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Acoustic Zen Adagio vs Thiel 2.4

So I've been struggling to find the right pair of floor standing speakers for my listening space. Since it's only 12x18 (listening position is 10 feet away), I'm fairly limited in terms of size. My friend has a pair of Thiel 2.4s which sounded great to me, but they're just too big for my room.

I've been reading great things about the Adagio, and after talking to their owner (great guy), he convinced me I would be fine with them in my setup. Problem is, the closest dealer is 200 miles away.

Has anyone compared these two? They use a similar "underhung driver" design, albeit the Acoustics use a ribbon tweeter. I was not a huge fan of my previous B&Ws 7nts (too technical for me), so I don't suppose the ribbon tweeter would be an issue.

I will drive them with a mcintosh SS amp (mc202). Listen to mostly rock/jazz.

Any input would be great. Thanks!
hoffer71
cmalak
681 posts
 
Hoffer71...I am not familiar with the Adagios but I do ownt he 2.4s and they are a great speaker. I would only say that your 12x18 room is not too small for the Thiels. I was in a similar room for years (14x18) and I actually had the speakers set up on the long wall (so the distance to the speakers was only 9 ft as I had them placed 2.5 ft into the room from the wall behind them) and they sounded great. You want a minimum of 8ft from the Thiels for the drivers to integrate properly, other than that, your room should be fine. In any case, good luck and hope you enjoy whichever speaker you end up with.
hoffer71 OP
8 posts
 
Thanks Cmalak. Question though - how far apart are your speakers from one another? I can do no better than 7 feet apart, which would leave less that 2 feet from the side walls (same distance as you from the back). From what I've read about the Thiels, I think they would do much better further spaced apart. Also, setting them up lengthwise isn't an option for me.
cmalak
681 posts
 
Hoffer71...when I had them in my 14x18 room they were on the long wall so they were 8' apart and the left speaker didn't have a wall to it's side for 15+' because the living space opened to the kitchen on that side. The right speaker was 4' from the side wall. If you can't do long wall placement, then you would have to do 2' from each sidewall, which would have the 8' apart. Bring them out 3' from back wall which will add some depth to the soundstage. In this configuration, I would toe the in more aggressively to minimize sidewall reflections. If toucan audition them at home in this set-up before deciding, I would give it a shot to see if it works for you. By the way, what amps will you be using to drive either speaker?
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