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Which monitors for my tube system in a large room?

Hi guys,

I was completely happy with my system---Devore Nines, Leben CS300XS---when I got blindsided by a new apartment and a new baby. Between those two life-changing factors, my space and time to listen to the system have shrunk. In this apartment the rig has to live in the living/dining room, which means the Nines are suddenly Too Big---not purely WAF, I also concede that they are looming weirdly over my shoulder when I'm eating dinner a few feet away.

Luckily, I can keep them---I will move them across town to the studio where I work, which from now on will be my serious private listening space, and where I'll build a new system around them (the fun silver lining.)

At home I don't want to give up having a serious setup, even if it will have to be used more for background-listening. My plan is to keep the Leben, which I love, and get some bookshelf speakers with stands, which won't be as imposing as the Nines. Obviously there will be a sacrifice in bass and so on, but maybe I'll have fun and discover the joys of smaller monitors!

They will need to work well with the 15w Leben, and the ability to play well from corners is a plus. They will be positioned on the short wall of an 18x21' room with 8' ceilings. I won't be listening very loud in the home setup, and at least for a few years probably won't be up late doing serious solo listening. I just want musicality and listenability.

To that end, been thinking about small models from Omega, Spendor, Coincident, Proac, Usher. I live in NYC and can demo some of these, others not.

Any advice?

Thanks so much in advance for your ruminations!
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Showing 8 responses by price

price OP
31 posts
 
Thanks guys. I should definitely give the 3 XLs a listen, I don't know why it never occurred to me.

I should say that there are a lot of great small speakers out there; my main concern is their capability as compared to the room and the low-power amp. I should say that the room is actually more like 18x25', as it opens into a kitchen, and it has three more large openings into other areas (5 foot wide each). So I'm looking for a speaker that punches above its weight and is still a very small item.
price OP
31 posts
 
Bjesien: It's more that the baby completely scrambled my habits. Somehow I had envisioned me rocking the little one to sleep while listening to music, but that was naive. Suddenly my schedule is totally upside down. Also, the 'family room' got a lot more chaotic; with two people I could still get away with just sitting in the room listening to something with total attention, but now... It's just not what our home is about any more. Luckily I have somewhere else to take that hobby.
price OP
31 posts
 
You know what? Audiogon is a bit like therapy... a talking cure. After formulating my post and getting a few comments, I've realized what was in front of my face all along---I need small floor standers, not monitors on stands.

Bjesien and JDoris, you are totally right about kids and stands. And why not avoid ugly stands and simply scale down what's already working for me? So I'm switching the hunt: looking for small floor standers now, guys. Now... any recommendations? I think I'm still probably in the same general area with the same companies. But let's say 36" as a top height.
price OP
31 posts
 
Thanks Clio09, Tonian has interested me.

Has anyone got experience with the Omega Super 5s?
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31 posts
 
Mapman, thanks---I have seriously thought about Ohm, and I can swing by the shop because it's not far from where I work. However, from my reading on the subject, I had figured that the Ohms would want more power than the little Leben can offer (not out of the question to also change amps, was just hoping not to have to.) Of course I could always audition them for the trial period, and find out!
price OP
31 posts
 
Bjesien, I do like the Nines a lot, but because I'll still have them around to listen to, I'm game to look into new directions (like single-driver... the Omega Super 5s are interesting). Also, since the kind of listening I do at home will change, might as well experiment.
price OP
31 posts
 
Thanks everyone for your responses so far. Lots to think about, and research, and hopefully listen to. Dover, the Tannoys would be amazing but a bit tall for what I am looking into. The Rega R5 looks interesting, and I believe I can check it out here in NYC at In Living Stereo. Same for Dynaudio. JDoris, thanks for the Gallos---considered those but my wife hates the look; I've settled on looking for fairly plain box enclosures. Still curious about Omega and about the Audio Note E line (good for corners, quite compact).
price OP
31 posts
 
Thanks Tjnindc. I've been curious about Audio Notes in general; they have a super dedicated group of fans/owners and seem to be special, though I have never heard them. I'm glad to hear they worked with the Leben---I had considered the AN-E as a speaker to somehow hunt down and listen to. Good listening!
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