Help in choosing new speakers... sort of budget and weird room

[Kutusov]

Past and Preset...

I currently live in a rented flat that came with garbage furniture that I just can't throw away. I sold my beloved vintage Pioneer 8" speakers and amp, figuring I would better find something small. Went from an Audio Pro portable, to some entry level small Edifiers to a set of their mid range active speakers.

Sounded awful and spent the last couple of years or so playing with positioning, getting a dac, stands, etc. They sound much better now but I still find them very sensitive to positioning and also power level. These things would be OK on a smaller room where you wouldn't move too much from their toe-in sweet spot.

I distrust their sound and there's not much I can further do, so I'm looking into upgrading, possibly to a passive affair like the one I had before. Give me too much variables and I go insane.

The possible upgrade?

I can get a pretty good deal on a set of Q Acoustics 3030i and I was attracted by them because of the wide soundstage and being apparently forgiving of positioning. At least going by the reviews. I can't really listen to them first.

My issue is gain the room. This is what I have to deal with:



I spend 99% of my time on that chair and desk on the upper right corner and that space has ceramic floor but I do need to constantantly roll my cahir around the area.

The 3030i are very deep but I could eventually try them on each side of the blue shelf on the left (around 2 meters wide). I would probably be a bit off axis.

What's harder is distance from the wall. I know I can plug the bass reflex port but still.... So I'm thinking, if I want to sort a problem out once and for good, why not go with proper floor standing speakers? Something not as deep but with more volume This is already insane money for speakers for me but maybe the 3050i? The Fyne Audio F302?

Or go smaller to something like the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1?

The idea is having a pair of speakers that don't sound awful in any place of this room, knowing someplace will be better. BTW, I could also try this set up:



Budget with an amp (something simple and cheap like the Onkyo A-9110-S but to be discussed), really stretching it is I guess a €1000. Let's try to stay well away from that though, when I began thinking on this I came up with a €500 solution

Sorry for the long post but I have a lot of doubts and don't really know how to narrow the issue further...

 

[rainsoothe]

Hi. If you spend 99% on the chair, and assuming you're facing the desk, why not go for headphones? Maybe wireless if you have to move around a lot. Or something that can be placed on your desk, like Kef LSX or sh Neat Iota + a Rega Io maybe.

 

[Kutusov]

Hi! Well, I wasn't vey clear there... I do spend 99% of the time in that chair region but I do pace a lot and am not just static sitting in one spot. The whole arrangement is far from good and that's also why I'm not even sure how to state a question...

I had my current speakers, the Audiopro and the smaller Edifiers on my desk. Just sitting there or on mounts. I don't like it... I feel it's too limiting to rest of the room and I also don't like sound that near me, feels like I have a pair of headphones on or something.

Another important thing for me would be the ability to sound good at low volumes and that's why I was thinking bigger speakers. I never play music loud but I do play low volume a lot.

I never heard those KEFs but I do read a lot of praise about them. I wasn't even considering such a thing so thanks for that and the other recomendations! 🙌

 

[rainsoothe]

If you don't wanna have them on a desk, don't bother with the LSX, they're pretty small. How about demoing a Sonos system? Not sure how to suggest positioning one, but a dealr can help with that

 

[Kutusov]

I went and looked at the LSX, I think what I disliked the most is having to control them via app.

This sent me into a new spiral though as I never looked into the whole LS50 coaxial deal. They sort of have a small footprint and apparently have a great soundstage with a wide axis, maybe I could work with something like that.

Sonos is another system I never considered, it's always very hard for me to look a new ways of doing things. I guess I'm still stuck with the idea of my old speakers and amp I'll have a look at those too. Thank you so far!

 

[Tinman1952]

Have a look at the Yamaha WXA-50 to power whatever passive speakers you decide on. Excellent little ‘all in one’. 👍

 

[Stuart.W.D]

If space is the biggest culprit, consider the Ruark R5 or R4. I have the Ruark in my kitchen and works extremely well beside walls, furniture, etc, great sound, plenty of features and very stylish.

The R4 fits your budget 👇🏻

R4 Mk3 Integrated Music System (graded)

Description On looks alone R4 is desirable, but listen and this emotion grows stronger, because R4 produces a quality of sound that you simply will not expect from such a compact design. Intuitive to use and with no wires other than a power lead to worry about, simply plug in and within minutes...

shop.ruarkaudio.com

 

[Kutusov]

If space is the biggest culprit

It really is and it's almost ridiculous. Thanks for the suggestions because that got me thinking "Come on, it's not such a small space!"... That and how rubbish Miles Davis "In a silent way" sounded 20 minutes ago.

So now, like Baldrick, I have a cunning plan. I'm rearranging the room. I was concerned about the power outlets and especially the internet cable but turns out the plan bellow is perfectly doable:

Gets me close to the window and natural light, I can take one couch out of a room that is filled with unwanted landlord furniture and I think I can get sort of two listening positions this way. I can also put some acoustic dampening panels behind the speakers, I never looked into those but some look real good and would bring some colour to the room.

