Hello,
My A/V Gear was destroyed in a house fire. I managed to get my wife and twin 6 year old sons out of harms way and then put out the blaze. I injured myself in the process from burns to both forearms and compressed lumbar spinal vertabrae.
Further, I have been disabled since 1994 due to back/spinal problems and literally am unable to sit in a sweet spot for extended listening at home. I usually move around the room quite a bit, lay down on floor, lay down on sofa, lean against walls or stand depending on my back pain.
Given the above I require loudspeakers that are known for their dispersion qualities.
The following excerpt is from Home Electronic Ideas Winter 2008 magazine article:
"SOUNDSTAGE and IMAGING are important concepts in Hi-Fi. DISPERSION refers to how well a loudspeaker can maintain a consistent sound throughout the room. Since we don't always sit in the "sweet spot" of a room, speakers with wide dispersion and a quality soundstage are ideal. Soundstage refers to how clearly and convincingly it reproduces a sense of space encoded on the recording."
Now for the good news. My wife is 100% supportive of purchasing a new HT on a $12K to $17K budget. Room size is 20"L x 14'W with 8' ceilings. Floor plan is open with triple archways delineating rooms. Reflection is minimal from window glass. Floor is 100% carpeted on top of sound deadening foam insulation. Walls are drywall. No reflective mirrors or paintings.
I wish to purchase speakers that are not overly bright or Ultra- revealing. My preference is for a more neutral relaxed system that will be utilized for extended listening sessions. Solo Piano music from the Classical, Romantic and Modern epochs are my preferred choices for music. Think Vladimir Horowitz, Annie Fischer, Earl Wild, Van Cliburn, Marc-Andre Hamelin, Claudio Arrau, as pianists and Chopin, Schumann, Schubert, Beethoven, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Debussy, Ravel, Gershwin and Franck as composers. My wife and I also enjoy Orchestral Music, Piano and Violin concertos, and works for Bassoon, Clarinet, etc.
Jazz is my next most listened to music. Think Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum, Monk, Tal Farlow, Herb Ellis, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald as a few of my regular spins.
My children and wife likewise enjoy my interests but also prefer silly children's songs, Folk Music, and softer classic rock (Electric Light Orchestra, The Cars, The Beatles, etc)
I went to a few dealers with my wife driving. I enjoyed listening to a pair of Audio Physic Tempo floorstanders the best so far. I did not care for the Revel models or new top of the line Theil. Likewise a pair of Totem Forrests sounded very (brittle?) - perhaps they all needed more run in time. The Magnaplanar 1.6 were sublime. However, it was the only time my wife said "No!" They were too monolithic for her tastes.
In closing, I turn to you who represent a vast pool of experience and firsthand knowledge about all things Speaker and request some time be spent at this thread to help reassemble a part of my life that was violently taken away by fire.
Thank you,
Eddie