Best Speaker for audiophile-grade small room rig

I would be first be concerned with the room interaction. I had a friend that had a 10X10X10 foot room with terrible bass problems. It is very possible that you will have great speakers that will drive you crazy. I second anyone that recommends, listen IN YOUR ROOM first.

That said, many of the speakers above are excellent and there are many more. I wouldn't buy anything without trying the B&W805 signatures, the Krell LAT2 or their new less expensive bookshelf, the small Dynaudio, the Totem 1 signatures, a small Martin Logan, or the Red Rose.

Seeing my list above, you surely have your work (or fun) cut out for you.

Richard

I also have a square, 14 x 14, listening room. I have the Harbeth M30's, and recently set them up to listen diagonally. The improvement in the bass ( and overall sound) was huge. The Harbeth is a great speaker,like many of the above recommendations, but the square room is tricky to work with.
Good luck,
Mike

I had a room of almost identical dimensions and had tremendous success with Aerial Acoustics Model 5s. They're perfect for nearfield listening. Most speakers need some distance between you and them to integrate properly and to tame the tweeter. The tweeter on the Model 5 is one of the best I've ever heard. Smooth, airy and...oh, so extended.

Stay away from ported speakers. They'll only frustrate you. If you need the bottom two octaves use a subwoofer (REL Strata?).

In my opinion, the Aerials are head and shoulders above the rest of the above recommendations with the exception perhaps of the ProAc 1SC or Harbeth Compact 7ES, but I believe the Aerial Model 5 is better suited to such a small room and would be an excellent match with your electronics.

Let us know what you end up with.

My vote spendors...great 3-d imaging and transparency...I own Green Mountain Europas...which are awesome...but they do require a bigger room...at any rate...a number of Brit monitors come to mind...Harbeth,Castle,Rogers, and Linn...good luck...

I suggest either the Dynaudio Special 25 or the Totem Mani-2
both are highly regarded. For my taste, I also like rock and
female vocalist (Enya & Patricia Barber)so I prefer the Mani-2. I got a pair after reading the Stereophile review, first time that I have purchase a pair of speakers without hearing them. The bass is incredible deep and tight, mid and hi are top class. Good luck.