Designing a system for a small listening room
Author:  Jeff Jordan
Novice series article 2 of 2

The heart of any audio system is of course the source whether it be digital or analog. From the source on down through the signal chain we have the also important amp/speaker interface. It is important in a smaller room to get this interface right to allow a synergistic match between all components and the room in which these components will be operating in. Too large of speakers in a small room will sound boomy in the bass and will not let images lock into space. Buying too large of amplifier for a small room will be a waste of power, expense and a certain level of intimacy and listener involvement that today's smaller high quality amps can provide. Following my outline for the setup in a smaller room, Part 1, I have found some great amp/speaker combos that work really well in my diminutive 13' x 12' wide listening room and would like to share my findings with fellow audio enthusiasts in the pursuit of their next system.
 

For you apartment dwellers, small 2-way speakers that are stand mountable are a natural choice. Stand mount speakers image far better than larger designs, have fewer box coloration's, really open up the soundstage and are able to totally disappear leaving behind only the music. The penalty for all this is of course is lack of bass extension.  I have found that many of the smaller Proac speakers such as the Tablets work very well in smaller environments. Gershman Acoustics makes a beautiful small speaker called the X-1 that sounds unbelievably good. Very warm, full and works well with many amplifiers. It has excellent bass by itself, but an extra bass module can be fitted under each speaker to extend the lower-end even further. This does away with the stands making the X-1 a powerful full range system. Another great little speaker I've tried that works surprisingly well for the cost conscious is the PSB Alpha. It only costs about $200-$250/ pair and sounds a lot larger than the size depicts.
 

Moving on up the scale to small floor standing speakers, we have what I use all the time......the Thiel CS1.2. Although discontinued (now modified and known as CS1.5) these speakers can be found on the used market and are an excellent buy. I love them!  These under 3 foot speakers are detailed, throw a huge soundstage and have decent bass response from a single 61/2 inch woofer.  They are very neutral and respond very well to whatever amplifier drives them. Joseph Audio makes a similar sized speaker known as the RM22si, which I have spent some quality time with. Those speakers are very fast in the bass as well as extended, have excellent dynamics, and crystal clear resolution. They also work well with tube amps such as small low wattage triodes as the Joseph's are a very easy and benign load. They are not very efficient but you must hear what 8 watts of Golden Tube Audio power does with these speakers. Just outstanding! Just make sure you don't live in a cavernous living space and you don't listen at head banger levels and the 8 watts will get you by. I was quite surprised by this. Another fine contender for small floor standing speakers is the Sonus Faber Piano Concerto's. A little more expensive than the rest of the speakers mentioned here but an impressive performance is guaranteed. To my ears these speakers have a very similar tonal balance to my Thiels but perhaps a slightly warmer lower midrange. Be careful with cables and sources with this speaker as they are quite revealing of upstream components.
 

The one amp I used with all the above speakers was my trusted YBA Integre amp that I have owned for 8 years now. There is a certain measure of clarity, smoothness and transparency YBA products have that are usually missing in other solid state products and it worked very well indeed with all the speakers wired to it. While only 50 watts/channel (90 watts into 4 ohms) it cranks out very dynamic music without the etch or grain usually associated with transistors, and even drives the toughest loads. This amp does not impress with frills....it is a little more subtle than that and like all YBA products has a lean tonal balance which may not appeal to some. I find with my long time Thiels that the bass is fine and the amp can deliver punch when required. It has a very upbeat rhythmic presentation which gives the music good driving feel. Where this amp really shines is the most excellent phono stage included. YBA in my humble opinion makes the best phono stages in MM or MC. I seriously recommend if your a vinyl enthusiast (like me) to go out and purchase a YBA set up. These amps sound fine with CD's but are much better with phono sources (this holds true with most amplifiers......editor.).  I can tell the designer of YBA is really a vinyl nut. In a nutshell the YBA Integre amp is the "best bang for the buck" I have ever heard. I have tried many more expensive amps that couldn't compete with what this amp is capable of. By the same designer is the Audio Refinement amp known as the "Complete" which is around half the price of the YBA and has close measure of it's bigger brother in terms of sound.  Pair this amp with the PSB Alpha speakers for a great budget combo that actually cuts it.  I also tried the Audio Research tube combo.........the LS15 preamp and VT50 power amp with 45 watts, which is really all the power you need in my room. This combo had the nicest tonal balance and is extended at both frequency extremes (something that doesn't always happen with tube amps). I wanted to keep this combo because it sounded so nice but it was rhythmically "slow". Music lacked drive with this amp no matter what source or music I played through it. Too bad, as it was very good on every other level. Try it out and see if this bothers you or not. For those of you still hooked on tubes try out the Conrad Johnson CAV50 integrated amp with the smaller Proacs (a very magical combo!) or with any of the speakers mentioned. When Conrad Johnson says "it just sounds right" ,they are not kidding.... Back to solid state, I had the pleasure of trying out the new Mark Levinson gear. I tried the 334 power amp with the excellent 380S preamp and wow! Not dark sounding at all like older Levison gear and surprisingly delicate and rhythmically upbeat for a muscle amp. Of course dynamics were also lightning fast. A real nice combo with the Thiels and the Sonus faber speakers. I also tried Levinson's smaller and less expensive 100 watt integrated amp known as the No.383.......very smooth but a little leaner in tonal balance than it's bigger brother.  Still, a good amp to consider with lots of toys in it to keep you amused. The build quality of these amps is second to none. Hook up these amp/speaker combos with your favorite source, kick back and enjoy the tunes!

Happy Listening!
Jeff Jordan