Speaker shopping Help?

Recommend the Focals. Could even look for a pair of used Utopias (Divas or even Altos) now that the new line is out. Really need to hear before you buy in case they are not your taste.

My experience has been that some speakers have that room filling sound and some have that more sweet spot type sound. Some "load the room" and some don't. Not sure it is a question of size. I used to sell the Reference 3A deCappo's and they really had that big sound, even though they were a monitor speaker.

i would seriously check out the montana audio speaker site

"They need to be rich but detailed, non fatiguing. Tight bass that goes down to at least 35hz"

Philefreak, except for exceeding your bass frequency extension spec by 13Hz, your description seems to match my Vienna Mahlers to a T. Reason I mention them is that the Spectron Mus 3 with its very high damping factor should control Mahlers with a lot of ease, and let them yield a very extended bass that is tuneful and without any bloat in any frequency band. Treble is extended but not shrieky. They sound 'rich' in the sense of being capable of rendering harmonic complexity, but not in the sense of yielding a 'caramelized' euphonic glow to the music. . . Staging/imaging is excellent. . . but they do not yield a pinhead of a sweetspot. . . rather they are very forgiving about listening position. Mahlers work best in large rooms like yours. and mine. Only caveat is that all Vienna speakers must be set up very carefully to pressurize the room without frequency hotspots and sound their best. Some dealers like Soundings Hifi use a process designed by Sumiko called MasterSet, which works extremely well. G.

Magnepan 20.1 or a 3 series with double subs.

My room is 19 X 31 with 14 ft peak open beam ceiling

I am using 3.5Rs biamped with a SVS powered sub. THe sound stage is big, but I could use a second sub