Bookshelf Speaker Advice for Yamaha A-S501 in a small room

[AlexJealux]

Hi all, I have recently purchased a Yamaha A-S501 stereo amp and thinking of purchasing bookshelf speakers that'll be used in a very small room about 9m2.

It'll be mainly for music using my laptop.

Speakers that I have in mind are:

KEF R3
Monitor Audio Silver 100
Focal Aria 906
Triangle Comete EZ
Sonus Faber Sonetto I

Just want to know if the Yamaha A-S501 is powerful enough to drive any of these speakers. I'd greatly appreciate any bass heavy bookshelf speaker recommendations (front ported as well).

Thanks in advance.

 

[Deleted member 188516]

Hi all, I have recently purchased a Yamaha A-S501 stereo amp and thinking of purchasing bookshelf speakers that'll be used in a very small room about 9m2.

It'll be mainly for music using my laptop.

Speakers that I have in mind are:

KEF R3
Monitor Audio Silver 100
Focal Aria 906
Triangle Comete EZ
Sonus Faber Sonetto I

Just want to know if the Yamaha A-S501 is powerful enough to drive any of these speakers. I'd greatly appreciate any bass heavy bookshelf speaker recommendations (front ported as well).

Thanks in advance.

hi may ask how are you connecting you laptop to amplifier and will this be your only source component in the future ?

i currently use my laptop as a source and play (tracks off the cd drive, bandcamp and youtube) via the headphone out (using a phono to 3.5mm jack) into a pair of "powered" speakers - m-audio av 40 which cost me £100...

although the treble is a bit fizzy and the bass a bit bumpy i'm currently enjoying a mid range with detail that was not present via a £2500 musical fidelity m6i and £800 kef ls50's...

some info :-

Tech products and reviews | What Hi-Fi?

Latest reviews, products, news, advice, videos and more, from the world's no.1 technology buyer's guide - What Hi-Fi?

www.whathifi.com

 

[Al ears]

hi may ask how are you connecting you laptop to amplifier and will this be your only source component in the future ?

i currently use my laptop as a source and play (tracks off the cd drive, bandcamp and youtube) via the headphone out (using a phono to 3.5mm jack) into a pair of "powered" speakers - m-audio av 40 which cost me £100...

although the treble is a bit fizzy and the bass a bit bumpy i'm currently enjoying a mid range with detail that was not present via a £2500 musical fidelity m6i and £800 kef ls50's...

some info :-

Tech products and reviews | What Hi-Fi?

Latest reviews, products, news, advice, videos and more, from the world's no.1 technology buyer's guide - What Hi-Fi?

www.whathifi.com

I am confused as to why he would want to use a pair of powered speakers when he already has a perfectly serviceable amplifier....
Perhaps the OP might explain how he compiled the list in the first instance.

 

[Deleted member 188516]

I am confused as to why he would want to use a pair of powered speakers when he already has a perfectly serviceable amplifier....
Perhaps the OP might explain how he compiled the list in the first instance.

because for, what its worth, i think budget separates are easily beaten by simply hooking your laptop up to some powered or proper active speakers.

i await the op reply as regards to whether his laptop will remain his only source component.

 

[AlexJealux]

hi may ask how are you connecting you laptop to amplifier and will this be your only source component in the future ?

i currently use my laptop as a source and play (tracks off the cd drive, bandcamp and youtube) via the headphone out (using a phono to 3.5mm jack) into a pair of "powered" speakers - m-audio av 40 which cost me £100...

although the treble is a bit fizzy and the bass a bit bumpy i'm currently enjoying a mid range with detail that was not present via a £2500 musical fidelity m6i and £800 kef ls50's...

some info :-

Tech products and reviews | What Hi-Fi?

Latest reviews, products, news, advice, videos and more, from the world's no.1 technology buyer's guide - What Hi-Fi?

www.whathifi.com

I will connect the amp to the pc with an external dac. And yes, it'll be my only source.

 

[Deleted member 116933]

Hi all, I have recently purchased a Yamaha A-S501 stereo amp and thinking of purchasing bookshelf speakers that'll be used in a very small room about 9m2.

It'll be mainly for music using my laptop.

Speakers that I have in mind are:

KEF R3
Monitor Audio Silver 100
Focal Aria 906
Triangle Comete EZ
Sonus Faber Sonetto I

Just want to know if the Yamaha A-S501 is powerful enough to drive any of these speakers. I'd greatly appreciate any bass heavy bookshelf speaker recommendations (front ported as well).

