Small Floor Standers


I'm looking to create a short list of speakers for music only. The room is 15x28 with 9' ceilings and hard surfaces, except a few padded chairs and light fabric window covers. The main listening area is 15x18 and the rest of the room is my kitchen which opens up to it.

Musically, I listen to rock, jazz, and a variety classical but no hip hop or electronic to speak of. The ideal speaker will provide smooth tonal response, good dynamics and importantly freedom from stridency which the live room will only accentuate. High SPL's and subterranean bass are not required but I don't want something that gets lost in the space. The speakers must be compact - 35" or so tall and not more than 8-12" wide and deep. I prefer floor standing designs because of the room volume and as protection against a 6 year old. My budget is around $1k used, maybe a bit higher for the right choice.

A few of my early thoughts are the smaller Spendors and Quad L series as well as Totems and Dynaudio.

The source will be a Squeezebox playing lossless digital and the amp is TBA, but will be matched to the speakers which I think should be picked first.

Any and all comments are welcome. Thanks in advance.
wdrazek
Given the source, how about spending a little less? Mission M31i is an excellent speaker that you can find very affordbaly (well under $300 a pair, sometimes less than $200 if you really shop around) and they are an excellent rock and jazz speaker. I owned a pair, wish I kept them.
I would highly recommend the JM Lab Chorus line. Beautiful speakers with fantastic imaging and high-end detail that belies their modest cost.
That is a pretty big room to fill with sound for 1K. None of the Totems that you will find at that price will do it. I tried a pair of Forests in a 26X16 room for a weekend and they definitely weren't enough. Neither are the smaller Spendors going to do it. You will have to go to at least the S8e, and that won't happen at your budget. I think you are either going to have to live with the limited dynamics and absolute volume you will get with the size constraints you have stated. Or else go with a larger more expensive speaker.

Oz