Nearfield listening - once more

@mahgister I didn't imply that room treatments aren't necessary for near-field listening. I said the impact from the room is minimal since you get the more direct sound than indirect sound. Also I cannot comment on "soundstage" from near-field listening since it is depends on other factors.

Ok i understand better ... Thanks for the clarification .. And for sure you are right about the other factors...

Wow what a load of information! Thanks!

Just a quick reply. I suggest that we leave deep bass out of the discussion, for now. Not because we dont need it! On the contrary I understand very well the idea of going from below, when tuning the system, start with the best bass, and so on. Yet I think, for nearfield listening, it is a secondary consideration. You have to get the nearfield sound right, down to 100 - 80 - 60 or something herz. Then you solve the problem of the deep bass. This is my experience from working with small speakers. I have tried 5-6 subs in my main system, plus some small subs in my office system. The idea that you cannot hear where the sub sound comes from below 120 or something herz is PLAIN WRONG to my ears. They can be heard and localized even if the specs say they shut up at 60 80 or something hz, in reality they dont. My smallest sub, a Fostex Submini, is the most honest about this, with a manual showing a curve of how the sub output continues upwards in frequency. Even if the volume level is lower. 

My nearfield desk system is a Linn Classik receiver driving Linn Kans, providing a nice deep holosonic soundstage from CDs, Qobuz and Apple Music. ifi Nano One DAC, and my workstation iMac are the source most often. 40 year old Kans, and 24+- old Classik.

@jkevinoc - good to hear the Kans and the Classic are still working so well. I have never heard them, but have been impressed by other Linn gear.

I am testing single driver speakers in my desk system - Arche Audio FR2 speakers and Arche D50A s-state amp, plus a Fostex Submini. I like tweaking to get the best out of a low-cost solution like this. The Arche system is made in S Korea, and does indeed have a bit "Korean" sound to my ears - very analytical, sharp, somewhat bright. I employ a cheap trick: I include the Audiotailor Jade (otl tube) headphone amp in the amplification chain, in order to 'humanize' the sound. Since I had it laying around already. Since the Jade output goes to the sub as well as the speaker amp, the bonus is the ability to control both sub and speakers with one volume control, retaining the balance between them.

I can well imagine that this single driver speaker path has problems, even if we avoid the dreaded crossover. And that the two-way Kans sound more 'holographic' than my setup. Probably also more forgiving of not-the-best digital input. The strength of my system is analytical sharpness, and this is what I mainly use it for - investigating music, potential vinyl albums to buy, for playback in my main system. I would guess that the Kans benefit a lot from optimal stands and positioning. Even with small speakers I thought I knew well, I've been amazed by the improved sound from precise and stable positioning. 

I'd like to clarify my statement on bass, above. Of course it matters, also for nearfield listening, although maybe a bit of the deep bass is lost. It is only that, in my experience with subs, I like them best when they are positioned like speakers, with the drivers front-firing, often in a line with the speakers, a bit forward. I have "heard" the subs even if the crossover is tuned down to 50-45hz. Because in fact the sub doesn't stop there, it emits some higher frequency sound also. This is with a Velodyne DD18, two REL Strata, and others. Maybe I would think otherwise if I had heard, for example, the Audiokinesis Swarm system. But maybe not.

Even with single driver or one way speakers, I compromise by adding a sub. I then have a two-way system with associated problems of integration. However my small Arche FR2 speakers dont go much below 100 hz. The upside is that they don't try to do bass that will distort and make trouble also upwards in frequency. The downside is that they need a sub to get the right tonal balance.