Given my room dimensions

If it's a fully enclosed room ( ie 4 walls, with no major openings) I would look to seal box designs ( no ports) that are able to go close to wall boundaries and limit bass boom.    For example the ATC SCM 9 or 11 perhaps.

I don’t see why you should restrict yourself to standmouts — small floorstanders like PMC 25.23 or Neat SX1 could work well too. In a conventional British lounge in a box-standard semi-detached, my PMC 25.23 worked very well, for instance. 

Depending on budget, I'd seriously look at the new Kudos Titan 505 standmounts. Heard them on the end of a 272/300 and they really sang, but at Bristol they were successfully paired with just a standalone Nova and garnered a lot of praise for that simple pairing. I would think the SN2 wouldn't have any issues powering them.

There are speakers and speakers, and no fixed rules. It’s a matter of trying things out. For what it’s worth my room is 3.6m wide and 5.2m long into the bay, and SL2s driven by a 300 work wonderfully. I’ve never got a ported speaker to work without boom, though transmission line PMCs have been fine. 

Why oh why don’t more manufacturers make speakers designed to go against the wall? We don’t all live in palaces. 

If you can get to me you are welcome to have a listen. The way a powerful system can drive a room is a wonderful thing, made easier in a more modestly sized room. 

hungryhalibut posted:

There are speakers and speakers, and no fixed rules. It’s a matter of trying things out. For what it’s worth my room is 3.6m wide and 5.2m long into the bay, and SL2s driven by a 300 work wonderfully. I’ve never got a ported speaker to work without boom, though transmission line PMCs have been fine. 

Why oh why don’t more manufacturers make speakers designed to go against the wall? We don’t all live in palaces. 

If you can get to me you are welcome to have a listen. The way a powerful system can drive a room is a wonderful thing, made easier in a more modestly sized room. 

Appreciate that, thank you. My problem is that dealers are all rather a good distance from where I live which will make home demos a more complicated process. Minimum 1 hour away and only do a couple of the mainstream brands.

As someone who has both a similar sized room, and also some similar electronics, I would say that you have no reason to limit yourself to stand mount speakers.  In my case the position of doors and a fireplace mean that firing the speakers down the 5m length is the only option that makes sense, but I would actually do that anyway.  While HHs SL2s are not alone in being happy with their backs right up against a wall, many are not, and that includes some sealed cabinet designs.  And with only 3.5m to play with, it's probably not practical to give many very capable options the breathing space they need, particularly if they were are rear ported.  

I've been running Kudos X3s for a little over a year now, but I've also used Proac D18s with the same electronics / room (hated them, long story well documented, I'll stop there), and both have down firing ports, but I have no problem with boom and one note bass from the X3s with just nudge over half metre from the rear wall.  Plus, they are marvelous, and my fondness of them only grows.  Check them out if you can.  Signals have a demo room of very similar dimensions which helps to make a realistic shortlist, and I have this feeling you might be local.  Good luck.

Front ported speakers can work well. My room is about 7x3.5 with B&W 804s placed along the  wide wall. I suspect it’s not ideal - but has the side effect of the ‘next upgrade’ needing to be a much larger house, which is a rather less scratchable itch...

Speakers are the hardest to demo and to get right. There really is no substitute for the home audition. I've had big floor standers that couldn't do convincing bass weight and stand mounters that overpowered the room with too much bass. And floor mounters that over did the bass and stand mounts that did no bass at all. And tiny speakers that play perfectly. And huge speakers that seemed to click invisibly into the room.  You just can't tell. 

I don't envy you. But if you find something that works perfectly it will be worth all the aggravation.  Since the late 1970s I've had eight amps including two pre/power combos. Eleven digital front ends, fifteen if you add in power supply upgrades. And four pairs of speakers. In a total of three listening rooms. Says it all - for me at least.

I run my SL2s firing down the length of room that is almost the same size (5.2m x 3.6m) as yours.  

If I was firing across I'd want boundary speakers.  Once you've pulled them out into the room, imo 3.6m is too short a distance for free space speakers unless you're OK with a near field setup.  I don't think you'd have to limit yourself to either stand or floor mount speakers.  

Just as an aside, I've often wondered if I could get DBLs to work in my room!

Mine are firing across the room, and work reallly well.

My listening room is only slightly bigger at  4m x 5m and my speakers fire across the shorter 4m width.  I've had a variety of speakers in this configuration: Heybrook HB2 standmounts, Ruark Talisman 2s (moderate floorstanders), a pair I built myself which were 1m tall, Focal 816 SWE and currently the biggest of the lot: Focal Electra 1028be.  There's some trial and error in positioning of course but the big floor-standers have worked fine.  So I wouldn't be put off floor-standers in your room.  You should, though, seek a home demo to make sure.     

My room is about 3.5 x 4.5 m squared and I have pretty large floor standers about 1.3m high and about 350mm wide and the same deep and they sound excellent. They are 2 way bass reflex with rear ports and fire across the short width of the room the do stand in front of two alcoves though that are fitted with shelves full of books, records and lots of other stuff and that really helps.

I had to change amps to get them sounding right though and it took some effort moving them from room to room and into different positions before I found the correct place and posistion for them.

Floorstanders here in 4mx5m I do get the full 5m length to use, speakers are about 50cm away from wall.

