Speaker/Receiver Suggestions for Small Room Vinyl

I was thinking that this would be a good place to solicit recommendations from the experts. For my birthday last November, the wife bought me an Audio-Technica AT-LP-120 turntable and a pair of Creative Reference CR-3 speakers. I had gotten rid of most of my vinyl 25 years ago but I kept some of my rarer, higher-quality LP's. In the meantime, I have spent the past year scrounging used record stores, eBay, and Discogs for vintage vinyl. I've now got a total of about 300 LP's (at least 3x what I had a year ago). I try to buy only good stuff and I've got a number of Japanese pressings and MFSL albums. About a month ago, I sprung for an Ortofon Red cartridge and headshell. I have the turntable set up in a very small room - less than 10' x 10'.

For my 60th birthday in a few weeks, my wife told me to go ahead and upgrade my system. She told me that I could spend up to $1000 total. I've done a far amount of research and I'm looking at the Onkyo TX-8140 receiver. It's around $300. It seems to have plenty of power - probably a good bit more than I need. And it has many very good reviews. I expect to use it almost exclusively for my vinyl. But I do have a Sirius/XM subscription in my truck. So I may use the receiver for that. Conventional radio? Probably never.

So, what should I get for speakers? I'm not a professional and I'm not really an audiophile. But I appreciate good music and I like it with some punch. My collection is mostly 60s & 70s rock - lots of Beatles, Jethro Tull, Zeppelin, Floyd. Throw in some Allman Borthers, Cream, Deep Purple, Doors as well as blues bands like Savoy Brown and TYA. My head-banging days are behind me and my hearing is already well on its way to being shot. But I still like it loud.

There seem to be lots of bookshelf speakers out there including some very good ones. But I really don't have the space for them. My CR-3's sit on the floor. So I'd prefer floor speakers. The Klepsch R-24F's look like they might work. I was originally looking at the 28's. But they're WAY too large for this small space. The Klepsch speakers are within my budget at around $250 each. What stinks is the fact that, in July, Amazon had them for $140 each which seems to have been a dynamite deal. Too bad that I missed out on that.

I'm probably going to get a gazillion different opinions and that's OK. Thanks in advance for the advice!

 

Hi there...yes, I think any of the floorstanders in the Klipsch Reference series would be worth trying out in your case.

But if you are not in a big hurry, and price is a concern, you might want to wait until the end of next month when all of the Black Friday sales start.

After all, this range of speakers is not only available on Amazon, big box stores like Best Buy carry them as well...maybe you can jump on an upcoming discount so you won’t have to kick yourself for missing the last one!

 

Thanks very much. Klipsch. Not Klepsch. DUH! Jeez - great way to make a good impression, huh?

 

Try a pair of Boston Acoustics A70 or the larger A150s. They’re “vintage-y” but sound warm and precise. Great with jazz, classical but Led Zep IV sounds amazing on them too. Not expensive either.

 

Yes, the 24s will rock your world; anything bigger and the room won't be able to handle the bass. I have the F2s (now 26s) and the bass is nuclear on my 12X13 living room. Not overwhelming, mind you, just very powerful. As for the amp, well, at 300 bucks I'd seek a clean-used, vintage unit; it will anhilate anything modern you can get for that money. I say tell your wife to ¨allow¨you to spend some more money and get a Yamaha or Outlaw amp.

 

I wouldn’t discount bookshelves, you can get some stands on amazon for $50ish. They aren’t the best stands but get the job done. I love my Wharfedale Reva 2s, music direct and parts connexion have some great deals on the Reva line (including the floorstanders). If the room is small you may be able to get away with the Reva 1.

However, if it were me, I’d seek out a used vintage amp on audiogon or the classifieds here instead of the one you mentioned. I got my Harman Kardon PM650 integrated for under $150 and spent another $125 to have it cleaned up, recapped, etc. It sounds very nice.

I’d also get a used phono pre amp, something along the lines of a Lounge LCR. They are $300 new, but I’ve seen them go for as low as $150 used.

Finally, I’d upgrade the cart and wouldn’t go used on that. The red is OK, but you can get a lot better in the $200 range. A suggestion that I have experience with would be an Audio Technica VM540ML (~$250).

