Recommendations for speakers that sound great at lower volume levels.

So many opinions. Little speakers that sound good at low volume are efficient and that like tubes. Humm sounds like ProAc Tablettes too me

I have the Klipsch Cornwall IVs and they have a full body sound at low levels.  I've owned Harbeth SLH5 and currently own the M40.1.  I also have the Sterling LS3/6 that I like better than the SLH5.  For low level sound, it's hard to beat the Cornwalls.

@smatsui

please describe the differences you hear between harbeth shl5+ and stirling ls3/6 -- and pls let us know what amp, source and music type

and which version/iteration of the super hl5 plus pls

thanks

In my experience Nola / Alon speakers excell at low volumes.
The designer has clearly paid a lot of attention to how they sound at minimum volume. It was quite incredible how the tonal balance never changed as you cranked the volume.
However due to the limitations of open baffle design they had limited power handling in larger rooms, meaning i blew many drive units.

My current Focal Stella Utopias are the polar opposite. They really don't come alive until you give them a good kick up the arse. However their power handling is superb, they have no problems filling the same room that murdered two pairs of (Alon) open baffle speakers.

Almost all earlier hi-fi gear included a Fletcher-Munson "Loudness Control" designed to boost the bass and treble to compensate for their loss at lower volumes.  Harry Pearson via TAS made tone controls as well as (heaven forbid) the loudness control dirty words (if you were a real audiophile, that is.)  So without an equalizer, you are going to miss bass and extreme high end .... goes with the territory.  Mid-range clarity, however, can still exists.  I have a pair of older KLH 5 speakers in my bedroom system that sound marvelous at low levels, with midrange that equals my main system Thiels.  

Reading the above threads, I see a lot of people confusing power with loudness.  A low-efficiency speaker, properly powered, can still play "low" without losing anything .... no more than a high efficiency speaker.