Monitors for a bedroom system.......

$2000 is too much to spend for speakers for a bedroom system, given that you will be listening while lying straight out in bed. I have had to go with near rear wall placement and have found that acoustic suspension/sealed box speakers work out best. I am using NHT SB2's, happily for the last year and a half, after trying out quite a few small monitors (EPOS 11 & ELS3; B&W 302; Wharfedale Diamond 8.1). The NHT's will give you all the qualities that you are looking for and sound very good when played low. The NHT SB2s, which list for $400, are being discontinued and are available for about $275 from Audio Advisor. Don't let the price throw you ... the NHT's are a very fine performing, serious speaker.

Components that work well with the NHT SB2's are ... NAD C320BEE with a Music Hall CD25 CD player (total system cost: $1200) or a Prima Luna Prologue Two with a Music Hall CD25 CD player (total system cost $2200).

Regards, Rich

"$2000 is too much to spend for speakers for a bedroom system, given that you will be listening while lying straight out in bed."

Well, maybe not for this person. Everyone is different financially. I think the 805's would be an excellent choice. Although, you should be able to grab the new 805S for about that same price. Even better than the nautilus 805. The other one I would suggest is the Revel M20, or the newer Revel M22. Because of the rear porting and the quite volumes, and close wall placement, the bass should be reinforced nicely.

S7:

Actually, my assertion that $2K is too much to spend on bedroom speakers is not based on one's ability to pay. What I was considering was :

- how bedrooms are typically furnished (bed, night stands, dressers, armoires, drapes, etc.)
- the physical dimensions of many bedrooms
- the listening options
- time when the music listening would be taking place

Mythtrip also added that he would be listening at low volumes for 30 to 45 minutes and that speaker placement options are limited (looking for monitors that would be placed 6 inches from the wall).

Given all these limitations, I think that $2K is too much to spend. I don't believe that you will get $2K worth of performance. Beyond that, if one still wants to spend $2K ... go for it.

The only question that I would raise is that from everything that I have read about the B&W Nautilus speakers is that they need to be played loud to get the best out of them. I also don't agree that placing rear ported speakers 6 inches from a rear wall necessarily works for the better, unless the speakers were designed to work that way. Sealed box or front porting is the way to go in this situation.

Regards, Rich

The aspect of the request that I don't get is wanting a "..great, deep soundstage.." which is to be appreciated playing ambient music while nodding off (laying down I presume). Most monitors in that price range will be soundstage champions anyway, that is, after all, a strength of a good monitor. But I'm not sure you'd be able to appreciate that aspect of them while laying down and listening to ambient music, which, by definition doesn't even have a soundstage, but is more of a surround sound with no pinpoint sources. Perhaps you may want to consider a surround system in the bedroom for ambient music.

That said, I'd agree that $2k seems like money better spent someplace else. Great monitors exist that could be very rewarding, and look great to boot, at a much lower pricepoint. Given the remainder of the requested qualities I'd take a good look at Silverline Audio's offerings. With the close proximity to the wall you may want to seek out a monitor that is not rear ported.

Sweet dreams.

Marco

Yeap I agree with Rar1 on this. If you own this home. Have you considered mounting speakers on the ceiling that tilt down towards your bed. The speakers can be be back from the foot of the bed facing you at a 45 degree angle. I've got a good friend with speakers mounted like this. O'Boy at the soundstage depth you get..it's uncanny!You can take some of the money you save and get it installed if your not comfortable doing it yourself. A pair of small single drivers would be great for this. It's like laying down with earphones on.;-)

Don't let the bed bugs bite!