So, all that said I’d go with:
Wharfedale Reva 2 - $499 (this is a great price for a great speaker)
Used vintage integrated - $250
Vivo speaker stands - $40 on Amazon
Lounge LCR MKIII (used) - $150
Audio Technica VM540ML- $250 (you can probably find a discount if you shop around)

That would bring you to just under $1,200. But I promise you it will blow away what you would get with the amp mentioned and $700 speakers. The Reva 2s retailed for $999 and are worth every penny of that. $499 is a STEAL.

Assuming the integrated you choose has a built in phono stage, you could skip the phono pre or cart and acquire it when funds allow. But if you can scrape it together I wouldn’t wait. Both will make a huge difference in sound.

 

The above paragraph screams KLIPSCH !!!!

 

Some pretty good deals on used Rotel amps to be had, pair it with some Paradigm/PSB speakers (also easy to find relatively cheap) and I think you'd have a pretty good rocking system. But Pinhead is right, it does scream Klipsch lol. Personally not a fan of 'new' Klipsch, but a pair of Heresy be quite nice, although it'd break your budget quickly!

 

I've been on the road all week and am still getting caught up. Thanks to everyone that has weighed in. I greatly appreciate the advice.

Greenmonster...I had semi-sorta considered a vintage amp/receiver. But being decidedly non-electronics-oriented, that thought scared me. I guess I can shop around and see if there is an electronics shop in my neck of the woods. You mentioned Harman Kardon. As a lad back in the 70's, I shopped around for a new receiver. My stepfather recommended H-K. For some (idiotic) reason which I do not remember, I ended up buying a Realistic. But I will look into going the vintage route.

I do like Pinhead's comment. I've been rethinking the floor speakers. I'm still leaning toward Klipsch but bookshelf units with stands.

So, again, thanks to everyone!

 

Just be sure to audition some Klipsch speakers prior to purchase if you aren't familiar with their sound. Opinions tend to be pretty polarizing. IMO, horn speakers, particular on the cheaper end of the spectrum, can sound a little "shouty".

As for vintage, there's definitely a trade off. You will want to get it fully serviced after purchase (unless it's been recently restored), and there's always the possibility of future maintenance needed. But as far as sound, you get a lot more bang for your buck. The HK PM650 is "high current", which is great. Even at 50wpc, they can drive a lot of speakers.

 

I sold hi-fi between 1976 and 1982. Floor standing was a must. I ended up with ESS AMT 1B Monitors, bi-amped with 400 WPC for the bass and 100 WPC for the heil tweeter. Loved it.

But now I'm all about size and simplicity. I'm 66 and played in rock bands for the last 20 years so my hearing has it's challenges as well. As a matter of fact, I'm wearing hearing aids as I type this (I'm in the closing section of a meeting right now. Meetings are all I use them for).

But for me, it's all about bookshelves with a dome tweeter - and a sub for only the DEEP bass. I also have a small room and even with a couple of Polk speakers with 6" woofers and a subwoofer, it sounds incredible and gets more than loud enough for me. I'm using a Mitsubishi separates system with a 150 WPC amp. And a $15 class D DIY subwoofer amp and a 10" KLH subwoofer cabinet. I power the subwoofer amp with a laptop power supply to get it's output power to about 80 WPC.

My wife loves the size of it and I love the sound of it.

 

How about a Klipsch RP-600m and a PS Audio Sprout? That is a pretty compact setup

 

- Will you run a subwoofer? Or never? Because if not, towers can use the space "wasted" by stands to produce more/lower bass. The towers can cost more...but stands aren't free either. (And what would your WIFE prefer the look of? Speakers or towers? For that matter, sound is important but so are aesthetics and domestic bliss ).
- You really must listen to whatever speakers you get. Speakers are SO idiosyncratic, you may like something others don't or hate something that is supposed to be wonderful. This is especially true in YOUR room. Places like Crutchfield have a fairly simple return policy.
- Polk is often having big sales on various models.
- The speakers make far far far more difference to the sound than the receiver. Having said that, to get a unit with a phono input yeah there is just a floor price. I got my buddy a pretty new Onkyo off Craigslist for $30 (!!) as a Hannukah present and be both liked the sound, a distinct improvement over his vintage Yamaha. Hey maybe you could get lucky like that! (And I agree with you, I don't want to mess with ancient electronics).

 

I use Cornwalls is a medium size room, and they are amazing! Perhaps, if you desire something smaller, go for the Heresy’s?

