Thank you all for your responses and suggestions. I'm doing some on-line research.
The Totem Forests have been recommended to me a number of times. Do they have enough bass in a big room without a subwoofer? I was hoping to avoid that route, and I could certainly try them without one and then think about adding the subwoofer later. I guess I've been thinking that a three-way speaker would generally have fuller bass than a two way.
I've been intrigued by some of the side-firing woofer speakers, like the BC acoustique A3 (which are a little out of my price range) or the Audio Physic Virgo. I haven't heard much about these speakers, only read good reviews of them. I've read enough reviews now that I mainly look for what doesn't impress reviewers. If a speaker gets a glowing review in every category, then I want to hear what Audiogoners think of it. But if it falls short in any significant category for a reviewer, then I imagine that the speaker is, in fact, weak in that area. What I mean is that reviews tend to be a bit over-the-top, so if a reviewer takes the time to address a weakness, then I assume that it's a pronounced one.
Knownothing, you mentioned Swedish amps for use with Vienna Acoustics speakers. Which amps? And Foster_9, by "doubles down" do you mean bi-amping or just a large (200 watts or more?) amp? Right now, I'm using a 35-year-old McIntosh 2105 amp (105W x 2) and a similarly aged Mac C-28 preamp, but I'll be switching those out for amps that work well with whatever speakers I buy. The 2105 has plenty of power for the efficient Klipsch speakers, but I want to move into the 21st Century with my amps, and I'm guessing that I'm going to need more power. Is there danger in having too much power, say if the speakers are pretty efficient (above 90db for 1 watt at 1 meter?)
The Totem Forests have been recommended to me a number of times. Do they have enough bass in a big room without a subwoofer? I was hoping to avoid that route, and I could certainly try them without one and then think about adding the subwoofer later. I guess I've been thinking that a three-way speaker would generally have fuller bass than a two way.
I've been intrigued by some of the side-firing woofer speakers, like the BC acoustique A3 (which are a little out of my price range) or the Audio Physic Virgo. I haven't heard much about these speakers, only read good reviews of them. I've read enough reviews now that I mainly look for what doesn't impress reviewers. If a speaker gets a glowing review in every category, then I want to hear what Audiogoners think of it. But if it falls short in any significant category for a reviewer, then I imagine that the speaker is, in fact, weak in that area. What I mean is that reviews tend to be a bit over-the-top, so if a reviewer takes the time to address a weakness, then I assume that it's a pronounced one.
Knownothing, you mentioned Swedish amps for use with Vienna Acoustics speakers. Which amps? And Foster_9, by "doubles down" do you mean bi-amping or just a large (200 watts or more?) amp? Right now, I'm using a 35-year-old McIntosh 2105 amp (105W x 2) and a similarly aged Mac C-28 preamp, but I'll be switching those out for amps that work well with whatever speakers I buy. The 2105 has plenty of power for the efficient Klipsch speakers, but I want to move into the 21st Century with my amps, and I'm guessing that I'm going to need more power. Is there danger in having too much power, say if the speakers are pretty efficient (above 90db for 1 watt at 1 meter?)