Good Used Speakers ($8K-10K) For A Little Listening Room

Depends on the small room.

My room is 13' X 13', though more like 13' X 15' at it's greatest depth as there is a deeper bay window area behind the listening sofa.  The room was renovated with the input of an acoustician.  There is a 5 1/2' wide room opening to the hallway.

With my big Thiel 3.7s I have the best bass - in terms of being utterly in control to the very bottom, holographic, super tight - that I've ever heard.

13x15 is already quite a bit larger, of course, although still not very large. Did you measure the response?

The obvious question is how the RM25XLs sound in your room now?  Hard to believe they work well in there without at least some room treatments and/or some sort of EQ.  They are rated at down 2dB at 32Hz while the Pulsar and Perspective measure 42dB and 35dB also down 2dB, respectively.  So at least on paper if the 25s work in your room there's a chance the others might too. 

That said, I can't really imagine stuffing the Perspectives in a 10x10 room, and given the wider spacing of the drivers versus the 25s I'd be a little concerned about their ability to fully integrate at such a small distance (assuming you'll have to pull them out from the wall a foot or two).  I'd go with the Pulsars and augment with a sub (or better, 2 good smaller subs) with some sort of bass management (DSpeaker, etc.) so you can better integrate the bass with your room -- if you even feel the need to add a sub at all.

I'm also a big JA fan, and the only other speaker I've heard in person that does a lot of the same things and affects me in the same way is ProAc and maybe Verity, although I remember them being just a tad softer up top (at a show so the usual caveats apply here), which could be good or bad depending.  The Vandy Treo would also be on my list though I haven't heard it yet.  Personally I'd just stick with JA, but in case you want to explore others just thought I'd mention these other fine speakers.  Hope this helps, and best of luck in your search. 

willemj,

Response not measured. No need so long as my ears are pleased.  Certainly my ears aren't going to be as precise as measurement tools,  but I’m very familiar (like many here) with the sound of poor bass response (boat, room nodes, lack of control, bulges/blurring etc) vs tight, tonal bass response. I’ve had a long list of floor standing speakers, some like the old VR 4 Gen 2 which were rated to 20hz, and they have all worked really well in my room. (I’ve had speaker designers visit and say so).

I’ve also owned many stand mounted speakers. The bigger speakers have always been more satisfying.

If I’d listened to the "big speakers don’t work in small rooms" mantra I’d have deprived myself of a lot of great sound.

willemj
No you changed your post to cover that you had misquoted me.

You’re wrong. I only changed my post to reflect your actual statement. It’s because I didn’t want to misquote you. Are you intentionally being obtuse with all this cover up talk? Besides anybody can edit his post for any reason. I certainly don’t have to consult you. Furthermore you’re wrong about small rooms anyway, so who cares?