Seeking Speaker Recommendations: Large Room ($1K Budget)

[lobby]

I'm looking for speakers to complement my Magnepan LRS, which sound too laid back in my current large room (19' x 17.5' x 16'). To clarify, they wont be used in conjunction at the same time, but alongside as a different flavor. Maybe replacing them entirely. I'm using a Bryston 4BST (250 wpc), MiniDSP Flex as a pre/DAC, and Velodyne HGS-12BG sub. I enjoy the Magnepan sound but want something that fills the room better, with a wide sweet spot for group listening. The maggies sounded great in a smaller well treated room, but just seem a bit too unfocused in the current setting.

I found Revel M106 and KEF LS50 Meta locally for around $1K, but I'm unsure if they can handle the room size. I have a $1K(ish) budget for speakers and am open to tower, bookshelf, or other options on the used market. Room treatment is in progress, with bass traps in corners currently, with curtains and plans to cover a stairwell on the list.

 

[staticV3]

Have you considered the Wharfedale Linton?

 

[lobby]

Nice review, they look like they could fit the bill. Now on my radar to see if i can audition any locally.

 

[DMill]

Nice review, they look like they could fit the bill. Now on my radar to see if i can audition any locally.

Good luck if you’re like me finding places to audition anything. And even if you can the room is typically so different it’s nearly impossible to get much from the audition. Especially with some sales guy blasting Steely Dan’s Aja while he talks over it. It’s why I’ve come to appreciate this site so much. Make no mistake there are a still many brick and mortar shops that I’m sure are very respectful. But unfortunately they dwindle by the day.

 

[FrantzM]

I’d add the Revel F35 to the list, it is however $1600/pair. Reviewed here at ASR

And keep the sub, later add another


Peace.

 

[lobby]

Bump, would love to hear more options.

 

[jeffaegrim]

Bump, would love to hear more options.

I can honestly only echo what staticV3 wrote above - the Lintons seem to fit the bill perfectly. There is, like, 3m from the speaker to the listeners head - I don’t really think any bookshelf will be satisfactory it in this configuration (at any decent SPL) - even when high passed. Had the LS50 and loved them, but the mid bass driver has its limitations.

& if we’re talking towers/bigger speakers, your options are somewhat limited, I feel. Perhaps you can find/audition these somewhere:

Focal Chora 816 Speaker Review

This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of Focal Chora 816 floor-standing/tower speaker. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $499. Despite the low price, the speaker is beautifully finished with a curved port and beautiful light oak finish: A magnetic grill...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Maybe a used Revel F206 will turn up locally. That would be perfect, imo. I am generally a fan of buying stuff used, so that would also be my recommendation. Besides the minidsp flex, that I also own, I have bought all my equipment second hand.

 

[paulcc]

You might consider rotating your listening configuration 90 degrees. It might improve room mode interaction and put you closer to the speakers too, which would make smaller and maybe higher quality speakers like the KEFs more appropriate.

 

[trioderob]

I had the LRS speakers for about a year and if they sound too laid back it might be the amp you are using - they require very high current to sound alive.
In addition they are extremely fussy about room placement.

The Maggies were sold and replaced with a set of Co-axial studio monitors which IMHO blow the LRS out of the water - the PRESONUS ERIS PRO 6. these speakers are active with 140 watts bi-amped ...... the imaging is absolutely 3d holographic ........vocals are spooky real ....... they reach an astounding 35 hz with tight rich and fast bass that's perfectly integrated and they are tiny ! the treble is not hot , dry or strident even directly on axis . They can play very loud and can fill a room like yours with ear splitting volume . the company is part of the Fender group so its a pro audio monitor and you are not paying the 500 percent audiophile tax

the sweet spot is night and day better than the LRS

I use a NAD 538 cd player directly going into the speakers

The best part is that they can be picked up for a song - $ 600

I have literally heard 5000 dollar passive speakers that did not impress me as much - for the money they are jaw dropping

 

[Blumlein 88]

I’d add the Revel F35 to the list, it is however $1600/pair. Reviewed here at ASR

And keep the sub, later add another


Peace.

Yes given the room size I think this is an excellent suggestion. An M106 is a good speaker, but the floor standing unit will be better in that room. Effectively no bigger a footprint than the Maggie's already there.

 

[MarkS]

F35 in white is on sale at Crutchfield for $800/pair:

Revel Concerta2 F35 (High Gloss White)

Floor-standing speaker

www.crutchfield.com

 

[FrantzM]

I had the LRS speakers for about a year and if they sound too laid back it might be the amp you are using - they require very high current to sound alive.
In addition they are extremely fussy about room placement.

The Maggies were sold and replaced with a set of Co-axial studio monitors which IMHO blow the LRS out of the water - the PRESONUS ERIS PRO 6. these speakers are active with 140 watts bi-amped ...... the imaging is absolutely 3d holographic ........vocals are spooky real ....... they reach an astounding 35 hz with tight rich and fast bass that's perfectly integrated and they are tiny ! the treble is not hot , dry or strident even directly on axis . They can play very loud and can fill a room like yours with ear splitting volume . the company is part of the Fender group so its a pro audio monitor and you are not paying the 500 percent audiophile tax

the sweet spot is night and day better than the LRS

I use a NAD 538 cd player directly going into the speakers

The best part is that they can be picked up for a song - $ 600

I have literally heard 5000 dollar passive speakers that did not impress me as much - for the money they are jaw dropping

Any review/measurements from a reliable source?

Peace.

