Small Speakers for Office-- Proac vs. Spendor vs. NSM vs. Cheaper options....

jon_010101 · « **on:** 28 Apr 2008, 04:37 am »

I just had a revelation. I'm the only person in my building who routinely works at night! So, I can get an office stereo

I just bought a sweet GE vintage tube amp and tuner on eBay to restore. I now want to get a pair of good small bookshelf speakers in the few-hundred-bucks range, used.

The GE, I know for a fact, has sufficient balls to drive inefficient speakers -- it offers about twice the usable power of a Dynaco SCA35.

For speakers, I generally prefer a "flat" speaker sound, and don't want too much added flavor. 4" woofer and a soft dome tweeter would be great. No full-range single-driver stuff, since I have plenty of power and not much space.

The "obvious choices" would be Spendor S3/5 and friends, Proac Tablette, NSM 5, etc...

So, besides these "obvious choices" what else is out there? Are any of these options especially good? Anything better?

TerryO · « **Reply #1 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 05:12 am »

Jon,
I'm not sure if this is exactly what you want, but they're pretty good, IMHO, and pretty affordable. Here's the review that came out at the beginning of this month.

http://www.soundstage.com/diwhy/diwhy.htm

BTW: They can be purchased already built if you so desire.

Standard Disclaimer: The owner of the company and I are friends, and I "was" involved in the initial stages of design. Despite this obvious handicap they still ended up being a very nice sounding speaker.

Note: However, I am in no way connected to, nor employed by any audio related company. I'm simply an old DIY guy that likes to mess around with this "stuff'.
Best Regards,
TerryO

jon_010101 · « **Reply #2 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 05:21 am »

Hi Terry,

Those look fantastic! Unfortunately I really do need to restrict myself to the ~4" woofer range. I had bigger speakers (GR Research Paradox 1 and Axiom M3ti) on different desks before, and always found it a bit "overpowering". I've never shopped for anything this small before, so I'm admittedly a bit lost!

Cheers,
Jon

TerryO · « **Reply #3 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 05:51 am »

Quote from: jon_010101 on 28 Apr 2008, 05:21 am

Hi Terry,

Those look fantastic! Unfortunately I really do need to restrict myself to the ~4" woofer range. I had bigger speakers (GR Research Paradox 1 and Axiom M3ti) on different desks before, and always found it a bit "overpowering". I've never shopped for anything this small before, so I'm admittedly a bit lost!

Cheers,
Jon

Jon.
I wondered if what you said might be the case. We really need a better designation for small speakers. Some Minimonitors are pretty large, although they are smaller than many of the monitors actually used in studios.

If you can stand them, headphones can work as well, although many don't care for them. I run my Sennheiser 580's off the speaker terminals of a receiver through a precision voltage divider, as I've found that most headphone circuits are poorly designed and just plain sound lousy.

Good luck on your quest

Best Regards,
TerryO

jon_010101 · « **Reply #4 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 07:05 am »

Thanks Terry,

I am pretty much sold on speakers vs. headphones, mostly for comfort reasons.

.... Plus, I'm trying to justify my recent purchase of the vintage GE gear on the basis that I "need" an office system -- hence the "need" for speakers

JLM · « **Reply #5 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 11:09 am »

Not all single driver speakers are small (and they do provide more coherency, especially near field):

http://tbisound.com/dsp_products_monitors_d1r.asp

These are 86 dB/w/m, 25 wpc, 35 - 20,000 Hz, come with 1/4 inch threaded inserts for mounting, and about 5 inch cubes for $600/pair.

If that's too much bass, they also offer a 70 - 20,000 Hz version starting at $400/pair:

http://tbisound.com/dsp_products_monitors_d1.asp

TerryO · « **Reply #6 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 11:32 am »

Quote from: JLM on 28 Apr 2008, 11:09 am

Not all single driver speakers are small (and they do provide more coherency, especially near field):

http://tbisound.com/dsp_products_monitors_d1r.asp

These are 86 dB/w/m, 25 wpc, 35 - 20,000 Hz, come with 1/4 inch threaded inserts for mounting, and about 5 inch cubes for $600/pair.

If that's too much bass, they also offer a 70 - 20,000 Hz version starting at $400/pair:

http://tbisound.com/dsp_products_monitors_d1.asp

WOW

Almost too good to be true, 35-20,000 Hz from a 3 inch driver! All that in a 2 lb. speaker. I wonder how they do it?

Best Regards,
TerryO

Wayner · « **Reply #7 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 01:15 pm »

Usually, if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't.

I recently picked up a new pair of Paradigm Atoms. The store owner let me have them for $200 for the pair as he didn't have the finish I wanted in stock so he sold me the demo pair. Incredable bass and very nice Hi freq as well.

http://www.paradigm.com/en/paradigm/fronts-monitor-atommonitor-model-2-4-1-1.paradigm

They even have WBT connectors on the back.

