Questions about room size and speaker choice


I have two unrelated questions regarding speaker choice:

1) I am moving to a new, bigger apartment, which is great as I will have a dedicated listening room, but at the same time somewhat of a problem as the dedicated room is rather small measuring 9 x 11 feet. (It's the master bedroom and the shorter wall behind the listening chair has an opening into the bathroom so it's open in a sense.)

I am in the process of upgrading my speakers from the Totem Acoustic Hawk and the smaller room now has thrown another twist into the selection process. Some of the floorstanders I have been considering, such as the Acoustic Zen Adagio or the Silverline Sonatina, might now just overpower the room, or it might simply be not possible to set them up optimally given the distance of 9 feet between the side walls.

I wanted to ask whether anyone has tackled a similar problem and what the results were. Should I forgo full range floorstanders for a pair of monitors, perhaps? Harbeth comes to mind and I have been wanting to audition a pair of the 7es-3.

2) I have seen some incredible deals here on Audiogon on used speakers, and was curious what the opinions were on the age of the used speakers. Assuming a speaker is in a great condition and there are no flaws beyond cosmetic blemishes and simple age, at which point would you say a speaker has been used for simply too long to bother with it? Since it's a mechanical transducer with moving parts, years of use might exert more wear-and-tear on it than might be visible with a naked eye. The rubber surround might not be as pliable as it was and slowly start to crack; the voice coil might be pretty stressed and more prone to breaking; screws loosening; you get the idea.

I'd appreciate any input and opinions. Thank you.
actusreus
Inpieces, for instance most Acoustic Fields products retail for about $2000. That's ridiculous to me.

The good news is that there are really no aesthetic considerations for the room so I'm pretty flexible. We can take this conversation private so I can email you the pictures, if you're willing to do that. Let me know. Thanks.
Actusreus,
Do you have a web link to the "Acoustic Fields" products by chance?

I would highly recommend you educate yourself first before wasting money or your time, so pick-up a copy of Dr Floyd Toole's latest book and read it. If you're not familiar with him, he's dedicated his life to acoustical research as a scientist and isn't associated with any acoustic treatment manufacturer, thereby preserving his independance and unbiased nature, so he represents an expert and voice of authority.

You may wish to search the vast threads here on A'gon for acoustical treatment, including this recent post: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1273078171&read&keyw&zzdiffusion

Lastly, if costs are a concern and you have the freedom and inclination to try some DIY projects, then go for it. Bass traps and diffusers aren't that difficult to do and there's lots of info on the web. I can even send you info on how I've build several Skylines and hemi-cylindrical diffusers that double as bass traps.

One more thing - you may wish to visit AVScience Forum for their Acoustical Treatment Master thread found here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=255432&page=218

You'll also need some basic tools, such as:
* test tones and a SPL meter for starters (e.g. 20-300Hz)
* Frequency wavelength handy-dandy chart (http://www.soundoctor.com/freq.htm)
* Bass mode calculator (www.harman.com/xls/Room Mode Calculator.xls)
* Skyline diffuser calculator (http://www.oliverprime.com/prd.php)
* QRD diffuser calculator (http://www.digitalaudiorock.com/cgi-bin/qrd.cgi)

Good luck.
Kevin
Thank you for your advice and all the information Kevin.

Here's a link to the Acoustic Fields website:
http://www.acousticfields.com/
Kevinzoe, you be THE man. Thanks for listing this info. It lead me to discover Dr. Toole's great 90 minute ipod-mp3 cast at: http://twit.tv/htg14

I really enjoyed his thoughts on listening to live music versus recorded music and large room acoustics vs. those for small rooms.

Good stuff!
Foam speaker suspensions wear out the most quickly, 5-10 years (don't expect 10 years without climate controlled environment). But often easily replaced, replacement kits can be ordered online for some popular speakers (JBL). Butyl rubber gets hard 20-30 years. Doped paper and cloth can last a lifetime unless dried out or contaminated. Electrolytic capacitors in crossovers (and everything) need to be replaced about every 20 years.

For given room dimensions, I recommend what I have, Acoustat 1+1 (thin, tall) or Revel Performa M20 on factory stands. Another factor is what space will be allowed around the speaker. Electrostats should be 3' from wall, ordinary monitors 2'.