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The right Hi-Fi gear can work very well in small rooms. The biggest challenge you face is the closeness of your seating position to the speakers. Hi-Fi speakers need more space between you and them ato develop decent soundstage. PC speakers and nearfield monitors are designed for listening at a desktop or mixing desk, but that doesn't make them particularly useful as conventional Hi-Fi speakers.

The only crossover product I'm aware of that delivers Hi-Fi performance on a desktop is the Focal XS. The issue though is that the feed is via USB and line level. That rules out using them with a traditional Hi-Fi amp.
 
for a room that small i would say it's a waste. no room to fit speakers properly imo. if you're gonna spend 4k then you really should consider a decent sized room and maybe some acoustical treatment if needed - crappy speaker placement and room can make good equipment sound worse than low end set up done right

obviously this is all on paper, but if you try this the 100% demand to do a home demo before you spend any money at least then you will know if it's worth it to you - in the end only your opinion matters
 
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If you can find a speaker position, seating position and speaker that works in the room, you could.
I use to have some wall mounted speakers in my old study, was about 8ft square with a bay window. I would roll the chair back to the opposite wall, sit back and enjoy. It did sound very good.... (Linn Tukans, active with a 5125 power amp, fed by Knekt multi room)

Your other option is a pair of headphones... and put the rest of the money into the electronics.
 
On a serious note to the OP, have you considered in investing in some good quality headphones instead ? There are plenty of high end headphones that would do justice to 2 or 3k of amp and source.
 
Why not get a small pair of active monitors and a decent headphone setup.

Something along the lines of a decent soundcard/DAC with an amp then headphones.

Much cheaper than a hi-fi setup and requires a lot less faffing around to setup!
 
The other thing to consider is how long are they or you going to spend in the room, the reason I ask is that I bought most of my current system 8-9 years ago for a room similar in size to yours.

I am now in a room which is a completely different size and have been for nearly 2 years. If you are spending 3-4k on stereo parts I guess you are going to keep them a while.
 
I just switched from headphones to IEMs and I'm really very happy indeed with them, compared to headphones.

It didn't cost thousands though - Asus Xonar Essence STX + Shure SE535s. I've had impressions of my ears done and I have custom sleeves from ACS.
 
Ok, try this, just in budget....

Linn Majik DS-I plus Majik 109 speakers on wall brackets, fire the speakers down the room, so mounted on the 8ft wall, about 5 foot apart. The room isn't square, which is big advantage, so bass should be quite even.....
Next upgrade would be separate power amp and some active cards. (Majik6100)

Info here http://www.whathifi.com/news/Linn-launches-Majik-DS-I-all-in-one-network-player/.

With careful set-up, don't put the speakers to high...and use good strong screws/bolts and you'll have an excellent sounding set-up.
 
Ok, try this, just in budget....

Linn Majik DS-I plus Majik 109 speakers on wall brackets, fire the speakers down the room, so mounted on the 8ft wall, about 5 foot apart. The room isn't square, which is big advantage, so bass should be quite even.....
Next upgrade would be separate power amp and some active cards. (Majik6100)

Info here http://www.whathifi.com/news/Linn-launches-Majik-DS-I-all-in-one-network-player/.

With careful set-up, don't put the speakers to high...and use good strong screws/bolts and you'll have an excellent sounding set-up.

HOW MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! £2.5k (without speakers) :eek::eek::eek::eek:

Stick with headphone setup :p
 
Sorry guys, don't knock something you haven't tried..... FLAC is ideal, and what I use.
You said the budget was 3-4K, I offered you what I figure is the best sound with-in that... and plenty of upgrade potential.... Have a demo and tell us what you think. ...
Sorry 2.5K for a streamer, DAC, Pre-amp, Power amp combo in one box to this quality isn't bad....
 
I assume you're using a computer as a source. Lossless music output bit-perfectly via optical into your DAC1 and then into some good nearfield monitors?

I'm basically going to go:
DAS (ALAC lossless rip library) > Mac (via iTunes) > DAC (via optical out) > active monitors on small stands + Auralex pads to get the tweeters to ear level, most likely something from Focal's CMS series. I might add a sub later on down the line for improving music with very deep bass and also for using the speakers for games e.t.c where it would get more use.

Obviously this won't sound as good as fancy full-range floorstanders e.t.c. but for the sake of being in the 'sweet spot' for imaging and the musical experience, it'd be better than having big speakers at the other end of the room behind you playing to the back of your head/chair, plus you could still use the computer.
 
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