I'm going to try first my current speakers but I'm not that hopeful. I think I already decided I hate those things anyway I guess I want floor standing speakers, I miss that....

This way I also gain the correct axis of the room and 33m2 to fill (355 square feet)

 

[rainsoothe]

It really is and it's almost ridiculous. Thanks for the suggestions because that got me thinking "Come on, it's not such a small space!"... That and how rubbish Miles Davis "In a silent way" sounded 20 minutes ago.

So now, like Baldrick, I have a cunning plan. I'm rearranging the room. I was concerned about the power outlets and especially the internet cable but turns out the plan bellow is perfectly doable: View attachment 2738

Gets me close to the window and natural light, I can take one couch out of a room that is filled with unwanted landlord furniture and I think I can get sort of two listening positions this way. I can also put some acoustic dampening panels behind the speakers, I never looked into those but some look real good and would bring some colour to the room.

I'm going to try first my current speakers but I'm not that hopeful. I think I already decided I hate those things anyway I guess I want floor standing speakers, I miss that.... View attachment 2739

This way I also gain the correct axis of the room and 33m2 to fill (355 square feet)

Oh, that is indeed so much better

 

[rainsoothe]

would you wanna switch to floorstanders if you rearrange your furniture?

 

[Kutusov]

would you wanna switch to floorstanders if you rearrange your furniture?

Yes, pretty much... When I looked into the Q Acoustics I realized the diference on price between bookshelves + stands is almost the price of the floorstanding equivalent. They also take the same space or even less, my current stands have a very wide base. And foorstanders should sound better anyway...

I was looking at stuff on sale and the Q Acoustics 3050i, Dali Oberon 5, KEF Q550, Monitor Audio Bronze 200, Wharfedale Diamond 12.3, all look appealing to me . Going by price and What HIFI reviews that is, since where I'm stuck at I can't really hear non of them... No idea how something like Klipsch with a horn sounds but from how it is usually described I don't think I would like them that much.

BTW, with stock shortages etc and 3 months away from Christmas (dear Lord! ), is this a good time to be buying stuff on sale and available?

 

[Kutusov]

Room done aaaand.... speakers don't sound good. If anything, it just made the shortcomings more apparent. A bigger canvas to paint them on I guess.

Time to spend money, yey! 😁

 

[rainsoothe]

Room done aaaand.... speakers don't sound good. If anything, it just made the shortcomings more apparent. A bigger canvas to paint them on I guess.

Time to spend money, yey! 😁

Love your "just do it" attitude. And the drawings
I'm positive that what you've done is way better position wise, and it just shows the limitations of the Edifiers. 2 more questions: in the new setup, how far from back wall and lateral walls can you place your speakers, and what's your main source? (streaming, laptop, tv etc).

 

[Kutusov]

Aha, thanks!

Well, I'm looking at a space about 4m wide (top wall on drawing - measured it wrong above apparently) by about 5 to 6 meters to furthest away position for "the pink couch". It's an empty space now, so I guess I can have speakers up to 1 meter away from every wall and still have 2 meters between speakers.

My main and only source is my PC. It has no optical out so it's USB --> Topping D10 optical out --> IFI Zen Dac V1 --> analogue.

I guess it will keep being this way, I'm not really interested in wifi or Bluetooth streaming. TV is hooked via some cheap Fiio DAC to a pair of small Edifiers 1800s. Walls are sort of paper thin, so and I won't connect big speakers to the TV. Or I could try via analogue output. I haven't watched TV for almost 10 years now... I might watch 1 movie a month if that, so it doesn't really matter.

 

[Gray]

I haven't watched TV for almost 10 years

You haven't missed much

 

[Tinman1952]

. And foorstanders should sound better anyway...

Not necessarily in a small room. You may have trouble with bass boom 🙂 That’s why they normally sell foam bungs with them. Standmounts tend to image better as a generalisation…
Also I just wondered why you are using the little Topping D10 as a USB to Optical converter and not straight into your Zen DAC?
Plus the Zen DAC doesn’t have optical input??

 

[Kutusov]

Also I just wondered why you are using the little Topping D10 as a USB to Optical converter and not straight into your Zen DAC?
Plus the Zen DAC doesn’t have optical input??

Lol, right you are! I actually have it plugged in but doing nothing as it turns out . But hey, it's there, tucked away behind the PC case The Zen gets signal through an amplified USB cable apparently (insert smiley with a bag over its head)

As for speakers, I'm almost dead set on the 3050is just because it was what put this all thing in motion (the 3030i actually). I haven't ordered them yet because I think I don't like very much the colour options and can't decide between them. Also, I have this nagging feeling the Dali Oberon 5s might actually suit me better, certainly on the looks department they would.