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Moving to an apartment. Small floorstanders or bookshelves?


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Budget is $2500 for speakers. Looking at Dynaudio Excite, Monitor Audio Silver, KEF, Buchardt, Dali etc. I just don’t know whether to get a small floorstander or a bookshelf with stands. Listening position is 2.5m from speaker. I want something suitable for rock and acoustic type stuff. Not a basshead. Any suggestions?

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Legend Kurre

 

I'd avoid floorstanders, even those with a slim profile. In an apartment you need isolation from the floor.

 

The Kurre is a sealed design so low bass won't overwhelm. It has a clear, natural midrange that compares with the likes of ATC and Harbeth, yet packs plenty of punch when fed with a decent amp. A locally made gem and great value too.

 

 

Edited by was_a
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all the usual questions, room size, amp being used, furnishings in the room. A floor stand speaker will always give a greater sense of scale, maybe i have not heard a quality bookshelf to compare, always try to audition, reviews and opinions may differ to what your ears percieve. There is a thread on bookshelf speakers in the beginners section with a list of suggested speakers at certain price points. Read reviews on your current gear and see how that translates to what you hear, will help with other reviews you may read

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I too have recently traveled a similar path.

Sold the huge house with a 8x6m theatre and moved into a tiny 2 bed townhouse.

The new listening area is long but only 3.5m deep, which is where we sit, opposite the telly etc.

I tried a few bookshelves but ended up with some WAF friendly floorstanders and finally for once, I am content with the speaker side of my system.

I ended up with a pair of PMC fact.12's

 

 

 

 

Edited by todagt
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40 minutes ago, todagt said:

I too have recently traveled a similar path.

Sold the huge house with a 8x6m theatre and moved into a tiny 2 bed townhouse.

The new listening area is long but only 3.5m deep, which is where we sit, opposite the telly etc.

I tried a few bookshelves but ended up with some WAF friendly floorstanders and finally for once, I am content with the speaker side of my system.

I ended up with a pair of PMC fact.12's

 

 

 

 

GTG is overdue Ewan! ?

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7 hours ago, todagt said:

I ended up with a pair of PMC fact.12's

Nice.  If you don't mind me asking, how big is your listening space?  Or should I say how big does the room need to be, as a rough guide, without any special room treatment, in order to accommodate Fact 12?

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15 hours ago, att23 said:

Nice.  If you don't mind me asking, how big is your listening space?  Or should I say how big does the room need to be, as a rough guide, without any special room treatment, in order to accommodate Fact 12?

No idea how big a room needs to be to avoid room treatment, as IMHO all rooms need room treatment.

 

However no matter what speaker you use, with careful setup almost any can be made to sound great.

 

I did muck around a lot with placement as room treatment for me right now is a no-go due to renting for the next few years.

The room is around 3.5m X 10m. 

System is setup up around 1/3 from one end of the room along the 10m wall.

Sitting around 2.8m away from speakers, speakers placed around 2.5 m apart.

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On 14/03/2020 at 8:29 AM, deniall said:

Budget is $2500 for speakers. Looking at Dynaudio Excite, Monitor Audio Silver, KEF, Buchardt, Dali etc. I just don’t know whether to get a small floorstander or a bookshelf with stands. Listening position is 2.5m from speaker. I want something suitable for rock and acoustic type stuff. Not a basshead. Any suggestions?

Have you considered Osborn speakers and VAF speakers? 

Osborn is in Melbourne so an audition should be straight forward, I think Greg offers a pick up service from the station or airport???

 

Are you able to listen to the speakers on your list where you are?

What amp are you using?

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Floor standers will have better bass, especially when playing quietly. They will take up no more room than a small speaker on a stand.

Decouple them from the floor using isolation pads (Bunnings) and you're good to go.

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Bass is the real issue when it comes to possibly annoying neighbours most, if that is part concern. Many bookshelves can also get down to below 30hz and rumble away just as bad as floorstanders. So it maybe best to look at how low each goes and use that as a guide rather than size.  SVS prime or ultra bookshelves are great sounding yet only go to about 45hz, so bass shouldn't be a concern. 

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