Zaikesman, I too like the look of the sloped baffle. It gives a sense of balance and makes the cabinet visually less obtrusive. I thought that the use of digital cross-overs and amplifcation might negate the need. The drivers could be timed delayed as needed in the digital domain. I suspect this would further help negate the effects of early reflections off the baffle itself. It might also reduce the cost of cabinet manufacture. As we have discussed many moons ago, I believe the sense of a lower soundstage is more of a room phenomenon. Since I moved from a room with 8' ceilings to one starting at 10' and peaking at 14' I have gone from a soundstage as you have described, listening from the balcony looking down, to one where I'm down below slightly looking up at the performers. I wonder if using a wider bafle might atually help on the smaller less expensive models. If one could control the reflections with predicitibily one could augment the bass from smaller drivers with room reinforcement. I suspect that room size may contribute as much as budget, when purchasing speakers. Placing a speaker 3' out from the rear wall (even if it has larger foot print) in a large room is not too inconvient, but in a small room it can become an obstacle. Personally I'd give up some imaging for a more balanced sound with a bit more bottom if I had to sacrafice something.