I have floorstanding Totem Hawks in my media room, which is the same size, firing across the short width. Running from a UC2/NAP100, but I expect the SN2 would do them more service. We’ve been discussing system sizes for a room of this size in another thread. Factors like ceiling height, flooring and windows will influence how a speaker performs. I moved this system to the media room from the lounge and was very surprised as to how good it sounds in comparison.

I use PMC 20 24 with the bottom of the speakers a foot away from the rear wall. These speakers lean back so the top is much closer. 17 x 13ft room, speakers against the long side and about 8ft apart. With 250 DR works very well for me and the wife. Rich 

Guys for all of you who took the time auditioning many speakers or hearing many speakers our there any perticpart brands and models that seem to perform very well at holographic imaging and great sound staging?

Many thanks

Popeye posted:

Guys for all of you who took the time auditioning many speakers or hearing many speakers our there any perticpart brands and models that seem to perform very well at holographic imaging and great sound staging?

Many thanks

As I mentioned above, I use Totem Hawks in the same size room, which are great in those two aspects. They have a long run-in, so watch for that if listening to any new ones. They pair very nicely with Naim.

Mike Sullivan posted:

Popeye posted:

Guys for all of you who took the time auditioning many speakers or hearing many speakers our there any perticpart brands and models that seem to perform very well at holographic imaging and great sound staging?

Many thanks

As I mentioned above, I use Totem Hawks in the same size room, which are great in those two aspects. They have a long run-in, so watch for that if listening to any new ones. They pair very nicely with Naim.

Thanks, totem are certainly on my list and like the look of the Element Fire but will audtion in due course.

Unfortunately, it's a bit more complicated than that. Different models from the same maker can sound very different, and not just because of cabinet size.  I've had big floor standers from B&W in the lounge on a number of occasions. They all sounded flat and lifeless. I now own a pair of big B&W floor standers that sound fast, agile, musical and very powerful when demanded. You just can't tell until you get them in the room. Positioning is also crucial. Small changes can make big differences. My "holographic" speakers can sound pinched, choked and flat if positioned a few inches further back and apart. 

Speakers can be an absolute bastard. But when they work they are worth all the effort. It's not so much how the speakers play in the room, as how the room plays the speakers.

Popeye posted:. 

Appreciate that, thank you. My problem is that dealers are all rather a good distance from where I live which will make home demos a more complicated process. Minimum 1 hour away and only do a couple of the mainstream brands.

I suggest that a trip further afield is enturely appropriate and probably necessary. As I detailed just a few days ago in another thread about speakers, when I last bought speakers I did an 800 mile 2-day round trip to audition, necessary because I know from direct experience how very different diferent speakers sound, even when looking pretty high in the ranges. I lugged my speakers with me to give a reference point and so to a large extent compensate for different rooms, with no complaint from dealers despite their lugging two boxes each weighing 50 or 60kg up and down stairs...  Regarding home demo, once you have chosen what seems to be right, I think dealers may be supportive, though course tgat may depend to some extent on what you are looking at budget-wise. Likewise the more you are thinking of spending the less the journey asoect should be an ussue to you.

Otherwise, as some others have said, I’ve heard some quite big floorstanders sound good in a room no bigger than yours, so there is no fundamental teason to reject the former  and if it were me, unless I had limitless funds I’d be hunting out ex-demo or secondhand speakers, to maximise buying power.

FWIW - my living room is appropriately 4m (w) by 6m (l) with the speakers firing across the width of the room.

I have a NDX > SN2 and picked up a used pair of Ovator S-400's and find they are a pleasure to listen to. I also listened to a pair of the ATC SMC19 speakers and would have easily purchased them since they sounded wonderful with the SN2.

Good luck with your search and decision.

Popeye posted:

Mike Sullivan posted:

Popeye posted:

Guys for all of you who took the time auditioning many speakers or hearing many speakers our there any perticpart brands and models that seem to perform very well at holographic imaging and great sound staging?

Many thanks

As I mentioned above, I use Totem Hawks in the same size room, which are great in those two aspects. They have a long run-in, so watch for that if listening to any new ones. They pair very nicely with Naim.

Thanks, totem are certainly on my list and like the look of the Element Fire but will audtion in due course.

Give Dynaudio Contour 20 a listen as well. I’ve been told by a guy that has Contour 30 as well as Elenent Fire that the Fire are very good. My guess is similar to Contour 20. 

I have a 4m x 4m room with a large pair of pmc mb2's driven by a 300, sounds awesome and being transmission lines are not to fussed about placement just have to get over the significant other factor

tony abraham posted:

I have a 4m x 4m room with a large pair of pmc mb2's driven by a 300, sounds awesome and being transmission lines are not to fussed about placement just have to get over the significant other factor

That is my only possible regret from my last speaker hunt, going for the lseer EB1 for practical comsiderations - i sometimes wish I’d done differently, but then I reflect on the practicality and the wish evaproates - but I have changed the mid driver (for ATC SM75-150) and tweeter, triamped ...  

Spoke with Kef today as I wanted there opinion on the Supernait2 driving Reference 1’s as they are certainly on my list as I have been a long time Kef user and current R500 user. I enjoy the Kef sound so feel that the reference 1’s would be an obvious first listen choice.

they advised that the Supernait2 will have no issue driving the Reference 1’s as the Naim stuff is very high current and far superior to many other manufacturers.

can anyone else vouch for this and has anyone have any experience with the reference 1’s?

many thanks