FR10 or FR20?

Loudspeakers
1

I need some advice.

I have a dedicated listening room which is 11’ X 14’ X 10’. The back wall is mostly open and the room is treated with GIK Acoustic panels, traps and dispersion panels.

My current system consists of a Devialet Expert 1000 Pro Mono, Dynaudio Contour 60 speakers and a pair of REL s/510 subs. My internet connection is wired into an Uptone Audio Etherregen switch and is connected to a Wattson Emerson Digital streamer which is connected via AES/EBU into my Devialet.

All cables are Audioquest. Going from the wall to the Audioquest Niagara 3000 is a Firebird. From the Niagara to the (2) Devialet amps, I am using Hurricanes. My subs are connected via Tornadoes and my speaker cables are William Tells.

I am considering changing my Dynaudio speakers to either FR10 or FR20 speakers and moving my Dynaudios to my home theater system in my family room.

I recently purchased a pair of FR5s for a second system in my summer home in Denver. They are being powered by a Rotel pre-amp and power amp using a Wiim Ultra as my source. The second system is in the basement, and the room is far from ideal.

I have been very impressed with the sound from the FR5s, but my expectations were low due to the electronics and the room. The vocals are amazing and the bass is surprisingly good for such small speakers. This is the impetus for me considering moving to the FR10 or FR20 at home.

I visited PS Audio’s HQ before purchasing the FR5s and got to hear the FR10s. Unfortunately, I didn’t request an FR20 demonstration.

My preferred genre is blues and rock, but I will occasionally listen to classical and country. When I am listening to my main system and really getting into it, I like to listen a bit on the loud side and the Dynaudio’s can go loud. I like the Dynaudio sound, but I think I am missing out on better highs and mid-range.

My questions to the group are, will the FR10s work for me, or should I bite the bullet and go with the FR20s? Has anyone had the FR10s and then moved to the FR20s? Is anyone using either of these speakers with a Devialet?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

2

I would think that the FR10s would be plenty for a room your size. It’s lighter as well. On the other hand I really like the look of the 20s. They just look like a more serious speaker to me.

3

The FR20’s are nice, really, really nice, and would pair well with your REL subs.

4

FR20s. No doubt.

5

First of all, welcome, Mike! Next, if the back wall is mostly open, what’s the total volume then of the acoustic space? Personally I think the FR10 would be an appropriate fit for 11x14 if it were a closed box (I’m a big proponent of “fit the speakers to the room”), but if that open back extends the acoustic volume to any degree, the FR20 might work also (even though I think for speakers that size 11’ doesn’t give you a whole lot of wiggle room). Might be best to get @Chris_Brunhaver in on this.

6

The FR20 have a fairly overdamped bass response (very low tuning) and so have very little bass bloat in a small room and actually work excellently, other than being quite large from a visual footprint.

If you have the budget for FR20, I would strongly consider them as they are much more refined in the midrange and even lower distortion in the bass than the FR10.

7

Tony, the room is a remodeled dining room. The back opening is an arch that is a bit off center but is probably 10’ in width. It opens into the entrance area of the house and the living room which is probably 3 times the area of the listening room. I am leaning towards the FR20, but I am a bit reluctant due to the room size. My Contour 60s are quite large and I was able to tame them with room treatment. I will probably end up calling either Caleb or Chris at PSA for their recommendation. I would really like to hear from anyone using Devialet with PS Audio speakers as the Devialet is very revealing.

8

If you bought FR10 you will always wonder what FR20 can do. With FR20 you are done!

9

I have two systems each in different locations. I opted for FR20 in the primary but “cheaped” on the secondary with FR10, in part because I felt I would need to add a sub or two to the larger room in that second location that would make up for the difference in base between the 10 and 20. But the difference was in the mids. I swapped the FR10’s for FR20’s and am very glad I did. My taste is for classical, jazz, and female vocal where you would want the mids to shine with less concern for the bass I suppose.

While we have Chris B. engaged on this topic, Chris, which stereo PMG amp would you prefer for the FR20? I don’t have room for mono blocks.

10

FR20s are nice --but big-- so carefully consider their physical size. That room may be too small. [edit] On second thought, I’m warming to the idea of the FR20s. With a 10-foot ceiling and an open wall in the back the FR20s might work. They are 5’2" tall with a 16" x 19" footprint on the floor. If you put them 2" feet away from the wall on each side you would still have some 7 feet between them. I’d put some acoustic panels on the walls at the side reflection points to help control early arrivals at your listening position.

11
12

I have listened to FR30s in a MUCH SMALLER ROOM and loved what I heard. You “That is too small a room” guys take a breath.

13

FR30s are the largest of Aspen series and quite a bit larger than the FR20s as I recall. So you’ve heard them in a room significantly smaller than 11’ x 14’? Wow! What size was the room? Which wall dimension was the front wall?

14

If you look up on YouTube “first delivery of FR30 loudspeakers” a video of the system, and room, you can see for yourself.

15

Yes, that’s my room and subsequently the FR30’s are in a larger, adjacent room, and sound even better.

But the point (to Bruce) is that the size of the room should not dictate the speaker. Wendell Diller of Magnapan told me 50 years ago that “get the best speaker you can” for any size room. True today. How well the room does at controlling standing waves and frequency aberrations is more important. Only very low frequencies may be shunted by a small room. Getting the speaker right is easier than treating (active and passive) the room but you end up hearing what your speaker can do.

16

I wish Paul and Chris had continued with the ‘first delivery’ videos, going out to more ‘real world’ installations and hanging with and helping new owners get the most from their investment. I thought that type of video to be far more useful and engaging than the short daily snippet vids.

17

I kindly disagree.

I’m not sure this implies a speaker that is larger than what a given room will allow it to do, optimally. I’ve heard big speakers in rooms too small for them. No matter how well set up or how well the rooms have been treated, IME, it’s equivalent to driving a Ferrari in mid-town Manhattan. Or watching Mohammed Ali box in a closet. It’ll probably still be impressive, but it always limits the potential. But like I said, my 2 cents.

And there you go.

18

Good god. This whole speakers too big for the room belief is so tiresome.
Where is your evidence???

“I don’t know it for certain but I believe it is true” is the number one problem in America today.

19

On Lying and Politics: A Library of America Special Publication by ...
On Lying and Politics: A Library of America Special Publication by ...920×1468 263 KB

Hannah Arendt makes a strong case for we choose to believe regardless of merit, or basis in fact. Without it audiophile suppliers would go hungry.:rofl:

20

Ditto in spades. Trained as a scientist 60 years ago I am now appalled at how “feel good = true” has taken over.