Positioning and Listening distance

Let me fix the confusing last few sentences above. When I say listening seat just a little more, I mean From the Speakers [in an almost equilateral triangle].I use the RPG's in the center behind the spkrs.(just one 2'x2'piece),then 2 per side {vertically stacked} at 1st reflection point, and finally 4 behind me,making a 4'x4'square.Outstanding imaging,commendable depth(especially in triode mode w/ my VTL monos),wiide stage, total disappearing act... yada yada .Ya gotta love this stuff... Kind regards,

I can truly feel the difficulty in getting the right speaker for a small room. My listening room is 12X13 with 15 foot cathedral ceilings. I have treated the wall behind the speakers and the short wall behind where I sit. Before treatment this room had a tremendous slap echo that was unbearable. I sit about six feet from the speakers. I have not heard the Audio Physics line of speakers and wonder what other speakers perform well in a nearfiled set up like mine...

Take a listen to the Audio Physics, the Pro-Acs,and whatever your closest audio stores display.... work your way "outward" from there? Good luck,happy hunting.

Hiflyer,

How did you treat the wall behind your speakers? Sounds like we have similar issues.

By the way, you might consider auditioning a BBC speaker like the Spendor or Harbeths. They were designed for nearfield listening, and they are very good in the vocal range. I own Harbeths, so I'm biased. But I love accoustical music and female vocalists. And, both the Harbeths and Spendors are very "sexy" in the nearfield with this type of music.

That said, I do need to tame my back and side walls.

My small room has made me a nearfield believer. I auditioned many two-way speakers because they generally have the best integration, but I craved more bass than any two-way could deliver. With three-way speakers, integration is tougher, but some designs/brands make this a priority and should be checked out. Even in a larger room, a nearfield setup can be excellent, since the basic point is to remove room reflections as much as possible at the listening position by having the direct sound from the speaker arrive long before any reflections. Look for 4th order crossovers and the designer's emphasis on driver matching for best results. I've also found that bi-wiring can be helpful in smoothing out transition fron driver to driver. Audio Physic, Totem and Aerial tend to be good nearfield brands, among others, although this brings me to the issue of side-mounted woofers. My experience is that the side-mount can create lots of problems loading small rooms, so, as always, take your time and try everything.