Speaker Advice

tommortr

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I can see by your photos it is not easy to get the hifi positioned at it's best in your room.  Your room looked much more narrow in your photos than the 11' 5", and the way you have positioned the speakers now, are they not firing your fireplace?
If so does that mean you would have to move a chair to be in the ideal place every time you decided to do some serious listening?  If so and you don't mind doing this all is good, but I liked Radient Red's suggestion of either side of the opening, I've seen many photo's of members systems that have to work in rooms quite a bit more narrow than yours.
I did try it on either side of the fireplace, but the speakers were almost up against chair and couch.
This is the best position, and even in an offset seat the system sounds better.
It sounds airier, soundstage has opened up and it has lost the booming base.
In the long term I am tempted to get a smaller speaker.
A rug has been ordered...so will see what that will change.


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tuga

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I did try it on either side of the fireplace, but the speakers were almost up against chair and couch.
This is the best position, and even in an offset seat the system sounds better.
It sounds airier, soundstage has opened up and it has lost the booming base.
In the long term I am tempted to get a smaller speaker.
A rug has been ordered...so will see what that will change.


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This probably won't get domestic approval but you may find that the system will sound better if you toe-in the speakers some 45º.

 

Rockchild

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Until you can get something similar to the graph below, you won’t achieve the sound your looking for. Speakers ideally need to be 2m or so apart and your distance for listening should be about the same or greater and this is where toe in becomes the experiment for the best imagery. 
like I suggested, if they can fire into the room, positioned either side of the alcove (echo chamber) then you are always going to compromise. 
Bass is non directional so a chair near or about 3’ away should be ok in the room as long as the tweeters have a clear open direction. 

6C6BE9DE-E4C2-482D-85C9-86FBDE545A69.jpeg

 

antonio66

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Radiant Red, I believe sometimes the speakers can be toed in even more, crossing in front of the listening position, possibly giving more even balance rather than just a hot seat. Sorry the word I needed escapes me, but I hope you understand my meaning.

 
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tuga

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iWo0Avm.png


 
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lostwin

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You have obviously moved the system now to try against the long wall, but catching up with this thread and looking at the pictures of the room with the speakers in the original position, the limiting factor on getting these further apart seemed to be the door.  It is not too difficult to re-hang the door with the hinges on the other side, this would give much better access to the room with the speakers on the original wall and should allow much wider spacing between them.

Maybe something to consider if the new placement doesn't work.

 

tommortr

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You have obviously moved the system now to try against the long wall, but catching up with this thread and looking at the pictures of the room with the speakers in the original position, the limiting factor on getting these further apart seemed to be the door.  It is not too difficult to re-hang the door with the hinges on the other side, this would give much better access to the room with the speakers on the original wall and should allow much wider spacing between them. Maybe something to consider if the new placement doesn't work.
I had tried the system in two other places, but everything was compromised...speakers seating etcI have been living with the new setup now for a few days, and feel that there are significant improvements to the sound. Even visually it looks beautiful out of the alcove!!

I know it’s not perfect in terms of separation of speakers and equally distant to listening position, however I do move my chair and toe in accordingly to achieve improved imaging.

I need to have a cool off period, and enjoy the characteristics of the improvements, before considering any further changes.

If I make any changes, they will be subtle i.e. swap out the 12ax7’s for some jj gold pin, after all you play around a little bit[emoji6][emoji2]

PS:- The rug has also helped with removing unwanted reflections
0e57fc1d1692d5eaa670635ac5ae9cde.jpg


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tommortr

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So how is your system sounding now Sir?[emoji4]
Apologies for the tardy response, Whilst not perfect, it is certainly an improvement. The sense of opened soundstage is impressive.
Bass is not as boomy, layering is improved with space around instruments and vocals


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halvis

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Thankyou Richard and David for correcting me re the S6 being a parallel single ended design. (I had a Korato that was similar, using EL84s, only 2 a side.)

In which case my comments about suitable speakers apply in spades.

Jack
Hi Jack, I believe I have your pink Korato in my house now if its the one that went to Ireland.  I also have the original Unico S6.  Both playing into 86db at best ProAc 2.5s, they both sound beautiful.   Plenty of volume available, especially on the Unico, but the Korato really hardens in the midrange as the volume goes up and the bass goes nowhere.  They are not a good match, bit still sound very nice on simple material.  However, the S6 sounds big and ballsy in comparison, but no loss of detail and the soundstage is astonishing.   Works well on all genre's except house type driving bass tracks, where is does lose its way a tad, but this is at a biggish volume.

The Unico is a great match for these ProAcs IMO, but they are rear ported.  More modern versions are down ported,  or the D2s are front ported which could be a good bet.

 

kneecap

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I also have an s6 and im considering the Proac Tablette 10, Amphion Argon 1, Spendor A1 or Russell k 50 red. All have easy impedance (though the Proacs mimimum remains a mystery) and can be positioned near back walls
 

hearhere

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but wonder if a studio monitor would be a good move I.e Proac , Sonus Faber or Opera. My music tastes are varied.

I initially had studio monitors albeit the humble Mission 780se and later Mission 750’s,
By "studio monitors" do you mean stand mounted speakers? None of the speakers you mention could possibly be described as studio monitors. These are speakers designed for use in recording studios, etc and not necessarily stand mounted. This type is only rarely used in domestic settings for various reasons.

Returning to your question, if it's "should I use stand mounted speakers or floorstanders?", I would suggest always floorstanders unless you are really short of space or are listening from a very short distance. From your description, these factors don't seem to apply. With valve amps, look for reasonably high sensitivity, ideally high nineties or horns that are often 100+ dB. This allows your amp to provide power for loud volumes without the likelihood of clipping or other unwanted distortion.

PS - How would you descrive the sound from your Levardin? I had earlier considered getting one for my system.

PPS - Just noticed that this is an old thread, so I guess the OP has resolved his dilemma. I hope it's worked out well for him.
 
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