Little help on basic acoustic?

[admin_exported]

Hi,So I have that nice UnitiQute, my first Hi-Fi gear. (yeah!)Now I'm looking to find nice speakers to fit the UQ and my room set up.
The questions:-As for speakers type, I'm now sure what I should avoid or look for. I always read stuff like "keep that one about 50cm from the wall" but it doesn't fit my room set up as there won't be a wall behind! So I should look for: Bass reflex? Front port? Rear port? closed? On stands or floorstand?
-The fact that my speakers will be in the middle of two adjacent rooms will impact the sound in which way?
-I usually do low level listening and my building noise isolation is poor (and I would like to keep good relation with my neighbors 🙂) So should I look for speaker with higher sensibility (like over 88?)
I do want some little taste of bass but it's not my primary objective.
I created a floor plan and 3D model of my rooms to help understand. Full size at:https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=100030040448268639943&target=ALBUM&id=5681170175356736385&authkey=Gv1sRgCPC2s_PwrY_FUA&feat=email Thanks for sharing your acoustic knowledge/thoughts! Additional info:- I will of course try to do home demo but so far the dealers don't seems very open to that. Maybe they will change their mind when I'll put cash on the table...
- Need good sound at “low” listening level.

- The back of the speaker will be facing the dining room which is the twin of my living room. The rooms are split by an arch, this is where the speakers will stand.
- Living room size (that doesn't include the dining room which is behind the speakers) 9’X12’ = 108Feet2 2.75mx3.65m= 10m2- Wood floor, ceiling 8’ (2.45m)- Music: Jazz, Rock, Classic, Ambient, name it all but remove Western style. - For sure it has to be fairly small if it's floorstand (Around max size should be: (w x h x d) 6.3 x 33.5 x 9.5" (160 x 850 x 242 mm)

 

[hoopsontoast]

You might want to bring the speakers forward a little so they are in front of the arch rather than flush.

Whats the budget for the speakers?

Regarding speaker types, it seems as you have lots of space behind, that you can be quite flexible in that respect.

Any reason why you are limited to the size?

To go with Naim, Neat speakers seem to go well, and the motive range would probably be a good match.

 

[hoopsontoast]

So thats rougly £1k-£1.5k. Thats quite a bit of wedge. The Neat Motive 1 or motive 2 might be ideal. They tend to like a good bit of space behind them.

 

[Anonymous]

You might want to bring the speakers forward a little so they are in front of the arch rather than flush.

Interesting, what would be the sound impact of moving them a little foward? (other then making a good triangle for listening position)

Price range will be between 1k$ to 2k$. I can push it 1k more if a speaker really knock me off the ground.

As for the size, it's: 1- Since listening position is a risk with kids (2 and 5 years old) I will have to move the speaker back and forth from the corners in the dining room (180deg flip and moving them). 2- For "look" (estetic?) point of view (and makes the lady of the house happy too).

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

this setting of yours looks quite reasonable for such a small room. you're lucky that the dining room is not completely separated but only divided by this arch.

I'd say the best option for you is to put in this gang way some Magnepan speakers, like MG 12s. they're quite narrow for planar speakers (only about 40 cm) so wouldn't block the way through, can be placed close to side wall, due to so called figure 8 dispersion pattern, with no sound right next to the speaker, and also, as a dipole speaker, they radiate exactly the same sound to the front and to the back, so you'd have an added benefit of having great sound also in your dining room. did I mention they sound terrific? they are ribbon speakers. you will not find this level of resolution from any speakers at the level you're looking to spend. and also you will not find this level of ambience retrieval from any speakers around this price. I'm currently testing MG12s at my home 🙂. there's only one issue. Unity Qute may not be a good match for those speakers. if UQ was 30W in class A I wouldn't moan but as it isn't I may have some concerns if the power supply will keep up delivering the current. although there is a guy on this forum who let's MG12s being driven by a Naim Nait5i, if I recall correctly...

another great option for you are Golden Ear Technology Tritton II speakers. very well sounding and very transparent speakers. they have a ribbon tweeter. and also active bass section which means your UQ would be responsible for driving the mid/treble section. which it will cope without any problems. I heard those speakers on end of a 12W Leben tube amp and I was smitten. great clarity and dynamic capabilities. and they are also very efficient with 91dB mark. and very slim too (about 17cm) so wouldn't cause too much problems standing where they would. they also should be around 2000 GBP mark, but worth every penny. trust me.

 

[Anonymous]

Neat! For sure, I heard so much talking about that brand, I will for certainly get a demo, thanks! (But are they easy for positioning?)

Magnepan? I never heard one of these myself, I'll give a try, but as you mention the 30W is a concern. (The 5I is50W. It was my first objective, but then came that second hand Qute... 🙂 )

I never saw any Golden Ear around here (Montreal). I'll try to see if there is any stores with it. The 91db could help the low listening level sound quality I'm told.

Thanks! Any other acoustic comment? 🙂

 

[plastic penguin]

I would avoid any speaker with a hard domed tweeter, especially MA Silver range and Neat (the latter is usually a 'must hear' product with Naim, but due to the hard flooring it may sound a little brittle).

You need a speaker that's easy to drive, due to the relatively low output of the Q. To that end it'll be worth looking at Focal, PMC, Totem and possibly Spendor. Try and appraise floorstanders as they generally have a higher sensitivity reading (anything above 87db is advisable)

 

[Anonymous]

I would avoid any speaker with a hard domed tweeter, especially MA Silver range and Neat (the latter is usually a 'must hear' product with Naim, but due to the hard flooring it may sound a little brittle).

You need a speaker that's easy to drive, due to the relatively low output of the Q. To that end it'll be worth looking at Focal, PMC, Totem and possibly Spendor. Try and appraise floorstanders as they generally have a higher sensitivity reading (anything above 87db is advisable)

Interesting technical information. It's instructive. Very much appreciated, thanks!!!

 

[chebby]

Spendor S3/5R2 (£850 in UK). Sealed cabinets for ease of positioning.

You intend to play them at moderate/low volumes anyway (and they are an easy load at 8 ohms nominal and 6.2 ohms minimum) so don't worry about their 84dB sensitivity or the power of the Naim. (I'm sure it'll have enough 'grunt' for your application given how many people use this kind of classic BBC derived speaker with things like low power valve amps and 20 watt Sugdens.)

There are also Naim's own nSAT speakers. (If they are still available where you are.) They like being quite close to a wall, have sealed cabinets and are about 87dB sensitivity. I can personally recommend these as I used them with Naim 'entry level' seperates for almost 2 years.

The UnitiQute has a built in, switchable, 'loudness' curve to take care of your worries about low level listening.

To quote Naim "Switchable bass contour control for low-volume listening"