Speaker suggestions for less than ideal accoustics


I live in a lovely timber frame home that works well for our lifestyle but presents challenges when trying to create a good audio listening environment. My great room has a wall of windows, tile floors (radiant heat), a large stone fireplace,28' ceiling peak, open to a loft area and open to the kitchen/dining area. The space is approx 1000 sq ft. I have listened in stores to some nice speakers (JM labs 816s, Def Tech 7004, Paradigm studio 100s, PSB T55,) but I know none of them will sound the same in my great room. Anyone ever faced this challenge and know if certain qualities in speaker designs lend themselves to this? I have learned a lot from this forum and wish there were more places to hear some of the equipment mentioned. BTW,this is for music listening only. Home theatre will have its own dedicated room in the basement where things can be built to suit
timberman
Timberman, I share your concerns for how speakers will sound in "real world" environments. I'm amazed at audio reviewers who rave about the imaging, etc., as long as they keep their head within the sweet spot area of about 1 cubic foot.

So...for you I'd recommend a speaker with wide dispersion, possibly a dipole or Ohm Walsh. With your reflective surfaces, I'd stay with something warm sounding and stay away from anything harsh. A sub will help keep the bass from being lost in the big room, especially for rock. Of the speakers you've listed, I think that the Paradigms would do well. I've had really good luck listening to Totem's that were placed in another room. Somehow they keep the detail in seemingly impossible acoustics without sounding harsh. I'd personally love to try the Totem Winds in a big room like yours. Buy on A'gon and you can always resell.
Timberman, a picture would indeed help, but are you going to be placing the speakers well into your room or back up against your rear wall or something. Also, in your search for speakers, what have you liked about say the Paradigms versus other speakers. We pretty much have no idea what kind of sound you like.
Nice system Shadorne. The ones I heard were active with a Naim pre and Naim CDP. They did not seem ruthlessly revealing although maybe my ears were less sensitive then. Naim is a pretty easy listen as well. All I know is they were the best rock speakers I've ever heard and this guy's house was an open 2 story "barn". Fortunately his nearest neaghbor was over 1/4 mile away!
well I have been listening to as many suggestions provided as possible and so far I would say my favorites, to date , are the Vandersteen 3a Sigs and Sonus Faber Concerto Domus (even though a bit undersized) Others,with less wow were PSB T55, JM labs 716S, KEF, Paradigm Studio 100s, and DefTech 7004. The search continues.