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For quiet rock with solid state in a small room:1.) You're right you don't want forward sounding equipment, avoid horns2.) In a small room avoid open baffles, dipoles, bipoles (they take too much space to "work")3.) Most rock does lots of bass, but only down to around 60 Hz4.) Keep in mind that higher speaker efficiency is almost always traded for added colorations5.) Lack of deep bass does allow for smaller, more efficient designs6.) Very highly efficient speakers can reveal subtle system noises (that drive some listeners nuts)7.) I'm a speaker guy, by all means you're right to pick the speaker firstFrankly rock at low volumes is almost the easiest genre to shop for. First, you almost never hear it live and without electronic reinforcement, so you can only compare your system/room to temporarily setup professional sound reinforcement stuff in an arena (hardly a fair fight). Secondly, most rock has extremely little dynamic range as it is recorded with FM playback in noisy/busy settings in mind. Third, the number of performers and the frequency range of their instruments are relatively small. I'd look for at least 90 dB/w/m efficiency speakers that perform well at low volumes.I also use a Channel Island Audio VMB-1 chip amps that Chad mentioned (unfortunately no longer made ). But chip amps are still out there. Audio Zone built some of the smallest/slickest/best sounding ones. But beware, tons of guys build these out of garages and the chip design is very sensitive to RF interference (I tried one that picked up the local FM station), strong/clean internal power supplies, and the exact circuit design.
Quote from: 20q on 26 Oct 2009, 08:20 pmThe best amplifiers for low to reasonable volume levels (i.e., up to 85dB sound pressure level) are tube rectified, single ended triodes that use a single output tube.Get the best SET amp you can afford. Speaker selection comes after that.I'd respectfully disagree with this statement (although this may be a result of differing definitions of "low" volume levels). As I posted earlier, I currently use a SET amp, which I truly love. But my experience is that it needs to be playing at a decent volume in order to produce its magic. This is also a comment I've seen made by many when discussing SET amps. At low volume levels I found my old chip amp/gainclone a more dynamic and involving option. It's not that the SET amp is bad - it's just that the chip amp generated such a clear and dynamic effect with such a tiny input that it never needed a lot of volume to suck me into the music.Chad
The best amplifiers for low to reasonable volume levels (i.e., up to 85dB sound pressure level) are tube rectified, single ended triodes that use a single output tube.Get the best SET amp you can afford. Speaker selection comes after that.
I currently use a SET amp, which I truly love. But my experience is that it needs to be playing at a decent volume in order to produce its magic. This is also a comment I've seen made by many when discussing SET amps.
20q - do all the research you can, but sooner or later you need to invest the shoe leather or automotive fuel actually hear some of these systems.
Quote from: chrisby on 28 Oct 2009, 06:24 pm20q - do all the research you can, but sooner or later you need to invest the shoe leather or automotive fuel actually hear some of these systems.I thought that went without saying, but yep, sure enough.