Which small speakers are good?

[batmon]

Hi,

I am thinking about getting Anthony Gallo Acoustics speakers because I want to get something small to fit into my small living room. They are $200 each, so 5 will be $1,000!! How does it compares to Panasonic SB-TP20S? it comes with 5 speakers with sub woofer for $249. Or do you recommend other ones? I don't know much about speakers and I simply want something small and able generate some good sounds for me to enjoy my HTPC.

http://www.roundsound.com/micro.html

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs...00000000005702


Thank you.

[drseid]

To tell you the truth, probably if the Gallo Micros are the largest size you are looking for, then that is probably as good as it gets in the genre...

If you can go to bookshelf sized speakers (maybe a foot or so high) then your options for similar money expand quite a bit.

I am sure the Gallos will provide you with "good" sound, but it is difficult for *any* speaker that size to provide true dynamics (even as good as the Gallos are in their class)... I guess it depends on your priorities... size or sound?

---Dave

[markw]

I am sure the Gallos will provide you with "good" sound, but it is difficult for *any* speaker that size to provide true dynamics (even as good as the Gallos are in their class)... I guess it depends on your priorities... size or sound?

---Dave

In some things, size does matter to some extent.

[batmon]

I guess size does matter to me because I really don't have space in my living room, unless I break the wall and hide my speakers in the wall.

So do you mean all those Micro speakers are created equal? Getting Gallo Micros won't make much different compares to Panasonic SB-TP20S? I am also looking at Mirage Nanosat but I have no idea with all those brands at all.

http://www.miragespeakers.com/nano.shtml

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs...00000000005702

[drseid]

I guess size does matter to me because I really don't have space in my living room, unless I break the wall and hide my speakers in the wall.

So do you mean all those Micro speakers are created equal? Getting Gallo Micros won't make much different compares to Panasonic SB-TP20S? I am also looking at Mirage Nanosat but I have no idea with all those brands at all.

http://www.miragespeakers.com/nano.shtml

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs...00000000005702

No, all speakers that size are not created equal... What I mean is that even the best speakers of that size will be potentially severely limited as to their performance capabilities due to their size...

---Dave

[topspeed]

The answer to your question really depends on how seriously you take this little hobby of ours. If you actually take time to sit and listen to music, it's hard for me to imagine the Panny's being anywhere near the class of the Gallo's or Mirage. I've heard the Omnisats and wasn't particularly thrilled with them, but I will give them credit for creating quite a diffuse, if somewhat smeared, soundfield. If precise imaging isn't that big a deal for you, these could work very well. As for the Gallo's, I've only heard the Ref3's, and that was during a brief audition. If the Micros are as smooth in the mids as the Ref3's, and they should be, IMO they are very good. None of these are full range of course, but what micro speakers are?

Just out of curiousity, have you considered in-walls? With space at such a premium, you might do well with some nice in-walls from Sonance, Boston, Paradigm, B&W, or others. You might even look into Magnaplaner's MMGW's which hang on the wall and are no deeper than a picture frame. Basically, I'm just trying to say you have more options than perhaps you are considering.

Hope this helps.

[batmon]

Thank you.

Magnaplaner MMGW sounds great and they have very good reviews too. I was thinking about getting them until I found out I don't even have enough wall space to put them in my living room! How sad...

I guess Omnisats are out of question. I will look around a bit more. If any one has any other suggestions please let me know. Thank you.

[vr6ofpain]

You could try these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...783696964&rd=1

or

http://www.partsexpress.com/projects...ive/index.html

[stuartlittle]

I'm a big fan of the Orb Audio speakers....love the sub and the satellites. They definitely sound as big as you can get in this size package.

[daviethek]

I have the Gallo reference 3's. I agree with a previous comment that if the Gallos you are considering are similar or identical to the Ref. 3's mid range "balls" then having 5 of them and a decent sub would be very good and might even be awesome. Try to audition ORB also. Use good speaker wire with the Gallo's. Good Luck.

