First round of auditions disappointing

Can the Adagio's play loudly in a large room with two 6.5" drivers?

Yes, absolutely, I have heard them demoed in a large room and they play very loud, the transmission line certainly deepens the base, I am not sure if they account for loudness. More important for me is they play soft, without the soundstage collapsing, that is the test of a good speaker to me. I bought one of the first pairs in the UK and everyone the importer demoed the speakers to, bought them, everyone. That includes someone who had just bought Quad 989's and had only come to listen to a CD player. I understand Robert Lee can't make them fast enough.

Judging from the speakers that you auditioned, it seems like you went to Tweeter (or SoundAdvice?). Tweeter is a horrible environment in which to evaluate speakers. I know because I used to work there, and every room in every store sounds bad. It's really a shame. Any of the speakers you listended to can probably sound pretty good if they are well set up.

Find a good shop that has a good, acoustically treated room and audition there.

I own a pair of JM Lab - Focal 918's and they sound wonderful. They are not boxy at all. TAS recently reviewed these and they received high accolades. IMO Martin Logan speakers don’t even come close to the emotion of a Focal. Also, since I like deep bass I added a Rel subwoofer. It mates really well.

Sounds to me that you did not audition them in the correct environment and with the correct equipment. See if you can get an at home trial. If you don't like them, you can return them if the store has a good return policy.

Thanks everyone.......

Boa2 - You hit the nail on the head with your comment that box speakers "sound too sequestered with respect to conveying the sparkle and energy of the event." That's what I'm looking for, the sparkle and energy of the event. Nearly all of the conventional speakers I've ever listened to lack that sparkle and energy. Nearly all of them are reticent.

My VR-4's, for example, would reproduce the crack of a stick against the rim of a snare drum in a way that sounded like a pillow was in between the microphone and the drum. The representation was there, but that sparkle and engergy (CRACK!) was missing. A plucked bass hung out in space forever, so things sounded sloooow. Bass drums were rendered with a "poof" instead of a solid "punch," and drum solos lacked that crisp, leading edge attack. They sounded this way in the showroom, and in 3 different environments with varying amplification, so it was a character of the speaker itself.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I wonder if speaker designers are afraid to depart from that typical "audiophile" expectation of sound. That "warm" or "lush" presentation. Over the years, I've heard many, many speakers, that while voiced differently, had an overall laid back presentation. I don't mean to sound degrading, but my $30 PC speakers image like champs, so perhaps I'm trying to get "outside the box" (no pun intended).

I agree with your list of speakers that won't satisfy me. When I sold my VR-4's, I fell out of my chair when I saw just how many companies are now building conventional, multi-driver systems. How much can you really do with this design, aside from distinctive voicing?

I seem to gravitate towards two speaker designs, horn and planar. I loved my Logans and Magnepans, but they lacked punch and dynamics. I loved my Altec 19's, but they were far from being refined. I guess I'm looking for something that might not exist, so I'll have to take some time and determine just what compromises I'm willing to make.

By the way, a couple things I will do:

1. I will audition the new Von Schweikert designs
2. I'd like to audition the Gallo Ref 3.1, just for curiosity sake, given the amount of good press and customer reviews they have received