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What is the best audiophile speaker for a tiny square room?

I currently have Soundlabs M545 electrostatic speakers in my 9 x 11ft room. They are great speakers particularly for this small room because they are more directional than box speakers and therefore decrease sidewall reflections. However, like other electrostatics, they are hard to drive and require big amps (>200W), which tend to generate a lot of heat. Class Ds don't go well with ES speakers. Are there great easy to drive speakers that would work well in this room without compromising SQ?
128x128chungjh
russ69's avatar
russ69
3,360 posts
 
" Keep the SoundLabs, upgrade the amplifier! "

In a small room you don’t need 200 WPC. A good 80 watts should drive about anything. I like tube amps but that will not help your issue. I’m not sure what amp to recommend but even my Parasound A21 didn’t get all that hot driving tough loads. It’s been a long time since I had a small SS amp but they are out there.
chungjh's avatar
chungjh OP
265 posts
 
I am leaning toward keeping Soundlabs and changing to a tube amp. Any tube amp recommendations for a small room? I have a great tube preamp in BAT Rex 2. I would like a top quality amp-preferably used. Do others agree with russ69 that >80W would be sufficient? I just sold my Pass Labs 250.8X--450W of heat, just on idle. I considered BAT VK-655 (300W) for synergy, but it generates 400 W heat on idle. 
havoc
19 posts
 
I'd go one step further and get speakers with an AMT tweeter. I really like the new monitor audio gold generation 5 speakers or the Platinum generation 2 very natural warm detailed sound.
panzrwagn's avatar
panzrwagn
443 posts
 
This is a classic case for a minimonitor. The KEF LS-50 is at or near the top of that list, and the new 'Meta' version, even more so. To that I would add a small subwoofer, perhaps a REL. Especially in a small room, a 2.1 setup is easier to balance. 

 I would also take a listen to the Goldenear BRX, or Martin-Logan 35XTIs if ribbon tweeters are more to your liking. 

And yes, acoustical panels and bass traps are almost mandatory in a room this small. 



mike_in_nc
1,122 posts
 
Beware of vendors who tell you that other people’s products don’t work. There is a huge conflict of interest there.

If heat is the big issue, are thermionic valves really the answer? Not all SS amps run hot. The Pass Labs ones do, but the newest ("cubed") Brystons run quite cool. Maybe you could audition a 14B3 or pair of 7B3s and see what you think.


If you do want to change speakers, the Janszens (I own a pair) are easy to place and easy to drive and will give you a good measure of electrostatic low distortion and transparency. They will not give you the rear wave of large panels and the sonic presentation may seem smaller than Magnepans or SoundLabs.
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