@earthbound wrote:
[...] Not set on horns but want efficient speakers with substantial bass.
This (i.e.: the issue with the size of speakers needed to accommodate above quoted section, with reference to Hofmann's Iron Law) has been addressed already, but in continuation of my recommendation of the Stage Accompany speakers should include their bigger sibling, the M59's to give you more "substantial bass." Big speakers? Yes, but once you've said A what follows is B.
@larryi wrote:
My number one pet peeve about speaker manufacturers is the lack of driver controls on multi-way speakers. Do they really think the levels they chose are optimal for all listener preferences, all rooms, all locations of the speaker, all upstream equipment choices? [...]
Good point, and which is one of the reasons why outboard active speakers are so compelling; here, with a quality DSP, you can adjust the level of every driver section pre-amplification in 0.1-0.25dB increments from the listening position via your laptop/tablet (that's what you need to do anyway when level matching the driver sections actively). Not only that, but one can make small amplitude corrections/notches at a single frequency point with varying Q's in each of the driver bands. So, no post-amplification adjustments via tone control add-ons.
Please note that what I'm referring to above isn't Digital Room Correction, but simply "equalization" measures done manually by the listener. When used this way that's what a DSP basically is, an equalizer, but as part of the digital crossover itself with many more options and, again, prior to amplification. So, not an extra measure post- or pre-amplification as you would in a passive speaker context.
