I have friend who loves his ancient LS3/5A little boxes and runs em full range with a small REL sub…little tube amp, medium sized room, audio nirvana with all the smooth bass he needs. I use a 100 watt REL Q108e MKII with an 8" down firing woofer and a REL 150 watt Q150e 10" side firing (sealed boxes), both of which provide deep bass in prodigious amounts where needed, and as with most all RELs you can leave the main speakers unmolested using the High Level input. Note regarding small drivers, pro audio has been using 10 inch speakers in main arrays and bass amps for years, and in the right cabinet (like my Eden 2X10 slot loaded bass amp rig that is rated to go lower than most 15s, and is much more capable that any home audio sub system) they work well. Generally the low bass is limited mechanically in small mains anyway so eliminating part of the "designed in" bass from them by crossing the bass out is often unnecessary in a well designed small speaker.…I use a 100 lb 2X12 500 watt sub in my studio so I know the difference, but the RELs in my main system do bass beautifully with careful positioning and output level blending (no DSP). The thing about subs is the design (you want GOOD in this case), and although larger woofers can go lower, you may not care when listening to most music (pipe organ freaks and earthquake movie fans may need something more extreme). In pro sound work I use thousand plus watt 18" powered subs and still run the main (also powered) speakers full range…as long as attention is paid to the sub you can achieve a balanced sound and the sub disappears in the mix.
Small living room speaker options.. Totem Arro?
Hi,
I've recently moved into a small condo and feel like my LSi9s are just not working so well in this small living room (11x14). These speakers need to be a bit away from the wall and are fairly large in stature. I am also doing much more low volume listening now and feel like the LSi9 works better when at mid volume, otherwise it's kind of a sleepy speaker that isn't very detailed, especially missing much of the mid section when listening at very low volumes.
So what I want is a small form factor speaker that has clear and live presentation at low volume. From everything I read it seems that the Totem ARRO is a very good contender for this job, especially since it's small and loves to be close to the wall, which is where I'd have it for aesthetic purposes.
My gear consists of a Classe SSP AMP2 (Class D), which is a 200w amp, so I think I should have no shortage of power. My pre is an Outlaw 975 which will probably get upgraded over the next year or two, but for now this is what I'm working with.
Would love to hear any thoughts on the Arro in this setup and any other options I might look into at this price point and size. Again, keeping in mind low listening volume requirement and lively/punchy presentation, although I'm not a fan of "bright" speakers.
Should I consider the Totem Staff? I would probably like it's tonality better, because it's closer to my LSi9 in the sense that it's a more laid back speaker. But I am not sure if it will work as well as the arro in low listening volume and it is also a larger speaker in terms of dimensions that also probably would not work quite as well backed up against the wall.
Any and all thoughts much appreciated!
I've recently moved into a small condo and feel like my LSi9s are just not working so well in this small living room (11x14). These speakers need to be a bit away from the wall and are fairly large in stature. I am also doing much more low volume listening now and feel like the LSi9 works better when at mid volume, otherwise it's kind of a sleepy speaker that isn't very detailed, especially missing much of the mid section when listening at very low volumes.
So what I want is a small form factor speaker that has clear and live presentation at low volume. From everything I read it seems that the Totem ARRO is a very good contender for this job, especially since it's small and loves to be close to the wall, which is where I'd have it for aesthetic purposes.
My gear consists of a Classe SSP AMP2 (Class D), which is a 200w amp, so I think I should have no shortage of power. My pre is an Outlaw 975 which will probably get upgraded over the next year or two, but for now this is what I'm working with.
Would love to hear any thoughts on the Arro in this setup and any other options I might look into at this price point and size. Again, keeping in mind low listening volume requirement and lively/punchy presentation, although I'm not a fan of "bright" speakers.
Should I consider the Totem Staff? I would probably like it's tonality better, because it's closer to my LSi9 in the sense that it's a more laid back speaker. But I am not sure if it will work as well as the arro in low listening volume and it is also a larger speaker in terms of dimensions that also probably would not work quite as well backed up against the wall.
Any and all thoughts much appreciated!
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- 49 posts total
I’m impressed to see so much support for the Rega brand. I had honestly never heard of it before this thread. You guys have really completely have me re-thinking the decision to go with towers. I imagine that no matter how small tower I go with, it will still create some level of additional "clutter" in this tiny 11x14 room. And with the many suggestions of good bookshelf options, I am really thinking I should go with a small bookshelf instead. So with the priorities being: - a minimalist low profile do-it-all speaker - low volume coherence (with the option of adding a sub if absolutely necessary) - ability to place close to the back wall I’ve drawn up my list of contenders: Rega RS-1 (or RX1) Dynaudio Focus 160 Ascend Sierra 1 Totem SKY Totem Rainmaker Salk Silk (only if I can find them used) What else should I add to the list that will is small and competent? |
Legacy Studio HD for sure, you get an AMT tweeter and their kickass mid/woofer. http://legacyaudio.com/products/view/studio-hd/ |
- 49 posts total