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new small room, big change

I recently moved and had to go from a relatively large 15 x 14 room with 9' ceiling to a 8 x 16 room with a 7 foot ceiling. To compound issues more the room has a tile floor (at some point the room was converted from a porch into an extension of the main house) and the walls are wood.

In any event, having had Spendor S8e speakers for 3 years now....I thought I knew them! It became quite clear that they will not work in such a small space. Fortunately I have the smaller S3e speakers on hand and I put these little bookshelf speakers in place. What a huge difference! Now I am seeing how bookshelf speakers have a true place in life for all types of music...it's the room that dictates speaker size and not the music.

Therefore I am arriving at my question: What bookshelf speakers are one tier up with a woofer no greater than 6"? I am looking to spend no more than $5k on the used market and would be greatly interested to hear what is out their at this price point. Some thoughts are Verity, Ecalante (Pinion) and ???

Let me hear from you small room bound goners...

Thanks
chadlesko

Showing 5 responses by mapman

mapman's avatar
mapman
21,830 posts
 
If you must change Dynaudio Contour is a less expensive option to consider. I'd also consider Totem, Triangle, Harbeth, PSB and Ohm Walsh 100 or Micro Walsh tall even perhaps for more near field listening. Some of these options will run less than your budget, but still deliver great sound and allow you to invest the remaining dollars elsewhere if needed or desired.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,830 posts
 
WHoops, also forgot Magnepan. MMGs alone or with a sub might even cut it.

I've found that in a smaller room, you do not have to spend a fortune on speakers for great sound. Larger rooms will tend to cost more to do right though.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,830 posts
 
Goatwuss,

I agree with you assessment of Dynaudio speakers in general.

However, the Dynaudio Contour 1.3 specifically are small monitor style speakers that I have found to fit and work well in smaller rooms. I acquired them specifically for application in my smaller listening rooms. They do require a lot of power still though to sound best as you say.

In larger rooms, they still sound good, but do not have the lifelike dynamics and satisfying low end needed to compete with other speakers I have heard that are better suited to larger rooms.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,830 posts
 
Chadlesko,

Even the small Dynaudios Contour 1.3's do need a good clean 60w/ch or better, be located at the correct height and need to be several feet away from walls and have room to breathe to sound best. If you can meet these requirements, they might be worth a try. They deliver a big clean sound from a tiny box.

I get best soundstage and imaging results about 3-4 feet in from side and rear walls in my two 12X12 rooms.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,830 posts
 
What makes a speaker "musical" as opposed to "linear"?
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