Thanks in advance.

I don't really know how you put this list together but i would say this list is a little bit rich id say for the amp.

If i may, the below would be a far ore price appropriate selection.

Wharfdale diamonds 10.1s

or

Q acoustics 3010i

 

[AlexJealux]

I am confused as to why he would want to use a pair of powered speakers when he already has a perfectly serviceable amplifier....
Perhaps the OP might explain how he compiled the list in the first instance.

A while back a friend and I had a chance to demo most of those speakers with his A-S 801. Now that I got the A-S501 I was wondering if the 85 watts of 501 would make that much of a difference than 801's 100 watts

 

[kukulec]

Hi all, I have recently purchased a Yamaha A-S501 stereo amp and thinking of purchasing bookshelf speakers that'll be used in a very small room about 9m2.

It'll be mainly for music using my laptop.

Speakers that I have in mind are:

KEF R3
Monitor Audio Silver 100
Focal Aria 906
Triangle Comete EZ
Sonus Faber Sonetto I

Just want to know if the Yamaha A-S501 is powerful enough to drive any of these speakers. I'd greatly appreciate any bass heavy bookshelf speaker recommendations (front ported as well).

Thanks in advance.

Those speakers are better than your amp. I have the A-S801 with QA3030i in around 12 sqm, and the bass can be too much, but mostly ok. The R3 and Silver 100 need a much bigger room. Among those ones, I would go with the Focal or Triangle (which is cheaper), but the QA3020i could be also a cheap and viable solution.

 

[Paulq]

Those speakers are better than your amp. I have the A-S801 with QA3030i in around 12 sqm, and the bass can be too much, but mostly ok. The R3 and Silver 100 need a much bigger room. Among those ones, I would go with the Focal or Triangle (which is cheaper), but the QA3020i could be also a cheap and viable solution.

How are you making that call? I know a guy who runs a £30k Linn Klimax system into a pair of sub £1000 Linn Katans and he won't change them because they give him everything he needs.

Price alone isn't the determinant of what's 'better'. Listening tells you what's better. Ignore the marketing, you'll end up never satisfied and very poor.

 

[kukulec]

"How are you making that call?" - I heard them.
"Ignore the marketing, you'll end up never satisfied and very poor." - save this sentence to those you know.
Recommending speakers which could never show their true potential with the specific amplifier and in the specific environment is not really wise, and I speak from my experience. But everyone can do whatever he wants. I still hold, that Focal and QA would be both a safe decision. Naturally, our conversation cannot replace an audition by the OP.

 

[AlexJealux]

As I have said I had a chance to demo those speakers with a-s801s which has 100 watts and they sounded pretty good, especially the kef r3s. So will the 501s with 15 watts less output would make that much of a difference? I dont have a chance to demo the speakers at home, only at the store which doesnt mean much. I know my room is small plus aesthetics is a major factor for me, hence one of the reasoms I would like one of those speakers. I will not krank the volume up so high often but I'm after that deep bass at moderate levels.

 

[kukulec]

As I have said I had a chance to demo those speakers with a-s801s which has 100 watts and they sounded pretty good, especially the kef r3s. So will the 501s with 15 watts less output would make that much of a difference? I dont have a chance to demo the speakers at home, only at the store which doesnt mean much. I know my room is small plus aesthetics is a major factor for me, hence one of the reasoms I would like one of those speakers. I will not krank the volume up so high often but I'm after that deep bass at moderate levels.

The -15 watts would not cause issues, however they do not sound the same, just very similar.
"only at the store which doesnt mean much" - it means, as you would know the sound characteristic of each speaker.

 

[AlexJealux]

The -15 watts would not cause issues, however they do not sound the same, just very similar.
"only at the store which doesnt mean much" - it means, as you would know the sound characteristic of each speaker.

I see, thank you for your reply.

 

[Paulq]

"How are you making that call?" - I heard them.
"Ignore the marketing, you'll end up never satisfied and very poor." - save this sentence to those you know.
Recommending speakers which could never show their true potential with the specific amplifier and in the specific environment is not really wise, and I speak from my experience. But everyone can do whatever he wants. I still hold, that Focal and QA would be both a safe decision. Naturally, our conversation cannot replace an audition by the OP.

So let me get this right. You are justifying the statement by saying 'because you heard them', yet then telling the OP to make the decision based on his own listening experience?

So we're agreeing it's subjective then, and statements like 'those speakers are better' aren't really true are they?