It pains me to say this...and I mean that pretty much literally...but I think you guys have convinced me to throw in the towel on this one. That is, until my budget grows considerably and/or I can convince my wife to at least let me put some bigger bookshelf speakers on stands on top of the hearth.
At this point, I just don't like spending this much money on something that I know I'm not going to be satisfied with. At least, that's how I feel right now...I may change my mind in the morning
Regardless, I do genuinely appreciate the advice I've been given on this thread. Thanks for your time!
Just because they say that it "will not get you all the way there", does not mean it won't sound much better. Please forgive my fellow audioholics; we have a propensity to recommend overkill, no matter what the thread! Hey, it's because we love you.
I can guarantee that the PSB B25s mentioned above can better fill that room, however, the dimensions are slightly exceeded for
both of your limitations. I used to own these, and the mids, IMO, get a tad tubby on the lower end, but I don't think you might ever notice except in the case that you've heard only classical music, and for that matter, particularly classical on much superior speakers.
The smaller brother, the B15, meets
both requirements.
If you ever get curious about the very recently superceded Image line, these two places are the biggest movers of PSB in the US.
http://www.saturdayaudio.com/picturepages/image_specials_07-29-2009.htm
https://dmc-electronics.com/Main.asp
The 170SE meets one of the two limitations.
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cbm170/cbm170specs.html
This speaker above is less aesthetically pleasing, but IMO, has superior off axis response compared to the Images.
SVS has a sale on their small bookshelves, for only $149, but the sensitivity is low at 85. The PSB and 170 are both at 89.
http://www.svsound.com/products-spks-sbs01.cfm
*** Since you are worried about throwing away money, realize that all of the ID (internet direct) companies offer month long trial periods. You ought to look at Aperion, as the reviews are always positive, the finishes are very nice, with my only reservation being that the sensitivity can be very low on particular models. Best of all, Aperion offers free shipping BOTH ways last I checked. Also look at Axiom. Just stay away from the small bookshelves with 4" drivers, which cannot go low enough to even produce your own talking voice properly.
