I am Looking for That Elusive 3 Dimensional Room Filling Soundstage


I have heard it half a dozen times at home, small room, Primaluna HP Integrated or a Rogue Atlas Magnum II and RP-1 Pre and believe it or not a pair of close to 30 year old Paradigm Export Monitors.

The experience I had, I can only describe as sitting in an aquarium when the litlle rectangular glass aquarium was filled with liquid engulfing you from all directions with no awareness of the speaker boxes...it was just perfect!

The room is approximately 12 x 13 x 9, small bedroom converted to a den!

So the question is what speakers does everyone recommend to provide the same experience?? I have a budget of $2000 for the next little babies so let’s not talk about Focal uber expensive stand mounts at $9500 thank you!

Monitor not floor standers and the Primaluna is gone, it’s all Rogue And yes, I would consider a pair of floor standers that are not to intrusive.
128x128eag618
...and take time finding the right room placement. Serious. All you need for seriously holographic presentation. 
...and don’t chase 5.1. Good stereo is much better, once you get that holographic setup working. 

Feel free to message me. 
Omnis....If you want '3D' (4D, actually), there is no substitute.  Dipoles will get you 'closer', and Yes, either are going to be 'fussy' about room placement, what's in the space, and et cetera, ad infinitum....
If you desire an 'immersive experience', L+R, F& R.  Even with a 2 channel source, it's an eye-opener.
4 chan, you can have the vocalist in your lap....if that's your thing.

And, NO, I'm not open or interested in arguing with 'you'. MHO....
*L*  I'd rather be listening than tap-dancing keys....

(Hi, geo...maps....;)  I'm just cranky today...*smirk*)
Forget your speakers dilema...

You need diffusor/absorbers for 1st and 2nd point reflections....

I use GIK....

I am getting what you desire with the same room as mentioned above.

In case your wondering what speakers..?

Advent/1's

Try stacking a pair.
The sound stage you desire is less a function of the equipment and more a function of how you set things up.  Your room is problematic in several ways, but I would suggest the following (which worked great in a 13x15 ft room I once had).  Place rack in the middle of the front wall and seated position against the middle of the  back wall.  Bring speakers nearly half way out into the room , a couple feet off the sidewalls forming an equilateral triangle with your listening position.  A pair of 6 1/2" monitors with a soft dome tweeter should be plenty.  Avoid speakers with a shelved up top end--pick a smoothly voiced speaker and you will be shocked at the huge sound stage you can achieve!
Either single ended triode amps, 300b, 45 tube based, or low powered class A solid state amps. Pass First Watt. They are all low power, so I pair them with mini monitors, with an active tube crossover with subwoofers. Speakers are either ither Proac 1sc, or currently, Infinity Infinitessimal  V.1, that have been modded with upgraded crossover components, and rewired for bi-wiring. I like your analogy. That listening experience is number 1 on my list too.
These should be a slam-dunk improvement over the Paradigms, silly good for the $$$$:
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9h141-jean-marie-reynaud-bliss-silver-full-range

Just be sure to buy the stands also if you go that route. 

I'd avoid floorstanders - there's a good possibility they'd overload a room that size, and the ones in your budget range tend to have noisy cabinets that will worsen rather than improve the soundstage.

Speakers aside, I agree with others that room treatments are probably your best bet. But there are no hard rules as to what should be placed where. I find that I don't like any absorption or diffusion behind the speakers but I do like it between the speakers. However, if your speakers are close to a wall, you might want some diffusion behind them as otherwise, the reflected waves would be too near in time to the initial waves. 

If indeed your speakers are near the forward wall, try moving them out a couple feet.

Without a perfect replica of the performance space, - i.e. a lot of careful sound treatment in your listening room, you probably won't get close to a 3D experience using two speakers.

