Speaker Choice for a larger room


Hey all.

I'm going through change in my system again. Whilst I'm in the selling mode presently, and won't be buying for a little while, I would like to start to plan out future purchases.
The main area of concern is finding a speaker that will couple effectively with my room.
The dimensions are 28' X 45' and the cathedral ceiling goes up to 28'
I'm using Maggie 3.6's presently, but plan on changing things around.
My musical tastes are Jazz, classic rock, some blues, some classical most anything that isn't country or rap.
What I want from my system is:
Scale - large open soundstage, good width and depth
Imaging - precise placement of images but with emphasis on 3 dimensional realism
Palpability - the sense of presence and quality of the midrange.
Bass extension isn't of absolute importance, as long as I get a good sense of authority and impact in the lower registers.
I prefer a warmer sound with more bloom and midrange presence over a brighter more analytical sound.

On my list are:
Aerial 20T's
Sonus Faber Cremona
Avantgarde Duo's
Wilson Sophia's
Kharma 1.0's
Soundlab A1's

From the above, I've only heard Kharma's so I may be off target with my wish list of sonic attributes, though I have owned Sonus Fabers, a smaller model, and they seemed to do much of what I like best.
I'm flexible on amplification at this point, but would lean toward tubes, something around 200 watts, perhaps the Antique Sound Lab Hurricanes.
Source is and will remain digital.

What can you suggest that would take full advantage of the larger listening space, and would also be effective in a smaller space (I may move house in 6 months or so).

Would appreciate any insights. Budget wise, the 20T's are as high as I would go (used $12000 ish)

Thanks

Rooze
128x128rooze
Thanks all for your informed advice. I'm surprised to see the multiple recommendations for the Tyler Woodmeres? Maybe I'm out of touch, but I haven't seen much in the audio press about these speakers. I like the idea of an efficient speaker, since my biggest problem with the 3.6's has been finding an amp to get them to open up.

Peepoy2, I've heard the Legacy 20/20's, but not the bigger models, I liked what I heard a lot. I'm always surprised when people bash the Legacy speakers, they seemed very musical to my ears, though not necessarily 'audiophile', if you know what I mean.
I think before I do anything I have to hear a set of Horns, like the Avantgarde. They really intrigue me. I love the visual side of the AG's also. I can imagine a normal person reacting negatively to their aesthetics, I'm anything but normal!

Maybe if anyone has heard the Avantgardes you could tell me a little more about what to expect....will they deliver what I'm looking for sonically? Are they a real pain to setup?

Otherwise that's all good advice and I appreciate it. Feel free to keep more suggestions coming.

Thanks

Rooze
ATC 150asl! These have cones but a sound you`re aspiring to.
Found in many large pro studios.Incredible value as they have 350w onboard amplification per speaker.Passive version also available.
If you can, I would suggest you check out Rick Reimer's Tetons, custom made to the highest levels of craftmanship. There are probably only several dozen pairs in existence, but, in my experience, everyone who hears them loves them. Very large soundstage, very dynamic, very musical - through a frequency range from below 20 Hz to above 20 kHz. And at 94 dB sensitivity, capable of delivering stupendous volumes with relatively low-powered amplification. I've driven mine beautifully (for the same mix of music you listen to) with a 20-wpc Cary Rocket 88, and can produce waaaaaay more sound than I need or want (in my roughly 15.5 x 25 x 10 ft space) with 125-wpc Audio Refinement stereo amp and now 100-wpc Clayton Audio M100 monoblocks. (Note that Reimers are 4-ohm loudspeakers; those solid state amps are actually putting out 200-wpc into that impedence.) And the Tetons look as good as they sound, if you like the look of wood - 14" x 17" x 56", 185 lbs each, beautifully finished in virtually any finish you would like. But if you insist on spending mega$$, you'll probably have to go elsewhere; the most exotic finishes are unlikely to run more than $7000 - $8000. Anyway, do enjoy your search!
I use to own Magnepan IIIa's with the true ribbon tweeter and there are very few speakers that can produce the quickness and imaging as the Magnepans and so my speaker hunt was filled with disappointment.
The SoundLabs will produce more of what you were experiencing. They were too large for me in my small room.

But my quest stopped with the Wilson's because then I had that pinpoint imaging BUT with Dyamics and Volumn which I hadn't been able to get otherwise. The Sophia's would be an excellent match with tubes, as I heard them on a stereo VTL150 amp and my friend powers them with an ARC VS55i (which is not enough power for bass control but still amazingly transparent). I ended up blowing my budget and buying WP7's (now I drive a cheap Honda as a sacrifice for my stereo).

Wilson require time to setup and careful component matching to get that ultimate synergy (Going with tubes will help your quest)

Enjoy the hunt.