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I’ve decided to do some remodeling on the house the next few months. New HVAC, roof, fresh paint of all exterior trim, waterproof all exterior porches, probably do the kitchen and some work waterproofing basement again.
This is all gonna cost a ton of cash so I planned accordingly and well, since i have issues, I also alloted some funds for upgrades in my main 2 channel set up.
The room is 24 long * 16 wide * 18 tall and basically open to about 9000 cubic feet of air volume due to it being pretty wide open to the rest of the house. (open balcony, open to hallway, open to kitchen etc.) I had been looking at speakers, I had found some old custom re-built Western Electric types but they start at $25k and I am no where near prepared to drop that kind of $$$. I think I can budget $10k as a reasonable upgrade to my current Ωmega super 6 XRS Alnico’s
Amp would be Vinnie Rossi L2iSE, I am torn on subwoofers, if i had to I would purchase a Rythmic or 2 or even the higher end REL but truth is I don’t want to add the subs, I own subs, 2 pairs. I like subs, I just don’t want to build a system based on them, they are difficult to integrate into this room. (i Use them in my HT and smaller near field systems)
I adore my Omegas, i enjoy everything about them. I want something that will take advantage of my amplifier, fill my soul with peace and give me a sense of awe and “bigger, bolder presence” in that space. The Omega speakers are excellent at low and moderate volume, that is when they reach their limitations, a pair of single 6" drivers can only do so much.
I will continue to audition speakers the next few months but I value your opinions and also want to do my best to mate the equipment best i can so that i give it every opportunity to have synergy.
What else should I be thinking of? Yes I am trying to figure out how to treat the room in order to enhance the acoustics, if that is not possible, I will not further upgrade, it would be wasted money.
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Honestly I’d really consider looking at some used avantgarde horns (like a duo perhaps), you have the space for them and they offer a ton of emotion overall, and would pair pretty well with your source gear as well
Classic audio loudspeakers might really scratch that itch but I have a feeling those are likely out of budget used though. Honestly that goes for many many of the other speakers I’d want to mention here lol.
I also think you may find something like a pureaudioproject trio15 to be extremely immersive and interesting, can also be customized with different drivers for different sounds, might be cool to try an open baffle, but less surefire than the horn above. I only worry the room might be weird for them, but there’s hope so I will mention it
You could actually shoot for some tannoy if you can find some as well (I know a ton of people also like older jbl/altec lansing/etc but I’m personally not as much of a fan of the vintage horns)
Regarding your room, from past pictures you have shared, it does seem pretty damn hard to treat properly. I have no real way of knowing given I can’t listen to it myself, but I bet it’s going to be extremely difficult to tame that. Hence why I might steer you toward horns. Horn speakers given how they function offer a more direct sound with reflections and the room playing a bit lower role in the end sound imo (if you are in the more narrow sweet spot), so I’d say going for a horn design is likely the way to go (also a lot of the horns I can think of would likely fit your preferences as well)
I also know you were considering going for some Fleetwood/OMA which I do think would meet the sound you like, but the ones to properly fit your room might be too much (also they aren’t the best value either)
Also look a tobian soundsystems as well
Edit: klipschorns fit very well into your budget and you might really enjoy them, if you have liked Klipsch stuff in the past
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Thank you @M0N, your wisdom and experience as always is very much appreciated.
At some point i will empty the room completely of all furniture and work on the possibility of adding some thick wall hung type tapestries, i am researching acoustic material availability and Also custom panels to help absorb some reflections if possible. Again, this is a difficult room BUT it doesn’t sound bad sitting in the sweet spot, it simply sounds like a small concert hall and i am doing what i can to work within its structure and acoustic capabilities.
The Klipschhorn falls within my price range (practically new too) and would offer The advantage that it is very well known to me, i have heard them at multiple dealers, in various environments and it is simply a speaker that applies itself well to my particular room, listening habits and wide range of kit i have available at my fingertips to experiment w/ if i chose to do so.
I have also considered bringing in professional help, an audio engineer, with proper test equipment to measure the accoustic character of the room and then construct based on actual Measurements. This may ultimately be the most cost effective measure as opposed to trial and error. Good equipment cannot overcome poor room acoustics, even moderate equipment will sound very good when used in the proper environment, at least this is what the professionals assure me.
Ultimately i will flip flop repeatedly in my opinions, and what i do the next few months, finding honest and fairly priced re-modeling contractors has already proven to be Extremely difficult in my locality. I do want to maintain the basic structure of the room and i have no desire to ruin the house just so i can have a music room. I also have some other ideas, the dining room NEVER gets used and i have been eye-balling it for months as a better near field listening area which would cost almost nothing relative to the big room to treat and use exclusively for music…
I’m trying to enjoy myself and have fun w/ this. Allot of money is involved and i have to be satisfied w/ my choices for the next 10yrs or so, both with the re-model and whatever equipment survives the upcoming purge. Knowledge is power, education is key. I’m tired of nickel & diming this hobby. I will have so many questions over the next few months and look forward to the journey.
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The tapestry idea is good, but actually keep the furniture as long as it’s soft furniture, that could actually help
The problem I’d see is that you would likely blow past your budget with that one once it’s all said and done, at least with my experience for custom horn systems and an acoustic designer, but this would likely give you the “best” sound per se (although you could potentially end up with something really no nonsense and neutral which you may not be looking for)
If you can find another room to dedicate, that’s likely going to make much much more sense than trying to remodel the other room
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Space is a luxury my friend! It gives you options. Having been in your space I can chime in and say there wasn’t anything fundamentally wrong with the space when I was there. You have a good bit of absorbing materials in the couches and the room itself is big enough to not introduce any sort of early reflections.
