Show me your small room setup

[Jazzyguy]

Ladies/Gentlemen,

I’m moving into a new home where I will have a very very tiny room where I’d like to fit only my kit, a chair and some sort of lp/cd storage unit. I need some inspiration. Can you post your small room setups?

Thank you!

 

[Lee T]

Nait 1/2
Royd Eden
I don't currently own this stuff but have done in the past to very good effect in my 3.5m square room, doubt you would wish for more.
Just add a source of your choice.

 

[najb]

One of the people on the Naim forum has a fully active (500/552) SL2 system in what is little more than his study.

 

[Tony L]

My upstairs ‘pfm Record Shop’ system. Marantz SACD, Audio Synthesis passive pre, Leak Stereo 20 and JR149s. Sounds superb IMO and I could very happily live with it as a main system if my living room was a little smaller. If I wanted to achieve similar with modern components I’d likely go for a Sugden (class A) or Leben (tube) amp and Falcon LS3/5As.

 

[gary yeowell]

My office/study is 3x2 mtrs. Presently i use a Naim UnitiQute/Nap150X with Linn Kabers. Other systems i've had in here have included LP12/82/Hi/250/Kans, and CDS3/SuperNait2/SL2s. Quite honestly, it's such a good sounding room that most kit sounds great, unlike my living room where the 'better' system resides.

 

[manicatel]

My music room is just a converted single garage. I had the opportunity to make it a dedicated music room, rather than have the gear in the main lounge along with the family TV etc.
I use Focal 1028be's firing across the width of the room, which on paper sounds totally daft. Mates who are also into hifi come round & at first sight look at me like I've gone bonkers.
However, they sit down,listen & then say how great it sounds! Very "near-field monitoring", but with a bit of room acoustic treatment & speaker position set-up, it works very well.
Yes, a bigger room would be better, but I can play what I want, when I want, without bothering the rest of the family.
System consists of a Michell Orbe, Audio Research PH5 Phono stage, a Mac-mini & DAC, going through a Graaf valve amp, out to my Focals.
I've got my Ikea record storage, a stuffed full book cabinet & a small 2 seater sofa, along with all the gear on 2 Quadraspire racks, & a small amount of GIK Acoustic treatment panels.

 

[ansis]

Not that cleanest view I know, must tidy up, but tiny enough I guess. Sorry about bad quality pic, that's my 14 y/old PowerShot. Numark mixing deck acts as temporary phonostage because my DP-01 has died and lower cassete deck and those stacked speakers are friend's, so you can free space more.

 

[Chalkstorm]

I don’t think you can go to far wrong with Tony’s suggestion of a good quality integrated and sealed box speakers. I’m using my Leben cs300x with Kans at the moment while my Tannoy crossovers are away being serviced. I hadn’t expected it to be quite so good as it is, even in my largish sitting room / kitchen room which must be about 5 by 10m. The Kans do seem to need a bit of volume and more power than the leben has to get the best out of them though, and I’m keen to try other speakers such as Harbeths to see what they can do at lower volumes, as listening loud isn’t always an option for me.

 

[ansis]

The Kans do seem to need a bit of volume and more power than the leben has to get the best out of them though

That's why you should choose CS600 at first if you plan to use amp for something more than just effective floorstanders.

 

[Jazzyguy]

I’m thinking of using my current Exposure 3010s2 int and purchasing PMC 25.21 or 25.22 speakers or ProAc Tablette speakers.

The room will be 3x3 meters. I was worried that such a small room was impossible to fit all a listening chair, gear and lp/cd shelving but it seems to have been done to success. Also looking for pics/suggestions on placement.

Thanks!

 

[Joolzdee]

I'll be interested to read any comments on this thread as I've just been allocated a small music room at home.
My system is CD5i, Nait 5i, nSats on dedicated stands and NACA5. I've also a pair of HD650s and a Graham Slee Novo.
The room also needs to hold 6 of those tall Ikea CD shelves and an Ikea Besta unit for the kit, as well as a chair. There's only one option for layout which unfortunately places the speakers against an old lath and plaster wall. I've no idea how well they'll work against such a wall but suspect I may be in the market for new speakers. I was thinking Neat Iotas which I've been impressed with?
Room is approx 3x2.5 metres with a wooden floor and carpet ATM.

 

[Bob McC]

Not that cleanest view I know, must tidy up, but tiny enough I guess. Sorry about bad quality pic, that's my 14 y/old PowerShot. Numark mixing deck acts as temporary phonostage because my DP-01 has died and lower cassete deck and those stacked speakers are friend's, so you can free space more.

