Genesis 350 vs. Carver AL-III

Either the G350's, the Genesis V's the 500's or the 501's would work well in your room. I actually have put G 2's in a room with similar dimensions as well as G201's and they sound spectacular. I also have had the G 2.5's in a room that size which are a bit larger in width then the 350's. Genesis speakers can be set up to work in just about any room configuration. Of course the better the room the easier it is. Also in smaller rooms, as good as these speakers sound, a bigger room would make them sound even better. If you were to choose to go with the 350's or the 350se you would not be disappointed. Keep in mind, if you are using this room for home theater your viewing would be limited for guests. If you went with a new pair of 501's I know you would be better off then a used pair of 350's. It would be a better buy knowing that the technology in the new products are far superior then that of the old, and in my opinion sound much better. The new 501's in your room would knock your socks off. I know this, because I currently have a pair in my room. Dimensions L20' X W14' X H10'

I beg to partially disagree with Brutusab & agree with mejames, as follows:
*The Gen V (to a lesser extent, the 501), the 350 & 2 are better than the Carver (which was a very good spkr design for its time IMO)

Remember, G5's DIFFER from the other models in that the midrange is dynamic (2 drivers) whereas the others use a B&G ribbon -- the ribbon is easily available, BTW. The tweets were the same. So the sound is slightly different. Also, it's apparently not very difficult to upgrade a 350 to "SE"; just change the mid ribbon and, if so inclined, change the tweets as well.

*The 350 and, in extremis, the 2's *could* play in your room; you just have to measure the room modes, and tweak placement & the panel/subwoof parametres. HOWEVER, they will NOT give their best esp for large orchestral pieces. I've found they work best far-field (i.e. listening beyond the critical distance), and your present room isn't big enough.

*The Gen V are probably the limit; as they can easily deal with a much larger space, too, this may be a good solution for you.

Ultimately, you may think you're "over your head":) in considering the bigger models -- but the Gen V's are exquisite and, IMO, rival the 350 and, somewhat, the G2 -- BUT they are somewhat different, as noted above:
-the G5 (micro)dynamics are a bit enhanced, while the air around instruments is better with the ribbon series.
-the achievable spl is higher with the bigger models
-I would say that the G2 & G5 are better value -- if there is value @ these high prices...
Cheers

Gregm little information here the 350 upgrade to the 350 SE isn't just changing the ribbon midrange it also adds 9 additional ribbon tweeters on the front of each speaker and believe a additional rear tweeter or 2 is added it ends up with the same midrange/tweeter configuration as the 201's I'm sure the crossover has changes also for SE. otherwise I agree with your comments. Believe the latest 5 series would fit this particular system and room in question best definitely

Thanks for the clarification, Mejames!

Regarding your original question "Topvideo", the midrange drivers in the Carver speakers are very different from those in the current Genesis 350. Genesis uses a midrange ribbon manufactured by Bohlender & Graebener, the Carver speaker used a Carver driver. The confusion exists because the old Genesis speakers used the same Carver driver for a while. I know my Genesis II's used the Carver driver. Those Carver drivers deteriorate with age (exhibiting nasty intermittent problems as they die), so I replaced my Carver midranges with the Bohlender & Graebener drivers, which were dramatically better. (By the way, Genesis offers a midrange modification for the Genesis II's if you upgrade the midrange drivers from Carver to Bohlender & Graebener, but I think the Genesis II sounds far better with the new drivers and WITHOUT the crossover modification - this of course just my opinion.) I later bought the Genesis 201 - see my "for sale" ad for those on Audiogon. I don't know whether the original Genesis 350 used the Carver driver, but they certainly do not now. If you buy a used pair of 350's, I personally would avoid any that used the Carver driver (if that was ever the case) first because the new driver sounds so much better, and secondly because they will fail with time. Also, I am not sure I would rule out the 350's for your room. The reason is the line source design minimizes side wall reflections and the bass volume can be adjusted with the bass amplifier (I say this because I would be worried about bass overload in your room if you had no ability to adjust the bass). The Genesis V offers incredible sound (one of Genesis' finest designs in my opinion), but the midrange will not offer the remarkable transparency of a ribbon midrange like the one in the 350, the 201 and 1.1. Whatever Genesis speaker you buy, I would make sure it has been manufactured by the new company. Although the Genesis folks try to be very helpful about the old Genesis products, they are under no obligation to support them. Also, see if you can get an in-home demo of the speaker since the room has such a dramatic impact on the sound, but less so with line source designs like the 350, 201 etc.