Hi Folks, As this is my first post please excuse if I am posting in the wrong area. I am looking at buying either a Unit Atom or Star … However I have a very difficult room to place the system in . I) it is small and rectangular. 20’X 11" the speaker’s have to close to a wall and on shelves ( Better half rules) and to a slight left hand bias to main listening position. 2) I looking at bookshelf speakers … Budget upto £2500 … may be a little more ( do not tell the better half) … Just need some guidance form the experts here on what to listen too. … _Music preference ranges from Jazz to new age to classical with some pop and rock thrown in… Thank you in advance !
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It doesn’t have to be a problem. Something like the ProAc Tablette 10 is tiny, only 30cm tall, and designed to go against the wall. Shelves are not a good idea - you want the speakers at ear height, on stands about 60cm high. You can get the speakers in a stylish white, with white stands too. Something like that may be acceptable. @GraemeH has them and hopefully will be able to post a picture here. Speakers and stands come in at under £1,500, so you may have enough for a Nova to match with them.
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Have a look at Neat Iotas,
Thanks Graeme. I tried to find it myself to save to the trouble but unfortunately couldn’t find it. I always think they look particularly lovely.
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They are good, I have some in the study, but for room filling sound in a room the size of the OP’s I’d be looking elsewhere.
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And they sound lovely too. No problem filling our 5.5x3.8x3h living room.
G
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Thanks for the responses, I will certainly listen to both suggestions, I was going down the PS3 route - also looking at the Harbeths as well. Comment on stands well understood.
The PS3 are quite current demanding speakers, and, as far as it has been discussed several times in the forum, probably the Atom nor the Star are suitable for them, less with the dimensions of the room, in which I am sure that at some point you’ll ask them for a certain volume.
In addition to the ProAc Tablettes 10, and before the Neat Iota, I would look/try the Dali Menuets, small speakers that sound like floorstanders, and relatively simple to drive; however, enjoying both models, my vote is for the Tablettes, they are simply magnificent all round speakers.
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I wouldn’t call yours a small room and I reckon it deserves more than an Atom, good though that is. Indeed I’d be tempted to take a little off your speaker budget and get a Nova instead of a Star. As for speakers, for a left-field choice you might want to consider ATC’s HTS11s. These are wall-mounted versions of the highly regarded SCM11s and could give you excellent SQ, whilst preserving domestic harmony.
As usual I’d strongly advise home audition when choosing speakers.
Roger
Sounds like a slightly bigger version of my listening room/study which is 7 feet by 15 feet. I went for the Atom back in February -which is way enough power for a small room- but got an offer on a Star I could not refuse. The difficulty with my room is that it’s that tiny that positioning my Dynaudio Emit 10’s well away from any side or back walls would mean I could not open the door to my room anymore. Therefore one of the speakers just HAS to be placed just 5 inches from a side wall. With this rear ported bass reflex design, (mid) bass could be really overpowering. After lots of tweaking (fun really) I finally found a way to reign in bass, by half inserting the port plug into the speaker closest to a wall (not the other one, which i could shuffle away 1 feet from both back and side wall!) Unless you fancy the same type of tweaking, I would certainly look at speakers that work good or even better closer to a wall than further away from one. Tablette being one. Neat Iota or Ministra being another. (Ministra could save you a Subwoofer) I already had my Emit’s so I didn’t want to give up on them that easily - I just love their sound.
Other massive tweak was raising the speakers by 20 cm each on concrete slabs (definitely no WAF, even after being painted white to match the speakers and stands) to bring the tweeter up to ear level (as this is a study, I listen from an office chair, not a couch). Impression:
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Thank you for the responses, this week I have found out that my family has a pair of very well loved and seldom used Linn Kans MK1 from the late 70’s … I know they are bass light but your advice or experience on these for my set up would be as always very appreciated…
I have had a pair of Proac Tab 10’s and they really are very good. Another pair you might want to audition are the Neat Ministra speakers. Very compact isobarics designed for near wall placement
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