver]

Vert, all I can say is take some time of, give your ears some time to relax. I'm glad to hear you probably didn't blow anything yet.

I've had a similar pain in my (left) ear when I still had my Grados. couldn't listen to earbuds either. got rid the the Grados, didn't listen about a week (only speakers). I didn't listen loud either, actually never listened at such low volumes before I got the Grados. I was listening with the sr60 at like level 5 on a 10mW mdp and still it hurt. I'm totally fine now. scared the **** out of me back then!

a good idea might be to get a good pair of speakers anyway and balance your listening a bit.

I'm no expert tho. going to the ENT another time sounds like a wise thing to do.

 

[wab]

I think it's H:26.5 cm(10 1/2 inches) x W:16.5 cm(6 1/2 inches) x D:20 cm(7 3/4 inches)

 

[dhwilkin]

Sorry to hear your having some problems, Vert.

Braver gave good advice, go cold turkey for a week or so, and see if things don't improve. It may be all your ears need is a vacation.

 

[Flumpus]

I was thinking about upgrading, so I recently auditioned some B&W Nautilus 805's (the bookshelf model), and I didn't like them. However, they may be just what you're looking for. They're fast, neutral, have gobs of detail... They retail for around $2500 I think. May wanna see if you can find some around town and try them out.

 

[huy_ha]

Is this a roommate or a suitemate situation? If it's a roommate situation, you've got to factor in the human propensity to sit drinks on other people's speakers.

As for stabbing pains, are your wisdom teeth fully in? I'm 26 and my wisdom teeth still cause much pain in my inner ear about once a month.

 

[Neruda]

I wonder if there are any bookshelf systems with a Ribbon tweeter...I'm not sure if I've ever seen any. That would certainly take care of the detailed treble (depending on quailty of course).

 

[Vertigo-1]

The problem is, I already went cold turkey for a week, and it didn't seem to help much.

I'm in an apartment actually with my own room, nobody even walks in without having a good reason. In general my roomates probably wouldn't even care what I play, but because my music tastes are much more diverse, I don't think they want to be hearing some of the stuff I listen to.

This would be replacing my headphone system too which is only something I used at late hours at night. During the day I don't have time to play music, and the fact that I'm in an apartment means I still can't blast the music either.

On another note, another person told me it'd be a total waste of money to spend so much on speakers for the sake of quiet listening only...might as well stick to PC speakers then. True?

As for my teeth...all my teeth are still in. The wisdom teeth could be the problem for all I know.

 

[Trap]

Best bookshelf speakers i have heard yet.

These are around $2500 a pair, but i don't think you can get them out of europe or even out of germany/middle europe.

Some time ago (on headwize) i suggested the Genelec 1029+1090 sub+sat system. If my memory doesn't fool me kaiwei was the only one who checked it out. He was very impressed by it, but i can't find his posting in the headwize database...
kaiwai's profile

PS: With the RL906 audition i lost my interest on getting better headphones...

 

[Bob]

Hmmm ... I just thought I might throw this out there. You would be surprised how much wisdom teeth can screw things up. I got mine out when I was about 21 years old. The reason being is that they were causing me a great deal of pain in terms of ear aches and headaches (plus, I didn't want all that time I spent in braces to be for nothing). My wisdom teeth were impacted and were not coming in at the proper angle. I got those suckers yanked out and things were all good again. Please note that the older you get the more problems getting your wisdom teeth pulled can cause. They can actually fuse to your jawbone among many other things. I would recommend that you go see your dentist and see what he or she has to say. Good luck and I hope that you can find out what the problem is so that you can continue your headphone listening.

 

[KR...]

I'm 25, I'll be 26 in a couple months. My wisdom teeth still hasn't grown in all the way, when were are acting up, I would get pains in my ears as well. I couldn't even think about listen to headphones during this time. It could last as little a a few days or even weeks, or months (and this was before I got my current headphone system). I had the top ones taken out, and I never had this problem with my ears again. Now, that's one hell of a tweak!

See your doctor again and maybe even see a denist. Please do these things before you go and sell off your HP-1's and R10's when you might not have to. Becuase you will regret it later.

 

[pigmode]

Quote:

Originally posted by Vertigo-1 On another note, another person told me it'd be a total waste of money to spend so much on speakers for the sake of quiet listening only...might as well stick to PC speakers then. True?

That depends on what exactly you mean by "quiet" listening. With headphones as reference, you may or may not be satisfied with loudspeakers at lower levels. I don't think speakers can convey their full range until they reach moderate to high vol. levels. Low vol. levels might be fine for background listening, but not for critical listening. Personally, I find it pointless to listen with the vol. turned down.

As you already know, it's alway best to get the highest quality you can afford. If you do get a high quality speaker setup, I bet you will probably find the time to crank it up.