We have a month of putting systems together at AudioRoom. Three people contacted us asking for help with choosing speakers or amplifiers and speakers. We invited them for listening sessions, listened to their priorities, took into account their respective listening spaces and managed to put together very nice audio systems. Below we present the first one, we will write about the other two.
System 1: Quadral Largo MK IV, Rotel RX-154A, Technics SL-D2
In the first case, we needed a system for a small living room (about 15 m2). The main source of sound would be a Technics SL-D2 turntable, which the owner already had.
We were asked to help him choose a 1970s receiver with nicely backlit dial and bookshelf speakers. We decided that in this space and setting (on top of a cabinet), medium-sized bookshelf speakers would work best. We proposed a small Rotel RX-150a, which really appealed to the future owner (in terms of both sound and looks) during the listening session at our place.
We used JMlab Laureate speakers during that listening session. Ultimately, we decided to pair with the Rotel with Quadral Largo MK IV speakers. They are similar in size to the JMlab’s but have a bass port in the front, which makes placement a bit easier. That was important, as the speakers would be standing very close to a wall behind them. At the same time, these speakers have a full, big sound with very decent low bass that would put many small floorstanding speakers to shame, and they do not “suffocate” in smaller rooms.
Despite less-than-ideal placement (the speakers are standing on a quite tall cabinet together with the receiger and turntable), the system works very well in the target room. Rotel RX-154a is a low power receiver (13 W per channel at 4 ohms), but it is quite enough to listen with a fairly high volume in a small and mid-sized room. What’s more, it is a quadraphonic receiver, so the system can be expanded by adding two additional speakers, and with a suitable sound source it can become a multi-channel system.
