Golden Ear Triton7 spk: High-end or just mid -fi??

Maggie 1.7s are more amp-friendly than you might think. I power mine with a 100wpc early '80s Perreaux PMF 1150B, which is rated 100wpc into 8 ohms, and probably makes close to 200 into the 1.7's 4-ohm load. The Sphinx isn't too far behind that at 100/155 into 8/4 ohms.

BUT, instead of occupying a 12.5x12.4 room, mine are in a 16x22 living room with 15' vaulted ceiling, and the back half of the room is open to the rest of the open architecture living space. Granted, I have a couple of *tiny* 8" subs, but they only fill in about 36-45 Hz and aren't turned up very far.

Anyway, 100wpc into 1.7s should be plenty for a 12.5x12.4 room.

Silverline Prelude Pluses should also be a good fit, and present one of the tiniest footprints.

What are your top priorities in terms of sound reproduction? You stated what you don't want to give up, but that's not really the whole picture and would be very helpful to know more about your preferences.

One thing to consider is you have a nearly square room, which can be a nightmare in terms of bass reinforcement and boom. I'd stick to smaller speakers and augment with a sub if you need more bass so you can better control and manage bass issues.

Of the options mentioned the DeCapos and Minuets could be very good candidates to explore. There's also a pair of Joseph Audio RX7XLs for sale here that may be a great option if imaging and soundstaging along with musicality are priorities. Best of luck.

I have the Triton 7s, and my apartment listening room is only a few square feet larger than yours. Unfortunately, the Triton 7s are gathering dust in a bedroom because they simply have too much bass for the room. Not only did they sound slightly boomy, but the energy/vibrations they released negatively affected my gear. The highs became smeared, and the whole soundstage sounded confused. At very, very low levels they were fantastic, but they were just too big (sound-wise) for my room. It's too bad, because they are very fine speakers. They just need much more space.

Scott

Scott's experience matches my own when I was auditioning them. Even with the double-doors to the vendor's listening room room open, the bass of the Triton Sevens eventually overpowered the rest of the musical presentation, especially of orchestral numbers. And I know by now that when your speakers have noticeable strengths and weaknesses, over time you stop listening to the music it doesn't do so well. And I wanted speakers that would encourage me to delve into my largely unplayed classical collection.

So I got a pair of Magneplanar 1.7s. Fortunately they don't just sound good on classical; they are also superb for anything from solo acoustic guitar or voice on up. Great on classic rock; I got several of the new all-analog Beatles mono LPs and they are superb.

Here's another thought about maggies in a smaller room: the dipole pattern helps cancel deep bass and prevent it from dominating a small room. Until I got my maggies, I never imagined that dipoles would actually clean up the bass and pretty much eliminate the need for bass traps, but there you are.

Granted, the Maggies want about 30"-45" of space behind them, but they're largely self-canceling to the sides. The MMGs are pretty small and should be plenty for a 12.5" square room. If you need the space when you're not listening, they are light weight and easily moved up against the walls.

At $1199, the 3-piece Super MMG system should give you what you are looking for, and you will definitely be getting "high end sound." Best of all, you get that magic midrange with an easily manageable bass, no 100Hz bass hump, and no cabinet resonances to smear the sound.

The totem model one speakers actually make great bass, and I think they would complement Phils bass playing quite well! They do need power though!