The speakers I have now are Energy C3 6.5 inch bookshelf speakers on the Energy stands for them. I don't have the stands spiked or filled with sand. I have a homemade 6.5 inch micro-sub in a vented enclosure that hits pretty low, but with low overall power. This was a decent setup in the 10x15 foot apartment I had in college, but in my new house with living room with high ceiling, open hallway and so on, it seems like they just don't have enough. Cranking the volume gets me as much vocals and guitars as I want but the midbass and bass guitar in particular are just not there. The sub crosses over too low to be much help. I have a Pioneer Elite stereo receiver driving the bookshelf speakers and the sub has its own amp.
I'm after a system that can play at moderate volume without the strain I seem to get now. I have a very nice 10" sealed subwoofer box at my parents' house that used to have a 10" image dynamics car sub in it. I'm debating whether to get it, buy a driver and amp, and implement that as my sub. I could get rid of my mini-sub or just keep it crossed over at like 40Hz. But maybe I should forget that and get some bigger speakers.
And that brings me to my speaker annoyance. I hate audiophiles. Because they distort the market. You can't believe anyone, and you can spend tens of thousands on speakers. Basically I hate any market where salesmen have to ask you "how much do you want to spend". Any recommendations on good speakers or speaker kits? My mini-sub worked out really well and I made it from Parts Express parts. I have no problem making some speakers out of MDF but I don't know where to start.