They are really nice indeed. If you don't mind me asking, what are the dimensions of your room? It appears to be in the small side. Reason I ask is because I'm looking to get into speakers but will only be able to listen to them in my 12x11x10 bedroom. I really want floorstanding speakers as opposed to smaller offerings, but I'd like some input on whether that is feasible in such an enclosed area. I don't want to spend a few K on a pair that I won't reap the benefits of.
Indeed, my room is very small. You can check out my entire setup here: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vopin&1288645177&openmine&zzTjkurita&4&5#Tjkurita
The dimensions are approx. 15' long by 9' wide with 8' ceilings. I have used sound absorption panels and foam bass traps from ATS acoustics to very, very good effect. I have one bass trap in each corner of the front wall with cardboard triangular posts that I taped together (using the boxes the traps came in!) to get them in the low and high corners. Then I have absorption panels at 1st reflection points (or as near as I can get). My back wall is entirely covered by three large bookcases where I keep books and CDs. Many will say this does not match the professionally made diffusors, but there is plenty of diffusion and A LOT of absorption. I am using the "live end/dead end" method. As a result, there is a major null right near the book cases. But about one foot in from that back wall, which is a little over 9' from my speakers, the sound is truly glorious. The front of the driver is approx. 3' from the front wall and 2.5' from the side walls. This is the recommended setup using the Cardas method for a room of my dimensions. I have spent about $300 on room treatments and it is WORTH EVERY PENNY! The next step for me is probably going to be their QRD or skyline diffusors from GIK or ATS, depending on which is cheapest. I don't really believe in room treatments that are very thin (like those polystyrene diffusors from Auralex or eggcrate foam. It took me about on week of experimenting with speaker placement and toe-in to get a sound I am happy with.
There a few things about my particular speakers that make them a little different. The most important is that they are full range, single driver speakers. Multi-way drivers might require a little more room so that each driver can integrate. The double horns have always been well integrated in whatever room I have been in but 9' is very likely a minimum distance. When I integrate the dual subwoofers, I will likely place them approx. 11' away from my chair. Because I am in a dedicated room, WAF or guest factors are not an issue. This room is meant for one person to sit in (there is only one chair) and one stereo. There are books but they mostly for diffusion. Otherwise it is all music all the time.
A room like yours can easily accommodate floor standing speakers, but there are a number of schools of thought. Many people advocate purchasing the right speakers for the room. For me that is not an option because I rent. I want the best speakers I can get that can be moved (my speakers probably only weigh 70 lbs. each (if that)). If you are in a permanent living situation and your room is not going to get any bigger, monitors and dual subwoofers would probably give you the best sound. But if you plan on having a larger room in the future, get the speakers for that dream room and make them work in the room you are in now. While opinions differ, I think that even the smallest rooms can sound big with the right kind of treatments. I am pretty sure my room with treatments sounds as good or better than a larger room without treatments.
Because your room is basically a perfect cube, you will certainly be up against some challenges. My previous room (which doubled as a living room) was also cuboid. I did not have the luxury of putting up bass traps and sound absorbers because of WAF. But we did set up the system in a corner. If I had a small room like yours, I would almost certainly use a corner arrangement with my current setup. Then I would treat the corners with traps or absorbers and lots of diffusion to let the sound breathe and scatter. Corner placement also gives you the most space between your listening position and your speakers. The other alternative is standmount monitors in a nearfield setup. One of the most important things to me is to get the speakers away from the walls. But NOT the same distance between the front and side walls (this can cause nulls).
You will reap the benefits of a good, floorstanding speaker no matter what room you are in. Unless they are $100,000 Rockports or something... You might get more for your money with monitors, though.
As a final note: I have had my amp for approx. 8 years now, and my speakers for approx. 6 years. The only gear I have changed is upgraded digital source. And that was once in the past six years. I tend to get gear I like and stick with it. If you buy and sell gear and are capable/interested in changing speakers once every year or two, your speaker considerations might be different from mine. I truly believe in getting the best gear you can possibly afford (or perhaps a little better) and then sticking with it. Once my dual subs come in I don't plan on changing my setup for at least another five to ten years. Good sound will still sound good ten years from now.
