Good, Affordable Horns?

Another thing I am afraid of is that any horn loaded design will blast me out of the room right out of the gate with my current amp, a 150 w/ch SS Musical Fidelity.

This horn thing is starting to sound more and more like not such a good idea in my case.....

In a 12' x 12' I would be perfectly happy with KLF-20's or Chorus II's and a SET or PP tube amp.

I think you need to consider some of the other excellent offerings from Klipsch that use woofers for the lows.

You really need to personally audition a good SET or PP tube amp with some Klipsch or other horn speakers.

Hey Mapman,Just because its a horn doesnt mean they only crank.I have a giant horn system in my office it uses 8-15in woofers in front horns with comp mid and tweeter horns. I can sit as close as 6ft from it, loudspeaker can play at a very low level or crazy loud whatever you want. Also have run them on amps from 200watts class a SS to 10 watt SET tube. If its too loud just turn your volume control down like you would do with any loudspeakers. So dont be afraid of horns they dont bite.

Mapman - Boa2 had his Khorns in a relatively small room and they sounded great there. I'd say the really difficult aspect of using the room you describe is the square ratio which is one of the worst proportions for a good listening room. You may have to address that with room treatment no matter what speakers you put in there (assuming you have not already). You can search the archives as I think this has come up before in various threads.

I think you need to consider some of the other excellent offerings from Klipsch that use woofers for the lows.

All the ones mentioned here do use woofers for the lows. I think what you meant was forward firing woofers, as opposed to woofers used within a folded horn. In the Klipsch Heritage line the forward firing options are limited to the Cornwall and Heresy. The latter is not a bad little speaker either, but you wouldn't be getting a full dose of horn magic IMO, and the bass response is quite limited as well. The Forte and Chorus also have forward firing woofers (as well as a passive rear-firing woofer in the back). Again, nice speakers (more for rockin' IMO), and there you would get all the bass you'll need, but if you want a full heaping helping of Klipsch horn magic, my recommendation would be the larger horns in the Heritage line (Khorn, LaScala, Belle).

Marco

Lots of talk about Klipsch, but you should also consider Altec 604 duplex. These are nearfield monitors and work very well in a small room. Good electronics are a must. 40hz is there. Just thought you REALLY should give these some consideration. Some of the best midrange available IMO.

Good luck and I hope you find what suits you.