Mid sized room -Full range vs Monitor


I will be moving into a new audio room in the near future. It measures 14'W x 18'L x 8.5'H and will be a dedicated room with moderate acoustic treatment. Three walls are ICF concrete (insulated concrete forms - concrete with 2" foam covered by sheetrock) and the rear wall is standard 2"x6" construction. Is the space sufficient to support the low frequency of a full range speaker such as the Revel Salon? Should I consider a monitor or a smaller speaker with a sub to increase placement flexibility? I am concerned about overloading the room and ending up with boomy bass. I am upgrading my current system (mid fi) so options are open. Thanks for your input.
128x128ryan1fs
Given your room size, you can still accomodate a full-range floorstander. The only question is how large can they go. I had no problems previously with Sonus Faber Grand Pianos in my smallish 11'W x 17'L room. However, in one review by John Atkinson in Stereophile, it was suggested that stand-mounted mini-monitor loudspeakers may offer the best chance of sounding good in the widest range of moderate-sized listening rooms compared to their larger counterparts. Two-way minimonitors hold the advantage of being preferred in the broadcast industry as a nearfield monitor as they emphasized definition and intelligibility over extensive dynamics and subterranean bass response which made them better suited to studio applications.

Having that said, I still feel your room would be able to accomodate moderate-sized floorstanders easily. I reckon many would recommend floorstanders over standmounts as the advantages of the former outweigh the latter in the long-run, given your room size. Getting to know which won't sound boomy would be tricky and may need a bit of research unless you can try it out in your room yourself.
The fact that your rear wall ( behind the listening position ) is not concrete is a fantastic bonus....concrete is very reflective and will not leak out energy and consequently you may get overly long reverb times. The best place to have a "leaky" or less reflective surface for bass frequencies is the wall behind your head. Since it is concrete you may want to use more acoustic panels/carpets and wall hangings to absorb than usual... but you may be pleasantly surprised at how good it may sound (even with full range).
You have the full plate of options with that room...a dedicated room which allows use of bass traps without putting you in the dog house is a major plus also...I suggest both front corners as a good start.

Dave
IMO, Sogood51 has the best suggestion. Get yourself acoustic treatments if you haven't, yet.
There also is many floorstanding speakers with smaller drivers, that can give you that adaquete bass, without overloading the room. I found sticking with a small tower with 2 6 1/2 drivers and FRONT ported, is a nice compromise. If I use monitors, I however like to run my speakers full, and augment them with a sub. I find something missing if I filter the lows out.