Speakers 4 feet apart - Is it worth the investment

[KevinT]

I wanted to do a setup with a turntable, intergraded amplifier and speakers. The setup will only be for the turntable. I also don't have a lot of space and would need to put the speaker about 4 foot apart with the turntable and amp in the middle. My budget is around $2.5K. I wanted something good.

With he speakers so close is this worth the investment?
What speakers would you suggest that could help being so close together?
Is it worth a center speaker or just stereo?

What integrated amp would you suggest. I only need this for the turntable.?
I like the look of the Planar 3 turntable is it any good?

Appreciate the help and advice

Kevin

 

[RoA]

That's not a lot of space. You are, in essence, limited to near field listening to get meaningful sound stage or in other words, you wouldn't likely be sitting any further than 1.5 to a couple of meters maximum away. You don't need a centre speaker.

There is lots of choice so I leave the suggestions to others that have more experience than myself.

You could also go for a first rate H/phone system as your space is rather limited.

 

[muljao]

How far are you listening from the speakers? If you are not to far say 6 ish feet I think it's worth it. If you are much further I think the stereo imaging might suffer a little.

If I'd 2.5k I'd skip the amp and buy active stereo speakers that have room correction built in. This would make it tidier and the room correction could help with them being closer together than ideal

 

[KevinT]

Can you recommend a active speaker that is slim floor standing.

 

[muljao]

I think even at your quite good budget it's heard to find floorstanders. It also sounds like if you haven't much space a decent set of standmounters on stands may serve you better.

 

[Al ears]

I think even at your quite good budget it's heard to find floorstanders. It also sounds like if you haven't much space a decent set of standmounters on stands may serve you better.

I was going to ask why floorstanders in a room of very limited size?
Small active monitors on stands should be sufficient (think Acoustic Energy AE1 Active)
If OP goes down this route he will need a phono preamp for the Planar 3 as well.

 

[AVDude]

Focal, Yamaha, and Adam audio are good mid-high tier options for near and midfield audio imaging which is what you are proposing. Adam and Focal are among the top tier of speaker providers in my opinion where studio monitors are concerned.

Particularly if you wanted studio monitors/shelf mounted speakers with above average audio.
I'd suggest you get speakers with their own amplification, as this would solve your routing and device selection.
A pair of speakers that I personally drool over, and plan to own, costs your total proposed budget.
The bonus of studio monitors is they are typically TRS or XLR connectors which makes them easy to adapt to other purposes if you know how. XLR cables are more robust than traditional speaker wire, and very easy to repair or modify.
So here is a setup that I would do, and plan to do for a limited space environment in my own place. My choices in equipment my vary slightly from what is here but it is essentially what I'd choose.

Yamaha HS5's are decent, cost around 400 bucks for a pair.

Adam Audio A7x's are about 749 a piece.

Focal Shape 6.5's 900 a piece.

I would suggest a studio DAC, such as one from Arturia if your budget permits.
The Audio Fuse studio or Audio Fuse Rev 2 are excellent DAC's with a multi-tude of input's and outputs (analog and digital). The Fuse Rev 2 also has a very small foot print and comes with it's own hard shell travel case. The Fuse Studio is slightly larger with more sound options but doesn't cost that much more than the Fuse Rev 2.

Using an external DAC as your encoder and pre-amp, then routing it to a good set of 2 or 3 way powered speakers is one way of simplifying your overall setup. Arturia's latest gen DAC's also permit Bluetooth interface.

Should you decide on a more advanced Arturia at some point, these will integrate with each other digitally and offer expanded abilities as well.
The Fuse Rev 2 costs about 560 dollars, the Fuse Studio costs about 890. Arturia's DAC's are some of the best you can get for the money spent and provide decent amplification on their own. These do have a digital back end that talks to a mac, pc or compatible mobile device but they are designed to be operated as a stand alone box also.

A compatible powered sub would permit the full range of ultra-low, mid and high to be represented in all it's glory with the aforementioned types of speakers.
Combine with all the above, you can EQ it to your hearts content if it's not quite right.

 

[Gray]

You can safely forget any idea of a centre speaker Kevin.

 

[12th Monkey]

You can safely forget any idea of a centre speaker Kevin.

Yes, you've already got two!

 

[rainsoothe]

You sure you don't want a headphone system instead?

 

[Al ears]

You sure you don't want a headphone system instead?

This was mentioned by @RoA and might very well be the way to go although I know some people do not like wearing headphones for an extended period.

 

[KevinT]

I appreciate all the advice, I'm going to review the suggestions and size out what I can do.

Kevin

 

[KevinT]

If I added a headphone , it would need to be wireless. Any recommendations ? What would I need on the other end if i used the Arturia's DAC's as suggested.

I was also looking at the Planar 3 turntable. Thoughts?

 

[AVDude]

If I added a headphone , it would need to be wireless. Any recommendations ? What would I need on the other end if i used the Arturia's DAC's as suggested.

I was also looking at the Planar 3 turntable. Thoughts?

You can use wired headphone or IEM with a wireless transceiver I suppose, same for IEM's.

