My one home had a huge room like that,22x30x24' high?. Ballpark, it was big enough to fit a small ranch in it. I couldn't use it for my main listening room do to the echo. I ended using small monitors that I could aim directly at me. This helped cover a lot of the echo characteristics it had. The next time your there, have someone talk loud in different spots. Go to where your listening area would be, and have them go to your speaker placement area. Their voice echo should give you a starter of an idea of what you may be up against. Maybe a portable boom-box, with loud vocals that would echo. Keep in mind that it's expensive to heat a home like that, unless you stay in the upper area where the heat rises to. AC was less staying in the low area. I liked that home the best, but not up to a ~5000 (sq.ft.) home anymore.
Loft as a listening space?
I'm thinking of moving to an apt. with a 25ft cathedral ceiling. It has the typical L shaped living/dining room configuration. I'm considering making the upstairs loft (8x10ft) into the 2ch listening area. Two sides are open - as it hovers over the living/dining room areas. I have monitors and sub. Will this be an audio nightmare or can it be made to work?