Am I Better Off With Limited Low Frequency Speaker In A Small Room?

Yes, I do listen diagonally (or kitty-corner as I call it).

I'm auditioning Harbeth C7 XD over this weekend. Interesting speaker. It sounds wide open. Bass is fairly deep and tight, no bloat. Images are large. The speaker is easy to listen to. With smale scale music, it's quite good. These speakers seem to fit into my room quite well. 

Downside is that the speaker can sound bright but at the same time, not all that airy in the soundstage. And tonally, it sounds a bit gray. Nothing is so harmonically fleshed out that I believe it's real. It also. never feels like it really lets loose. 

Downside is that the speaker can sound bright but at the same time, not all that airy in the soundstage. And tonally, it sounds a bit gray. Nothing is so harmonically fleshed out that I believe it’s real.

This largely seems odd (except the airy part) and begs several questions:

- What’s the rest of the equipment in your system?

- What sound characteristics are most important to you?

- What improvements are you looking for over your current speakers?

- Where are you located and what speakers do you have access to?

- Can you purchase from the US?

You really haven’t given much to go on here, and the more info you provide the more effective and productive this post will be.

I heard those Harbeth's and found them too relaxed sounding and no snap to the sound. Just not engaging and a bit dry sounding. Agree did not sound real and always like a speaker was playing. 

Listened to the new model stand mounted Vienna Acoustic “Hayden” speakers last week in a dealers large room.  I was surprised at their performance as far as musicality and the range they projected.   I heard a previous Hayden model a few years ago and these are a definite step forward in sound quality. Worth an audition for a room your size.  

Downside is that the speaker can sound bright but at the same time, not all that airy in the soundstage. And tonally, it sounds a bit gray. Nothing is so harmonically fleshed out that I believe it's real. It also. never feels like it really lets loose. 

In a smaller room, diffusion can really break up the reflections into smaller pieces so all speakers can sound their best, especially speakers like Harbeth that don't have a waveguide or horn so they spray sound more indiscriminately. Diffusion is really how you get a hi-end sound in the mid frequencies (vocals and instruments).