Minimum room size for Ariva

I’ve been listening to Ariva in my room for almost a year now. I have a full range of frequencies compared to JMR Bliss. However, the feeling is that the room size is not enough for the Ariva speakers. At 25cm from the brick wall the bass is ok, but the mid/high range is exuberant and fatiguing. I would like to try to improve the acoustics of the room but I think the dimensions 4 x 4.7m with a height of 2.3m are not enough. I would be grateful if anyone has experience with them, to give me some advice. Thank you



(some pictures)

When I had Ariva in a smaller room than yours I placed them about 10 cm from the back wall on Fraim chips with good results.

if i understand i should lean against the wall and space them off the floor i will give it a try. thanks :crossed_fingers:

1 Like

I bought a pair of Arivas new in 04 and enjoyed them for 16 years - until I got SL2s.

They are a very good sounding speaker.

Do yours play directly at a double bed?

This will damp/scatter/absorb [?] the sound in unpredictable ways.

Is the listening position on the bed, or do you put a chair in front of the bed?

Is the rear wall above the bed a hard, echoey surface?

The glass panes behind the speakers and the mirror at/near the first reflection point will not help acoustics.

thanks for sharing your experience. You have highlighted possible problems that I did not suspect. :pray:
The listening position is on the bed. The back wall above the bed is only 10 cm thick.
Covering the glass panels behind the speakers and mirror will be the first steps. The double bed I don’t know how to fix.

1 Like

Good luck with your experiments.

One other possibility is to try alternative speaker positioning too, e.g. (much) wider apart, closer together, forward and backwards, toed in and firing straight ahead, checking levelling of speakers on plinths.

Also try a listening chair in the sweet spot for near field listening, forward and backward along the centre line between the speakers.

And see/test whether the speakers are symmetrical to the room itself inc. furniture (not just equal in proportion to the position of the windows behind them).

1 Like

I want to thank the community and JimDog for encouraging me to experiment with new Ariva speaker solutions. I leaned the speakers 26 cm from the long wall. I got a better listening point and eliminated the critical reflection points. Now every little change means a sonic improvement. The Arivas are high precision instruments and I am loving them.

2 Likes

I have the Ariva and used them every day for over 10+ years. Auditioned lots of speakers but not found anything else I’d rather use yet for reasonable amount of cash.
My system is ndx/282/HC/200 with all powerlines

I’ve tried Ariva on regular spikes twice, both times they sounded shouty and fatigueing as you describe. Two tweaks/tips for you. First, put them on Soundcare superspikes. These feet really tames them and make the wonderful midrange driver sing. Secondly, tighten midrange and bass driver if its not been done in many years. Mine were really loose some years ago and needed to be adressed, made a significant improvement.

I use them even closer to back wall and closer together, pointing straight forward. Used them in a tiny tiny room, a really big room with high ceiling and now a medium sized room. All with great results. With everything from Nait 5i up to 282/200. This is not a demanding speaker in any way. And every box and cable upgrade is easily heard.

Really Emotional and foot-tapping speakers these! Enjoy!

2 Likes

thanks for sharing your experience. I will also apply your suggestions.

Updated the new layout and added the sofa at the listening point. I had a great sonic improvement in all parameters. Canvas paintings are coming soon. Thanks again

2 Likes

This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.