Speakers for small room system?

[Linus]

I’m thinking of putting together a second system in a room which is only 11 foot by 9 foot. The room is also used as a home office so has a computer, desk, bookcase etc. I currently have a pair of Harbeth M30.1 spare, but think they’re going to be far too big so am hoping to sell/exchange them for something smaller.

Does anybody have any recommendations as to fairly unobtrusive speakers that would work in a room of that size and how they should be configured (e.g. long wall or short wall, on bookcase against wall or in corners etc). I was thinking possibly LS3/5A but placement might be difficult? I would also need either a power or integrated amplifier so would be choosing based on the speakers.

The other option would be to just have a headphone system, or to have an all in one system, for example the new Ruark R410 looks good from an aesthetic perspective.

I’m thinking of putting together a second system in a room which is only 11 foot by 9 foot. The room is also used as a home office so has a computer, desk, bookcase etc. I currently have a pair of Harbeth M30.1 spare, but think they’re going to be far too big so am hoping to sell/exchange them for something smaller.

Does anybody have any recommendations as to fairly unobtrusive speakers that would work in a room of that size and how they should be configured (e.g. long wall or short wall, on bookcase against wall or in corners etc). I was thinking possibly LS3/5A but placement might be difficult? I would also need either a power or integrated amplifier so would be choosing based on the speakers.

The other option would be to just have a headphone system, or to have an all in one system, for example the new Ruark R410 looks good from an aesthetic perspective.

I use Proac Tablette 10 in almost the exact same space with a small valve integrated. I really like the openness of the Proac sound and enjoy the system.

 

[gustav_errata]

Thanks for the pictures, which are quite helpful.

Assuming that the desk is the primary listening position (and not the other chair), then I would aim for a more explicitly nearfield listening arrangement. This is most likely achievable with smaller speakers. You would want slightly taller stands positioned next to the rear corners of the desk (or even behind the desk, if you pull it out from the wall a bit). Then aim the speakers towards your head in the listening position in the usual equilateral triangle configuration, probably about 80cm-1.2m tweeter to tweeter. You might be able to get away with the Harbeths positioned behind the desk, but you'd want to raise them to ear level.

Just my £0.02

 

[omsoc]

These are designed to be tight up to a wall and I think they sound great.

Guru Junior Bookshelf Speakers - Upgraded by Guru to Q10 components | eBay

Guru Junior Bookshelf Speakers.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Caliente]

Take a look at Dali Menuet - quality.

 

[Mike Reed]

Nice desk, o.p. Three more drawers than mine too ! There's room above my door for my Diamonds on brackets; It would give you a nice soundstage at your desk chair.

 

[Mark Packer]

I'm convinced that speakers are the most difficult thing to get right because the room is the most expensive single component.

Why not pull the desk back a bit form the wall with the Harbeths so you're sitting slightly further from the speakers.

I have a study which is an irregular shape: broadly 3m by 3.3m with a minus .92x1.36 cutout. It has a 3.3m of glass fronted book cases. I've run a Nait 2 with a Mordaunt Short MS10i's (on top of the bookcases) it shouldn't have worked but it did. The MS10i is rear ported. I changed the Nait 2 out for a Fatman iTube mk2 which weas awesome with the MS10i.

Now I'm running a Quad 34/FM4/405-2 stack with a pair of Totem Sttaf (very slim floor standers) and a KEF sub and it's astonishingly good. The Sttaf are behind me when I'm standing and working at my desk.

In your room I'd try sealed box/infinite baffle or front ported speakers first, especially if you need to get them closer to the wall, which from the photo doesn't look to be an issue. Don't discount small speakers with a sub. I'n your room I'd try some Totem Arro and a sub.

 

[GF670]

Thanks all just to confirm - the listening chair would be the one at the other end of the room - the desk chair is just for using the computer (mostly Zoom calls etc)

 

[GF670]

I use Proac Tablette 10 in almost the exact same space with a small valve integrated. I really like the openness of the Proac sound and enjoy the system.

Thanks Proacs would definitely be on the shortlist, along with a valve amp!

 

[GF670]

Nice desk, o.p. Three more drawers than mine too ! There's room above my door for my Diamonds on brackets; It would give you a nice soundstage at your desk chair.

Thanks it’s a very useful desk - handy for various camera kit!

 

[barnitto]

Thanks Proacs would definitely be on the shortlist, along with a valve amp!

I love my ProAc tablette 10, but I tried them in my small office and really didn’t like them.

 

[daytona600]

Small active monitors Used Genelec G3 / G8030 as near field monitors on Desktop for a while & just changed to
Elipson Planet LW Xi on Wall Brackets

 

[ChrisS]

Thanks all. I've just been playing around to see how the Harbeths would look. Perhaps a bit big?