The only recommendation I’d give you is to move the huge ass coffee table from the center of the space as it will free up a lot of volume/space between you and your speakers. Before you do anything crazy or costly try the things that are free to try first.
In my experience even sitting in a chair with high arm rests when compared compared to a chair with low or no arm rests, there was an effect on the sound. Your coffee table will certainly be impacting what you’re hearing. You just have too much stuff around and between you and your sound.
This was effectively the combination you had me listen to correct? If it was, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it showed to be a pretty good revealing speaker, very capable and detailed in the high region given that it’s a true single driver design.
On the matter of a subwoofer, I’ve become a big fan, and not for the reasons most people would think of. But I’ve found that in my system I back the sub up to where I really can’t “hear” the sub and all I hear is the three dimensional space the sub creates. I think with some careful syncing it’s possible to get the best of both worlds. The purity that you’re chasing but also add that certain je ne sais quoi that a sub will introduce especially since that’s the area the Omegas could use help with.
Nick’s new living room…
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Thank you, I laughed hard, you picked up on my level of “insanity” immediately though… 
It’s hard to hide the crazy from folks who actually visit and spend some time w/me…
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What are some good “relatively budget” speakers that are very efficient and would make sense to pair with a 2wpc bottlehead s.e.x?
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Klipsch RP600 is known for its efficiency and Klipsch typically sounds great on a tube setup, but I don’t know that combo specifically. This is a horn-loaded tweeter, so it would be best for dynamic, fun, energetic music.
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I totally agree with the rp600m pick, I also like omega super 7 monitor mk2 if you want something pretty organic, refined, and capable, or a tekton mini lore if you wanted something more neutral, technical, and clean but more analytical. My fave there is the omega but that’s also the most pricey but still sub 1k
I just assumed you would be after bookshelves, but if you opened up to floorstanders your options might increase
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I didn’t even know there were efficient floorstanders, I assumed towers needed more power, anyway the klipsch rp600m seem like they would suit my taste, a friend has the rp400 and I think they’re awesome
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Actually with a larger driver and larger cabinet you can make more efficient speakers, or go full horn to further increase efficiency. With bookshelves you are more fighting against physics a bit. But the rp600m should be very nice, will be curious to hear your thoughts 
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Considering my room is a small 4 by 4 meter, do you think the smaller klipsch rp500m can yield satisfactory results similar to the rp600?, they are far cheaper and I listen at moderate volumes.
also the only reason im going bookshelves is I already own speaker stands and foams, what differences in sound can I expect to get with floorstanders? say klipsch jamo or rp for example
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Hmm.
I am pretty sure I had my previous setup in a similarly sized room, so it’s actually not that small. One thing that helped me a ton was to use room treatment to reduce boominess.
I still think rp600 is the play and use treatment.
I’ve used bookshelves and floorstanders in the past and enjoyed my bookshelves more. The floorstander has a fuller sound, better dynamics, and just a wall of sound, but I always felt the presentation, staging, and imaging was better with my bookshelf. Not comparing apples w/ apples though.
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Thanks for your view
Based on the few acoustic articles I’ve read the bookshelves may deliver a more “studio” like sound, better staged and imaged. More dependent on the listening position.
The few towers ive heard were on bigger living rooms and they sounded terrific in that context, I wish all of this information was more easily available.
I think another big thing is that bookshelves offer much better value than floorstanders imo, personally I don’t think floorstanders offer really all that much more than their bookshelf counterparts (depending on the brand) outside of better low end extension, more volume/power handling, and that different presentation/room interaction. But a bookshelf can get you more per dollar because it is physically smaller so less expensive cabinet, has less drivers which also lowers cost, and requires less crossovers at times. If you look at klipsch for example, the rp600m vs rp6000f, it’s double the cost while I’d say only marginal benefit as long as your goal isn’t SPL or to cover with a sub (which it doesn’t even do, you still want a sub either way imo). So at least from my experiences I’ve always liked bookshelves for their cost advantages too
Also with bookshelves you have more flexibility in placement in the room too, so I think that’s a win there
But there are worthwhile floorstanders out there as well lol
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My current conclusion is that if you have the time and patience to position the speakers in a proper spot for the particular room, then the bookshelves provide better value.
If not, due to their superior SPL performance the floorstanders might sound better with less setup, specially with a sub.
This depends on source gear and other acoustic factors as well, but its the general idea I have.
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There’s also the WAF, bookshelfs are less imposing, they don’t take over a room and they can be better incorporated into a room’s design with the right stands.
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The RP600 can fill a Good sized room with sound. You can move it around closer to the corners or walls and mess with the toe in to adjust the bass and the impact the sound will have on your seating position. The smaller speakers are not quite the same, they are nice but the RP600 will give you more value for your money over the long run in my opinion. I also like the RP600 because i am able to enjoy a variety of musical genre’s on it. I am happy with the way it plays modern and bass heavy music and i can also enjoy more relaxed genre’s. I have also used them w/ my HT and they take well to DSP tuning so if you decide to go with a much higher end upgrade for your music later on these are easy to use elsewhere and will continue to provide value for your money spent.
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Hey nick, nice to read you here mate
Ill take your takes and save a bit more for the rp600m, other theory I come across a lot is that bigger drivers (on speaker models) are always a worth investment.
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