In a any room near-field listening (in this context meaning much smaller space than the room) can reduce some room effects, and whilst bass resonances are pushed upwards in the frequency spectrum, chopping off the bass at higher frequencies simply removes part of the music, not cures the problem. Judicious positioning can make full range work in smaller rooms, as some have noted here - though room treatment is limely to make it easier.
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It doesn’t surprise me at all that they sound great in a small room. At that distance there will be minimal sound reflections so very little room treatment required (if any).
When I bought my PMC Twenty5 22’s for a 3 x 3.5m room I contacted PMC as to whether they’d be ok in a small room when used in a NFL setup. Their response was they’d be ideal even though are for a lot bigger room… it was one of the benefits of their Laminair front ported system. If I’d had the space (my office) I would have gone floor standers as well.
For me, I prefer NF listening for the effect of being there as the music envelopes you, the soundstage and imaging just feels immense. Loved your room by the way and even if I had a massive room available, I would look to use a smaller one and continue with NFL… but with room for a sofa and tape cassette table of course!!!
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I fear sidewall reflections, so when in doubt prefer play across the short side of a room - other things being equal.
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Big un’s tend to overdrive the room at louder volumes… smaller speakers tend to be more balanced in a small space…and will usually give good imaging due to small cabinets… active Linn Kans in a smallish room can be astonishing…
May I reframe the sentence please?
Near Field describes a monitoring technique used in studios and in broadcasting for mixing purposes. To be precise it´s not an approach but a set of requirements with absolute linearity beeing one of the main keywords. 
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Interesting, I bought a pair of a ProAc K3 recently and their set up advice aligns with your experience. They recommend 8ft between the speakers with a listening position 8 ft from the speakers, and in so doing they claim you can pretty much eliminate any adverse room effects.
It certainly seems to work, my room is long & narrow, suspended floor, and moving the listening position forward by a few feet has greatly improved the listening experience.
Cheers, Paul
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Thanks PBenny the proof is in the pudding … I’m certainly happy eating mine. Problem is I had to turn all off last night because of the storm over London - it’s going to take a few days to get it up back on song 
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Yes sometimes breaking the orthodox rules works. In my previous house I had NBLs tucked fairly close to the corners of the short wall firing down the rectangular room . Theory said I should have the speakers well away from any corners and firing across the room, but this was just not practical and I did getaway with breaking the rules as they sounded great. Sometimes you just get lucky in your listening room, other times you struggle endlessly to achieve that optimal sound from your system.
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ProAc D2r’s here. They are pointed directly to my listening position and sound marvelous.
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I’ve owned the smaller Ovator 400s and 600s and with each upgrade the listening experience for me has improved. The 400s which are a third of the size of these 800s could never give the dynamics and scale that these present. Fortunately they don’t need to be blasted at high volumes to be appreciated. I suppose the analogy would be a small engine being over stressed at high speeds when a much bigger one can do the same speed with less effort.
Indeed, and that makes sense.
It would be interesting to have a digital crossover and therefore bypass the SNAXO. It could result in something really nice. A triple output directly from the DAC! 
Not sure such a system actually exists.
If I recall my acoustic theory, a near field experience is not limited to monitor speakers but relates to all sound sources (see below). The implications for the casual listener are not immediately clear, except to say that in my experience the sound is “more immediate and engaging, particularly if the speakers are actively driven”. Of course, this is just my opinion.
The WHO website explains it thus: “The near field of a source is the region close to a source where the sound pressure and acoustic particle velocity are not in phase. … The near field is limited to a distance from the source equal to about a wavelength of sound or equal to three times the largest dimension of the sound source (whichever is the larger).”
A UK glosary of acoustic terms says this: Near Sound Field that part of a sound field, usually within about two wavelengths of a noise source, where there is no simple relationship between sound level and distance, where the sound pressure does not obey the inverse square law and the particle velocity is not in phase with the sound pressure.
Near Sound Field Definition IEC 801-23-29, sound field near a sound source where instantaneous sound pressure and particle velocity are substantially out of phase.
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I built some very large open baffle speakers a few years ago, I wasn’t allowed to keep them in the living room for long so they were moved to our third and small bedroom for further trials. The listening triangle decreased (by necessity) considerably, but the sound improved and suddenly the stereo image that I was missing in the bigger space appeared, rather like listening on headphones but more open.
I assume that the near field set up reduced the cancellation effects of the open baffle design from the ‘tight’ listening position. It was quite lovely if rather impractical. They were Also a little intimidating with dual 15” bass drivers, 8” mid range and dome tweeter per channel!
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That’s a quite well thought room treatment.
Having it all included, and hidden, in the walls is really nice! 
I wish I could have that. Mine is all “external”.
As for the listening position, mine is similar to yours. And my experience in terms of sound stage as well: rather deep and detailed. Very enjoyable!
I have 2,3 meters between the speakers and I’m sitting is at a distance of ~2,35 meters.
So I’m in the nearfield side I guess! 
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Does NFL effectively mean just one person listening rather than say two or three.
Welcome to the club Thomas 
Your room looks fantastic. I had the advantage of a house refurbishment which allowed for the works to be done at the same time, and to set the electrics on a separate spur to the rest of the house. 
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You just change places most of the time it’s just me anyway
I have positioned the couch so that one seat is in the sweet spot. I either listen alone or there is one other person who is the actual listener, and I am just the companion for whom it does not have to be perfect (though it is kind of ok too. If the couch was a three-seater it would be kind of ok for a third person on the other side of the sweet spot)
(And more than three is a party anyway)
Yes, I have often thought that: though the cost of (to my preference), triple Dave is somewhat stratospheric!
I do use a digital XO with my tri-amped system - and one benefit it offers is ease if tailoring to different speakers: crossover frequencies, filter slopes, phase, levels, and even some spare DSP capacity that can be used to tweak response in-room (within limits).
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Hi Mike,
Having bought a Hugo TT I grabbed a couple of old bits of kit I had to hand, NAP140 & Wharfedale Diamonds, and set up a nearfield system. I had NEVER listened to one before, and I LOVE it. I am not a fan of headphones, but this system has some of the best facets of the headphones whilst retaining some of those of normally configured HiFi.
I can only imagine that with the care and attention you have paid to the setup the result is excellent.
M
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