I have Forte 1s in a 12x15 room driven by a McIntosh MA6200. While I adore the sound, they can be like driving a muscle car in a congested suburb. I have never heard the R700s so I don't know how they would do in that space.
As far as imaging goes, I've found that the Fortes don't do the kind of "imaging" where the drummer can be placed at the right rear of the rhythm guitarist, who's standing to the left of the vocalist. What they do remarkably well is capture the excitement and energy of a live performance. (At worst, they can be a little bright and forward: I've found warmly-voiced SS equipment like McIntosh or tubes help to tame that edge). They are great fun to listen to and have plenty of detail for quartet jazz, chamber music or solo guitar: because they're efficient you will have no problem with capturing the dynamic range of bigger works either.
As far as imaging goes, I've found that the Fortes don't do the kind of "imaging" where the drummer can be placed at the right rear of the rhythm guitarist, who's standing to the left of the vocalist. What they do remarkably well is capture the excitement and energy of a live performance. (At worst, they can be a little bright and forward: I've found warmly-voiced SS equipment like McIntosh or tubes help to tame that edge). They are great fun to listen to and have plenty of detail for quartet jazz, chamber music or solo guitar: because they're efficient you will have no problem with capturing the dynamic range of bigger works either.