 

[MarcT]

If you're in the US, the Heco Aurora 1000 may be a decent option to try at $1,200/pair. With two 8-inch woofers, they should help with filling that large space with sound. Nice looking and said to have pretty decent sound for the price.
You can try them from Amazon and return if they don't float your boat.

Amazon.com

 

[trioderob]

I had the LRS speakers for about a year and if they sound too laid back it might be the amp you are using - they require very high current to sound alive.
In addition they are extremely fussy about room placement.

The Maggies were sold and replaced with a set of Co-axial studio monitors which IMHO blow the LRS out of the water - the PRESONUS ERIS PRO 6. these speakers are active with 140 watts bi-amped ...... the imaging is absolutely 3d holographic ........vocals are spooky real ....... they reach an astounding 35 hz with tight rich and fast bass that's perfectly integrated and they are tiny ! the treble is not hot , dry or strident even directly on axis . They can play very loud and can fill a room like yours with ear splitting volume . the company is part of the Fender group so its a pro audio monitor and you are not paying the 500 percent audiophile tax

the sweet spot is night and day better than the LRS

I use a NAD 538 cd player directly going into the speakers

The best part is that they can be picked up for a song - $ 600

I have literally heard 5000 dollar passive speakers that did not impress me as much - for the money they are jaw dropping

Any review/measurements from a reliable source?

Peace.

unfortunately - no

I kept reading pro sound forums about how the professional sound Engineers were in love with the Presonus coaxial speakers - this is a newer model which uses a class A/B internal amp and I believe an active crossover ..... the other modes motioned are class D and DSP. This is a newer version of that speaker .

folks are lucky I discovered this model and am talking about it on line ......... you wont find anything close to this speaker for the money - I have been in the hobby 40 years - had Celestion SL6 in the early 80;s ,,,,,,, had 300b amps 30 years ago when nobody was talking about tubes ,,,,,,, this is a solid pair of speakers which being point sources have extreme coherency ..... look at what you are bypassing - no speaker cables ,,,,,, one less interconnect - no preamp gain stage ..... no external amp - no passive cross-over ....... this really adds up in sound quality IMHO

 

[DearSX]

A few great choices above. I have the Linton in a large room and they do well till around 40hz, which is pretty decent for most music. You can always at a sub later and have very good headroom and low end extension.

Used pair of Polk R700 are also a great option.

I had the LS50 and they sounded slightly thin to me in my large room, good but just a little thin.

 

[terryforsythe]

Bump, would love to hear more options.

Check out this link: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-recommendations-for-usa-by-sweetchaos.28296/

For $1,000 bookshelf speakers the Ascend Acoustics Sierra 1 V2 tops the list:

Ascend Acoustics Sierra-1 V2 Speaker Review

Ascend Acoustics Sierra-1 V2 Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

For $1,200 floorstanders the Revel F35 tops the list, but currently are $800/pair at Crutchfield:

Revel F35 Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Revel F35 floor-standing speaker. I purchased this through my company because there are external anechoic measurements available so we can compare. The F35 costs US $1,600 for a pair (sold each at US $800 in case you want a center speaker). It...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Revel Concerta2 F35 (High Gloss White)

Floor-standing speaker

www.crutchfield.com

 

[trioderob]

this is one of those questions that is almost impossible to answer as speaker placement / room pressure resonances are critical in the sound quality you will achieve. Is he willing to experiment with placement ? Does he care about dynamics or coherency ? Is he cranking heavy metal or is he playing solo vocals with harp ? does he want extreme detail or would he be happy with a lower resolution 80s party type speaker ? Which speaker will make a particularly good dance partner with the amp he happened to have ? How high up is he will to place the speaker on a stand ? How important are looks such as fancy finishes ?

 

[lobby]

I picked up some lintons locally. It's been YEARS since i have had anything but maggies. I have only listened for a few hours and havent messed around a ton with speaker placement or REW yet, but initial impression is that everything sounds so recessed! Just the music sounds so far away from me. I'll keep messing around, but initial impression is that I prefer my maggies. lol :/

 

[terryforsythe]

I picked up some lintons locally. It's been YEARS since i have had anything but maggies. I have only listened for a few hours and havent messed around a ton with speaker placement or REW yet, but initial impression is that everything sounds so recessed! Just the music sounds so far away from me. I'll keep messing around, but initial impression is that I prefer my maggies. lol :/

The estimated in-room response of the Linton's is recessed a little from about 500Hz - 1200 Hz:

Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary Speaker Review

Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

DSP can be used to help with that if you feel so inclined.

The in-room response of the LRS is pretty linear in that range, and you probably have listened to them long enough that it is what you expect to hear.

Magnepan LRS Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Magnepan LRS (Little Ribbon Speaker). It was kindly sent to me by a member and costs US $650. NOTE: as you will see later, this is a special review with far more detail than I usually show in a speaker test. I thought it would be "fun" to see...

www.audiosciencereview.com

The Linton's though, should be performing way better below 300 Hz unless you were crossing your subwoofer over that high with your LRS speakers.

Also, as you probably well know, box speakers and open baffle speakers sound quite different. If you are use to open baffle speakers, it probably will take time for your brain to adjust to the box speakers.

 

[staticV3]

I picked up some lintons locally. It's been YEARS since i have had anything but maggies. I have only listened for a few hours and havent messed around a ton with speaker placement or REW yet, but initial impression is that everything sounds so recessed! Just the music sounds so far away from me. I'll keep messing around, but initial impression is that I prefer my maggies. lol :/

Could well be the drastic difference in vertical dispersion:


Less dispersion->less indirect sound reaching your ears->more "focus"