Super small high-end speakers for TV

[JustAnAudioLover]

Hi there!

As I live in a pretty small apartment, I'm currently debating getting rid of my current system (Monitor Audio Bronze 200 + FX + AMS + Monolith 10" subwoofer) to replace it with a pair of small speakers. The main reason being that my current setup takes a lot of place in my (pretty) small living room.

Ideally, I'd like some low-footprint, high quality stereo speakers. No surround, ideally no subwoofer (or a very small one, ideally wireless). I'd also like the speakers to not be too high as it visually "pollutes" the room, so the closer to the floor, the better. Obviously this has the negative aspect of this the tweeter won't be placed at ear level, and the sound may also seem like it's coming from below. Note that I really want to also have something that has a low visual footprint, which means it should be as discreet as possible.

My current Bronze 200 are pretty small towers: 88.6 cm tall, 16.6 cm wide, 26.5 cm deep. The depth is not very important as it's not the most visually impacting thing for me, but height and especially width is very important.

I've found a few speakers that could do the job:

* The Pearl Keshi from Cabasse (2500 €) : ultra small speakers, small wired subwoofer. Very few reviews on that, and reviews aren't unanimous on the sound quality. These are basically the smallest speakers in the world when it comes to "high-end" gear that I've been able to find. The speakers could be placed on the TV furniture, so the only real footprint would be the small subwoofer.
* 2x Devialet Phantom II 95 dB : very compact speakers, no need for a subwoofer, the official stands are 57cm tall, so this would have a bigger visual footprint compared to the Keshi
* 2x Sonos Era 100 : basic sound quality but may get the job done, footprint a bit smaller than the Phantom. Can be connected to a TV using a USB-C to Jack cable, but not sure if two Era 100 can be connected together that way.
* 2x Sonos Era 300 : probably too big (they're pretty large) but better sound quality than the Era 100. Still very probably inferior to the Phantom.
* Sonos Arc Ultra : smallest footprint of them all, but probably most basic sound quality as well.

Note that I'm mainly going to use the system for stereo listening. Movies and gaming are not my priority, but I still absolutely require low latency (so the connection to the TV must be wired, be it through HDMI ARC or optical).

What do you think? Do you have any other option in mind? I'm well aware that going the "small speaker route" will get me a downgrade in terms of audio quality, but it's a tradeoff I'm willing to make. The goal being to minimize the downgrade.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[staticV3]

Could you share a picture of your living room, facing the TV?

If we know what you're working with, then we can give better recommendations.

 

[JustAnAudioLover]

I'm very uncomfortable with sharing photos online, but here is an idea of what it looks like:

(subwoofer is missing in the second picture but imagine it's between the couch and the right surround speaker)

The TV is on top of a furniture that's 40 cm below and 180 cm wide (same width as the TV). There is no space on the sides of the TV on top of the furniture I use.

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

I tend to go by measurements that I deem credible. Number 1 is those from this site, especially @amirm speaker reviews, those from Erin's Audio Corner and spinorama.??? @PierreV 's website... There could be others but those are my goto, none of the speakers you mentioned has been reviewed measured by any of those resources.
I'd venture on impressions and recollections:
The Cabasse is "cute" but it has to work against physics with such small drivers. And it is expensive ... Not sure I'd go that route
The Sonos are in a different "price range":
A pair of Era 300 is about $1000, but the ERA 300 has Atmos ...
The ERA 100 is even less expensive but I do prefer the Era 300.
The Sonos Arc Ultra is a soundbar , it, like, the Era has a modicum of "Atmos feel "but it is above all, a ... soundbar. It sounds good for what it is, about $900..

And there is the Devialet Phantom a speaker that can surprise with the amount of bass it can produce. Its reproduction of the rest of the spectrum is , IMO, good. Same price as the Cabasse.. it is likely the better option ... but Devialet speakers have some delay... up to 60 ms. They (Devialet) say it can be lower if you use TOSLINK How much lower ? I don't know, but it is something to keep in mind if you are into gaming...

I strongly suggest the Devialet among the speakers you listed. In a small room, it is a full range, more so than it size would suggest. It is capable of surprising bass (and the rest of the audio spectrum too )..

Peace.

 

[JustAnAudioLover]

Thanks for the recommandations!

I have heard the Phantom 2 some times ago, and the bass were absolutely crazy. The problem was that it was in a noisy room, so I couldn't tell if the rest of the spectrum was good too. Also, they are on the bigger side compared to what I'd like to do.

The Pearl Keshi is one of the interesting options but not sure how good it sounds. Certainly I don't expect it to sound like a $2500 pair of bookshelf speakers, but if it can sound as good as my Monitor Bronze 50, that would already be very nice. Unfortunately, it's very hard to find reviews on it.

I may have a chance to listen to an Arc Ultra in the next few days, I don't know what to expect though - many people say the Sennheiser Ambeo Plus is far better, many people also say exactly the opposite. No one seems to agree on whether it's actually good or not for stereo listening :/

 

[GXAlan]

Movies and gaming are not my priority, but I still absolutely require low latency (so the connection to the TV must be wired, be it through HDMI ARC or optical)

That takes the Era out of contention. For active speakers with HDMI ARC, the Klipsch Fives/Sevens have gotten good reviews and measurements.

I would not have recommended the Devialet in the past, having owned the first generation Phantom Silver flagships. Software was too buggy and it went to 100% volume once.

The custom line is very interesting though…

Devialet

www.devialet.com

 

[JustAnAudioLover]

Thanks, but The Five are too big for what I'd like to do. Way bigger than the Phantom or the Era for instance.

 

[auvix]

I'm wondering if it's okay to install a HomePod 2 with the 25M2 I'm planning on?

 

[JustAnAudioLover]

So, I was shown a few speakers recently. Here are my impressions :

Cabasse The Pearl Akoya: very unbalanced, very boomy
Devialet Phantom II: same
Cabasse Rialto: pretty nice
Kef LSX II: very impressive for their size, and IMO better than the Rialto for 2~3x less money
Kef LS50 Wireless II: very nice, surprisingly deep bass (but too big compared to the others). Basically a bigger, better version of the LSX 2

So I ended up going the (not too big) bookshelves + subwoofer route. Very happy now even if it's bigger than wjat I wanted.

 

[JustAnAudioLover]

So I ended up going another route, but in the case I ever need to choose for a small desktop use, it'll be the KEF LSX II LT. Identical to the non-LT version (just less premium finish), very good sound, seems to be great in nearfield, even better than LS50 W2 when you have a very small desktop.