Hi Virgil,
The review you were referring to wasn't so much as a review, but more so an A/B comparison between a bookshelf speaker used with a subwoofer (CMT-340 + STF1) and a well regarded full range floor standing speaker.
Many, many things were questionable about that comparison, including the fact that the 340 mains were set to large thereby receiving a full bandwidth signal, even though they were being used with a subwoofer...
For ANY woofer being used in a ported enclosure, the woofer will exhibit extreme excursion below the tuning point of the enclosure. The lower the frequency and the higher the output, the more excursion. This excess non-controlled movement will have an adverse effect on the delicate midrange frequencies that it is trying to reproduce at the same time. This is one of the reasons that quality speakers have specialized drivers for specific frequency ranges.
The CMT-340s having a tuning point of 55Hz. In the comparison you referred to, they were played at very high levels, with full range signals, in what I believe was at least an 8000 cubic foot room. I was quite impressed that the speaker even handled the deep bass output demands in a room this large. If the speaker was set to small (as it should have been for this type of usage) thereby rolling off the low frequencies and allowing the sub to properly integrate with the speaker, maximum output levels would have increased, distortion would have dramatically decreased and the detail and clarity of the midrange would have been much improved. Would the difference have been audible? Very much so…
Also of important note, a woofer that is capable of deep bass must have increased mass, be extremely stiff and will usually exhibit poor damping. This is almost the exact opposite of a woofer that is designed for accurate mids and fast transients. This type of woofer must have very low mass and superb damping. Generally speaking, the lower the mass of the cone, the more accurate the transient response is (faster) and the better ability for the cone to resolve detail. Here is a good way to imagine this.. Picture a rock dropped in a pool of water.. how quickly do the waves travel and then disappear? How many waves are produced? Now drop the rock in a liquid of much heavier density, (something like honey or molasses comes to my mind)….. Visualizing the difference between the two is easy… and this visualization can be thought of as “detail”.. Now, take a bucket full of each and splash it at someone.. which one is going to have more impact? This visualization could be thought of as bass capability…
The woofers used in our CBM-170 and CMT-340 are very low mass, with excellent damping. They are specifically designed for fast transients, low distortion and impressive levels of details. They are simply not designed for deep bass.
In your room size (about 2000 cubic feet), you can certainly run the 340 mains full range and they will deliver tight bass into the 50Hz region. However, if your intentions are to avoid a subwoofer, have exquisite mids, deep bass, and be able to maintain this performance at very loud levels, I would recommend a much larger loudspeaker (more cabinet volume) with a woofer dedicated to bass, a dedicated midrange driver and of course an excellent tweeter...
Or... you could simply and affordably, high pass the 340 mains and add a subwoofer
hope this helps!