Help me pick speakers for my big room!

[EPICURIOUS007]

Wow, I'm impressed with the breadth and depth of the responses! Thank you all (even the guy with the $40,000+ piece of speaker advice ... Yeah, that's not happening. That has exactly zero chance at WAF - and that would be even if they were invisible ). I KNOW this is a big lift, and as i said: that is my dilemma and the compromise I need to make to keep marital harmony. Or else I will just have to live with the sono(s) and / or a few bookshelf speakers scattered around (Hmm, here's an idea: how about 4 KH 150's spaced around the room? or 2 Genelec 8351's? Yes would be above budget, but I don't need an amp, then )

Here are a few more pieces of data that people have asked for: I tested myself with Decibel X and my normal listening volume is 65-70 db - with maybe some peaks at 75. The most I would go is 70-75 with some 80 peaks. So speakers don't have to put out THAT much volume. And I have included a couple of pictures of my
space: the idea would be to put the speakers either on the inside or outside of the two vertical wooden beams that frame the big window on the left side. I could put them up to 2' away from the wall. The red couch against the wall and under the painting (on the right side) would be the listening area. So tweeter to ear distance = 19-20 feet. As you can see, there are a lot of reflective surfaces, hence the need for DPS / EQ. In terms of volume, I don't know if that makes it easier or harder.

View attachment 509852View attachment 509853

Beautiful space!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i would mount bookshelves from the 2nd lowest horizontal beam across from the LP.
then hide a sub under the table with the plants.
the ceiling is angled perfectly to hit the MLP is you were to hang speakers there.
keeps the space uncluttered and the view thru the window unobstructed.

 

[Cote Dazur]

View attachment 509899

There it is, on the left, on the shelf:
View attachment 509904

What a beautiful space. It will be a challenge to get great sound, but I hope you will choose a pair of speaker that will match this decor.

 

[Torin Krell]

Are you open to the 2nd hand mkt? Personal preference here, but I’m partial to Aerial Accoustics.

Check out the 7b on the secondary mkt.

2nd hand larger speakers are often real bargains if purchased locally - since they are a hassle to ship and most people wish to audition before purchase. I recently helped a friend locate, audition and purchase a pair of Hales Revelation Two speakers which I would highly recommend! Aerial Acoustics 7B speakers are also a great choice. Both can fill a large room but are not as imposing in size as some other options.

 

[Proud Audiophile]

I think you have presented insufficient information from which to make a speaker recommendation even if i could. I would need at least the following additional information:
1. What type of music do you enjoy most.
2. How loud do you like your music?
3. Are you an active or a passive listener? That is do you want to sit in one spot, listen to an album all the way through and create the best possible soundstage in fount of you or do you want music to seemingly fill the room where ever you go.

If you are an active listener and seek a realistic soundstage Then you need to decide how big of a soundstage you want. I do it like this. I say to myself "I'm going to be in a small jazz club ( I listen to jazz) and have a great seat. I'm not in the band, the band is in front of me. The four piece acoustic band is this wide and I like to be this far away. So I say my self my sound stage, needs to be X feet wide to be realistic. The sound will extend outside the speakers 2 feet or so and I need my speakers to completely fill the center image so I figure they need to be X feet apart to have no hole over the entire soundstage. Not too close and not too far apart. Just the right distance apart to fully fill the center image. I also need to sit just the right distance from the soundstage to be like my imagined best seat in the house but the exact angle depends on you preferred sound stage width.

Once I have my sound stage layout, size and seating position all figured out to realistic proportions or fractions thereof for my listening room (for my smaller room i use 3/4 sized proportions or whatever fits your room proportions) I need to select a speaker that is properly proportioned to create the soundstage in it's selected size. In other words the selected speaker has to have the proper scale for the soundstage. You have to use your judgement on this but the right size generally looks appropriately sized for the anticipated sound stage. The speaker also needs appropriate height for your soundstage as an element of realistic scale.

You also have to make room for some artificial depth. Most modern speakers are designed to be place out from the front wall. The idea is that this creates more of a sense of sound stage depth. The distance of the speakers from the rear wall should also reflect the selected scale.

Now with all this figured out you look for the best speaker of the proper size for your sound stage. It's going to be a large speaker if you want a large soundstage. You have a large room. You may not want to use it all to create the sound stage size you want. Select the best measuring speaker that properly scales to your sound stage size including height and expected sound pressure levels. For box and tower type speakers it is best to rely heavily on scientific testing data. It gets more complicated with dipole or omni speakers. Speaker size selection is very important to creating a realistic sound stage of any given size.

