Klipsch speaker placement

I couldn’t be happier with my Heresy IV’s....unless someone offered me some la Scalas.

Looking at those Altec's, you ARE looking at La Scalas I assume.

I am a bit torn because I don’t like the idea of using a sub.

 I understand that’s a weakness of the Lascallas. So I’m thinking the Cornwall iv

may be a better fit.

I have a 28x17 room so it’s not small.

Cornwall IV will definitely have “more” bass than the LS, but it won’t have the quality of horn loaded bass. And the CW can’t compete with the midrange of the LS. 
 

LS + subs is the way to go.

@52tiger 

The Cornwalls are a great loudspeaker. The woofer crosses to the midrange horn at 700 Hz. Thus the woofer carries a large chunk of the midrange. Remember, middle C is 256 Hz. This means the bass requiring long excursions is going to Doppler distort voice which is very noticeable once you now what to listen for. This makes a subwoofer essential for the best performance. This is true of any speaker that does not have a built in sub driver. You will hear people frequently say that adding a sub "opened up the midrange" of their speakers. The added bass is nice also. 

Cornwall's yes. Subs yes. Not all situations are the same, of course, but most can benefit from a sub that works for your system. I was the original no sub guy. Now I use 3. All of the Heritage speakers benefit from a good sub.