Speaker recommendations for confined area

[IMHO]

OK, last time I started a thread like this I didn't have much success, but will give these forums one more try

I'm looking to put together a basic but nice 2 channel system in my bedroom.

The problem is the speakers will be going into "nook" about 2.5M wide and 1M deep, and inside that nook lives a 50" plasma TV that's 1.2M wide - so that means the speakers are going to be awfully close to both a side wall and the back wall.

Myself and the decorations police like the form factor of the Marantz M-CR603 so that means it needs to be something that not only sounds good in close proximity to walls, but also works well on just 60 watts of power.

What I'm looking for is suggestions for my auditioning list

So far it looks like this:

KEF LS50

KEF R300

B&W CM1

Jamo C803 (cheap, but thrown in as a possible wildcard)

Focal 603V

Monitor Audio GX50

Dynaudio Excite X16

Any decent, <70K Baht bookshelf speakers I've missed?

[AngelsLariat]

Any decent, <70K Baht bookshelf speakers I've missed?

That's a good list. Proac and PSB speakers might be worth a listen too.

Edited August 6, 2013 by AngelsLariat

[IMHO]

Any decent, <70K Baht bookshelf speakers I've missed?

That's a good list. Proac and PSB speakers might be worth a listen too.

I tried to get a pair of Proac towers past the decorations police about 3 years ago, but they're so ugly the only way to own them would be divorce

Even the MA's and Dynaudio's are borderline ugly according to Mrs IMHO, and would need to sound substantially better than anything else to get them into the house.

There's a NAD/NHT/PSB shop not too far away, will drop in and see what they have, thanks

Edited August 7, 2013 by IMHO

[AngelsLariat]

Any decent, <70K Baht bookshelf speakers I've missed?

That's a good list. Proac and PSB speakers might be worth a listen too.

I tried to get a pair of Proac towers past the decorations police about 3 years ago, but they're so ugly the only way to own them would be divorce

Even the MA's and Dynaudio's are borderline ugly according to Mrs IMHO, and would need to sound substantially better than anything else to get them into the house.

There's a NAD/NHT/PSB shop not too far away, will drop in and see what they have, thanks

The two-way Proacs are pretty standard looking wood box speakers. Not sure why the towers would have caused a domestic problem, was it because you would have wanted to place them out a couple of meters from the back wall? I have a pair of Proac 2S bookshelf speakers in my study and honestly even those might have that problem with placement. They really rock, & roll but only if you mate them with an appropriate amp and put them on stands & let them breath.

I mentioned the PSB's but actually only have heard them at Cornice (driven by NAD electronics) and I was a bit underwhelmed. They struck me as being speakers that don't do much of anything wrong but ones that don't swing. However they get great reviews and I have a hunch that they might grow on me if I had them in my own house.

You mentioned NHT. I forgot about them. Cornice recently was having a promotion on the Superzeros for about 8800 baht/pr. NHT also has some in wall speakers that might be worth a look if space is at a premium.

Also - a bit of an odd pick, but a few years ago I heard a small pair of Westlake speakers at a shop in Bangkok. They were sort of expensive for a speaker of such small physical dimensions but they were about the most dynamic sounding "bookshelf" speakers that I've ever heard. Unfortunate though I can't remember which shop I saw them at.

Edited August 7, 2013 by AngelsLariat

[IMHO]

@Angels

My wife isn't much into audio (unless it's 140+dB and she's dancing), but she is very into decorating... 6 years ago I bought some Jamo R909's and a Jamo D7 7.2 system when Magnet Audio had a big sale (for one of our other houses), and since then Mrs IMHO is spoiled and won't have anything in the house that's a "square box with wood veneer" look But she will go for something in painted finish, or something that's not just a "rectangle with circles in it" LOL

I have auditioned NHT's a few times in the past, but never came away impressed. A bit like the way you describe PSB's - technically they don't do too much wrong, but they just just lack any sort of character. I have to say I'm much more drawn in by dynamics and balanced FR than I am clinical staging and imaging ever since I bought some JBL Pro speakers for party duties. With good dynamics and balanced frequency response you *are there*, with good staging and imaging you can only imagine you're there

Have never even heard of Westlake - must get out from under my rock sometimes!

Edited August 8, 2013 by astral
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[AngelsLariat]

I hadn't previously heard of Westlake either but they appear to specialize in high efficiency studio speakers. Some of their larger models are so expensive that I'm skeptical whether they really sell any of them.

Edited August 8, 2013 by astral
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[CarlBkk]

I think you'll be amazed by the Kef LS50. Beautiful looking and sound thrice their price. Good in small areas too. It's also well worth considering front-ported bookshelf speakers from PMC - they'll work well in enclosed spaces by not extending false bass bloom.

[astral]

something that's not just a "rectangle with circles in it" LOL

Put the grill on and cover the circles, when she is not looking.

You might get lucky?