Speaker advice?

Hello all,

Thanks so much for the good advice.  I am getting a real education!  I should have explained originally that I have a shelf issue that gives me about 12 inches of depth (not including cords and cables) for amp and cd.  So this knocks out a lot besides Creek evolution 50a and Rega.

I have now eliminated the Kefs for reasons given by Al above and the Dynaudios (sigh) because of the room size.  The room is actually 9 by 11.  I will be able to place each speaker about 2 feet from the back wall and 2 feet from the side wall.  Would the Epos Élan 10 work okay in such a small room?  If so, I love the idea of an Epos - Creek pairing.  If not, I am also pretty intrigued by the Q Acoustics Concept 20, the Peachtree, and the Silverlines. The Grant Fidelity looks amazing but I am pretty confused about the clone/knock off issue?

And then there is the possibility of going all Rega: brio, apollo, rs1.

Any further insights, please advise!  I really appreciate the help.

Margot

Thanks again, everyone. Al, I have taken the Epos out of the running. Still thinking really seriously about the Spendors, Harbeths, Minuets, RS1. Someone also suggested the Dulcet Ref3a, which maybe does a bit more bass. My listening, by the way, is pretty eclectic, except that I don't listen to classical. I play a lot of jazz, pop, rock, country, blues, acoustic, etc. Margot

Oh, and I am also still thinking about the Paradigm Reference Studio 20s, v. 5, though I am unclear how well the Creek Evolution 50a could drive them, or if they are fussy about placement and for this reason might be problematic in a small room. Thoughts?

This is really helpful, Tony. Thanks.

One other question to Tony and other advocates of the Minuets: would you advocate going this direction even without a subwoofer? Because I probably won't do get one for this room...

Hi Tony, Bob, and Seikosha-

First, thanks for the additional information about the Minuets. This does sound like quite a remarkable speaker. If it doesn't end up being the big winner, I will definitely find a way to use that in a desktop system down the line. As for the Dynaudios, I read somewhere that they needed a lot of space, and I was afraid for that reason they were too much speaker for my small room. I hated to eliminate them, as they are a speaker I have long fantasized about. I was also concerned I couldn't drive them well with the power I have.

I will definitely look at the Marantz, although one of my issues is footprint size for the components, and I think the Marantz may be too big.

Last night I started to read too about the Paradigm Signature Reference 1, which seems to run on less power than the Studio 10s (based on various reviews I read), and has good bass and is overall a very nice speaker. Since I am planning to pull it out in the room a bit, maybe this is another one to consider.

Anyway, I'm taking a pile of reviews and all your comments, and meeting my audiophile dad this weekend to try to come to a final decision! Thanks for all your help. You guys at Augiogon have been great!

Margot

Thanks all. After talking this over more with my dad, I am going to give the Dynaudios a try. If they don't work well, I will sell them and try the Minuets or the Spendors. I am actually delighted to know about these other speakers, as I have some other applications in mind as well. I am grateful for your advice, audiophiles! Hope it's a rockin' fourth!

Thanks, Richard, you're actually not too late. And someone else was also just telling me to reconsider the Elan 10. I had eliminated it because of Al's warning (see post 6/17) about the impedence curve. Given that, can I ask what size amplifier you are running yours on? (Again, I think I am constrained for space reasons to a smaller amp and will most likely go with the Creek 50a). Margot