Wayner

JLM · « **Reply #8 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 02:01 pm »

TerryO,

35-20,000 Hz from a 3 inch driver in a 125 cubic inch, 2 lb. speaker is amazing. But it comes from the old VBT guys, who developed ultra compact subwoofers (that would even work from inside a drawer) a few years back:

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/vbt/magellan8.html
http://www.stereotimes.com/speak112204.shtml

The orginal company went through a split up, so much momentum and previous reviews have been "lost":

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/tbi/tbi.html

Alan · « **Reply #9 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 04:33 pm »

The little John Blue's sounded very impressive at RMAF

http://www.audio-magus.com/product_p/sjb3.htm

kbuzz3 · « **Reply #10 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 04:50 pm »

dont know the budget but id go with a classic ls35A from charwell rogers et al. You can listen this speaker all day with fatigue and it sounds great in small rooms....

Zero · « **Reply #11 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 04:56 pm »

If its a not so common path you seek, than I'd encourage you to bat your eye towards Mark and Daniel, particularly their TOPAZ or MINI models. Don't let their utterly puny size fool you; they can belt out plenty of clean high end sound that is right at home in near-field situations. In fact, I must say that these particular speakers are at their best in near-field and small room applications.

Good luck!

Steidl Guitars · « **Reply #12 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 08:42 pm »

Another suggestion is Silverline Minuet, which I found truly remarkable for its size.

They show up occasionally on A'gon for under $400.

Sonny · « **Reply #13 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 09:05 pm »

I would go with a pair fo the EPOS M3, used for like $250 and they are great!!! and looks good as well!

jon_010101 · « **Reply #14 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 09:16 pm »

Quote from: Sonny on 28 Apr 2008, 09:05 pm

I would go with a pair fo the EPOS M3, used for like $250 and they are great!!! and looks good as well!

Epos eh? ~$250 sounds good. I'm also considering a pair of vintage KEF 101s -- if I can find 'em. They seem to be the less-desirable (more-affordable) evil twin of the LS3/5A.

~7"x7" footprint would be about right for the space.

Unfortunately, some newer stuff like the M&D seem too "flashy" and might draw more attention than I'd like.

The Silverline Minuet seems promising, but I haven't seen any in the ~$400 range yet.

BTW, great avatar Sonny. I need a beer

Zero · « **Reply #15 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 09:22 pm »

Jon -

True, the Unless you leave grills on their stuff, it can come across as a bit flashy. Not to mention, they fetch a fair amount of coin.

You know, I haven't had the pleasure of hearing this loudspeaker, but I'd imagine that the ACI Emerald XL could be very, very pleasing for your application. Isn't Mike running a nifty sale on em' right now ?

avalon65 · « **Reply #16 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 09:28 pm »

Have you looked at the Onix/AV123 line. They offer great value and performance. I have a pair of the x-series and I'm amazed at the quality and finish of the speakers for the price. Real wood veneer. You buy direct, so no middle man is involved to jack the price.

These can be had for $299 new.
http://av123.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=193&category_id=51&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=37

There's also the x-series for $299, but these have more of an HT following.
http://av123.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=172&category_id=21&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=37

I'd also check out the b-stock section. Here's are great deal on a pair for $399, that musically is better than the others being offered.
http://av123.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=202&category_id=16&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=37

Good luck.

jon_010101 · « **Reply #17 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 09:41 pm »

Quote from: avalon65 on 28 Apr 2008, 09:28 pm

Have you looked at the Onix/AV123 line. They offer great value and performance. I have a pair of the x-series and I'm amazed at the quality and finish of the speakers for the price. Real wood veneer. You buy direct, so no middle man is involved to jack the price.

I'm a huge fan of the AV123 line -- and have a pair of GR / RAW Diluceos in my main system. The new monitor *really* has me tempted -- my only concern is that it's approaching 10" deep, and has a port that must be accommodated.

A 4-5" woofer+tweeter in a 12"x6"x6" (HWD) wooden box would be awesome.

Maybe I should just get something dorky like some B&W LM1s?

I'm only half-kidding.

jon_010101 · « **Reply #18 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 09:48 pm »

Oooohh... Any thoughts on these? Size is right-on, and they are sealed: http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/NEW-Intimus-4B-Satellite-Speaker,113,20,260.aspx

Zero · « **Reply #19 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 09:59 pm »

Jon, I *think* our resident Affordable Audio publisher has heard those Aperion's...

On a different note; I am currently evaluating the ELT-525M (almost as we speak). This speaker can do a few things amazingly well. What kind of music do you plan on listening to ?