3 way vs. 2 way

In a small room, big speakers will overload the room, have boomy bass, and sound bad.

But assuming you have the space, and assuming you like DYNAMICS, unfortunately there is no 2 way in existence that can sound like a large speaker.

Something like a Verity Parsifal monitor will have a great midrange, spot on image, and other great qualities - but unfortunately even a SOTA 2-way like this will never sound like a Wilson X2, Pipedream line arrays, Avantgarde Trios, or Dynaudio temptations. The sheer scale of sound presentation of one of these large and well-built speakers is unfortunately unmatchable in a 2-way monitor. The physics simply don't allow it.

2 Way monitors by all means have their time and their place - but if you are serious, and you are looking for BIG orchestral dynamic swings and rock-arena scale, you need a BIG speaker.

Goatwuss,

Well put. I tend to agree. Although some exceptional two ways are pretty impressive (Meyer X 10 for example) but as a generalization, "rule of thumb", I am in total agreement.

I have a pair of vintage AR91s, two way speakers, that would huff, puff, and blow down your house, Goatwuss.

Please note that the poster's room is only 9' wide, and assuming the speakers are about 2' from side walls the distance between speakers that's left is only 5', or less. Any moderate sized speakers wouldn't sound too good in that kind of space, and larger speakers would be disastrous.

Unless you can place the speakers along the long wall, a small 2-way or a pair of floorstanders with a small footprint would be a wise choice.

Ryder gets the point exactly, this is not a theoretical debate (althought that is interesting in its own right) but a specific application in a given room. As a practical solution, I think that 2-ways are the best way to go IMHO.