Near Field Listneing

Aside from the obvious reason of space constraints, are there any other reasons where near field listening/speakers would be preferred versus how one usually listens to music?  IOW, with all things being equal, what would make a listener wish to have a near field setup versus a “traditional” one?

The answer is staring you right in the face. Look at your avatar. You want it nice and loud? The closer you get, the more blown awayyyyyyyyy!

@teajay 

Ah, got it...I didn’t think about eliminating the room as the primary benefit. Completely makes sense, thanks!

Arvin 

@millercarbon 

Ha...well played, sir!

Arvin

Agree with all points above, but when I tried listening in the near field I lost a sense of openness and space compared to sitting in the far field — guess I was missing some of those room reflections.  I don’t have much by way of room problems, so on balance and in my room I prefer far-field listening, but as always YMMV.  

Years ago, I listened to a near-field setup with MartinLogan e-stats. Since he lived in an apartment, he wanted to keep the volume down - to avoid disturbing the neighbors.

His solution was to have the speakers face each other about 30" apart with his head in-between - like gigantic headphones. It sounded amazing. A 3D space with notes floating all around - an audio version of a 360° planetarium. It worked because e-stats are a line source. The only deficiency was the deep bass. Still, it was very engaging.