# Minimum size room before i get floor standing speakers?



## SCOTTBALL

At the moment i have a small "box" room, and i have some Technics SB-T10's

 They are half way between the regular full-size floor standing speakers you find, and normal bookshelves.

 I'm going to be moving into an attic/loft-conversion soon, and need to get new speakers (one of the tweeters is broken).

 Would normal floor standing speakers be ok in such a room? (loft). What should i be looking out for?


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## Alpha 1 Omega

why not book shelf speakers and good stands???


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## zx10guy

You need to give more details about this room you're moving in to....like dimensions and overall shape. Plus where you intend on placing the speakers in this room.


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## SCOTTBALL

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Alpha 1 Omega* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_why not book shelf speakers and good stands???_

 

hmm i don't know, i like the way floorstandings sound. that said, i haven't listened to a pair of bookshelves on stands though. Is it a big difference?

  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *zx10guy* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_You need to give more details about this room you're moving in to....like dimensions and overall shape. Plus where you intend on placing the speakers in this room._

 

OK, the room is mostly a rectangle.

 5.0m x 5.3m

 and on the 5m side, from about 3.75m the roof starts to slope down

 since the room will be empty, i can design the room freely, so i can place the speakers anywhere!


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## NightOwl

Sure you can use floorstanding speakers. The advantage to floorstanders is that you can shake the house (can't beat cubic inches for bass reproduction).
 You can also reproduce pretty solid bass from large bookshelf speakers. You just have to decide whether you can get away with it since I'm assuming that other people live in the house. Just make sure that you have an amp that can drive them.
 On a more serious note and just as general guidelines, you don't need floorstanders to play loud in a room that size. You should match the speakers to the amp. Most speakers sound best if they are placed 8' to 12' apart (experiment), pulled out at least 18" from the wall and 3' from room corners. They should be toed-in slightly and the listening position should be facing towards the middle of the speakers. Tweeters should be at approximately ear level when you are seated. For bookshelf speakers that means on stands. Even floorstanders benefit from being placed on a stable base/stand, especially if the room is carpeted (tightens the bass and clears up the midrange). Avoid any reflective (wooden furniture) or absorbent (stuffed chairs) surfaces near the front of the speakers. For the same reason, you should place your speakers opposite to your sloped ceiling.
 I'm not familiar with the newest amps and speakers, but if you're going to ask for advice on which speakers to purchase, make sure to mention your budget, what source and amp you are using and what music you listen to.

 Hope this helps.


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## SCOTTBALL

thanks NightOwl for the great advice ^_^
 to add, the floor will be carpeted, and i currently live with my family, but it isn't a problem since they are usually out during the day which gives me some freedom. Also playing "loud" isn't really all that i'm after, i enjoy the higher clarity sounding of a good audio setup, and ones that don't diminish if i do decide to play it quite loud (occasionally when the house is free >=)
 Since it is carpeted, it would be best to buy/create some sort of stands for them? (them being floor standing speakers if i choose them)

  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *NightOwl* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Sure you can use floorstanding speakers. The advantage to floorstanders is that you can shake the house (can't beat cubic inches for bass reproduction).
 You can also reproduce pretty solid bass from large bookshelf speakers. You just have to decide whether you can get away with it since I'm assuming that other people live in the house. Just make sure that you have an amp that can drive them._

 

Solid bass is quite important to me, as i listen to a lot of electronica music (dance, drum&bass, trance and so on). And how large bookshelf speakers are we talking about?
 Right now, floor standings seem like a nice choice because of the expected sound, and appearance. (I have Technic SB-T10's which are in between regular size floor standings and bookshelves).

 A few more questions that should hopefully be easily answered by some of the members here i think...
 I currently have an amp (Technics A600mk2) and attached to it are the SB-T10's and some deeper sounding sony bookshelf speakers which seem to compliment it quite well (i took them from an old family hifi system)
 I think i read once that it's not benificial to run 4 speakers like that in a stereo set up. is that true? (and if so, why?)

 and lastly, whenever i am about to buy speakers/amp, i find it difficult since the speakers depend on the amp, and the amp selection depends on the speakers. Whats the best way to go about deciding what combo to select?
 Will my current Technics A600mk2 amp good enough for the sort of new setup i want in the attic/loft?

 Sorry for the long post!


