To Jason Thorpe,
Very nice review of the Vivid Kaya 45 loudspeakers. As a Torontonian now living in California, I enjoyed the Canadian references throughout the review.
I wonder if you can give me a little bit of advice. I am narrowing down on three speakers for my smallish office, 12’L x 11’W x 9’H: Paradigm Persona 3F, Vivid Kaya 45, Yamaha NS-5000.
I have heard the Paradigm Persona 5F and feel that the smaller Persona 3F with an Anthem STR preamp with ARC3 DSP would work. The same preamp [paired] with Vivid Kaya 45 [speakers] -- I am not sure because of the side-firing woofers. I have not heard the Yamaha yet since it is not available yet in the USA, though I understand it may be in the summer. I may come up to Toronto to have a listen this summer whatever the case.
I have heard the Vivid Kaya 90s, and liked them a lot, and the Vivid Kaya 45s are supposed to play in smaller rooms and can be placed closer to the back wall, due to the canceling of some of the rear sound waves.
My office is treated with acoustic treatments and it sounds real good now. Can you give me some feedback as to whether the side-firing woofers are a bad choice for such a small room?
If you have heard the other two speakers on my list, do you have a favorite amongst the three?
Regards,
Manoj C.
United States
Dimensions of 11’ x 12’ x 9' make for a fairly small room for the Kaya 45s -- it's also quite square. But if you do have it well treated, you might be fine. Also, if you’re using Anthem Room Correction (ARC), you may well be able to ameliorate any nasty standing waves. I also don’t believe the side-firing woofers will cause any problems, since low-frequency sound waves are so long, though the only way to be sure is to listen to them, unfortunately. I also suggest you contact Vivid themselves, as they can likely give you some further insight.
Regarding the Personas -- at the Toronto Audio Fest this past year, I had a chance to hear the Persona 9H loudspeakers driven by the Anthem STR integrated amp, and they sounded fantastic, so I think you have a hard choice ahead of you.
I also had the chance to hear the Yamaha NS-5000 speakers, but they’re large boxes, and might well overpower your room. But again, maybe ARC will be able to help.
In the end, though, if it were my money, I think I’d choose the Vivids. . . . Jason Thorpe
