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Speaker - Room/size dilemma

Need some advice. Like many other (married) folks here, I'm trying to find a reasonable balance between room esthetics and sound quality. We listen to music in our living room. It's a 16'X18' room with a two-story ceiling that is almost 20' high. So the room is basically a large cube. The other challenge is the speakers need to be placed along the18' wall, roughly a foot or two away front the side and the back walls, basically near the corners since we have a fireplace in the middle of that wall. The couch will be about 15' away from the speakers. All in all, the speakers and the main listening position form a 15' equilateral triangle. I guess I'll need  to look for high dispersion speakers with good off-axis sound quality. Almost the opposite of what I have in there now which are ML Aerius i speakers. I still have the pair of Definitive Technologies BP20 speakers which I had originally purchased for this room and I think they better fit that application but I really prefer the clarity and focus of the MLs albeit with a much more constrained sweet spot. The MLs are being driven by a McIntosh MC2200 and I have the Def. Techs in another (smaller) room hooked up to a Vincent SP-331 hybrid amplifier. My bottom line question is what would be a decent option for this cubical size room, trying to stay within a $3K budget. The bi-polar design speakers seem to meet most of the requirements but sound a bit diffused to my taste. Anyone has experience with the newer/slimmer Def. Tech. tower models? What about the Magnepan 1.7? Thanks in advance. 

128x128kalali
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kalali OP
1,977 posts
 

I’m going to experiment with some bass traps in the corners - cylinder, wedge, etc., but I think a 15’ equilateral triangle speaker placement and listening position is a challenge for most speakers, even not considering the very high ceiling. Rethinking the overall situation, I think I’m better off to leave the large family room set up as is, with some room acoustics improvements and focus on the living room where I now have the BP20s. That room is 13’x17’ with 8’ ceiling and much more suitable for music listening and allows for a lot of speaker options. A pair of medium size stand mount monitors will be perfect for that room, maybe a pair of used Aerial 5Ts. Thank you all again for all your input.

Anyone tried these guys for room treatment options?

http://www.shoplet.com/Fabrication-Enterprises-Inc-CanDo-half-round-foam-roller-6-x-48/FAB302118/spd...


soix
8,655 posts
 
There's a pair of Joseph Audio Prisms for sale here now in your price range that would be worth a look.  A lot of the Pulsar's performance for half the price. 
jjflash6
2 posts
 
Had been looking at various dedicated listening room plans for 12 years, and ended up with a Cardas Audio design called a "tapered trapagon".  It is roughly 20' L x 14' 11" W (dead end) x 13' 6" W (live end), with the ceiling sloping from 8' 7" to 7' 8".  The side walls are non parallel.  Added very little acoustical treatment (thick carpet, etc.), but did end up with a 4' x 8' ceiling "vent" with light batting to allow for air flow.  It was rather easy to construct in an open heated basement with a 9' 6" ceiling.  As an added note, took the opportunity to upgrade to dedicated AC lines for the audio gear.
dsnyder0cnn
63 posts
 
I agree with all of the room treatment advice (and there some decorator-friendly options from GIK, ATS, and others). However, even after applying appropriate treatment, a room with those dimensions is not going to have even bass response without digital room correction. Check out Mitch Barnett's book, Accurate Sound Reproduction Using DSP.
jhills
610 posts
 
Kalali, a note regarding the Magie 1.7: I do have and in a closely sized room, but only 11' H. sloping to 8' at the walls, Trying to accommodate WAF, I found at only 2' from the rear wall, just didn't work. Moved them out to 3' - much better and at 42.5" toed very slightly in, WOW! It only took a few days and a little listening to convince the wife that them living a ways further out wasn't so bad. I did hang some acoustic drapes on the walls behind. With a little patience and work at toeing and slight changes in placement the rewards in detail, image and stage is amazing.
Good luck with your quest,
Jim 
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