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Room size & choosing speakers

I am new to all of this and trying to find best size speakers for a small room. I recently listened to B & W 802D's (with a McIntosh MC452 & C-50) at a local audio store & loved the sound. It is a great deal of money for me, but worth it if I can create that magic at home.

My fear is that I will be listening in a 10' x 12' room and that the speakers will overwhelm the room. I also think of the B & W 803D's (smaller, less money, not quite as full sounding), and still have the same fear.

Right now I am trying to decide between the 803D's & the 805D's with a good subwoofer (possibly Rel 328 or JL audio F112). Any thoughts or help greatly appreciated.
mksr

Showing 2 responses by nvp

nvp
317 posts
 
Mksr, given the dimensions of your room and the fact that your room is a bit
square-ish, it is best to go with monitor speakers that do not have a lot of bass
(e.g. B&W 805D, Focal Electra or Utopia) and complement these monitors with a
good subwoofer. Being able to move the bass source around the room is very
important for archiving a good bass response. When properly integrated with a
subwoofer, the 805 will sound much fuller than the 803Ds and should have
significantly more impact.

Regarding the Dynaudio C1 speakers (mk1 or mk2), when set up properly they
sound much better than any B&W 805 modeI. However, they require a much
more careful set up, i.e. they need a very good power amp and also require
careful placement in the room. Also, because they put out a lot of bass it is
imperative that you try them in your room to make sure they will not overwhelm
it.
nvp
317 posts
 
Mksr, the Duettes are indeed much better than the 805Ds. Also, as Onhw61 has mentioned, for music you would not need a sub in your room with them. Though, I do not know how much bass they put out when they play music at lower volumes (when cracked up they put out enough bass for most people).

If you can stretch it, my advise would be to get the Wilson instead of the B&W 805Ds. Not only you have heard how much better they are than the 805s (which will hunt you for a long time if you would buy the 805s), but I assume that half the price of the Duettes 2 is not that much more that the price you would pay for the 805Ds plus a decent sub. However, as before, I advise you to try them in your room to make sure they will not overwhelm it with bass. Since Wilson dealers are required by Wilson to set up every pair of Wilson they sell in their client's room (at least that is the case here in Europe) maybe you can reach an understanding with your dealer, i.e. that you will buy the speakers if, when set up by him, they do not overwhelm your room.
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