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## alfie2902

Hi Scottball,

 The best thing you can do is get a home demo. If your buying from a dealer they may be happy to loan you some speakers. If your looking to buy 2nd hand this becomes more of a problem. Why not try to ask any friends who have decent speakers if they would mind bringing them over for a listen. Then you could see how the room interacts with the speakers (be nice for you to try both bookshelf/standmounts on a decent stand & floorstanders in your new room)& test your amp at the same time.
 How speakers sound is very room dependant so hearing them in your room is a must, if possible. The size of your room will determine how low a frequency can be produced. The wave length of 20 Hz is about 25ft.
 As your loft conversion may not have a very solid structure i would look for very well controlled speakers (A less rigid sructure could cause boomy and uncontrolled bass or could absorb low bass sound energy) & site them fireing from the lowest ceiling height towards the highest. Then play around with positioning.


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## Sovkiller

I recently got into floorstanders and my room isn't that big neither, maybe you will not get the optimal sound, but for sure will be an step over any bookshelf in stands...Do not get me wrong I like bookshelves, but you can't beat the laws of physics, floorstander do the bass better if they are decent enough...


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## Michael415

I didn't see your set budget but IMHO you really cannot beat monitors with a solid sub. I use a pair of Monitor Audio pl100's and a REL sub powered by a simaudio amp and couldn't find floorstanders in their price range that could keep up. And the Sonus Faber's were unreal. I personally think for your room you could go either way. The advantage of going monitor/sub is you can adjust the bass w/o impacting the rest of the soundstage. You are also correct in that the amp plays a major role in how the speakers perform. If I were in the market still I would take a hard look at Dali, Monitor Audio, Sonus Faber for loudspeakers and amps simaudio, manley stingray, and pathos amps.


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## Mellow Mushroom

Floorstanders require at least 2-3 feet away from the wall, or bass becomes bloated. I recommend a bookshelf instead for small rooms. That way, you can put them against the wall.

 Get about 4 subwoofers, and put them in random locations throughout the room to spread apart room modes.


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## NightOwl

If I remember correctly (and I may be wrong), your Technics amp is a 2 channel integrated that puts out a nominal 40wpc into 8ohms. I've had Technics amps in the past. They're usually well built with decent power supplies and stable. Definitely you can use that amp with better speakers.
 If you're going to use floor standing speakers make sure that they're efficient (at least 89db) since 40wpc will have difficulty moving large inefficient woofers. As far as stands go, I've used spiked feet on my floorstanders in the past, similar to those shown in the eBay link, as long as your carpet isn't too thick and the tips of the spikes contact the bare floor underneath. You can also build stands and add spikes to the bottom if you want. You will probably find that bass reflex/ported speakers will be more efficient than acoustic suspension/sealed speakers but will require more care in placing so that bass doesn't become boomy (backwave doubling). 
New and used spikes, A V Accessories Cables, Home Audio on eBay.ca

 Large bookshelf speakers can have 8" to 12" woofers. Even though some of them may look like floor standers, they are still considered bookshelf. As far as using four speakers at once, I am assuming that you are hooking up 2 pairs of speakers into one set of speaker terminals? If so, you are halving the power output to each speaker. With the Technics amp and most speakers I don't think there will be any other problems, but there is a link below on speaker wiring and attendant problems.
How to hook up speakers. Speaker connections

 As I said before, I'm not that familiar with newer amps and speakers and use vintage equipment (I'm also vintage). However, your amp should be similar (though not quite as good) to the Pioneer A35R which a lot of people are familiar with. What works with that amp should work with yours.


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## SCOTTBALL

hi thanks for the responses ^_^

 and yeah, the other thing ive learnt is that it's best to listen to the speaker setup in your room, but i don't really have the option to do that since i will most likely be trying to go for a cheaper second hand range. In terms of budget.. around £100 - £150 for the speakers (assuming i use my current technics amp), and im not sure getting a sub would fit into my budget/be very practical for my situation (although it would be great!).

 Well to be honest, most floor standing a see (new) seem expensive, hence me trying to look for a more vintage second hand cheaper set. Although if it's really worth the buy i could push to £200.... maybe..

 thanks!

  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *NightOwl* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_As far as using four speakers at once, I am assuming that you are hooking up 2 pairs of speakers into one set of speaker terminals? If so, you are halving the power output to each speaker. With the Technics amp and most speakers I don't think there will be any other problems, but there is a link below on speaker wiring and attendant problems.
How to hook up speakers. Speaker connections_

 

thanks again, i think it's a 4 channel amp. (and yeah, its class AA with 40wpc into 8ohms apparantly). ummm baisically the amp supports 2 pairs of speakers (it has buttons for A and B) and i have each pair connected to them. (the technic speakers to A, and the sony bookshelves to B)

 I'll read the link tho, its interesting =P


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