Many Japanese audiophiles do something highly counter-intuitive: They use large horn loudspeakers in small rooms. Speakers conceptually similar to the Altec Model 19.
But maybe they are onto something: These large-format horn loudspeakers have fairly narrow and unusually uniform radiation patterns. So they put less energy into the early reflections, and in general the narrow radiation pattern results in the direct sound dominating over the reflections. And the uniform radiation pattern means that reflections will be spectrally correct, such that they support (rather than degrade) the timbre.
I’m not necessarily suggesting a pair of Altec Model 19’s, but rather advocating the general concept of starting out with controlled-pattern loudspeakers when the room is challenging.
Also, if this is a dedicated audio room, given its square footprint, I suggest setting up your system on a diagonal. This geometrically precludes early sidewall reflections. It is the earliest reflections which most strongly convey a "small room signature". If we’d rather hear the acoustic signature of the recording venue, then in a small room the earliest reflections are the ones we most want to minimize. In my opinion.
And maybe even try your system ALMOST on a diagonal... like perhaps off by ten degrees. This puts your woofers each at a different distance from all of the walls, which may make a worthwhile improvement in the bass region.
Duke
