Speakers with "Room-filling sound"?

Hello all,
I'd like to get a new pair of 'speakers for my living room. What I don't want in this particular room is a small "sweet spot" - I'd like to be anywhere in the room and enjoy decent sound, with a budget of around 2000 dollars. Floor standing is preferred.

The room is about 16x24 feet with a slanting, vaulted ceiling, hardwood floors with a large rug.

The Decware ERRs are looking good, but are there any other speakers you'd recommend? There are various amplifiers I could use, ranging from a Marantz home theater amp to an all-tube preamp and amplifier of 8 or 30 watts.

I do realize I'll be giving up pinpoint imaging, etc., but I have another room for that.

Thanks for any pointers,
Bob

 

You want 'room filling sound' you want a pair of Ohm Walsh's.

http://ohmspeaker.com/

 

Focals, Dynaudio, or Monitor Audio is where I would start.

 

Exactly. Omnidirectional is the design parameter to look for.

 

I don't get the concept of a large sweet spot. IMO the sweet spot will be small no matter what speakers you use, assuming you have one at all.

The sweet spot is the spot where one is equidistant from both left and right speakers. Without being in this precise spot, the timing between channels will not be right. There is absolutely no getting around this. If you are a foot off center, the sound from one speaker can take a millisecond later to get to your ears. This may seem insignificant to some but it's not at all to me.

Many mistake the term sweet spot to mean things quite different than I do. IMO, having speakers with a wide dispersion pattern has very little if anything to do with the sweet spot or the ability of a system to image well.

Trying to do critical listening when not in the true sweet spot is pretty much pointless to me. It's not a whole lot different than listening to a tape recording with the heads slightly out of alignment. Think about it for a second. What is the difference? Both deal with making sure the critical timing between channels is preserved. Move your head out of the sweet spot and that is all out the window.

This is not to say that one can't appreciate listening to their systems from anywhere they want. I will insist on listening from the sweet spot or not make any claims to be listening critically. All that matters is if your experience makes you smile. YMMV.

 

Do you mean Polk Monitor Audio? If so, cool. I have those.

 

Take a look at the Kef Q900. Their Uni-Q drivers offer excellent dispersion and sound great as well. They were very impressive for their price ($1800/pr) when I heard them at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest last year.

 

I am still trying to figure out if my study can accommodate a pair of short Ohms without dramatically changing its layout ...

 

Audio Note AZ three is a quit large sounding speaker. Easy to drive. And cheap to buy. Got them in my office. And despite there smallish size. The sound is big and all over the room.

 

Plus, omni speakers will require a more careful and extensive room treatment.

 

Buy used pair of Magnepans

 

However, if sound quality were a top priority, you would probably be able to move the furniture.

 

There is no replacement for displacement. I would stay away from small drivers and narrow, anemic floor standers , which is the trend. You also want speakers with great off axis response. These are great.
https://www.kefdirect.com/index.php...kers/q900-floorstanding-loudspeaker-1199.html

 

Over $1800 for a pair of not made in the UK KEF's is not exactly a bargain ...

 

No, no bargain, but great sounding and fits the bill of room filling.

 

Filling a room may require more than 8/30 watts at your price point.
Have heard Cerwin Vega sound ok CLS/XLS 215 may do the trick for you.
What does a pair of Emerald Physics CS2 speakers sell for these days?

 

I do like the sound of Magnepans - years ago I had a pair of MMGs. My memory is that they are fairly directional, but perhaps later, more high end models are better in that respect.

 

Doug, I agree with your observations. But this room is not for critical listening, but enjoyable sound around the room. I'm trying to get the best possible sound with that priority in mind.

 

Exactly. They are very directional.

 

Watching this thread with interest, as I am in the same boat

 

Room filling sound? Try the Bose direct/reflecting speakers.

 

Something quite big and beefy without lacking some finesse? Q Acoustics 3050.

 

All speakers fill the room with sound, but if you want appreciate what you are listen to, you need to be in the sweet spot. To me you nave to chiose the sound you prefer

 

I think if you do some research, you'll find that matching the amplifier and speakers is one of the most
important aspects of getting great sound, so knowing which amp you're going to use is essential.
(Although that might also preclude using a home theatre amp)

Or you could just ask for random advice from people who you don't know, and have no idea of their
preferences, or credibility.

 

Based on your room size and wattage examples( excluding the Marantz hypothetical) you probably should be looking for a high to higher efficiency floor-stander three -way speaker of conventional design. Electrostatics require higher wattage which would rule out the low wattage tubes amps you indicated but not the Marantz. With the higher efficiency conventional speaker you could use any amp pretty much. With-in your budget there are a good number of new or used speakers out there.