The best speaker for a small room...at any price point.


I am wondering which would your choice for the best sounding speaker in a small dedicated room..say 10'X11', or maybe up to 11'X13'? Assuming that budget was not a factor!
128x128daveyf
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C’mon guys, it totally depends on what kind of music you listen to. If you’re into heavy rock, rap, electronic, there are other much better choices. BUT if you favor acoustic forms of music from vocals, acoustic rock, folk, jazz (standards and modern day), classical.....any kind of music where REAL INSTRUMENTS are used, THEN THERE IS NO BRAND.....NOT WILSON, NOT MAGICO, NOT SONUS FABER, NOT FOCAL, ETC ETC.....THAT DOES A BETTER JOB AT PRODUCING LIFE-LIKE REALISTIC TIMBRES, A WIDE SOUND STAGE WITH PIN-POINT IMAGING, THAN DO THE D SERIES RAIDHOs. I’ve owned all of the above brands and more, and never believed I'd find the holy grail until I put the D Series in my system.  Of course, upstream components from amps to sources play an important role, but the Raidho D Series (yes, the most expensive) are truly amazing in producing a concert experience.  (Even the smallest D1.1s with a high quality "musical" sub woofer will out perform many of the household names.)  
As a recording engineer, neutral, uncolored and analytical may be the ticket when mixing a project.  But just remember the mastering engineer puts the finishing touches on the final mix so the project actually sounds like music is intended to sound.....realistic timbres, cohesive natural dynamics.....everything that makes you say wow.  
@jayh31  What you stated is very interesting. Perhaps it is because for some reason, I don't know why, the Joseph speakers have never really had a very large following, unlike Magico or Wilson, etc., I would question if you had bought Magico or Wilson monitors as an example, if you would have had the same problem.
On another thread, one of the members just bought a pair of Joseph Perspective's after listening to a number of other speakers. He apparently got a good deal, as they were the older model and dealer demo's. However, I question whether that was the real reason he got the deal, or simply because Joseph's are not that easy to move and the dealer knew that!  
I had the Joseph Audio Pulsar 2 Graphene's in a small room (11.5 x 12) and they did not work for me. Put them up for sale here and quickly realized that when it comes to high end monitors, it is definitely a buyers market. Couldn't give them away. Ended up selling them for significantly less than my asking price. 
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Charney Audio just released a newly designed Maestro horn utilizing the 8" Voxativ AC 1.6 $4400.00. Designed on the Tractrix Theory specifically for smallish rooms. Same sound stage and imaging Charney is noted for with a tad less bass. Make an appointment and let your ears decide.

http://charneyaudio.com/the-maestro.html
At one point I had Wilson Audio Duette 2's with a tube amp in a large room and the sound was fantastic.  I can only imagine those speakers in a small room.  
@smodtactical.  The small Carmel 2’s are an interesting design, not sure that they would be extended enough in the lows for me, but I guess with added subs, they could indeed be a contender.


What about something like YG Caramel 2? I never heard it but just thinking might be a great option.
I have a small room and have tried literally dozens of speakers of speakers over the years. I've ended with a pair of Graham LS6 standmount speakers.
I have a dedicated 11.5x11.5x.11.5 untreated carpeted room.  I have a pair of Focal Diablo Utopia III's, with a REL subwoofer that I would recommend for a small room, especially when powered by a good tube amp.  I use a PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premier HP with them and the sound is excellent.  I have also used a pair of Pulsars instead, which are also excellent, but on balance, I think that the Focal's edge the Pulsars out in my setup with all but my collection of Led Zep bootlegs.  The bass response on the Focal's is not as dominant as with the Pulsars in a small room, so if you don't like the Pulsars, I think that the Focal's are an excellent choice.
Hi, I've recently bought Bose 161 speakers - small, affordable, sounds great for my tiny flat. Found them here  https://pickadvisor.org/best-bookshelf-speaker-under-200/
Some guy on the other forum reccomended Bose, plus lots of reviews.
They were delivered quickly. It is my best purchase this year!
In my seemingly never ending quest to find what speakers work best in my small room, with my equipment, out are the Joseph Audio Pulsars, Joseph audio Pulsar 2 Graphenes and now the ATC SCM 11s. On to the Jean Marie Reynaud Bliss Jubilees! Anyone out there have any experience with JM Reynaud speakers? Thanks  
I'm currently listening to the ATC SCM 11s in my 11.5 x 12 room and while the sealed design has effectively addressed the bass boom issue, I would definitely recommend these speakers be mated to solid state gear.    
Hi,

I also live in a small appartment, and always had issues with bass boom with ported speakers (Klischp, KEF Q900, KEF LS50), and then I bought ATC SCM 19.

