Well this is a big broad question Sean34.Not an ignorant one though. Maybe I should have said complicated passive crossover components in the signal path I do not favor.
Since every speaker uses a form of filter..whether it's acoustic, electric ,mechanical or all three with or without passive electric filters.
The speakers that use acoustic/mechanical/electrical filters without these added passive components just seem to my ears better at getting out of the way and allowing the original signal to come through.
The drivers in some of these designs may seem as they work harder but infact they do not. The driver uses the cabinet as a filter and the driver itself is a filter. It reacts like a piston using the cabinet as resonator to produce bass. Instead of forcing it through the drivers themselves ..like a direct radiating speaker.From everything I've read the less that cone has to travel to produce a given wave form, the less distortion you will have in your music.Also a speaker with no crossover is basically an active speaker.The amplifier is hooked directly to the driver itself.
Most of the non-crossover speakers that I've heard or seen use the less movement the better theory in their design.Most speakers designed like this will not play at rock concert levels(I'm sure there are exceptions).But for most folks they will do just fine.
I'm not a speaker designer so this stuff gets pretty deep.
There are sooo many variables it's mind boggling!
My speaker uses a simple filter so I'm not against them totally.IMHO they have their place where needed.I don't like it over done to the point of having large phase shifts and impedance swings. The phase shifts and impedance swings a speaker produces will dictate what amplifier will work best.Some companies use dirt cheap drivers and complicated crossovers to make the speaker perform to a given standard.While others use expensive well designed drivers that are built to perform better without the crippling effects of a complicated crossover.They still need a cabinet designed specifically for them to work their best though.
In theory the less drastic these swings the more efficient the amplifier should work and the less distortion it will produce doing the job. So it can be a win win situation. You have less distortion from the driver itself and less distortion from the amplifier. Believe me you can hear the difference.
The speakers you own now are designed like this in many ways. The cabinet is designed to produce the bass which allows the midrange driver to do it's job..the midrange.
One negative with TLs(transmission line speakers) is they don't play at extreme high SPLs as would a ported Bass Reflex design. But the positve side is they will produce some of the most natural cleanly decaying bass your likely to ever hear.
For your room size you really need to stick with a speaker that has this type of bass or similar. If not your going to have issues with plump fuzzy bass.Then you'll be out buying sound panels and everything else trying to compensate for the speakers themselves.If the room is fairly damped by itself(curtain,carpet floors,bookshelves,furniture,etc)..I wouldn't bother with panels unless the room is talking to you(echoes,etc). I see comments all the time where people say "A fullrange speaker's bass may over load a small room".
Well I'm here to tell you it depends on what kind of full range speaker and what type of design it uses.A fullrange ported bass reflex speaker is a NO GO in a room like your's or mine. Go with sealed, TL or some form of pipe tuned fullrange speaker. The other option stick with bass reflex speakers that roll off gradually below 50hz..like GMA Europas or Reference 3as for example.You don't need anything in a room that size going flat to 25Hz.If so you'll likely be in for some dissapointment.
I forgot about the Reference 3a..these speakers should be on your audition list also.
If need be I can direct you to some web sites that can explain this stuff much better than I ever could!LOL
Cheers
