i have a pair of Horning Eufrodite speakers. they like to be away from the walls & generally sound "larger" than they look (if that makes any sense to you). having said that, the room i have them in is only about half the size of yours, so YMMV.
There are thousands of choices. What is your budget? What music do you listen to? How loud to you listen? I'd kind of start there. If your room is set up properly (accoustacts), then you can use many of the full range systems out there. I'd stick with an all in one and stay far away from subs (unless they are built in) as it will be harder to set everything up, plus you really need a full range speaker to integrate subs properly. You should ask Johnny at Audio Connections in Verona NJ. He's on these boards and he has a wide variety of products from Proacs to Maggies to Vandy's to B&W.
I have a pair of Proac Super Towers that I'm selling off that fill my large loft. It's 9 ft ceiling and about 35X20 with openings to a stairway, hall and a half wall behind the speakers that open into a grand room that has 20ft ceilings. It's very open and I only use a 50watt Ayre AX7e integrated and the Proacs fill it very loudly and are dynamic, detailed and image and soundstage as well as most 10k plus speakers. In teak and in great shape, I'm only asking 1200 plus shipping/paypal. In CT for pick up to save shipping. lol.
There are a ton of great choices, but you probably want something that is highly musical. Vandy's would be a great choice as they are full range and in the upper end have subs/amps built right in. They just get everything right and have plenty of sound to fill your room.
I would recommend you read my review on the Lawrence Audio Double Bass Speaker on hometheaterreview.com for the details why this is a great speaker and might be exactly what you are looking for for your large acoustic space. I don't know if it would fit into your budget, however it would sound wonderful in your room.
How far you sit from the speakers is as important as room size. Also depends on what your idea of "fill the room" is. I would suppose the Hornings do have enough gas in the tank to satisfy most in a room that size, but still would have their limits.
Asking a question like this without providing the parameters that you need to work within is useless. You will get many answers that will be worth what you paid for them.
Oh by the way, I would buy the Raidho D3 in Burl Walnut or the Acapella Triolon Excalibur in Piano Black and Burgundy gloss.
A lot will depend on your listening position. If you sit reasonably close to the speakers, your choices are plentiful. If you're twenty feet back, that's a different kettle of fish and you'll probably want something a little bottom heavy. If you're moving around and the listening position is unpredictable, then wide dispersion might be beneficial. Therefore, you might want to think twice about narrow dispersion, horn loaded designs like (I believe) the Hornings. Further, if you really want to energize that entire space, you'll need to consider the speaker's max SPL capability.
In your shoes, I might think hard about the big MBLs, if you can swing a pair and the required amplification.
Please do yourself a favor and ask ONE person.....at an audio store near you. Try and find someone you like and trust who may even go to your house and see your room. Everything from cables, to room conditioning is in play here. Every room is different. The one nice thing about speakers like Vandys with the built in subs, is that they allow you to set it up easier in regards to best placement for the mids on up and then you can just dial in the bass and you still don't lose the coherency like you will using subs. I'm sure there will be five or more on this thread alone who will disagree with me and that just shows you that you need to find someone you trust and listen to them. Most on here have been around audio for some years and we all have our own likes and prejudices. The one thing that most will agree on is that you can't just say, what are the best speakers.....Synergy is what makes audio magic. The amps, pre amp, sources, electricity, room, cables.....did I miss anything? I'm sure I did. These are all different when they are set up with different components. Often times you can tune a room with a well placed rug and or large plant in the corner. What state are you in? If you share that, you will get many of us who probably know someone good to refer you to and you can go from there to see who you like and trust.
My living room is 18x24 feet with a two storey ceiling at one end. Open to the dining room. I have always been a stand/monitor guy and was in a similar quandry. I founf a great deal on a pair of definitive technology ST8080s. I had a small set of def techs years ago in my office system so i took a chance. Very very happy. These are a second generation bi-polar design with built in powered subwoofers. Well balanced and they fill the room perfectly and the bass is much better than i i've been able to do in my two ther systems with separate subs.
Evolution Acoustics MM2. My room is 24x28 with 12 foot cathedral. Powered woofers are the ticket and you won't need a super power amp to get ear splitting levels.
How many of you guys will use a sub with a non full speaker? From reading and hearing, they only time I've ever heard a set of subs set up and really be coherent is with a set of full range speakers. I have a sub with some monitors for my second system and it's only because I watch mostly TV and it's for basic effects and to fill in, but I can't listen to music for any length of time on it. Just curious.
Larger omnidirectional speakers are a very good choice for larger rooms when good sound throughout is a consideration.
OHM Walsh speakers are a lower cost option to mbl and are designed to work well closer to walls if needed. I have two larger rooms and a pair of OHMs in each that have won out over everything else over the years mainly for that reason.
I also have two smaller rooms, and in there, I often prefer smaller more directional monitor designs.
All good responses...I have a similar situation with my room...20 x 30 but only 7 ft ceilings. see my system with Tyler Acoustic Woodmere IIs as the mains and B&W companions. Really depends on your application. As mine is mostly music (80%)with some home theater needs, this setup has made me VERY HAPPY for my large room.
Well I have a rather large room , probably 18x25 with 9 ft ceiling....I have a pair of Klipsch Corner Horns, a pair of Wilson Watt Puppies, and a pair of 1.7 Magnipans.......I'm not that big on real lows so I'll skip the Sub-woofers
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