ATC are the no-ported design, and can be kept very close to the wall. Mine are kept 3 inches from the front wall (with some absorption treatment), and there is absolutely no issues with bass at any volume. Obviously other components also play a very important role in tonality and how bass is managed.

Good luck
The Wilson Beseech Discovery's would be my choice. Super fast and deep bass due to carbon fiber cabinet which nearly eliminates cabinet resonance. 
@jayh31 In my current 12x11x9 space, 

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/7605

I needed acoustic treatments to make the very small KEF LS50's sound their best. Without the treatments I was getting a headache listening to these small speakers at moderate to low volumes. Now it sounds great without fatigue.
 
... hard to find but well worth it: JBL L25 PRIMA (funky cabinets, but considered by some former JBL designers as one of, if not their best, truly successful-sounding speaker designs
Don't underestimate what room treatment can do for sound quality. IMHO that can improve the performance of almost any (if not any) high end system. It's not that they sound bad before, just better after. 
IMHO, if you need room treatments or a sub to make a particular pair of speakers work in our room, you have the wrong pair of speakers.  
@supermerio I have heard Wilson a few times. I liked the Alexa 1 a lot, thought the Alexandria XLF was amazing, and also recently demoed the Sabrina ($16K).

The Sabrina was physically small and was the only candidate for my current room. However, in the very large space I demoed them I thought the bass was a little heavy. It was OK in the large space but I did not think it was going to be translate for me in a smaller space.

Your feedback on the side firing woofers is really giving me pause on the Vivid. No deal unless I can do a home demo.
Yyzsantabarbara

have you Demoed wilson speakers?

i never thought i would own one since i was never impressed 
every time i hear it in a demo room, but in my place and my
gear; it was a different story — magnificent!  Finally found
my speakers.

my sasha 2 is much better than my previous giya g3 in my
very small listening room.
@supermerio From your feedback it sounds like I would be foolish not to do a home demo of the Kaya 45. The dealer is reluctant, but it’s my money so he may have to reconsider that stance.

@spinaker01 Based on my store demos my consensus is down to the following:

Vivid Kaya 45 (ask for home demo)
Paradigm Persona 3F (already OK’ed for home demo)
TAD ME1 (no need for home demo)

So....135 posts in, is there anything approaching a consensus or just 135 different opinions based upon what the various posters own? 
Yyzsantabarbara

giya is a lot better than the kaya. More natural sounding.
 
Dealer told me that the giya series 2 is also much better 
than the series 1 which i had for a year.

the problem i think with my giyas side firing woofer is not 
only the side wall interaction but also the excessive vib
ration to my concrete flooring due to the very low positioned
woofers coupled with my very small listening room.

Gold is here, reference 3a mm de capo anniversity edition...with copeland electronics was beyond stellar...imaging was like speakers costing 12k plus..mm DE CAPO 3500..beyond awesome. 
The G3 is a physically bigger speaker than the Kaya 45 which in my case is a good thing. The Kaya may work for me.  I am posting some feedback below  I got back from previous USA Vivid distributor and Vivid themselves. Could be useful for someone.

My room:  https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/7605

Here is the feedback I got from On A Higher Note regarding room size for Vivid Giya.

Thank you for your inquiry and the detailed questions. Below is our general feedback for your system.

1. Some listening rooms have different height and some open up to another area. We normally try to get a floor plan with dimensions to help a client figure things out but all else being equal, we would say that the minimum size for a pair of G3’s is 250 s.f and for G4’s is 200 s.f. It also depends on what else is in the room, where your sitting area is etc.
2. You should know that G3’s punches well outside its weight and is quite an exceptional loudspeaker while the G4’s are really not a match. From a technical standpoint, G3’s have the same mid range drivers as the G1’s and G2’s while the G4’s use smaller drivers.
3. Historically speaking, you should know that G4’s were originally developed for the Japan market that have small listening rooms. However, even the Japanese opted for the G3’s, rendering the G4’s a poor seller worldwide by far.
4. Given the height, to put the G4’s drivers at ear level, Vivid has to offer a plinth underneath each speaker. That’s extra cost and when we were distributing them, we actually couldn’t justify the cost to our clients when compared to what clients would get for G3’s from a $/performance standpoint.


Here is what Vivid management said to me about the Kaya 45:

Thank you for your valued inquiry.

Your request is not a simple as a yay or nay, unfortunately! Your room, although small, is perfectly adequate for high quality audio reproduction. Personally however, I would add acoustic treatment if required, a little at a time. With absorption anyway, less is more in small room acoustics.
I presume your walls are of dry walling construction? If so the LF energy is of little concern due to the transparent nature (to LF anyway), of the studded wall construction.
The least of your worries are the side firing woofers - this is a common fallacy which folks seem to make - in that the wavefront emanating from he bass units is directional. Not so at all.
The size of the room would necessitate careful placement ensuring the front drivers (higher frequencies), are not squirting too much energy on the primary and secondary reflection points of the room, as with all loudspeakers.
Essentially we could have placed the LF drivers on the front baffle or the rear baffle - acoustically due the long wavelength, their relative position on the loudspeaker is irrelevant.
The room will "see" an LF source centered about the median of the loudspeaker. In the case of the KAYA K45, this LF source is a particularly clean well behaved one (not the norm), resulting in easy placement in rooms.
Are you perhaps able to try out a pair in your room?

