getting away with floorstanders

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You will probably find that those wanting to advise will need to know where your listening position is and also whether it is flexible. It will also be important to know about furnishings and what kind of floor the speakers will stand on.

From the configuration you are showing, I expect the speakers you will be looking at will need to be very forgiving of positioning. Those more experienced/knowledgeable than I will provide a list. I can't help but wonder whether you will be better off with some high quality stand-mounted models on decent stands.

You may want to bring together information from your other posts regarding your budget, etc, as I believe I have seen a couple of other questions along similar lines from you.
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It's a minefield isn't it? Home auditioning is the way to go if you can get it.
 
For the lazy of mouse finger , the space is 3.2 m wide x 5.6 m long with a 1 metre walkway down one of the long sides. Speaker positioning suggested is 2.1 metres apart on the short wall.

I would say four things:

1, Not all floorstanders are the size of old-fashoined red telephonephone boxes. Tannoys spring to mind, but there are other floorstanders around the 0.8 metre high x 0.25 metre wide size. Check out a few hifi shops in your area or the WHF listings for smaller floorstanders.

2, Your ideal soundstage should be (roughly and some will disagree) is with your listening position between equal to and about twice the distance from the speakers than the distance between your speakers. So, with about 2 to 2.1 metres, your listening position whould be about 4 to 4.2 metres (don't get the tape measure out, it isn;t that critical) from the speakers. This should work in your listening space.

3, Presumably you can't use the walkway space at all, so putting a speaker in the corner of the room within the walkway space is a no-no. If you could use the space, increasing the speaker separation might help. Having one speaker close to a side wall and the other in relatively open space won't be the best for the soundstage, as the long side wall may reflect sound from the left speaker as you have sketched the layout. It might be worthwhile experimenting with changing the layout putting the speakers against the long wall and you couch/sofa with its back to the other long wall or with its back defining the walkway space behind the couch. Is there a reason why the speakers can't be put along the long wall on the wall side of the walkway and the couch / sofa against the other long wall?

4, Floorstanders do not necessarily make for the best sound for a given budget. You may find a decent pair of stand-mounters give a sound you prefer for the budget you have in mind. The footprint, however, won't be much different. Wall brackets can be used, but I, personally would avoid them.
 
yes, plenty of threads because I realize it was easier to get inputs when I broke them down into smaller components 😀 and there are so many aspects to consider. too many.

it's a minefield and it still is. all the inputs have helped me conclude that at the end of the day, what it really boils down to are my ears and my budget. so I'm just going to listen and listen till I find what I like and find a reliable dealer who can replicate it within my budget - brand regardless.

budget wise - about US$1.5-2K for speakers + amp?

my concerns are now for the type of speakers that would be suitable for my space. I would love to have floorstanders because

1) I think the wood veneer finishes look really nice for a home with a classic woody decor

2) maybe I can get away with not having a sub

3) stand mounts would mean also that I need to set aside budget for the stands. don't like the ugly metal ones. I think really nice ones would set me back by quite a bit.

The room has marble flooring. One side's full length glass doors, the other side, walkway separating living from kitchen, and rooms. there's nothing much in the living for now - a bean bag, an arm chair, dining table. it's a new place. maybe I will add a rug later.
 
Darren Heal:

It might be worthwhile experimenting with changing the layout putting the speakers against the long wall and you couch/sofa with its back to the other long wall or with its back defining the walkway space behind the couch. Is there a reason why the speakers can't be put along the long wall on the wall side of the walkway and the couch / sofa against the other long wall?

one side of the long wall are 6 panels of full length sliding glass doors.

the other long wall contains the corridor that separates the living hall from the kitchen and store room so nothing can go there either
 
I would seriously look at the Tannoy Revolution DC4T or Revolution Signature DC6T speakers. I have seen these in a local hifi store and the cabinets are beautifully finished. perhaps more importantly WHF gave the DC6T speakers five stars, athough they warn the treble can be a little harsh. Amp and speaker cable choices then come into play.

DC4 speakers are listed on line from GBP420 and up, with the Signature version from GBP700 and up. I would expect to pay between GBP500 and GBP800 from a reputable dealer, however.

DC6T speakers are listed from GBP900 and up, although I would expect to pay around GBP1000 from a reputable dealer.

All of the Tannoys are (I think - please verify) bi-wireable / bi-ampable and you can buy matching surround and subwoofers later.

Remember you need to allow for speaker cables, Chord Canrival Silverscreen (GBP6.00 per metre) or Atlas Equator (again about GBP 6.00 per metre) would be a good starting point. I happen to have a pair of Atlas Equator Bi-Wire cables, 3 metres long, sitting in my closet right now......

Don't know local prices in your country, but if you nuy from the UK remember postage / shipping is quite expensive as the speakers are quite heavy.

