# Small speaker recommendation



## aceinc (Oct 24, 2006)

A friend of mine is remodeling his family room, and would like to put small speakers in the corners of his room at the ceiling level. This is for HT. Were it my room, I would sacrifice aesthetics/WAF for a better speaker, but he is bound by WAF, and the fact that his hearing isn't that great.

He indicated that he would like something similar to the Bose Acoustimass satellite speakers for his surrounds from a size point of view. He indicated that he really does not like the price of the Acoustimass system ($999). I told him that while Bose don't sound terrible, I believe that we could do better for less while maintaining a similar size. I explained to him that physics will not allow for great low frequencies with such small speakers, but the laws of physics can't be broken. 

Having said all of that what budget speakers would you recommend that are small, I suspect I can go a little bigger than the Acoustimass, but not much, and sound good? 

I found these;

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=300-680

Any opinions from actual users?


----------



## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

aceinc said:


> A friend of mine is remodeling his family room, and would like to put small speakers in the corners of his room at the ceiling level. This is for HT. Were it my room, I would sacrifice aesthetics/WAF for a better speaker, but he is bound by WAF, and the fact that his hearing isn't that great.
> 
> He indicated that he would like something similar to the Bose Acoustimass satellite speakers for his surrounds from a size point of view. He indicated that he really does not like the price of the Acoustimass system ($999). I told him that while Bose don't sound terrible, I believe that we could do better for less while maintaining a similar size. I explained to him that physics will not allow for great low frequencies with such small speakers, but the laws of physics can't be broken.
> 
> ...


Hello,
While I have often recommended Dayton's subwoofers, I have neither listened nor ever listened to any of their loudspeakers. Given the kind of compromises needed to hit the price point of the Dayton package, I would recommend going with a pair of SVS SBS-02's. They are currently available for $149 a pair (down from $300) and provide a much higher quality cabinet and speaker components. You could then couple the SVS's with a Dayton Subwoofer and still keep the price far below a Bose Acoustimass system.
Just click on the SVS Banner on the top of the page here and go to Outlet Specials. Here is the link to them:https://www.svsound.com/sbs-02
Best,
J


----------



## aceinc (Oct 24, 2006)

That would be about $300 for four speakers. What about something like this;

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/speakers/products/xrm41

A little more money, $360 for 4 speakers, Emotiva makes decent electronics, not sure about their speakers.

I gave him a subwoofer for Christmas a year or two ago. I think it was a 12" powered unit, but I don't remember.


----------



## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

I personally prefer the SVS's and they retailed for $300 a pair and even then were considered to be a fantastic value. While the Emotiva's are fine speakers and a friend I attended university with happens to own a pair, I do prefer the SBS's. Regardless, both represent a quantum upgrade over a Acoustimass speaker.


----------



## aceinc (Oct 24, 2006)

They probably sound better due to their larger size. As I told my friend, the laws of physics are not broken easily.


----------



## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Agree, the SVS sbs-02s are a deal to good to pass up. I have a pair and they are fantastic.


----------



## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

aceinc said:


> A friend of mine is remodeling his family room, and would like to put *small speakers* in the corners of his room at the ceiling level. This is for HT. Were it my room, I would sacrifice aesthetics/WAF for a better speaker, but he is bound by WAF, and the fact that his *hearing isn't that great*.


Small speakers and someone with a hearing issue are mutually exclusive needs I'm afraid. He more than likely needs something with a lot of presence, which small speakers are physically not able to provide. To get usable output and definition from speakers the size of those Bose is going to be challenging, at best.




aceinc said:


> I found these;
> 
> http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=300-680


These may satisfy goal number 1 - small size - but not goal number 2. Five speakers for $129 should give you an indication of what the expected sound quality is going to be. PE often has incredible bargains, and if all you had to spend was $130 they might be quite satisfactory, but for someone with hearing issues I don't imagine they would suffice.




aceinc said:


> That would be about $300 for *four speakers*. What about something like this;
> 
> http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/speakers/products/xrm41
> 
> A little more money, $360 for 4 speakers, Emotiva makes decent electronics, not sure about their speakers.


Emotiva makes some pretty good stuff, so those are probably nice speakers. The SVS's that Jack mentioned are more than likely better though, as would be the DefTech ProMonitor 800, but I noticed you're only pricing four. You aren't going to have a center channel?


----------



## aceinc (Oct 24, 2006)

If he doesn't buy a 5 piece set, such as the Daytons, I will either give or sell him a spare center channel I have laying about. I have a couple, including an Infinity, and an Onkyo. While some people believe that voicing all of the speakers in a system the same, I am not one of those people. I think it is even less important on budget systems.

He will be replacing some 20+ year old Sony bookshelf speakers so I believe that any of the speakers we have talked about including the Daytons will be a step up.


----------



## cdunphy (Aug 25, 2012)

I happen to have accoustmass speakers a whole set with less than ten hours on them that I would let go for a couple hundred,as for speakers I really like the def tech 1000's so I imagine the 800 or 600's would be a bit smaller and sound pretty good.
CD


----------



## mpompey (Jan 5, 2007)

Take your friend's wife out for a beer and explain why speakers in the corners near the ceiling for home theater use is a bad idea. And how she'll instantly lose 10 lbs if she let's him do it right.


----------



## aceinc (Oct 24, 2006)

My budget on beer spent convincing my own wife why I need so much audio gear is so great, I can't afford enough beer to convince someone else's wife.


----------



## mpompey (Jan 5, 2007)

I hear you man. I ended up telling my wife she could have the rest of the entire house, the basement is mine!
And right now I'm looking at two baskets of laundry sitting down here.

The fight continues.


----------



## aceinc (Oct 24, 2006)

Basements in South Fl are called swimming pools. I have the living room, more or less.


----------



## mpompey (Jan 5, 2007)

True enough, back when I was in FL I was single so I didn't have WAF to worry about. Just whether or not my dog would chew my cables. 

Got married came to Philly, now I'm in a basement.


----------



## aceinc (Oct 24, 2006)

My Friend is about to pull the trigger on two pair of the Emotiva XRM-4.1, but I thought I would check back to see if anyone has a better idea. The main caveat is that they can't be larger than the Emotiva's.

Let me know. 

Paul


----------

