Active speakers for a large room

Hedd tower mains... done!

Using PMC supplied tilt and turn wall mounts, I placed the speakers towards the middle of a long wall, about 9 feet apart, at head height, usually with heavy toe in. The minimalist room has it´s sonic problems and might benefit from some room correction. They don´t sound small; if I have them at 20% volume and the pre-amp at 50% it is neighbour-complaining loud. There are also 2 subwoofers. 

Came across your post - in a similar boat  - can you also post a pic if possible on how you placed your speakers - do you get enough clarity and loudness in the room of that size with these speakers - they seem small for the space - thank you!

Nice choice.

I didn´t; somewhat out of my price range. + We have cats, so I needed them to be wall-mounted, away from easy reach.

Did you get to listen to a pair of meridian DSP8000’s?I imagine the bass presentation would be about opposite of what the pmc delivers but having only read reviews I don’t know.

Just to let you know, in the end I bought the pair of PMC result6. As soon as they were turned on I heard a big improvement, in all aspects. Aside from great clarity, they have a bigger presence in the room and wider dispersion. Naturally, with only stereo, volume varies through the room, but in most, possibly all, zones I think that the quality of sound is better than I could get at the price with multi-channel. Thanks for your comments.

Hi @garbo 
Here is the link -- it's the 3 series, not 3M, sorry to confuse you. Don't be put off by the looks, they are surprisingly good speakers, with very good dispersion characteristics!

there there’s a brand that’s been doing dsp speakers for residential applications for quite awhile and while the new prices are prohibitive the used prices are a real bargain. Don’t really get much recognition other than mqa tho.

rego, thanks for the suggestions. It was only worth getting a 2 channnel DAC as the others would have had to undergo a A-D-A conversion in the P30; not a good idea. In the end I have decided to buy the PMC speakers, as I got a good price and I know at least they will give me an excellent stereo system. They are supposed to have reasonably wide dispersion. Cheers

@garbo, what I would suggest is consider adding a DAC.
As indicated the difference made an impression ...
If the P30 is working the way you want in the system build upon the structure in place.
And an MTM Array (Loudspeaker) config would still be a good suggestion.
Look at Eris E44 (Presonus) for example and see if it makes any sense to you.
Manufacturer Statement: "Eris E44: MTM design delivers the widest sweet spot in its class."
Please note that my example ( Eris E44 ) is not based on direct experience with the Monitor only that the MTM Array makes sense.
A suggestion for Toe In would be heck Yeah ... find the balance for the
’ Standing listening area ’ which should be crossed behind ( or at / or maybe not ) the seated listening position.
Toe In could be minimal so that the axis crosses well behind a first or second listening position.

sorry gregm; saw your post after i posted mine. i can´t find the M3. do you have a link?

Thanks for your comments. Passive monitors are not really an option as it would mean changing most of the system. Power is not really a problem; the Genelecs are turned way down as it is. Speaker placement is pretty much fixed as it is, being ideal for movies and having already installed the in-wall cabling. The right far field monitor might work, perhaps a JBL. Is there a particular one which is designed to disperse the sound more? I think I owe you some further history. The P30 is a quality 5.2 channel processor which I had listened to for years in 5.2 mode for music. It gave me the ambience I was after, but when I tried the RME stereo DAC, there was a distinct improvement in the sound quality, even off axis, something that I am loathe to sacrifice. I think it would take big bucks to find a multi-channel processor to match it, so I am invested once again in stereo. My hope now is that greater, though not perfect, dispersion might be achieved by changing the two main speakers only. By concentrating my resources on just 2 speakers I can afford a significant upgrade. I am currently looking at a pair of PMC result6, which are a definite step up and might be classed as mid-field. Perhaps it is sacrilege, but I am also finding that extreme toe-in is helping, maybe because, in most parts of the room, the closest speaker is facing away and the far one is facing me. As ever, this exercise will be a compromise. Thanks again for your help; further comments appreciated.

Another vote for JBLs; very well behaved (good dispersion & off-axis response, etc) and reasonably priced for the performance level. The M3 series probably tallies with what you need

Hey garbo,
More and more choices in terms of Powered Loudspeakers are possible and readily produced.
What I would point out is that Genalec’s Monitor (design) is oriented more towards nearfield listening and low power.
Where as you have indicted an interest in use with more ambience and a preference for Less constraint and some flexibility.
This would indicate a requirement for a different radiation pattern.
This is about how a Loudspeaker integrates into a listening space.
Since AV use is also of interest this opens the way for at least one possible application of Surround Tech but would require more capacity than the Primare P30 offers (XLR connection to satellites as well as mains).
So the idea would be to expand the listening "area" to encompass the greater portion of the room with Surround Sound.
But again is dependent upon the selection of Speaker (type).
This could be accomplished with as few as four "Mains"
Possibly adding a center channel for AV at the listening position.
To me the more conventional approach would be to consider an MTM
Array type baffle for controlled dispersion.
Another alternative for listening on axis outside a critical sweet spot would be at the opposite end of the room ( "area" from current mains axis) requiring enough power and good room integration.
The stated use of current Subs is right on the money.

Jump on a pair of Tannoy Revolution XT 8F  they will sound great they are passive however.

JBL makes a number of powered studio monitors which would probably be a good idea.  They work great in far-field situations like restaurants.

The one issue is the size of the room. The difference in volume between the front and the rear will be unusually large, not sure if you wouldn't be happier with 2 monitors per side. This lets you keep the volume low, but equal.