[pelly3s]

I got a couple of pairs of Tannoy speakers in recently at work and they are great. I think they smallest are the Fusion 1's and they are dirt cheap. They sound great though

[Breezer88888]

Hey Batmon,

Well it looks like you're not interested in in-walls, or I'd suggest the Polk RC85i all around. They're reasonably priced too, but maybe not if wiring is a hassle. I posted a review on them here in A/R if you're interested.

As for small speakers, would a set of Klipsch Quintet II's do the trick? Depending on your listening preferences, they may or may not be right for you. You are a little difficult to gauge due to your mention of Panasonic (no disrespect to Panasonic). But the Klipsch satellites systems are definitely worth an audition if you can still find them. The Gallo's benefit from a certain "cool factor" that's hard to beat. You'll even appreciate them when they're not playing.
Good luck.

[Yonettes]

check out the JM labs Sib and CUB.

[stuartlittle]

You have to check out the Orb Audio speakers...they have big sound and are very compact. They sell direct, so their prices are way better than some of the other things out there.

http://www.orbaudio.com

[oddeoowphil38]

Hello there thought I would mention a couple others. Ever considered the Rocket Tykes found over at av123.com or the "middies" found at the htd.com? Another worth mentioning would be the HsU Ventrelliquist found on HsU.com. Sorry for any misspelling-never said I was a speller only a spitter......LOL!!!! Just kidding. Good luck with your descision.

[kfalls]

If you're looking for something a little "different", check out the Blue Room Micro-Pod system.

http://www.podspeakers.net/micropods.html

I haven't heard them, but I do have the Mini-Pods which sound very good for their price range. They have optional wall mounts which also look pretty cool. If you're looking at the Bose-like mini-cubes for WAF or space restrictions, it's going to be pretty difficult to beat the Gallos.

Anything with a 3" or 4" "woofer" isn't going to be very dynamic. Moving up to a 5 1/4" or 6" woofer will make a substantial difference in dynamics and overall tonal quality and there's many reasonably-priced systems available from Klipsch, Energy, NHT, PSB, Paradigm, etc... Even with a sub-woofer you're going to hear a gap in frequency response. According to the specs the Gallo Micro's low freq limit is 80Hz, but they don't say how much. It could be @ -10db as with the Bose (Blue-Room Micros is 90HZ@-6db). With a 3" woofer and a small round enclosure, I doubt there's appreciable level at even 100Hz-120Hz. If you go with too small a satellite you're going to miss a lot of information even with an adequate sub. If you want to experience Home Theater, why cheat yourself? Listen to the cube/spheres then listen to the bookshelfs. If you want to wall-mount them anyway, go for the sound.

[Timn8ter]

For $400/pr. you probably won't do better than this.

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Iss...legrialing.htm

[thehorsts]

For $550, Hsu Research sells (directly) a home theater speaker set the consists of 1 center speaker, 5 satellites (including a rear center speaker), and a great subwoofer.

www.hsuresearch.com

Good luck.

[Timn8ter]

This is kind of thing that makes me wonder. I suppose in the world of 2" satellite speakers this is a great product but why not spend just a little bit more and get something you'll be happy with for many years. The response curve tells it all. The Hsu satellites will need to be crossed to a sub at 150Hz or perhaps 200Hz!. This means you're asking the sub to reproduce mid-range frequencies.
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/ass...otlightlab.pdf
A measured FR of 214Hz to 20Khz +/- 5.1db???? This means that there could be a 10db swing in frequency response! Your ear will sense a 3db swing, perhaps less.
If you can get a look at independent FR graphs I think you'll find this true of any 2" satellite. If you absolutely must have something extremely small then the Gallo's or Hsu's will do the job. Otherwise, step up to satellites that can get below the 100Hz line, preferably 80Hz.

[SAPSEC]

Get BW-303 : they are small and good ! Price is affordable too ....