Assuming you spend around GBP900 on the speakers, you have around GBP500 to spend on an amplifier or surround sound receiver, which should get you a mid-range unit brand new or a better unit used or ex-demonstrator on EBay.
 
yes, I am on the verge of giving up and just going with the tannoys anyway as suggested by my dealer

but, as they say...let the buyer beware....so the need to go test out the rest even though I'm itching to get my hands on a system NOW

and after that, if nothing else makes an impression, I'll probably just go with the tannoys and make it a deal if he's willing to give me a home audition!!!
 
Remember the Tannoys need quite a bit of running in before their sound achieves its best. Might be best to run them in whit whatever hifi ypu've got right now, then audition amplifiers a few weeks down the line. Would also give you a pay day or two to save up some more $$$ for a higher spec. / better quality amp or surround sound receiver.
 
For my part the Tannoys sound a good choice.

My only comment would be that you listening room is full of hard reflective surfaces, with some interesting acoustics from the corridor to the right of the speaker positions. You might want to do something to calm it down a little. What's behind the listening position? A Curtain or soft hanging on the opposite wall might help. I only comment as decent floorstanders might make your room "ring" a little with the reverberations of six hard surfaces.
 
well...i haven't really started doing up the decor for the house yet so anything's possible. right now, priority's just getting the music in!! tired of carrying the JBL dock from room to room....

hmm. maybe I shld get a really nice persian rug to hang up on the wall opposite instead then!!!

but seriously...would a floor area rug help?
 
scene:

For my part the Tannoys sound a good choice.

My only comment would be that you listening room is full of hard reflective surfaces, with some interesting acoustics from the corridor to the right of the speaker positions. You might want to do something to calm it down a little. What's behind the listening position? A Curtain or soft hanging on the opposite wall might help. I only comment as decent floorstanders might make your room "ring" a little with the reverberations of six hard surfaces.

Ya-boo, sucks! You beat me to it! Yes, the acoustics of the room will be very important. A listening room in the hifi shop will sound very different from the one described.
 
"but seriously...would a floor area rug help?"

In all probability it will - it should take at least some edge off.

Think about walking into a large hall (particularly one with a stone floor) with no furnishings and how it sounds; now begin to fill it with soft things (eg, people) - the sound is absorbed. Same principle with rugs, wall hangings, etc.

As with anything else, you will need to find the right balance and what sounds good to you, but getting some soft surfaces in will help tone things down.
 
ESP2009:
"but seriously...would a floor area rug help?"

In all probability it will - it should take at least some edge off.

Think about walking into a large hall (particularly one with a stone floor) with no furnishings and how it sounds; now begin to fill it with soft things (eg, people) - the sound is absorbed. Same principle with rugs, wall hangings, etc.

As with anything else, you will need to find the right balance and what sounds good to you, but getting some soft surfaces in will help tone things down.

Sorry ESP if I stole your thunder
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But i just saw all that marble and glass and, having stayed at a friend's place in the Middle East knew how that echoed echoed echoed...
 
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You're spot on the money there. I reckon there would be musical waves bouncing all over the shop!
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It depends on the floor standers, my speakers sit only about 1.5 metres apart and i sit about 3ish metres from them, the dimensions of the room aren't much more than 3.5*4 and yet thankfully they still sound fantastic so I can't complain.
 
Totem and Amphion make some nice 'small' floor-standers that may suit your room dimensions.
 
as pthers have intimated, that looks a terrible room acoustically. you will definitely need to home dem whatever you choose as it will sound very different to a well damped demo room. as well as some thick rugs, maybe consider some acoustic panels to cut down on the sound bouncing round the room. clapping your hands loudly will give you an idea of the problem of sound reflecting off all the hard surfaces.
 
just out of curiosity - are there any speakers that sound bad in studio demos that sound better in the home?

If they all sound worse in the home, then it would be a question of degree of sound degradation? so the home demos would be more to reveal which speakers have greater sound degradation?
 
it's less to do with the dealers room being better or worse usually, and more a case of just different. in your case it's a bit different, unless the dealers demo rooms are as reflective as yours, also all the glass will tend to let bass out but reflect mid and high frequencies. i suspect warm sounding speakers would help, can you demo dynaudio? a big thick rug in between listening position and speakers will help, as will something on the front and back walls. acoustic wall panels can apparently help a lot with difficult rooms, and the ones to tame mid and treble needn't be too intrusive. can't help with how many you would need and i'd start with some rugs first.
 
I should add that my speakers are in a carpeted room, which definitely makes a big impact on the acoustics.
 
You need sealed speakers that are not fussy about positioning, so you can put them very close to the wall, ProAc might do the job for you
 
If you can have your speakers about 12 inches from the back wall, you should dodge the boom.
 
what are sealed speakers?

and does it matter if they're front or back ported or both?

interestingly, was at the Dynaudio showroom today to test out their Excite 32 towers. The shop was carpeted, but their walls were untreated, and they had full paneled glass windows instead of walls on 1 1/2 sides of the 4 sided shop.

so I'm thinking, maybe I can get away with the Dynaudios within my apartment too - I just need to furnish it with a whole lot of soft stuff

but sigh, they are just sooo exorbitant

so, back to the drawing board....
 
sealed speakers don't have ports. they can be easier to position in a room without the bass getting boomy.
 
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