Floor standers or Monitors?

I'd offer up the best monitor I've heard as you were looking for monitor vs. FS solutions.

The Gamut L3 "mini" monitor is fantastic and reaches the
frequencies you specify quite convincingly. I heard them
at last years RMAF and feel they're the best monitor I've heard for body and prat at the same time. I actually preferreed them to the Gamut floorstanders and by a wide margin. They are easy to drive, and there's a pair on Agon right now for $3600. I can't recommend them enough.

I suppose the larger Sonus Fabers would fit the bill as well, I have heard them be impressive beyond they're size.

I've rarely, and I do mean rarely heard a sub set up well enough to live with for extended periods. That's just my opinion, I have tried for months on a few occasions with limited results and eventually sold both types of sub pairs.

RFG

Rf_gumby

thanks, mind pointing me towards some press on the little two way from Gamut?

don't forget about Escalante!!!! These are truely great speakers!!!!

Optarchie

thanks. Again, any press on the Pinions? 'cause the freemonts are too high for me. Probably the Pinions too... I've not seen any used here on the 'gone.

No reviews, however a regular search turned up a few sites
selling them with some descriptions. www.gamutaudio.com/products yields some more stuff. Reviews I've found are not in english.

A friend who lives too far away for me to have heard his
actual system with new L-3's, dragged me into the Gamut room at RMAF and they (the L-3's) just flatout impressed me (and toward the end of the show at that- many great systems showed up there which had already raised the "good sound" bar a bit).

I'm of no affiliation, I know no dealers, I wanted to hear what a buddies new speakers sounded like and I just plain like a good stand mounted monitor every bit as much as the bleeding edge monsters FS designs. Even more maybe, dragging full sound out of a small box has physical limitations, and the consequential design balancing act that the really good speaker designers have to dance is gloriously laden with nasty pitfalls. At least the crossovers are generally easier, but really good stand mounts are just plain really good speakers.

I considered buying some L-3's new at full retail myself. No minimonitor aside from the large Sonus Fabers had ever been as emotionally involving, I think that's where the difference between accurate monitors and wonderful speakers
lies when your talking stand mounts. I still have some LS3/5A's, and as wonderful as they are in the nearfield, there ultimately is a lack of impact and body that becomes
tiring after a few weeks and I have to swap them out for
floorstanders. I can't imagine the L-3's would produce that same restlessness from lack of bottom fullness. Obviously they only go so far down, but I was very suprised at how little they lacked.

I thought I had heard Escalante's, but the ones I heard
didn't look like the ones on their website so I can't comment. I thought the ones I heard had horn shaped side panel insets.

Sorry to ramble,
RFG