need to reduce footprints

gkarelitsky

gkarelitsky

Super Member
We recently did a remodel of our living room. Previously, we had a large armoire that was able to accommodate an amp and source components. Speakers were outside and stand mounted. The two issues I have to deal with are 1) my wife wants smaller speakers in the LR and 2) we replaced the armoire with a smaller cabinet. I knew the dimensions of the cabinet prior to the purchase but grossly miscalculated the inner vs outer depth of the shelves.

I am now left with shelves that 12" deep. There is a slight rise or lip on the front and rear of each shelf that is about 3/4" wide. While I have a number of components available, nothing will fit. I plan to place a TT on top of the cabinet and since I have been streaming I could live without a CD player. But I need amplification.

I am looking for suggestions for an integrated or amp and preamp with a small footprint. Currently, my speakers are all low efficiency so I lean toward SS. However, if I can't place them in the current LR configuration I may also be in the market for smaller speakers, perhaps to place on either side of the TT. If it helps, I am working with a length of about 38" and will need 17 or 18" for the TT depending on which I use.

I suppose what would really help at this point is some help figuring out how to begin thinking about this. Once I have an approach I can scour bartertown for buys or trades.

TIA
 
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Look at the Class-D amps. They are smaller and run cooler than AB counterparts (I am not mentioning class A because it is usually huge due to the heatsinks). You did not specify power requirements and your budget but i.e. Marantz 1060 should fit on 12" shelf.

I hope you have another listening space if you are getting smaller speakers for the living room. My wife would also like to have smaller speakers in the LR but I am not giving up my Magnepans. :-)
 
drabina said:
I hope you have another listening space if you are getting smaller speakers for the living room.
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The best solution. Then let her pick the speakers. If you are lucky she will notice the poor sound quality. Stealth speakers are then in order. The gear is a completely separate problem. Good luck with the problem.
 
Time to go fully digital; it will save a ton of space.

Get a Bluesound Node2, an external DAC (there is a Wyred4Sound available on BT) and any amp you can find that fits your rack. I bought my son this Onkyo mini-amp and he loves it. If you're looking for something "legit," someone will chime in with advice. But my advice to you is that it's time to go digital. Also, by doing that, you clean up the look and can earn a compromise for larger speakers.

I think the Rega Brio is a good choice and just might fit. Rega Elex-R is an awesome unit, too. I think there is a very inexpensive one on USAM or Audiogon right now.

(Pardon the Buffalo Bills hat. We're actually Browns fans here but my son went to the Bills pre-season camp last year.)
 

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Katalyst said:
The best solution. Then let her pick the speakers. If you are lucky she will notice the poor sound quality. Stealth speakers are then in order. The gear is a completely separate problem. Good luck with the problem.
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She may not care about the sound quality, so long as they're small and unobtrusive. This would be a losing situation.

A photo of the place would help. I'm thinking digital too, and perhaps small bookshelf speakers actually on shelves, along with flush ceiling-mount speakers which women love. Get the ones which are white to match your ceiling and w/o logos so they virtually disappear into the ceiling plane.

The Rega Brio mentioned above is a great unit and if you want a bit more bling (but no more footprint) there's this TEAC

Teac_AI501_DA2_600x480.jpg


Or for a bit more lucre, this beautiful compact Luxman...

luxman%2Bda%2B250%2Bm%2B200%2B%25281%2529.JPG

I mean, if you're going to hide your speakers you need to be compensated somehow...
 
Katalyst said:
The best solution. Then let her pick the speakers.
Click to expand...
That may not work. If my wife would have picked speakers, she would get the smallest ones and store them on a bookshelf behind books so they are not visible. Somehow she is fine with the sound quality that comes out of her tablet's built-in speaker.
 
Some good ideas so far. The digital route is appealing but I plan to keep a TT. Shouldn't be an issue as I do have a phono pre available.

At one time I had a Luxman integrated that I really liked so the compact Luxman is appealing, except that it only has one line input. I will look into the Marantz, Rega and Teac suggestions.

I would rather this thread not turn toward wife bashing. I was able to reach a compromise on the speaker front, swapping out the Ohm C3s for B&W DM603s. This will allow me to focus on amplification for now.
 
I have just about everything I need in one small rack so the tricks are

shallow shelves, 8 shelves at 3/4" and you lose 6 inches.
front loader TT - means 3-4inches and no need for cover up clearances
try half rack components by design (Parasound) or by accident (anything else)
powered speakers eliminate need for 6" high power amp
all else failing try all-in-one receiver and saves space for phono preamp, preamp,
DAC, separate headphone amp, tuner, etc
 
Yeah, my wife happens to like my Zu Omen DW speakers - cherry veneer does it every time.
Smaller component suggestions - echoing @hiFi DAD , I have a friend who owns the PS Audio Sprout and he likes it. Nice small size, too. It has a phono pre and a built-in Bluetooth receiver, helping to save on space as well.

If you end up getting efficient speakers - say approaching 90db or higher - and want to go tube, the Decware Mini Torii has the footprint of a A7 sheet of paper and sounds fantastic. You can find those used from time to time. Unlike the Sprout, however, it doesn't have a phono or digital inputs so you'd need other boxes for those.
 
For now, I think I will keep the B&Ws and stay with solid state. Also, tubes would probably not be advisable be in an enclosed cabinet.
 
I'm surprised that no one has suggested the NAD D3020. I have had mine for the past three years, couldn't be happier! It's a very small amp ( 2 5/16" x 7 3/8" x 8 5/8”) and can even be positioned vertically to save more space.
 
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