G3 is much better than the kaya 45. Bigger more “ meat to
the bone” mids, better dynamics. Everything is better except
to my ears the kaya 45 has a more silent cabinet.
@supermerio Thanks for that feedback. I may have to send you a message to ask some questions. I need to first compare the G3 to the Kaya 45.

I also have 2nd bigger room (odd shaped) that my wife is saying it would be nice to have music in.
Used to own vivid giya g3 on a 10 by 14 room, it was a mess.
side firing woofer was like having a run away subwoofer doing
their own thing. Owned vivid v1.5 twice; a much better match
to my room, which i eventually replaced with a wilson sasha 2
because i miss the larger voicing given by a fullrange speakers.

Let me add a little more on GIK. The remote sound technician that designed my room panels, via telephone and photos told me to contact him in the future if I needed further assistance.

I am going to buy new speakers for my small home office. I wanted to get the Vivid Kiya 45 floor standers but was under the impression it would not work in my space, especially before the treatments. My current treatments were based on the KEF LS50’s. These Vivid speakers have side firing woofers and in a small room that does not seem a good idea.

I got feedback from Vivid on the speakers dispersion characteristics and I passed this info to my GIK tech. He and I were able to determine that these speakers would work, no charge for that advice and no extra GIK panel purchases needed. Huge fan of GIK.
@cubman

I'd suggest GIK Acoustics. Great advice, and extremely high value products.
I saw some talk here about room treatments.  How do I research this subject in order to maximize my listening rooms characteristics?  
I was recently in Miami on business and visited a great audio dealer: Deja Vu South.  They had a pair of Harbeth P3ESRs setup in a very small room and they sounded incredible.  The speakers were well forward of the front wall in a nearfield position, almost to the sides of the room.  I have never heard these little Harbeth's sound so good before.

I should thank Eric Gould and his team at Deja Vu Audio South for allowing me to hang at their place for a couple of hours and listen to some incredible music.  I am looking forward to my next trip to Miami.

LS3/5(A) perhaps? from Rogers(Chartwell) or Falcon and very tube friendly. (if you have a 16Ohm tap).
Art Dudley has a recent review and there is a posting on a German blog about then too. https://medialux.blog/
you might have to scroll down to find the bit about the speakers. I quite fancy a pair after reading those reviews.Then there are a couple of Wilsons, the Tune Tots and Duettes. You are going to need home demos to sort this one out, taking a punt based on recommendations is not going to find what you’re looking for.

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At one time I was considering the Vivid Kaya 45 for my 12x11x9 room. However, I eliminated that from consideration thinking that the side firing woofers would pose an obstacle to good sound in a small space.

However, I wanted to revisit that logic since I liked the Kaya a lot. I do not think I will be able to do a home demo of the Kaya 45 but I have heard from manufacturer and also a local dealer that it can be placed close to the back wall (good for a small room). 

The sound of the Kaya is fantastic. It is fast, clear, and a bit like the KEF Blade.

Here is a photo of the Kaya 45 next to the Vivid Giya G1.

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/vivid-kaya-45.28007/

Anybody want to chime in on their experience with side firing woofers in a small room?
The original Pulsars would be a better fit over the new Pulsa 2 Graphene version in a room tis size. I've had the originals and now have the Grapnenes in an 11.5 x 12 and can't get the bass under control with the Graphenes.       
Choice of gear, and especially so speakers, cannot be made independently from associated components. 
But let's say that in an absolute, I would choose as much as possible the best quality/price ratio above which no improvement is found.
A few years back, I discovered the brand XTZ and was captivated by the many and unanimous 10/10 notations from all sorts of reviewers around the globe about their Master M2 model. I dont usually buy on reviews, but they all seemed so overwhelmed by those and with such a reasonable price that i decided to purchase. Since then, I continuously claim that this is the best ever buy I have ever made, and I own many other and high end gear. They are and by a very very long shot, the best quality/price gear i've heard, and one of the best bookshelf speakers I've heard regardless of price.
The others to add to this list for me would be SF Guarneri Tradition, Kef Ref.1, Tannoy Eaton, Tannoy Autograph Mini with perfectly integrated subs, XTZ Divine Delta.
But again, depending on room acoustics and associated amp/preamp, many good bookshelves could be made to play at a very very high level of performance.