Large room with low budget for speakers

Have you heard ANY speaker in that room that did not sound strained? It may not be the speakers  and it may just be the case that the room itself is being overloaded.  Unless you are trying for extreme volume levels,  the Rockports, Focals, Vivid, etc. should be fine and I would being to suspect you have room issues.  Everything is a matter of tradeoffs, and if you insist on rock concert volume levels, you may have to settle for speaker built for high volume that will not sound so good at more reasonable levels (Zu Audio comes to mind).

@larryi 

+1

I would definitely look for  room acoustics problem. I think a 22’ x 22’ or there about room… while generally large… is not so large to sound like out doors.

I agree… I would look at bass loading as a possible problem. 

Give GIKAccoustics a call and see if they can help you sort out your room before you spend that $30K.

You should create a Virtual System page on Audiogon. It will also help if you call GIK.

I heard some Legacy speaker models in the past and I always thought they were very loud.

Something has to be off about the room, like you are sitting in a null considering your comment about the need for more bass. Have you taken any measurements at your listening position? Have you played around with speaker/sub placement or shifting the listening postion?

I run a pair of Focal Kanta 2 and one 15" sealed sub in a room twice the size of yours and have no issues with output unless I’m going for rock concert levels. I’d take some measurements and play around with positioning...speakers and listening. You might also want to look into room treatment. In another room, adding bass traps greatly improved the bass response of that system.

Regardless, I have a hard time believing there are no speakers in your budget range that can give you what you want when paired with a REL array. So long as you have addressed cancellation effects.

I have the Volti Audio Rivals in a large room (just over 5K cu. ft.) & they fill it easily at loud volumes w/ maybe 20 tube watt peaks. Sound very good & more like live music than most. They don't have the super extended, pristine high end that only bats will really appreciate but its very clean, a super dynamic, great, spacious & open midrange & a big low end that a good, big woofer can be capable of.  

And, w/ about half of your budget leftover, you can afford a solid retainer for a good divorce attorney should you wife decide the music is simply too loud to stand.