Monitors for a bedroom system.......


Hi guys, I always like the great advice I get here. I am setting up a bedroom system for the 30-45 minutes it takes me to fall asleep. I tend to play ambient stuff to help me nod off. Anything with great, deep soundstage, clarity, neutrality? The speakers have to have presence at low volumes. In fact, they only need to play at low volumes. Placement restrictions will force them to sit about 6 inches from the wall. I can spend about $2000 used.
I wasnt thinking when I sold my Nautilus 805's. Any suggestions??
mythtrip

Showing 4 responses by rar1

$2000 is too much to spend for speakers for a bedroom system, given that you will be listening while lying straight out in bed. I have had to go with near rear wall placement and have found that acoustic suspension/sealed box speakers work out best. I am using NHT SB2's, happily for the last year and a half, after trying out quite a few small monitors (EPOS 11 & ELS3; B&W 302; Wharfedale Diamond 8.1). The NHT's will give you all the qualities that you are looking for and sound very good when played low. The NHT SB2s, which list for $400, are being discontinued and are available for about $275 from Audio Advisor. Don't let the price throw you ... the NHT's are a very fine performing, serious speaker.

Components that work well with the NHT SB2's are ... NAD C320BEE with a Music Hall CD25 CD player (total system cost: $1200) or a Prima Luna Prologue Two with a Music Hall CD25 CD player (total system cost $2200).

Regards, Rich
S7:

Actually, my assertion that $2K is too much to spend on bedroom speakers is not based on one's ability to pay. What I was considering was :

- how bedrooms are typically furnished (bed, night stands, dressers, armoires, drapes, etc.)
- the physical dimensions of many bedrooms
- the listening options
- time when the music listening would be taking place

Mythtrip also added that he would be listening at low volumes for 30 to 45 minutes and that speaker placement options are limited (looking for monitors that would be placed 6 inches from the wall).

Given all these limitations, I think that $2K is too much to spend. I don't believe that you will get $2K worth of performance. Beyond that, if one still wants to spend $2K ... go for it.

The only question that I would raise is that from everything that I have read about the B&W Nautilus speakers is that they need to be played loud to get the best out of them. I also don't agree that placing rear ported speakers 6 inches from a rear wall necessarily works for the better, unless the speakers were designed to work that way. Sealed box or front porting is the way to go in this situation.

Regards, Rich
Oz:

Please take the time to read the whole sentence ...

"$2000 is too much to spend for speakers for a bedroom system, given that you will be listening while lying straight out in bed."

It was not the price, but rather the listening position that was my concern. My follow-up post explained my thinking a bit further.

Regards, Rich
S7,

For the third time already, I was just making a "getting your money's worth" argument, given how the speakers will be used. It was about value received, not cash spent. If Myth chooses to spend the cash ... more power to him! The "money to spend" comments do remind me though of a co-worker who liked to watch movies in bed and spent over a grand to have speakers built into his bedroom ceiling. The architect installed four speakers (one for each channel) with two positioned over the headboard and two positioned over the center of the bed. My buddy took offense when I asked him was he considering replacing the architect, as the layout scheme and number of speakers used just made little sense to me. It wasn't about the cash, but rather the value received.

As for the Nautilus line, I haven't listened to them enough to have an informed opinion ... nor did I claim to. My experience is granted a few years old and is with the 300, 600, and CDM lines. I do remember reading in a number of magazines, including an interview with B&W, that the Nautilus needed to be played loud to get the best out of them. If that is not the real world case, so be it. I would imagine that Myth may be the best judge as to what qualifies as "low volume" as he owned the N805's previously.

Like Marco said earlier, I am offering my opinion, based on 25 years of owning bedroom systems.

Regards, Rich