Roth ipod dock ? speakers

[ak74]

Greetings all,

My first post here.

My wife accidentally emailed me a receipt for my Xmas present - a Roth Cocoon MC4. It's a hybrid vacuum tube/solid state Ipod dock. No speakers included and the manufacturer does not have a recommendation on their website. Here's a link:

http://www.rothaudio.co.uk/docs/products_09/MC4.shtml

Anyways, I need speakers. Honestly I'm not an audiophile and don't know enough about audio to make an informed decision. I live in a smaller town (Charleston WV) and can't really go out and listen to different speakers in a showroom. And I haven't had much luck on the internet matching this to speakers. But I want something nice that sounds good. I have a Bose Sound Dock for my Ipod now. It sounds fine but I probably don't know what I'm missing. I'm looking for something small, like bookshelf size. The Roth puts out only 13W, and this may be a consideration. Some speakers I've looked at (on the net, but not heard) are B & W 600 series (current 635 or old 602 from ebay, etc), Bose 301, Monitor Audio Bronze 2 and Roth's own OLI 2. I'm not planning to use a subwoofer. These speakers will be used only for music, not home theatre, in a 2 speaker setup.

The music: My 5 favorite bands: Sublime, Pixies, Portishead, Chemical Brothers and Belle and Sebastian (rock, beats, acoustic; little of everything). Man, I usually don't tell someone my musical tastes until I know them better! Kind of personal.... I also listen to a lot of NPR on the radio, mostly the talk programs.

The room: 18' x 18'. Vaulted ceiling. Half carpet, half slate floor. minimalist furniture, generally in wood and smooth coverings like vinyl. 2 brick walls opposite each other and 2 full window walls opposite each other. radio and speakers would be along a brick wall. Ceiling has sheetrock - no popcorn or acoustic tiles. The room does not echo however.

I'm sure you know the prices of the ones I've been looking at, but price point preferrably in the $3-500 range. I know you get what you pay for, but don't want to spend a huge amount. Any suggestions or input would be much appreciated.

If anyone wants to know something about radiology or old British motorcycles, I'd be happy to reciprocate your wealth of audio knowledge.

Thanks,
Adam
akrompecher@yahoo.com

Also if anyone has a Regency TR1 or Sony TR63 (vintage transistor radios) they're willing to part with, let me know.

[MikeyBC]

The B&W or Monitor Audio would be worth looking into but putting Bose 301's or any other Bose speaker on that amp would be considered a crime in my books. Your room is pretty big so i'd look for efficiency there are some speakers designed for low wattage tube gear but i don't think you'll find any in your 3-5 hundred dollar range unless you build a pair yourself...Fostex full range drivers are a popular choice.

[JoeE SP9]

Hi Adam and welcome to AR. First off, speaker choice is a highly personal thing. With only 13 Watts available your choices are narrowed considerably. Look for speakers that have a high efficiency rating. This is sound level at one Watt expressed in Db (Decibels). The higher the number the greater the efficiency. Look for speakers that have a rating of 95Db/1Watt or higher. I'm sure others will welcome you and have more specific advice. I'm not really familiar with box speakers.

[ak74]

Thanks for the replies and help so far. This information is extremely helpful. I had never heard of speaker efficiency and this sounds like a key consideration in this application.

My idea at this point is to find a nice set of old speaker cabinets that match the mid-century modern look of the room, gut them, and replace the drivers with a pair of Fostex FE206Es. They're rated at 96dB/W.

Thanks again.