@Linesource- My present situation requires a listening room quite similar to yours(12 X 13). My listening tastes lean more to realistic SPLs, however. Even at lower listening levels; the room was easily overloaded by reverberation/slap echo, and sounded terrible before treatment. I believe anyone in the know agrees that rooms do not/can not add anything beneficial to what your system is reproducing. I've been using Maggies(SMG, MMG and MG12) in this room, for the past couple decades. The frequencies below 250Hz are actively crossed over(and DSP corrected) to a solid state amp(400WPC) and a pair of transmission line woofers. The rest to a pair of Cary SLM-100s and the Maggies. About 12 years ago; I tried a Cary Rocket 88(40WPC/Ultralinear) in the system. Even without having to reproduce the octaves below Middle C, the Rocket 88 ran out of steam at very moderate listening levels(Jazz/Blues). With a 35WPC tube amp, reproducing the full musical spectrum; you CAN listen to music, but- don't expect much in the way of dynamics. With Maggies in a small room; a good treatment configuration is Auralex behind the listening position(mine is from 3Ft above the floor, to the ceiling/LENRDs in the corners) and a couple foam dispersion panels, on the wall, behind the Maggies. As beamy as they are; I haven't found any problem from side wall or ceiling reflections(panels placed on the long end of the room, 18" from side walls/32" from back, tweeters on the outside and my listening position: 24" from the back wall). That provides kind of a near-field experience, but with the right choice of components(cables/tubes/sources & source material), I'm enjoying a soundstage that extends beyond the walls, and with excellent imaging. I've thought about trying the 1.7, but- it occurs to me, given that everything in the lower part of the spectrum is handled by the woofers; the new Maggie .7 might be a better choice for my room(and, perhaps yours, if prominent bass isn't an issue). By all means: try a pair of Maggies, with your tube amp and see if you can reach an SPL that satisfies you. Experimentation is a huge part of the enjoyment in this hobby(and/or profession). Post your results, please!
