Very small room--anything but HLP3es2?

[jhold1954]

I have a very small listening room, 11 feet by 12 feet (3.35 X 3.66 meters). I have a pair of HLP3es2, on 24-inch stands. I like them but want to know if I'd realize any benefit by moving up to the Monitor 30 or Compact 7es3 in so small a room. I'd like a bigger, more dynamic sound, but that might be impossible given the cramped space.

Associated equipment:
Cambridge Audio 840C CD player (running balanced)
Bel Canto Pre 3 preamp
Bel Canto M300 monoblocks
REL Strata III sub (just barely on)

In my previous experience, it has been difficult to get ported speakers to work well in this little room -- they tend to excite bass resonances. (Most recently I had Spendor SP3/1p speakers, very nice, but couldn't control the low end.)

[Jmohd]

Hi jhold1954,

My listening room is smaller than yours . I'm using SHL5 on 17" stand. As already mentioned in other threads, the listening room should be well treated.

Pls post your pictures of your set-up.

[KT88]

Hey, jhold 1954

I think a set of Monitor 30's could work very well in that space, as long as you don't listen at really high volume levels. Remember, these speakers tend to be used by sound engineers in very tight spaces. If you don't mind listening in a near-field set-up, you could bring them out into the room a bit, which would be very helpful-and you could keep your 24 inch stands, they're the perfect height.

Yes, the Monitor 30 is ported, but unlike your SP3-1P, the port is in the front, which should help with the bass response. Hopefully, you have a dealer nearby who would allow you to borrow M 30's or Compact 7's in order to hear for yourself if they'll work.

Hope this helps.

Bob LaBarca
State College, PA

[Jeff Day]

I have a very small listening room, 11 feet by 12 feet (3.35 X 3.66 meters). I have a pair of HLP3es2, on 24-inch stands. I like them but want to know if I'd realize any benefit by moving up to the Monitor 30 or Compact 7es3 in so small a room. I'd like a bigger, more dynamic sound, but that might be impossible given the cramped space.

Associated equipment:
Cambridge Audio 840C CD player (running balanced)
Bel Canto Pre 3 preamp
Bel Canto M300 monoblocks
REL Strata III sub (just barely on)

In my previous experience, it has been difficult to get ported speakers to work well in this little room -- they tend to excite bass resonances. (Most recently I had Spendor SP3/1p speakers, very nice, but couldn't control the low end.)

Alan voices his speakers in a 3 by 4 meter room, and uses his M40.1s in it for listening, so I expect any of the Harbeths would work fine. I use the Super HL5s in a room about that size of room, and they work very nicely.

Best,

Jeff

[ryder]

One of my greedy friend fitted an M40 in a room smaller than yours, no joke.

Below is a picture of the huge Marten Coltrane speakers in a space of 9'8"(W) x 12"(L). The sound in that room was claimed to be unbelievably real to the point of uncanny. Just make sure your room is adequately treated.

[hifi_dave]

One of my customers has by choice a listening room approx 12 x 11 ft. In this he has had all sorts of large and exotic speakers. At present he is using a pair of Tannoy Canterbury and very good they sound too with their 15 inch DC drivers.

The room has a fair amount of treatment with home made diffusers behind the listening seat, CD racks on side walls and absorbent by the way of curtains behind the speakers. The room is so small that you can just touch the speakers from the hot seat.

I have heard several such installations over the years and believe it is the quality of bass not the quantity which is important. Put a small, boomy pair of small speakers in this room and it would be unbearable but plenty of clean bass is no problem.

[GregD]

This is a very interesting thread for me - my (bed)room is 3.4m by 2.8m which is I think about 11 feet by 9 feet. I am yet to purchase my first Harbeths and am intrigued by the answers given here.

My LS3/5a speakers sound fine in this room, so my first thought was P3ESR. And I have received well-considered advice for this course of action. However, I recall AS telling us how many Harbeths have been finally-voiced in a 3m by 3m room, including C7 and SHL5. I also see that some are using SHL5, M30 and C7 in their very small rooms. hifi_dave told me C7 could be workable.

My room is well-damped, I would say, and I don't mind having large speakers 'in the way'. I'm happy to purchase any Harbeth so long as it sounds OK in my room. One day I will get a larger space and aim to own the M40.1 at the first opportunity. I assume the M40.1 is unsuitable in such a small room, unless someone can offer me a glimmer of hope!

Thoughts anyone?