If you are a passive listener creating a sound stage goes out the door. Everything changes. I am not a passive listener so i would have to give it more thought. But you might want to consider dipoles like big Magnepans. The large surface area and rear reflection really fills a large room without hot spots in spl..

I know this is not scientific but with my limited knowledge this is what i have found works for me. I feel like i am going to get yelled at and that's ok. I have no ability or desire to counter a scientific approach. I could be completely wrong that's ok; I can learn. But perhaps this will give you some helpful food for thought or i will learn something. Good luck. It sounds like you have a really nice room with tons of potential.

Cheers.

 

[MouseOnMars]

I think you have presented insufficient information from which to make a speaker recommendation even if i could. I would need at least the following additional information:
1. What type of music do you enjoy most.
2. How loud do you like your music?
3. Are you an active or a passive listener? That is do you want to sit in one spot, listen to an album all the way through and create the best possible soundstage in fount of you or do you want music to seemingly fill the room where ever you go.

If you are an active listener and seek a realistic soundstage Then you need to decide how big of a soundstage you want. I do it like this. I say to myself "I'm going to be in a small jazz club ( I listen to jazz) and have a great seat. I'm not in the band, the band is in front of me. The four piece acoustic band is this wide and I like to be this far away. So I say my self my sound stage, needs to be X feet wide to be realistic. The sound will extend outside the speakers 2 feet or so and I need my speakers to completely fill the center image so I figure they need to be X feet apart to have no hole over the entire soundstage. Not too close and not too far apart. Just the right distance apart to fully fill the center image. I also need to sit just the right distance from the soundstage to be like my imagined best seat in the house but the exact angle depends on you preferred sound stage width.

Once I have my sound stage layout, size and seating position all figured out to realistic proportions or fractions thereof for my listening room (for my smaller room i use 3/4 sized proportions or whatever fits your room proportions) I need to select a speaker that is properly proportioned to create the soundstage in it's selected size. In other words the selected speaker has to have the proper scale for the soundstage. You have to use your judgement on this but the right size generally looks appropriately sized for the anticipated sound stage. The speaker also needs appropriate height for your soundstage as an element of realistic scale.

You also have to make room for some artificial depth. Most modern speakers are designed to be place out from the front wall. The idea is that this creates more of a sense of sound stage depth. The distance of the speakers from the rear wall should also reflect the selected scale.

Now with all this figured out you look for the best speaker of the proper size for your sound stage. It's going to be a large speaker if you want a large soundstage. You have a large room. You may not want to use it all to create the sound stage size you want. Select the best measuring speaker that properly scales to your sound stage size including height and expected sound pressure levels. For box and tower type speakers it is best to rely heavily on scientific testing data. It gets more complicated with dipole or omni speakers. Speaker size selection is very important to creating a realistic sound stage of any given size.

If you are a passive listener creating a sound stage goes out the door. Everything changes. I am not a passive listener so i would have to give it more thought. But you might want to consider dipoles like big Magnepans. The large surface area and rear reflection really fills a large room without hot spots in spl..

I know this is not scientific but with my limited knowledge this is what i have found works for me. I feel like i am going to get yelled at and that's ok. I have no ability or desire to counter a scientific approach. I could be completely wrong that's ok; I can learn. But perhaps this will give you some helpful food for thought or i will learn something. Good luck. It sounds like you have a really nice room with tons of potential.

Cheers.

just buy some genelecs

 

[Mr. Widget]

I think you have presented insufficient information from which to make a speaker recommendation even if i could. I would need at least the following additional information:

The OP hasn't been on the site since June and hasn't posted on this thread in about 6 months. In direct conversations with him, he told me that he decided not move forward with this project, but it is fun to speculate possible solutions.

 

[Spkrdctr]

He most likely didn't move forward because everyone gave him options from terrible to great. He has no idea on what to get. I think he was going to look at line arrays A HORRIBLE idea because he thought he needed to go very loud and he didn't. He started out with great ideas and wanted to know what would sound good and he gets ideas from great to crazy. The problem with ASR is everyone throws out advice that may not be helpful. Just sayin.....now I am NOT saying I have not ever indulged in this type of response but I try not too. So I too am guilty as charged. We are often our own worst enemy!

 

[jeo12]

Maybe still waiting for the perfect recommendation?
How about a DIY MEH (with a few subs)? See e.g. here.