Should there be a picture here?

 

[cjyosemite]

The smallest room in which I have a system is only 10ft x 7ft but it sounds very good to me. Speakers face down the length of the room & stand about 2ft from the rear wall. Hi-Fi kit is Rega Saturn-R CD player/DAC, Elicit-R amp into Spendor A5R speakers (sealed box design). I also have an Arcam BDP300 blu-ray player from which I use the analogue outputs into the Elicit-R for 2 channel opera & hdmi directly into TV for picture. Home Cinema kit consists of Panasonic blu-ray recorder & Arcam AVR360 receiver with KEF Egg speakers on centre & surround plus REL T5 subwoofer. All kit including Panasonic 50" plasma TV is on the very wide rack. TV was on the wall before re-decoration but is not HD tuner hence the Panasonic Blu-ray recorder for HD television. Everything fits nicely & I have even been considering how I can switch some of the kit around to add a turntable (but have decided against - for the time being anyway). the only furniture in the room is a chair & foot-stool.

The sound quality in this room has always been good & despite the small size the music seems to come from well behind the speakers.

 

[sunbeamgls]

I did this system in a very small room at Scalford a couple of years back. Went down pretty well with visitors:

http://audiophilemusings.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/hifi-wigwam-scalford-show-report-2015.html
http://audiophilemusings.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/scalford-system-2015-feeback-from.html

 

[eisenach]

The room will be 3x3 meters. I was worried that such a small room was impossible to fit all a listening chair, gear and lp/cd shelving but it seems to have been done to success. Also looking for pics/suggestions on placement.
Thanks!

In old money, that's around 10'x10': our front room is a bit bigger at 12'x13', with concrete floor and brick walls. The chimney breast goes across one corner and is the focal point of the room, so my "listening chair" goes in the opposite corner, facing the fireplace, and the speakers go half way along the adjacent walls, angled towards the listening position. Bookcases provide help the sound, I think. The set-up suits the room, but also seems to make good use of the space and avoids some of problems with speakers near side walls or in corners.
I've had all kinds of systems in there over the 30-odd years we've been here, and everything has worked pretty well. At the moment I've got ATC SCM20 active towers fed from a Primare Pre32 fitted with the media board, an Oppo 103 for discs and a Philips CD100 for nostalgia.
A few years ago there was a thread (on here?) where a few people were talking about similar room arrangements.

 

[ToTo Man]

Is there a consensus as to what is considered a small, medium or large-size listening room, and the measurement of greatest important, floor space or total volume?

My old listening room measured 26' x 16' x 10.5', which I and probably most others would call large.

My current listening room measures 13.5' x 12.5' x 10.5', which I consider medium-sized but some might consider small.

 

[zippy]

Is there a consensus as to what is considered a small, medium or large-size listening room, and the measurement of greatest important, floor space or total volume?

My old listening room measured 26' x 16' x 10.5', which I and probably most others would call large.

My current listening room measures 13.5' x 12.5' x 10.5', which I consider medium-sized but some might consider small.

I've asked that question a few times with no clear answer.
It doesn't help that speaker makers/reviewers sometimes say things like 'best suited for small rooms' and you have to guess what that means !

My room is 4m x 7.5m (about 13x25 in old money) and I guess it's 'medium'.

 

[Rosewind]

https://web.tresorit.com/l#k7ZFxJLjx_DpST9hvGMe0Q
My room is 2,75 x 3,50. My two main pieces of kit are: EAR 912 and an Amazon Audio Reference turntable. I am going to get my FirstWatt F4 build finished with the help of a pro soon and I would like speakers that go further down than my 47 Laboratory 4722 Lens. Or I will get a small, fast sub.

I have had Magepan 1.7s in there. If my ears had not objected to the highly resolved treble, I could very well have kept them and chucked out a book case or two.

Get quality kit that you like in your room. Obviously size may be a limitation. So no Magnepan 3.7s in there, nor humongous Tannoy cabinets. Buy what you enjoy the most. Listen to kit. Enjoy!

 

[The Far North]

My room is about 3.2m x 2.9m and I use standmount Cambridge Aero speakers with the BMR tweeters that seem to work well. Kit is placed on the bottom half of an older wall unit, and this is filled with vinyl to provide a rock solid base for the Gyrodec.
Sideboard??? by Northsnapper, on Flickr

 

[Mr Tibbs]

Panoramic pic of my 3 x 4m (approx) room. The Gales work really well in this room and the diminutive NAP110 can make them go much louder than I need. Small rooms needn't be a hindrance to getting great sound - quite the opposite in my experience.

Mr Tibbs