Speaker recommendation for a small room.

[IZZMAN]

I have a bedroom that I need to furnish with a stereo setup. The room is approximately 12' x14', pretty small.

I have looked at all different kinds of speakers, and have now arrived at the HB-1 Mk2 bookshelf speakers, and an STF2 as a sub. This setup will almost exclusively be used for music from a DAC hooked up to a media pc that has my music collection on it.

I was about to pull the trigger on buying this setup but thought it would be wise to ask if it will sound good/correct in this confined area. I simply want a full range sound with good tight (punchy if you will) bass for listening to all different types of music, from classical to metal.

I have read nothing but great reviews for both this subwoofer as well as these speakers, but want to make sure they will meet my needs, and won't overpower this room and sound poorly.

I have an HK3490 to drive these speakers. Any recommendations or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Pete_Hsu]

Hi Izzman,

This system should work very nicely in your space! Perhaps at some point down the road, to further enhance the performance and flatten out frequency response, you can consider adding a second STF-2.

Thanks

Sincerely,

[stevecake]

Hi Izzman,

Just in case you haven't pulled the trigger yet, I wanted to respond to your post because my setup is so similar to yours. I, too, am in a 12x14 room, using the HK3490, and using a PC as a music server. It's powering Ascend CMT-340 SE's, which ought to be on your radar -- they handle everything I can throw at them with extreme grace, and in a room that size basically the whole room is a sweet spot. Also, while I plan on adding an external DAC down the road, you might like to hear that the DAC built into the HK does a surprisingly good job. I was between the Ascends and the Hsu HB's, and decided to go with the Ascends because I couldn't afford a sub right away (the Ascends play down to about 40 Hz).

In any event, given that our setups are so similar, I'd like to hear your reactions -- what DAC are you using? How do you like it? I'm also saving up for the STF-2 -- how good of a match is it to your room? And (finally) was it much of a challenge to integrate, given the HK's... limited bass management? Sorry if that's too many questions -- it's just pretty exciting finding one's hi-fi doppelganger.

-stevecake

[IZZMAN]

FedEx Tracking claims I will receive the speakers and sub tomorrow. I will let you know once I get it setup and broken in how it sounds.

As for the DAC, it is a Musiland Monitor 02. It is of Chinese manufacture. I read about it on AVSFORUM, and many people had many good things to say about it. The guy who imports them also posts there. I have been very happy with it thus far, and am glad I tried it out before spending 4x as much on a similar DAC.

It works well under windows 7 x64, and I haven't had any issues with it.

I will let you know how I like this setup once I get it setup and a few hours on it.:)