Speakers for large open room


I'd like thoughts for speakers in a 18 x 22 room with catheral ceilings 15' to 23'...one long window wall and the other, a half wall opening to kitchen and hall with loft over!!! A nightmare or what?
lovesmusic
Thanks for your responses, and to you Duke. Corner placement is not an option. Speakers could be three to five feet out from walls.
Thanks for the additional information, Lovesthemusic.

If a dipole speaker is an option, you'd want the speaker about five feet out from the "front" wall. Placement fairly close to the side walls is okay with most dipoles. I don't think 100 watts is enough power for SoundLabs or Maggies, but it's probably enough for Audio Artistry or Gradient dynamic dipoles. The Orion is a multi-amped active speaker; you'd need to replace your present amplification.

Your 100-watt receiver would probably work well with the Duevel Venus, Shahinian Obelisk, Mirages, or SP Tech Timepiece speakers.

If you can get away with large enclosures, then the vintage Altec Model 19 or somewhat smaller Model 14 would be good options, and your Aleph 3 should work well with them. The GedLee and Tannoy Prestige series speakers would also work well with the Aleph. Speaking of which, do you know what the output impedance (or damping factor) is for the Aleph 3? That might be useful information.

Generalizing here, I'd say that the omnis and quasi-omnis (Duevel, Shahinian, MBL, Mirage) will give you a richer, more laid-back presenatation, similar to what you might hear in the back third of the concert hall.

The dipolar speakers (Magnepan, SoundLab, Linkwitz Orion, Gradient Revolution) give a presentation more reminiscent of the middle third of the concert hall.

The horn and waveguide speakers (Avantarde, PiSpeakers, Classic Audio Reproductions, SP Tech, GedLee, Tannoy, and mine) give presentations more reminiscent of what you'd hear in the front third of the concert hall.

I don't know if these generalizations help you narrow down your focus or not. A key to any successful speaker quest is "know thyself" - that is, know what you want, know what you don't want, and know what you're willing to compromise in order to get what you want.

Do you have speaker size and/or WAF considerations, and how loud do you like it? I think you will end up able to choose between several options that will work well in your room. What qualities in particular are you looking for in a loudspeaker?

Best wishes.

Duke