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  1. #1
    AR Newbie Registered Member
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    Need help choosing Speakers/Amp

    Hi,

    I am looking at buying a system for my bedroom which is pretty small (about 5mx5m) and am having trouble deciding what amp/speaker combo to get.

    I have looked at the following speakers

    -Sonus Faber Concertino
    -Paradigm monitor 5 v4
    -Paradigm focus v4

    And the following intergrated amps

    -NAD C-320BEE
    -Rotel RA-04
    -DENON PMA-1055

    and just a cd player/dvd player as a source.
    I normally listen to 80s,rock,pop,jazz so subwoofer may be needed

    My budget is about us$2000 but can afford more/less if required.

    Oh im sound deadening the room also with acoustic foam - will I just need to use it on the opposite wall to where the speakers are or all corners / roof???


    Cheers
    Mike
    Last edited by Riotpack; 09-26-2006 at 06:32 PM.

  2. #2
    Crackhead Extraordinaire Dusty Chalk's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Riotpack
    Oh im sound deadening the room also with acoustic foam - will I just need to use it on the opposite wall to where the speakers are or all corners / roof???
    You should fill the room except for a direct tunnel between the speakers and your ears.

    J/K...sorry, sometimes I'm no help at all, but hopefully someone else will see this and post a more serious response.
    Eschew fascism.
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    I remain,
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  3. #3
    nightflier
    Guest
    Riot,

    A couple of comments. The speakers you listed are rather large & heavy. For a bedroom they might be overkill. How about something a little less obtrusive & smaller or even on-wall speakers? There are lots of options within your budget.

    Regarding the integrateds, you might want to consider how you will be using these. The NAD is fine (I have one) but the remote is pretty confusing, especially in the dark. Rotel & Denon will sound a bit bright, IMO, which may not be right for a bedroom. They certainly have a different sound than the NAD. Some other things to consider: will you be needing a sleep function? What about radio in the mornings? Satellite radio? You might be better served with a receiver that has these additional features.

    However, if these issues are not too important, I would add the Audio Refinement Complete system to the list. They have a very sleek and solid sounding integrated who's equally clean remote will also control their CD player and tuner and all three look very classy together.

  4. #4
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
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    With that budget, are you looking to a 5.1 setup or two channel? That obviously has big budget implications.

    With Paradigm, keep in mind that the Monitor and Studio series are both about to get updated. This means that dealers are likely marking down those speakers. But, it also means that you'll need to get the matching center and surround speakers fairly quickly, especially if you want to match the colors/finishes. You could always find those speakers through the second hand channels later on, but it's not quite as easy if you want matching colors as well.
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  5. #5
    AR Newbie Registered Member
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    It doesn't need a sleep function - just a basic intergrated amp which focuses on high quality sound - it will just be connected to a CD Player no other sources including radio.
    Also just stereo not surround, also a subwoofer.
    The NAD looks pretty promising at the moment - just need to find some speakers to match.

  6. #6
    golden ear
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    Quote Originally Posted by Riotpack
    Hi,

    I am looking at buying a system for my bedroom which is pretty small (about 5mx5m) and am having trouble deciding what amp/speaker combo to get.

    I have looked at the following speakers

    -Sonus Faber Concertino
    -Paradigm monitor 5 v4
    -Paradigm focus v4

    And the following intergrated amps

    -NAD C-320BEE
    -Rotel RA-04
    -DENON PMA-1055

    and just a cd player/dvd player as a source.
    I normally listen to 80s,rock,pop,jazz so subwoofer may be needed

    My budget is about us$2000 but can afford more/less if required.

    Oh im sound deadening the room also with acoustic foam - will I just need to use it on the opposite wall to where the speakers are or all corners / roof???


    Cheers
    Mike
    for small rooms, i like the sound of diamond 9.1 from wharfedale paired with either rotel or nad electronics. an integrated amp will do..also a good one is the kef Q1 for the speaker set

  7. #7
    Loving This kexodusc's Avatar
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    I'm guessing the consideration of Integrateds implies 2-channel stereo only, not home theater/5.1 or whatever. Trust your ears, and demo as many speakers as you can in your budget. You seem to be on the right track.

    For room treatment - 1st and 2nd point reflections, behind the speakers, immediately beside the speakers, the 1st ceiling reflection point are good places to start (I'd say in that order, too). Just for taming flutter/slap echo. To actually deal with frequency issues, well, you'll need corner treatments, and acoustic foam isn't the most cost effective. I'd recommend rigid fiberglass/mineral wool panel "traps". (I'd recommend them for the walls too eventually over the foam). I did my room last november with a bunch of Sonotec/Auralex foam wedges, but then later took it all down to swap with fiberglass panels. Foam is great for taming the echoes and higher frequency attenuation, but it creates an imbalance in the overall response because it absorbs relatively little below 200 Hz or so and next to nothing below 100 Hz (unless you're using 6" foam or something). And it doesn't absorb sound as much as fiberglass. So for bass trapping, don't waste your money (or remaining foam pieces). Get a better trap when you can.

    Covering the whole room is not likely to give you the sound you want. There should be a fair amount of "liveliness" preserved in the room. If it's too dead the music will sound like the band's playing in the closet or something. I think around 50% coverage would be more than sufficient in the end if you have the will to cover that much of your room. I think most people that treat their rooms target the early reflection points and then tackle the corners to smooth out the bass response and leave it at that. That would accomplish the vast majority of what 50% coverage would do, I would think.
    For home theater - it's actually a higher percentage of coverage because a lot of the liveliness cues are built into the surround speakers, and 5 way echo and flutter problems just get too hard to deal with if untreated, so we "over treat" those rooms for optimum sound.

  8. #8
    nightflier
    Guest

    NAD is one option...

    Quote Originally Posted by Riotpack
    It doesn't need a sleep function - just a basic intergrated amp which focuses on high quality sound - it will just be connected to a CD Player no other sources including radio. Also just stereo not surround, also a subwoofer. The NAD looks pretty promising at the moment - just need to find some speakers to match.
    The NAD runs about $400 new and $300 used. For the price it's a very good value, but I still think you'll get more refined performance from the Audio Refinement Complete integrated - it runs about $500 used and can be found on on eBay every so often. Some other options: Cambridge Audio 540A or 640A, or the Music Hall a25.2, all three of which have a more lively sound.

    Don't get me wrong, I own the NAD c320bee, and it is a fine amp, especially for taming bright speakers, but it also has some weaknesses. At the least, read some of the online reviews: the professional reviewers give it glowing accollades, but the personal reviews are not as kind... It really comes down to what speakers you plan to pair it with and I don't think it will work well with the SF speakers, but the Paradigms might work.

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