If you must have more than what you are getting, either invest in considerable room treatment, or consider a 7 or 9 channel AV surround system.  The problem with that is that I have yet to hear an AV system that has components that match the sound quality of really good high end audio-only gear.
I know you were hoping for something that wasn’t a floor standing model, but the OHM 1000 sounds perfect for what you are searching for and are designed to do exactly what you described 360 degree omnidirectional sound. Incredible customer service. I’m looking at the larger 3000’s myself. They’re at least worth a look! Happy Hunting!
I found ( for your budget and room) some of the best imaging-disappearing act for speakers were the Omega SAM's ( single driver), Ohm's, and many of the dipoles and omni's. I also really liked the smaller monitors by ProAc like the tablets.  of course the BBC type monitors but they tend to be power pigs.
Gallo Acoustics Strada-2 with Gallo powered sub.
That will make your room sound wide and deep with some serious 3D imaging.
You can get excellent 3D sound without major room treatments. A thick throw rug (even over existing carpeting) and a dense fabric covered couch and you should be good. If you want that holographic sound you need to not be afraid of some wall and ceiling bounces. You may need to pick less bright gear because of this but you don’t need to go crazy with sound absorption panels all over the place.
And surround sound setups are nowhere near as good as reproducing well the 3D imaging information already available in good stereo recordings. Sooooo much more satisfying! Honestly once you get that ‘surround’ from stereo you’ll never look back. Dark Side of the Moon and lots of Hendrix work, side two of Physical Graffiti and some of Nine Inch Nails work just sounds amazing in stereo. When you system is set up right for your room and tonally for your ears, you will hear things 12 feet away from the speakers, sometimes behind you and the really freaky one is when you hear sounds that feel like they are right inside your head.
If speakers disappearing is your desire, my experience is that Audio Physic can’t be beat. I’m using Scorpios in a similarly small room with vacuum tube electronics. Huge spacious soundstage - disappearing walls. My room has lots of variable bookshelf, record racks, desk and such to break up any constant reflections - so that contributes to the effect.
Have also used A P Virgo with similar result.  Should be available on A-gon for your price range.
As long as you keep the Rogue in the system, Ref 3a DeCapo should get you there. I have not tried this in a small space however. With patience, a good used pair should be had for $1500.
Greetings. Certain rock / pop recordings were/are recorded using holographic techniques, mainly using out of phase "tricks" which is maybe what you have experienced. But the absolute fundamental for making the best out of any equipment - including really mega, mega buck gear - is room acoustics. You can achieve this at very little cost by simple research and then some DIY effort to produce the likes of tube traps and absorbers. I have even mounted 12 umbrellas filled with BAF wadding up tight to my ceiling ( 6 of them also have inflated car inner tubes inside ). Result ? An astounding difference and all for under a 100 Euros.I have bought ZERO new equipment for the past 11 years. Good luck and Viva la Musica !
KEF LS50s and a pair of JL Audio D108 subwoofers.  
The point source, high polar dispersion of the LS50s will absolutely give you a 3-dimensional sound stage once they are properly positioned.  
For a large 3D stage in a small room, and under $2K, I would, hands down, would go with either little Maggnapan LRS. or the small Ohm Walsh.
Either way you would need treatment, ie. acoustic drapes or panels on the wall behind the speakers and have the speakers at least 3' from the wall behind.
At under $700.00 new, for the little Maggies, it would leave enough $ left to add a good used sub. and I can't think of a box speaker at anywhere near the price, that can make a stage as large, full and detailed as the little Maggies with a good sub, when set up properly....IMO....Jim
@pokey77  Mbl......Realy? Let us know where one might find a pr. of Mbl used, much less new for anywhere remotely close to $2,000.00 

@eag618 - OP........I have a budget of $2000 for the next little babies so let’s not talk about Focal uber expensive stand mounts at $9500 thank you! (That might also include $25K Mbls)......just says...Jim
There’s occasionally some revel f52’s that come up close to $2k tho they may overpower your room they image better than any others I’ve had up to $20k. 
Charney Audio has just released a new version of the Maestro Horn designed on the tractrix theory. The Maestro is a full range single driver design utilizing the 8" Voxativ AC 1.6 driver. All Charney Audio designs deliver wide and deep sound stage with pinpoint imaging. The Maestro measures 42"h x 15"w x 7"d and are very room friendly with minimum treatments need to achieve what your looking for.
Reach out to Charney and set up an audition.
http://charneyaudio.com/the-maestro.html
Soundstage is a lot like charm. You’ve either got it or you don’t. What passes for soundstage much of the time is really nothing more than a projection of the sound, at best.
With a little bit of positioning, Dynaudio Special 40's throw a huge holographic soundstage in small/medium sized rooms. Best I have heard amongst the 10 brands/speakers I have had in my house. they list for $3000 new but can be had for just over $2000 used, meeting the OP's initial requirements. Only concern is that the provided port bungs might need to be used in that space.
anglobud2....you've Got to be single....or significant partner is Very Accepting....a Keeper. ;)

A dozen umbrellas?  Hmmm...cloth or nylon?
I think it's much simpler to just take some LSD...not for everyone and it might be hard to find it (legality issues notwithstanding), but based on my experience many decades ago, that should work. It might be available from your psychiatrist or a nearby college student. No room treatment required...in fact, no audio gear required...a win win!
I have to admit that I also chased that "all enveloping" sound for many years.  Then, one day, I realized that I already had it in my car and that no matter how good the car's sound system was, the experience never matched my home system or live music.

It hit me that live music normally had a 120-180 degree soundfield from the listening position (not 360 degrees)...and that tonality, clarity and dynamics were equally key elements in the overall listening experience.  I stopped chasing "full immersion" and focused on clarity and tone and my home system experience moved up a whole new level.

I guess my conclusion is that 360 degrees is fun...especially for home theater....but at least for me when it comes to music, there are other things that are equally or even more important.
Placement is critical but if you can get them 2’ off the wall I would look at the Revel Performa3 line.  I had the paired with a different Rogue power amp for years.  The M105s with stands are $2K.  The M106’s without stands $2K.  

It is a well designed speaker that takes advantage of cheap labor in Indonesia. It is not the be all end all but it is very good for the money.  
If you fancy OHMs I suggest you take a close look at the cheap drivers and crude fit and finish of those speaker. I found it to be a depressing experience. I very much wanted to be an "OHM believer" so over the past couple of years, I tried three different models in my home, and either returned them (eating substantial shipping costs) or selling them at a significant loss. I THOUGHT I wanted that kind of sound reproduction in my dedicated listening room, so I foolishly persisted. The SQ of the tweeters was especially bad.

Lesson finally learned.

My Maggie .7’s and Sonus Faber monitors are infinitely more satisfying, in so many ways.

YMMV


I didn’t see it mentioned, but with those room dimensions, I would try firing the speakers diagonally. This can be effective in smaller, square rooms. You have nice electronics; with the right positioning you might get amazing results with something like PSB Alpha P5’s without throwing too much money at the problem.