Full Range Speakers for a Small Listening Room

Let's see... piano goes to 27, tuba goes to 44, double bass goes to 41, contrabassoon goes to 29, tympani goes to 87, harp goes to 31, pipe organ goes to 16 (or even 8!).

So I guess the criteria for "normal" classical music reproduction would be extension to 27 Hz, and for pipe organ you'd want 16 Hz.

How important is pipe organ to you? The answer will ignificantly influence what your choices are. If you do want that 16 Hz extension, are you willing to use a separate subwoofer or two?

What maximum SPL's are you looking for at the listening position? Or if you don't know, then how close to realistic orchestral levels do you want to get, and relative to a seat up front or in the middle of the hall? Finally, how important is very low volume level listening?

Any other criteria that are especially important to you?

Thanks,

Duke

Ideally, I would want honest reproduction down to 25 Hz. I don't have many organ recordings so the ultra-low levels are not important. As for SPL, I seldom go into the 90's. Most of the listening is done in the low-mid 80's. Very low volume listening is seldom heard here. Keep in mind, I am open to any speaker designs - horns, planar, etc.

ohm's......and put some money back in your walletjaybo

Well, following yr data it looks like full-range choices would be corner loaded speakers -- & I'm not too sure you have enough room there either.

Most probably you'll have to opt for a good pair of satellites + (two) subwoofs as Duke hints above. You'll be listening at ~1W average energy, so electronics shouldn;t be a problem.

If you are comfortable going down to about 28 hz and no lower (w/o a subwoofer) the Merlin Vsm-MX's are terrific speakers and the manufacurer is invaluable as a resource, whether you buy his speakers or not. You should call him, really. The Merlin's are highly resolved and very involving. They sound great with EL34 based amps and OTL's. Bobby now also distributes a new integrated (the ARS-Sonum Filharmia) for about $3500 which is supposed to be terrific match for his speakers.
My room is about the same size as yours and the bass is very tight to about 28hz. And the speakers are beautifully finished and do not take over the room. I like my REL sub (which I use for movies as well) and with them there are really not limits, except those dictated by the room.
For a different, but also satisfying sound I would recommend Vandersteen Quattros with Quicksilver V4 amps and an Aesthetix preamp. Very balanced and coherent. If you want to know who to contact regarding these speakers, please feel free to email me directly.
Good luck in your search.