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
Ah, come on Oz, they're not that bad. No real mystery what to expect from them with such a common driver. Add the fact that it is a well designed TL with a simple first order corssover and can be had at 1K, it makes it one of the posters few good options. I personally prefer the Kestrel 1, but find all three are a steal used.
I too have owned the Shearwater HRs and Kestrel HRs and agree the Kestrels are the better sounding speaker; sold the Shearwaters, kept the Kestrels. I'm sticking with the Polks as a recommendation. Hard to beat for the price,
a little bit beyond your size requirements (but not much) would be a pair of psb silvers. There are a couple different pairs for sale right now, but they're common enough that you should be able to find someone in the chicagoland area selling a pair. A real nice all around speaker.
Veroman, have you heard the LSi15's? They're the COMPLETE opposite of what you've described. They're very warm and detailed. I'd actually recommend them for Jazz before Rock. If anything they're main weakness is lower bass.
I showed the LSi15's photo to the wife and she was not thrilled. Sine the den has my HT and it is everything I wanted the decor of the LR has been ceded to her.

I'll still get her in front of the the LSi's but she wants something the size of the Kestrels/ B&W CM4 (35" max, the height of a side cabinet)or else minis on stands. The latter would require a sub (Sunfire Jr)and will blow the budget but you only live once.

So, will a Kestrel HR or the like fill the 15 x 28 x 9 room as well as a good mini (Proac Tablette, Silverline 15, Totem 1 Signature) plus a sub?