Standmounts or small floorstanders, easy to drive, not too fussy with near wall placement (30-40cm from front wall), balanced, full sounding, musical and non fatiguing (not bright) w/ good non-boomy bass - what should I look at?
Any speakers that ended your quest for the perfect speaker in that type of scenario?
Budget under £1.5k used or new.
I don't have one yet but I'm considering something like a Rega Io or Brio - solid state, small footprint, musicality, ability to get into the heart of music ?
Another vote for S/H Supernait 2... coupled with the Kudos X2's would give you a great system.
This was my setup before I bought the Duevel Planets, and yes, it was pretty good...Another vote for S/H Supernait 2... coupled with the Kudos X2's would give you a great system.
Exactly what I had till I moved house with a room twice the size of what I had previously
That's where the DSPeaker comes in - you get to keep the sheer scale of which the Planets are capable, while treating any room resonances. Positioning becomes easy, too.I recently replaced a pair of Duevel Planets (too much bass for my small room)...
I'm using PMC DB1+'s about that sort of distance from the wall and they're working well.
I'm using a larger PMC and they're virtually touching the front wall, maybe something to do with the transmission line design?
I've got some Dali Pico's too, the same size/form factor as the Menuets, they absolutely astonished me when set up close to the sidewall and toed in heavily, i've got some PMC three ways, Proac D15's and had Array 1400's when i purchased the Pico's, as daft as it sounds while they don't have the dynamics of the other speakers, they were captivating to listen to and very transparent and "alive" sounding, loud enough to fill a 13x20ft space, although best when listening at 8 feet or so. I used them with a rich sounding Sony amp that matched them perfectly. I did think about the Menuets and how much an improvement they would be with the better drivers etc.
I did try the Dali Zensor 1 (the next speaker size up from the Pico's) but they didn't have the magic of the smaller speaker, i think the Pico's worked so well because they speaker is so small, the cabinet sings as one with the drivers and because of the extreme side wall set up (the Proac D15 despite being a much bigger speaker don't work at all in the main room, but the Tiny Dali's do!).
An amazing little speaker IMO, i think they were only £130 new!
Shahinian Super Elves on Ikea angle stands would be a great shoe-in - although rear ported I find that they were quite accommodating of placement (assuming room is carpeted). Also Shahinian Larcs were mentioned upthread, if interested in them, PM me as I have a pair currently not being used - bought it for a system that's not going to transpire anytime soon.1. About 6-6.5 feet away.
2. That's hard, because my tastes are all over the place. Mostly it's rock and its subgenres (from 50s to current, incl. prog, art, folk, psych, hard, blues-rock, etc), classic 50s-60s jazz and blues, various singer-songwriters (think Nick Drake or Joni Mitchell), '80s-current new wave/alternative/indie rock/post-punk, some funk and reggae, instrumental classical (excl. opera), etc etc. I rarely if ever listen to opera, hip hop, modern mainstream pop, some extreme genres of metal (I do love some NWOBHM!), plus I'm not a huge electronic music head (I don't mind it but it's not a big chunk of my listening).
I've put this on hold for a while, having been busy with other things - currently enjoying a simple nearfield desktop setup (using a gifted pair of KEF LSX). Again, thanks everybody for the suggestions and keep them coming, as I'll be making a move to separates eventually.I've just picked up this post being in a similar scenario- having to sit about 6ft from the speakers....What did you go for in the end. I'm leaning towards the ATC SCM7s with a C1 sub...
I compared the larger (and cheaper) Zensor 1 and Mentor Menuet at the dealers several years ago and bought the Menuet. The smaller Menuet not only sounds better and more refined but is capable of going louder without breaking up. The Zensor 1 was already showing some distortion when played at higher volumes whilst the Menuet stayed clean and composed.I did try the Dali Zensor 1 (the next speaker size up from the Pico's) but they didn't have the magic of the smaller speaker,