Thread: Smallish listening room

I would suggest that you talk to Mike about your situation, since he's a dealer for both AG and Triode. I have no affiliation with him other than participating in this fine forum.

Here's the info copied from Mike's signature for your reference:

Industry Affiliation............Dealer for: Air Tight, Apertura Speakers, Aria, Aurender, Avantgarde Acoustics, Berkeley Audio Design, Crystal Cable, Dali Loudspeakers, DEQX, Devialet, Focal Loudspeakers, ISO Acoustics, Kimber Kable, KLAudio, KR Audio, Kronos, The Living Voice, Lumin, MicroMega, M2Tech, Nagra, NAIM, Ortofon, Pass Labs, Quadraspire, Rega Turntables, REL Acoustics, Siltech, Soulution Audio, Straight Wire, Stillpoints, T+A Electronics, Triode Corporation of Japan, Thorens, Vicoustics, VPI Industries, Wilson Benesch, ZYX Cartridges.

www.suncoastaudio.com
Phone: 941-932-0282

As Mike noted, I had a listen to the Duo Mezzo's and they were a real treat to listen to. The adjustability is very user and room friendly. We heard two different speakers really. One with the Duo Mezzo at Mike's EQ settings and one with the Duo Mezzo at Jim Smith's settings. They are more speaker than your room would need so the Uno is likely a much better match. If I had the space and budget for a set of Duo Mezzo's they would definitely be on my short list. I understand you can place them quite close to the front wall without introducing problems but may lose some of the depth that you get from more generous placement out into the room.
BTW, I know nothing about Zu's speakers but I agree 100% that they are usually the guys who win the award at shows for having the most fun (maybe tied with Ayre) and IMO, for playing the best eclectic non-audiophile music.

My room is smaller than yours.

I have not heard the UNO XD but have heard its predecessor, UNO Fino (same form factor but with 2 x 8" woofer instead of 2 x 10" woofers) over a couple of days driven by a Silbatone 300B integrated. Really amazing sound!

The Zero XD was auditioned over a couple of days. Utimately, I bought that because the UNO XD replaced the UNO Fino, but at double the cost. The intention was for the Zero XD to be a stop gap measure, with a view to moving up the line when space permits. However, sometimes I do wonder if the Zero would not be more than good enough for the long term.

There were 3 aspects, in particular, that struck me when listening to the Zero XD:

1. stage depth - listening to the UNO Fino, I felt that the soundstage was not as deep as conventional cone speakers. However, as I was seated about 8' from the speakers, it did not really bother me, even if the stereo place starts in front of the speakers.

The Zero XD is slightly more laid back and does have a deeper, more conventional, soundstage. Most speakers project a sound stage that narrows with depth. The Zero XD does not - the back is as wide as the front.

2. image size - the Zero XD produces a startlingly realistic image size, with the right height (solo singers sound like they are about 6' +/- tall with a properly sized head).

3. separation / flow & ebb - this was noticeable with classical and choral pieces. It is relatively easy to focus on the performance as a whole or to pick an instrumental line or sound to follow and switch back and forth between them. Sounds are distinct yet a coherent part of the whole. To put it another way, one can chose to listen to the forest or the trees or both.

One interesting bit is that the dynamic flow and ebb of one sound within the soundscape does not impact or drown out the other sounds. For example, on something like Nessum Dorma, when Pavarotti goes from soft to loud, this dynamic swing does not affect/drown sound of the orchestra and the choir, and it remains easy to follow the dynamic swing of the choir or the orchestra or just sit back and enjoy the whole performance.

In some ways, the Zero XD straddles the middle ground between the best of cones and horns; the imaging, coherency and soundstaging of cones and the dynamics and immediacy of horns. Not the best in all these areas but more than good enough.

Compared to the rest of the AG range, the Zero XD parametric equaliser operates full range, from 30 - 20,000 Hz; not just for the bass region.

For some users, being able to EQ the bass region is good enough. For others, the Zero XD offers the possibility of full range DRC (digital room correction) with a calibrated microphone (once AG introduces this), without the need for third party software.

As I mentioned earlier, this was meant as a stopgap. But, oftentimes, I shake my head and smile at what AG may have unintentionally achieved. Will I upgrade to the more "conventional" XD series. Possibly...

Thanks gents, making me salivate. The Amati futuras are so good that I'm still questioning whether to replace them. I just think their true potential is restricted by my room's size. The bass is awful without eq, I have an 18 dec peak at 50hz which no room treatment in the world could fix.

With digital room correction, most things are possible, up to a point. Have you considered some form of DRC?

Thanks, yeah I currently use the Dirac correction and a peq for analog. It all sounds great, it really does but the "change bug" has bitten me. I really want to try horns with SET after hearing those jbl speakers. Sound just surrounding me and drifting by my ears, really lovely.

Sadly, DRC cannot cure that form of bug