Are horns and hi-eff designs becoming more popular

Height and WAF.

The only room I could even think about putting those in is my office (not a fully dedicated listening room) which is only 12X12 and they would stick out like a sore thumb even in there currently. I'd also probably have to consider changing my amplification.

At this point, I'm curious about horns but not likely to make a big investment in them. I may test the waters somewhat soon with a smaller pair of Klipsch reference which would give me a flavor at modest cost.

Believe me if I could, the Cardersounds would get their due share of consideration! Maybe some day when I retire or something I may have the time and inclination to re-arrange my life just for a pair of speakers. Yes, I can be that crazy when it comes to this stuff!

Mapman I see some of your other posts on Klipsh horns. I for one do not feel the other Klipsch are in the same league heritage. If you do go heritage go old. Mine are 1980 Lascala's and Grey can mids. Mine do not have the Alnico tweeter. They were being phased out by then. The cost of Alnico is $30 a pound and ceramic magnets are 50 cents to $5 per pound. So I bet you can imagine why they stopped using "the singing magnets". I never knew why Lascala's sounded better than friends with '80's and '90's horns.

YEs, I've looked quite a bit at the Klipsch Heritage line.

If I were to take the plunge, it would probably initially be with something like a Heresy due to size and placement concerns, though the Fortes have also caught my interest based on user reviews I've seen.

Don't laugh at this Mapman but have you thought about Khorns? If you have corners they do not take up much floor space. I am looking at Khorns (get this) to SAVE space. To me they are majestic looking as well! Cost might be a problem with the Khorns but the foot print is quite small. I have had my Lascala's in a room about the size of yours. That is where Lascala's (also Belle's and Khorns) shine! Small room low volume level dynamics, awesome. I can't imagine what could compete with the big Klipsch in a small room except maybe some new horn designs. I think common thought is big speakers need big room. That is not true of the big Klipsch but maybe true of the wife!

Yes, Khorns or cornerhorns in general would work and be the other (ultimate?) way to go for me given my constraints if a local pair came up, but obviously they are a much larger investment.

If I decided to go with Klipschorns, they would probably go in a small 12X12 room where my Dynaudios are currently. Also, I'm not in a rush to part with the Dynaudios, but that's a different though related issue.