Golden Ear Triton7 spk: High-end or just mid -fi??

Scott's experience matches my own when I was auditioning them. Even with the double-doors to the vendor's listening room room open, the bass of the Triton Sevens eventually overpowered the rest of the musical presentation, especially of orchestral numbers. And I know by now that when your speakers have noticeable strengths and weaknesses, over time you stop listening to the music it doesn't do so well. And I wanted speakers that would encourage me to delve into my largely unplayed classical collection.

So I got a pair of Magneplanar 1.7s. Fortunately they don't just sound good on classical; they are also superb for anything from solo acoustic guitar or voice on up. Great on classic rock; I got several of the new all-analog Beatles mono LPs and they are superb.

Here's another thought about maggies in a smaller room: the dipole pattern helps cancel deep bass and prevent it from dominating a small room. Until I got my maggies, I never imagined that dipoles would actually clean up the bass and pretty much eliminate the need for bass traps, but there you are.

Granted, the Maggies want about 30"-45" of space behind them, but they're largely self-canceling to the sides. The MMGs are pretty small and should be plenty for a 12.5" square room. If you need the space when you're not listening, they are light weight and easily moved up against the walls.

At $1199, the 3-piece Super MMG system should give you what you are looking for, and you will definitely be getting "high end sound." Best of all, you get that magic midrange with an easily manageable bass, no 100Hz bass hump, and no cabinet resonances to smear the sound.

The totem model one speakers actually make great bass, and I think they would complement Phils bass playing quite well! They do need power though!

Having owned Definitive Technology speakers in the 90s, and reading comments on the Goldenear speakers on the internet, it's clear that Sandy Gross puts a high amount of emphasis on bass quantity in his designs.

Shakey

I'll second the Joseph audio RM7XL recommendation. Front port should make them easy to place in a smaller room. Very musical speakers.

Trust me on this one, specially with your music selection, Totem Model 1s and save lots of money. Another speaker that may work extremely well in your small footprint room based on your listening taste, Dali Zensor 3s. Outstanding reviews on the European market. I extensively auditioned the Zensor 7s and they are simply amazing for rock music! Your room is too small for the Triton 7s....and Zensor 7s. In my big room, the Triton 7s are simply the best!