Alto Professional Stealth Wireless Expander Pack

Wireless Expander Pack for the Stealth Stereo Wireless System

www.sweetwater.com

Xvive U4 Wireless In-ear Monitoring System

Wireless In-ear Monitoring System, 2.4GHz, with Transmitter and Beltpack Receiver

www.sweetwater.com

These are two potential solution, there are many more.

I don't know anything about turntables, I gave up on physical media.

 

[KevinT]

Focal, Yamaha, and Adam audio are good mid-high tier options for near and midfield audio imaging which is what you are proposing. Adam and Focal are among the top tier of speaker providers in my opinion where studio monitors are concerned.

Particularly if you wanted studio monitors/shelf mounted speakers with above average audio.
I'd suggest you get speakers with their own amplification, as this would solve your routing and device selection.
A pair of speakers that I personally drool over, and plan to own, costs your total proposed budget.
The bonus of studio monitors is they are typically TRS or XLR connectors which makes them easy to adapt to other purposes if you know how. XLR cables are more robust than traditional speaker wire, and very easy to repair or modify.
So here is a setup that I would do, and plan to do for a limited space environment in my own place. My choices in equipment my vary slightly from what is here but it is essentially what I'd choose.

Yamaha HS5's are decent, cost around 400 bucks for a pair.

Adam Audio A7x's are about 749 a piece.

Focal Shape 6.5's 900 a piece.

I would suggest a studio DAC, such as one from Arturia if your budget permits.
The Audio Fuse studio or Audio Fuse Rev 2 are excellent DAC's with a multi-tude of input's and outputs (analog and digital). The Fuse Rev 2 also has a very small foot print and comes with it's own hard shell travel case. The Fuse Studio is slightly larger with more sound options but doesn't cost that much more than the Fuse Rev 2.

Using an external DAC as your encoder and pre-amp, then routing it to a good set of 2 or 3 way powered speakers is one way of simplifying your overall setup. Arturia's latest gen DAC's also permit Bluetooth interface.

Should you decide on a more advanced Arturia at some point, these will integrate with each other digitally and offer expanded abilities as well.
The Fuse Rev 2 costs about 560 dollars, the Fuse Studio costs about 890. Arturia's DAC's are some of the best you can get for the money spent and provide decent amplification on their own. These do have a digital back end that talks to a mac, pc or compatible mobile device but they are designed to be operated as a stand alone box also.

A compatible powered sub would permit the full range of ultra-low, mid and high to be represented in all it's glory with the aforementioned types of speakers.
Combine with all the above, you can EQ it to your hearts content if it's not quite right.

Do you know if I can use a Bluetooth headphone with a USB connector plugged directly into the Arturia's

 

[AVDude]

Do you know if I can use a Bluetooth headphone with a USB connector plugged directly into the Arturia's

I don't know the answer to that, Arturia or a vendor like sweet water should be able to answer it. Seems like it should be possible.

 

[Hairymonster]

I can't understand why people are suggesting studio monitors. They can be quite unsuitable for a hifi listening experience - potentially too bright.

 

[AVDude]

I can't understand why people are suggesting studio monitors. They can be quite unsuitable for a hifi listening experience - potentially too bright.

Your experiences may vary, I like the sound coming from a good set of studio monitors. They can provide a good listening experience for someone with limited space, particularly when paired with a subwoofer but to each their own.

 

[AJM1981]

I would go for the small bookshelves. The 75 euro Madison speakers I have for my second set will do more than well. They have an incredible HIFI sound for a small form format and low price. 4 feet is about 1.2 meters which is still slightly more of a stereo effect than a classic or modern boombox /Ghettoblaster and it will top its sound quality by a factor 2 or 3.

 

[SeattleChris]

Hi Kevin - Yes, you can have a wonderful stereo experience with only 4 feet of speaker separation. Please see the pic of my desk stereo: B&W 606s2 speakers on the desk on homemade stands, NAD c368 amp & two SVS sb1000 subs (running stereo) under the desk, Schiit Modi DAC on the computer, streaming Amazon Music HD. Also use Equalizer APO to tame midrange & boost bass because my eardrums are shot from childhood ear infections. Even so, sitting back from the desk a couple feet I'm experiencing a soundstage like never before in my life. Maybe not ideal, but wonderful!

 

[AJM1981]

I can't understand why people are suggesting studio monitors. They can be quite unsuitable for a hifi listening experience - potentially too bright.

Used small studio monitors while living abroad in the past. They performed very well and indeed a bit on the bright side but for bookshelves I don't consider that too much of an obstacle. It is easy to tame it down to preference. I prefer it above a speaker that lacks good treble and mids and where one has to crank things up to kind of make things work. I definitely preferred the bookshelve monitors over my older Tannoy M1s which were kind of average and dull, though some people are lyrical about them.

The advantage of hifi above monitors is that stereo imagining is more forgiving and room filling. Monitors tend to "beam" more. When standing in the kitchen nearby you would prefer to keep kind of a full sound.

 

[aricjoshua]

That isn't a lot of room. To obtain a significant sound stage, you're basically confined to near-field listening, which means you won't be sitting much farther than 1.5 to a couple of meters away. There's no need for a center speaker. Because there are so many options, I leave the recommendations to those with greater expertise. Given your restricted area, you might also invest in a high-quality phone system.