 

You can not go wrong with any of the recommendation already mentioned.

All great gear, components listed.

Whichever way you go, look for used bargains if possible to lower tour total cost.

Audiogon is good.

Try to steer clear of that eba* site, lots of shysters, liars there.not all, but unless %100 score,, no eba*
I used audiogon, and made a huge score.

Klipsch, Boston, infinity(older pair if good)
I would say one is better than the next,but, your source, amp and speakers are the most important.
Preamp does make a difference,sounds like you just need a music system for a small room?

Look used, from a trusted site.

Enjoy the search, and don’t get discouraged, I have gone through a minimum of 5-10 of the following through since the mid- late 80’s.
If you need, test some maps, etc etc, if not your liking, sell and try another.
This is the fun of audio.

Enjoy. The joirner

 

I love horn loaded speakers like Klipsch, but in a room less than 10x10 I would shy away from them. Because of the small environment, I would favor bookshelf speakers with a soft dome tweeter and possibly a subwoofer. Having a subwoofer may not be ideal for 2 channel stereo, but the flexibility of placement and tune-ability will be very appreciated in such a small environment.

I have a pair of Wharfedale Denton 80s and they are very nice in a small room, but they are rear ported so they need some space between themselves and the wall to work well. They are available at MusicDirect for $499 and sometimes as an open box for 399. Wharfedale 225s are available for $350 and are also very nice.

If the speakers are going to have to be right at the boundaries of the room, you may want a sealed or front ported box. Maybe something like an Elac Debut. I don't have experience with any Elac except the UB5s, but they are always well received.

(I was going to strike this paragraph as I think the speakers would be too large)
Another slightly more expensive option could be the Polk LSiM703s (I doubt you would need any bass reinforcement). They are available from Polk for $375 each and from Adorama for $349 each new, and open box in "excellent" condition for $249. They are barely a book shelf speaker (they are quite large) however and may be too much for such a small room. I personally am not a big fan, but read some of the threads here and you will find many who are. There are a number of Polk superfans who can chime in on using the 703 in such a small room.

If you purchase a speaker like the Polk's or some nice "over performing" speakers like Elac UB5s, be aware they they will require lots of power. Most entry level receivers or vintage integrated amplifiers will be overwhelmed.

If you are going to purchase a vintage amplifier, consider a Sherwood 7xxx. They are often overlooked and can be found for very little money. They produce very clean, almost tube like sound, and if paired with a fairly efficient speaker (how did we come full circle to Klipsch again) can get quite loud. A Sherwood 7100 and Klipsch Heresy's would be amazing. So what if you have to take over the living room.

 

If you’re going to spend $499 on Wharfedales, go for the Revas (huge discount on music direct right now). Head and shoulders better speakers than the Dentons and the are bottom ported, allowing for easy placement.

 

WISDOM

 

You might consider powered speakers like the JBL 305 or similar. There's a Klipsch R-51PM well under your budget. If you need it, add a preamp for switching and volume control or even a desktop USB dac/preamp.

Have fun!

 

A large bookshelf with an 8" woofer and a vintage heritage is...

Model 81

Small tower with high sensitivty.

Mini Lore

 

I have to agree with this sentiment. Boston Acoustics pioneered the wide-flat waveguide speaker enclosure depicted in this photo. This enclosure works twice as well as a tower and any speaker with this enclosure will generally outperform any tower even with twice the drivers inside.

The A70 was released in ~1985. It was THE blockbuster bookshelf speaker of the 1980's. A German test of 11 bookshelf speakers rated it #1 in 3 categories and #2 in all other categories, rating #1 overall. It was such a hot seller that the designer ... two years later ... ascended to become president of the company. It was so good it produced an "air pocket" in the company product lineup so that if you bought a $300 pair of A70's you could not upgrade with the A100's you needed to go up to the $750 A150's to get something better.

If you find some they will need re-foaming ($30) and possibly re-capping. Make sure to get a custom kit specialized for BA A70 8" woofers as the foam surrounds were a little different than in standard 8" speakers. Also make sure you buy speakers with original drivers because many times an owner would stupidly buy much lower quality drivers rather than re-foaming the speakers when they wore out after about 13 years. I think you can get a pair + foam for $150 + shipping on ebay and it will take about 90 minutes to re-foam the speakers, lots of videos are available on YouTube.