That’s a lovely looking room. I like the wall color and floor a lot. I may be making a similar move to something closer to a cube so am watching with interest.

have you tried the Harbeths on a temporary basis? They are almost too certainly too much speaker for the room, but sometimes things work better in reality than on paper. Would at least give you a benchmark. (Visually I kind of like them. Maybe a bit big, but the open stands help a lot.)

May not be a direction you would consider, but I am looking at Kans so they are flat against the wall. also might not work with the desk between them.

I still done understand why there aren’t more speakers designed to go up against the wall.

 

[Curtis]

I would go for some small active speakers if it were me in that space.
You could get a home demo of q acoustics m20 which are around £330 a pair.
Another excellent cheap active is the Triangle Borea BR03 BT at around £399.
Both are reasonably warm sounding, the q acoustics treble is more relaxed & less extended/airy compared to the triangles.
The Triangles are excellent with vocals & better at higher volumes due to their size & speed.
If you can get past the fact of the price of both these offerings you will admire their performance.
You can listen to either all day.

 

[gustav_errata]

Thanks all just to confirm - the listening chair would be the one at the other end of the room - the desk chair is just for using the computer (mostly Zoom calls etc)

In that case I think you're now firmly in "if it sounds good, it is good" territory! I think for sitting at the opposite end of the room the speakers and their position are fine.

If you don't mind the intrusion into your space, I'd still recommend some acoustic panels positioned along the side walls (and ceiling if you're willing) to help tighten up the stereo image. Right now in a narrow room like that, youll have sounds from the right speaker reflecting off the left wall into your left ear very shortly after sounds from the left speaker (and vice versa). This blends the stereo signal together a lot. GIK sells stands for their 242 panels, allowing you to easily move them around without committing to mounting on the wall.

 

[GF670]

That’s a lovely looking room. I like the wall color and floor a lot. I may be making a similar move to something closer to a cube so am watching with interest.

have you tried the Harbeths on a temporary basis? They are almost too certainly too much speaker for the room, but sometimes things work better in reality than on paper. Would at least give you a benchmark. (Visually I kind of like them. Maybe a bit big, but the open stands help a lot.)

May not be a direction you would consider, but I am looking at Kans so they are flat against the wall. also might not work with the desk between them.

I still done understand why there aren’t more speakers designed to go up against the wall.

Thanks - decorating the room was a nice little project. Previously it had extensive pink fitted units from the 80s or 90s and a carpet, so there was quite a lot of work involved. Yes, I'm thinking now of sticking with the Harbeths for the time being - easy to slide them into the corners too when not in use which helps from a visual perspective.

 

[GF670]

In that case I think you're now firmly in "if it sounds good, it is good" territory! I think for sitting at the opposite end of the room the speakers and their position are fine.

If you don't mind the intrusion into your space, I'd still recommend some acoustic panels positioned along the side walls (and ceiling if you're willing) to help tighten up the stereo image. Right now in a narrow room like that, youll have sounds from the right speaker reflecting off the left wall into your left ear very shortly after sounds from the left speaker (and vice versa). This blends the stereo signal together a lot. GIK sells stands for their 242 panels, allowing you to easily move them around without committing to mounting on the wall.

Thanks. Yes, I think I'll stick with the Harbeths. Tried them in my main system last night for the first time in a while, and whilst the presentation is very different from my Tannoys there's something nice about them, particularly with vocals, piano etc. I will definitely look into panels - stands would be useful due to placement of sockets, radiator etc. Just need to find an amp for the Harbeths now!

 

[Jazzyguy]

I have a 10X10 room which is open to behind the listening chair to another room. I went through a few different speakers, searching for the best speakers for this room. It was hard as I was hitting nodes with some speakers while others were overloading, while others were not but were just underwhelming. Until, I ended up with Falcon LS3/5A Gold Badge. My sound space is so delightful now that I’m actually worried that one day I’ll need to move and loose this magic as the these speakers might not work in a bigger room.

And they look delightful too…

 

[PhilofCas]

I’m really enjoying a pair of Genelec 8020D and a WiiM Pro Plus, very flexible parametric equaliser built into the software, there’s also adjustment on the speakers themselves, nice small for factor, streaming only, all fits our room and myself well.

 

[sprogbasket]

Lovely set of Dynaudio 1.3 SEs in classified might do the trick.

That said I use Harbeth M30.1s in a 12x12 room and they work fine .

They may perform well in your room too .

 

[Phyztech]

Got new Neat Petite Classiс in a small room, very happy, though positioning in all 3-dimensions is quite challenging, every inch counts