Small dedicated listening rooms

"Duke, you have possibly the most comprehensive answers every time you post on the gon. Always a good read. Hats off to you!"

+1

New to this forum. The kids have left home, so time to put together a nice two Channel listening room in a 10’ X 24’ room.  I’m old school, and love the Sonus Faber two ways on stands for their intimacy and warmth.  The New Guarneri Homage Tradition Wenge might be the nicest looking speaker ever. This or the Paradigm Persona B, ugly, but did have a great sound are my favs so far.  Thoughts from you experts. Before the kids, I had Thiel 3.6 with a Spectral DMC6, and a McCormack DNA1 amp. Not trying to replace this sound, but I did enjoy it for many years until the room was needed for another bedroom. What pre/amp setup might go with best with the SF Guarneri.  Thanks for input.  

In a room that size I have used very successfully the Harbeth P3esr and the Trenner and Freidl Suns (the latter with integrated amplifier from Brinkmann).  I agree that headphones eliminate the problems of a small room, but sometimes one doesn’t want to listen that way.  It can be done—especially nearfield.  Good luck!

Get the best headphones you can find.

I have a similar situation. My room is 10' X 10.5' w/ 8' ceilings. My speakers are ATC SM19s on stands. Independently, through trial and error, the room is set up like Duke describes, except I opted for the speakers further away from the wall. I sit about 4-5' away from the towed in speakers. I had all kinds of reflection issues and slowly I've had to add a lot of tweaks to get the sound that I want, but I have overcome most of the problems associated with a small room. The room is not pretty, but the sound is spectacular. Because I am so close the smaller SCM-19s provide a sweet sound even when not driven hard.