big sound for the barn

Only after the contracted workers left that I feel safe to put up a small audio system in the barn. Now there are enough major parts of the barn done it is time to procure a pair of speakers for use with my surplus Sony receiver. The receiver was decommissioned from my home theatre due to one bad rear channel. It is perfect for used in the barn as a hi fi system.

I chose this set of speakers at Amazon; it turned out they are from Ontario, Canada; I had Canadian speakers before and they were excellent

I saved $200 for a set of factory rebox'ed

they are a steal for $600 shipped all the way from Ontario

they are 3-way with two active 8" woofer; they look nice without the grills

I have been an audiophile since my teens so I have a pretty good idea how to select speakers. This is the first time I bought hi fi speakers without auditioning to them. I knew I might add a subwoofer to pick up the lower frequencies.

 I set them on a piece of foam to test them out to make sure they are keepers before installing the foot stands. They sound excellent for the $799 full price a pair. They passed my auditioning and they are keepers.

A few days later I got around to install the foot stands. Even I couldn't believe I could hear the improvement in imaging and sound stage. More likely because I moved them out towards to the right side and spread them more apart.

I long expect as is the barn acoustic would be very difficult due to the expansive concrete floor. However it is surprisingly good due to the generous insulation on the walls and ceiling. Having a sloped ceiling is also good.

The speakers sound really good even listening from 50 feet away. They has excellent sound stage and imaging, and natural sounding without any hint to bias for bass to please the uninitiated. They could be played quite loud without a hint of audible distortion. I am most pleased with the midrange and high. Simply put, they are very livable.

By now I decided it can greatly benefit from a powered sub-woofer. I am torn between choosing a 12" or a bigger 15". I decided to take the 15" from my home theatre to test.

Even after listening to the system with the 15" subwoofer I am still torn if a 12" would be better match for the 8" woofers. I am leaning towards a 12".