Speakers for a smaller room/moving issues...


Been looking for apartments/condos/houses to rent in New York as I am moving back there shortly. In other words-- I am moving out of my rental house with its adequately sized listening room/den into a potentially more cramped crib- possibly with neighbors behind an adjoining wall or two.
I've been privy in this search to all kinds of rooms-- small, big, oddly shaped etc. And of course, I am considering all kinds of speakers-- planars (so as not to piss off the upstairs and downstairs neighbors as much as box speakers), smaller monitors in case my room is like 13 by 14 or something and so forth.
Alright already- I'll come out with it! I guess what I really want to ask forum members doesnt exactly pertain to a particular speaker rec at all--
Rather, when you guys move, or for that matter, when you chose your current home or apartment, was your 'listening room' a primary consideration?
I mean, my realtor barely understands my needs in this regard and seems a bit miffed at this point regarding my 'listening room neurosis.'
But what can I do? Move into a small condo and buy a Hello Kitty boombox? What did YOU do? (And DONT say "gave up the hobby"-- otherwise you wouldnt be reading this in the first place! Clever, eh?!)

PS- Jaybo, I love your 2 or 3 word answers; please feel free to participate multiple times!

abramsmatch

Showing 1 response by timrhu

Went through room size reduction a while back with quite a few speakers making an appearance. You don't specify price so here's my take.
We moved into an apartment while waiting for the house to be completed and I was lucky enough to have a dedicated room albeit extremely small. I had been using Meadowlark Audio Shearwater Hot Rods prior to moving and they were way too big for the room. I bought a pair of Totem Model Ones with great expectations. Sorry to say they just didn't suit me or maybe the Portal Panache I was using wasn't a good match.
Out they went and in went my trust Kestrel Hot Rods (kept in the closet in reserve). They were perfect for the situation. They are the best speaker I have owned at low listening levels in small rooms. They just sound right no matter what amp I've used with them. Another plus for the Kestrels is ease of placement. It's more difficult to make them sound bad than vice a versa.
My second choice for small space is the Silverline Audio SR-11. You need to find the correct stand height, but once you nail this down, they do sing sweetly. Also good at low level listening.
Lastly, the Proac Response 1.5. That's what I'm listening to currently. The build quality of these small floor standers is exceptional. Sound is wonderful once proper placement is achieved. Not sure where they rank in the small room department but so far it's pretty high.
One more thing since I've gone this far. I find that even in small spaces a pair of floor stand speakers is preferable to monitors. Either the Proacs or Kestrels take up less less real estate than the tiny SR-11s on good stands.
Good luck with your apartment hunting.