Acoustats In A Small Room?

[62sunbeam]

My room is about 9X14 and the speakers play on a short wall. I sit about in the middle facing the speakers.

Would either the tall skinny or short and broad type of Acoustat play well in this configuration? They will also need to be almost right against the rear wall. At least the sub enclosure in a Spectra series speaker would need be right against the wall.

Am I nuts or should I stick to my bozaks?

Thanks

Eric

 

[JoeESP9]

No dipolar speaker ever made works well when placed against the front wall.

Since you mention the Spectra series I feel qualified to comment. The subwoofer for the Spectra series is rear ported. Placing it against a wall is not a good idea. OTOH, because of their dispersion pattern ESL's can be placed closer to a side wall. A pair of Model 1's with their dedicated sub woofer might work well with the size of the room you're working with.

 

[SmitterDave]

Any planar speaker needs to be 3 to 4 feet out from the wall, with some attenuation in the corners behind them. Once set up will be surprised what you are going to hear.

Just plan on losing some of your room to set them up correctly.

 

[frommerstop]

Seriously? You have Bozaks! I was only kidding with the PM about Spectra 11s sounding like Bozaks if placed wrong... what are the odds you'd actually have them

Anyway, like I suggested in our PM, that's a pretty small room for Acoustats, but in answer to your other question, yes. I do think Acoustat 3s would be better, but only because they don't tend to sound as dark if not set up well or if you sit close, and frankly are just better overall speakers IMO. Actually, as JoeESP9 suggests, model 1s, or 1+1s might be a better choice for your room. I somewhat disagree on the absolute need to have them 3+ft from the back wall however. I've found dipoles often respond well to being closer to the back wall as long as there is enough room for them to breath on the sides, and they are toed in several degrees. That's why I suggested trying the long wall & a more near-field listening arrangement.

 

[soundmig]

I would recommend a good number of good quality diffusors on the wall behind the speakers (as many as you can afford) to "spread" the back wall reflections out as much as possible. Some good absorption in the middle between (on wall behind) the speakers will help maintain the channel separation also. If you can swing the cost for some corner traps behind the speakers and at all of the wall/ceiling corner interfaces as well as placing good quality diffusors at primary reflection points on the side walls, back walls (ceiling too while your at it - although maybe less necessary with planars) - you "might" get away with the arrangement your are proposing. I'd give it a shot as Acoustats can be quite stunning in their transparency and timbre.

 

[frommerstop]

BTW, I didn't mean to disparage Bozaks, although not my favorites, I do hold them in some regard.

 

[62sunbeam]

BTW, I didn't mean to disparage Bozaks, although not my favorites, I do hold them in some regard.

Yeah well I don't like your stuff either

Truth of the matter is I rarely listen very loud and the Bozaks sound pretty damn good. Even with mis matched crossovers and 16ohm midrange drivers.

I plan to recap them and mount the tweeters in a box on top.

I ask about the Acoustats I see them all the time and I wonder if they would be worth the trouble given my room's diminutive size.

Thanks

Eric

 

[carcrazy]

My Acoustat 2+2 are in a 12' x 17' room, 5' from the rear wall. It is my dining room that has openings on the sides for the living room (which has a snooker table - no room for the stereo) and the kitchen. It is also my ht so there are black out curtains on the sides which may or may not help with side reflections. I had tried an Acoustat model 4 which were too wide for the room. They sounded good but they were too close together. A 9' x 14' room may be a little too narrow for Acoustats but with room treatments, maybe they would be alright.

 

[frommerstop]

If you're pretty happy with Bozaks, but are thinking you'd like a bit more HF extension & detail, the Spectra 11/1100s might be just the ticket. They'll sound more open, even within a foot of the back wall, and have a similar tonal balance. You could experiment with temporary placements out in the room, just to get an idea of what ESL/panel folks are always on about, but I think you might actually prefer them closer to the wall... There are no hard fast rules, and I've seen many panels placed just a bit away from the wall & sounding very good.

For the price, I think Spectra 11s are a steal, and a great way to try out an ESL.

 

[rogerfederer]

I tried the 1s in a pretty small room at moderate volumes. Sounded very good. Maybe better than my recapped bozak b501s. A bit more detailed.

 

[slimpikkins]

I bought a preamp from someone who had their 3's (I think) in a tiny room. Long narrow Philly row home. We were just a few feet from them. Sounded very nice in the near field. They weren't nearly as tall as those though.

 

[JoeESP9]

The original Model 3's were 59" tall. The grills on them do not go all the way to the floor. All Model 3's (three panel Acoustats) regardless of series are 28" wide. With later versions the grills extend all the way to the floor and they are taller (66"). My Spectra's are 66" tall.

 

[dogwan]

Until recently I was running a pair of Acoustat Model X's in a small room. Think it was 11' x 14' or so. Took a little room treatment but sounded damn good. The key was good panels at the 1st reflection points on the side walls. I had the Acoustats 36" off the short wall and 28" off the side walls. Slightly toed in. Listening position was very close against opposite wall and it was crucial to get some absorption behind the head. DIY Bass traps in the corners helped a lot. I used Homosote glued up in layers so that I had 4" x 6" x 36" blocks, covered with cloth and hung vertically in the corners. Not ideal or scientific, but helped a lot with Bass nodes.

Would still be using them if I hadn't blown a power transformer in one of the Servo-drive amps. Have since moth balled them until better financial situation.