Speaker suggestions for less than ideal accoustics


I live in a lovely timber frame home that works well for our lifestyle but presents challenges when trying to create a good audio listening environment. My great room has a wall of windows, tile floors (radiant heat), a large stone fireplace,28' ceiling peak, open to a loft area and open to the kitchen/dining area. The space is approx 1000 sq ft. I have listened in stores to some nice speakers (JM labs 816s, Def Tech 7004, Paradigm studio 100s, PSB T55,) but I know none of them will sound the same in my great room. Anyone ever faced this challenge and know if certain qualities in speaker designs lend themselves to this? I have learned a lot from this forum and wish there were more places to hear some of the equipment mentioned. BTW,this is for music listening only. Home theatre will have its own dedicated room in the basement where things can be built to suit
timberman
I live in the Hudson Valley in New York, near West Point Military Academy. You would think everything in the universe would be locally accessible, yet my searches show a limited amount of "listening and comparing" locations. It appears a lot of these high end manufacturers sell direct because they don't want or need to deal with the mass media retailers and want to keep their products affordable to their end user. I applaud them for that and I will find a way to seek out and audition their custom offerings. Its actually a bit refreshing to know that these people still exist and I will be willing to support that mentality, assuming my hunch is valid. Once again thanks for everyones comments and suggestions..the search continues..it really is more fun than disappointment and I' hope one day to post a reply raving about what I ended up acquiring...keep suggestions coming. thanks
Are you looking to play loud? Most people seem to assume you want a big speaker that can fill your room. Have you thought about maybe going with monitor speakers w/ a sub or something? Perhaps something from Sonus Faber might work, as their speakers work really well with high ceilings and don't sound bad in reflective environments.
Loud, no. Fill the room with precise and accurate sound. yes.I know there is a fine line with distinguishing the two.Thats the place I am looking for.
I know a guy with a similar setup. He has ATC active 100's which can play 120dB continuous. I've seen ATC active 50's for about $7k a few years ago. Maybe the active 20's??Forget the passive models.
Timberman, do you have any ideas or restrictions as to where the speakers will be/can be placed and your listening position? I assume that since you're talking about "precise and accurate", you care more about sitting down in the sweetspot to listen most of the time?