Which speakers will fill 5,000 cubic ft coherently

>>3-22-08 Macrojack :I'm a Zu guy as is well known but there are some other speakers that might suit your purposes. Perhaps Vandy Fives would fit. <<

Not Coincident Total References?

Specifications:

Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 27 KHz
Impedance: 8 ohms (never dipping below 6 or going above 10 ohms)
Sensitivity: 97 db @ 1m – 1 watt
Power Requirements: 3 watts – 500 watts
Dimensions: 56.5” H x 9” W x 24” D
Weight: 230 lbs ea.
Driver Compliment: (per speaker)
1 Isodynamic Planar Ribbon Tweeter

4 Carbon Fiber 5.25” Midranges

4 Nomex Fiber 12” Woofers

I'd concur that integrating a good sub effectively with a pair of speakers definitely improves upon soundstaging abilities of the mains in my experience. These improvements have been in the 3-dimensional depth and width of soundstage, and in pinpointing and resolving images in space. It does not, in my experience, however, do anything to increase the "vertical soundstage" (from your original post)...or at least what I'm interpreting your meaning of that to be, which is to say, the scale of imaging. Though more impactful (did I just made that word up) in ways I have never found it to increase the scale of the images produced by the mains. I have certainly heard systems where the scale of the imaging seems larger than life, as it were (I'm assuming this is what you mean by "vertical soundstage"). I'm not sure that I'd appreciate that on a long term basis though. Perhaps. It certainly is a novel experience when I hear it. I wonder if the novelty would wear off. I don't know what qualities speakers/system need to have to pull that off. One such system that impressed me that way consisted of NHT 3.3's and all top-shelf Levinson gear. It wasn't my cup of tea, but it was memorable and impressive in many ways. The scale of everything it reproduced seemed larger than life, and the space it was in was quite large itself, both in footprint and volume. A piano seemed larger than it should in real life and human vocals made the singers feel like giants in some way. If you are looking for this from a speaker/system that doesn't already render something like it already, I don't think a sub will move the sense of scale in that direction. Apologies in advance if I've misinterpreted your meaning.

Are you saying that a recording of content (eg a soprano, violin, piccolo, flute, oboe) well above 60 Hz - an arbitrary cut-off for a suubwoofer - when the subwoofer presumably will not be employed (or will it??) raises the soundstage? What if I tell you that 90% of what I listen to is in the aove 60 Hz range? Then what? I am not being facetious - educate me........
Springbok10 (Reviews | Threads | Answers)

If you listen primarily to recordings with music well above 60Hz, then I don't know what box speakers will provide the image you seek.
Any speaker that reproduces frequencies below 60Hz seems to be overkill and unnecessary if you don't listen to music in these frequencies. What you listen to seems ideal for monitors. Perhaps you would be better served by looking for monitors that perform differently than your Kharmas.

It seems to me you need high SPLs with wide dispersion.

How about a pair of Zu Audio Tones or Druids? When I heard both at a Zu Audio Demo, I preferred the Tones.

Maybe some monitor aficionados will offer suggestions. I'm out of ideas.

How about Vandersteen 5A's? Builtin sub amp - easy speaker to drive and fills my room perfectly - 23x15x14 with open back.

Vandersteen 5As certainly have great reviews. How sensitive are they to placement? Close to front walls?