Big speakers, are they really the best way to get great sound?


Yesterday, I had the opportunity to listen to some very large speakers that are considered to be at, or close to, the pinnacle in speaker design and ability. Needless to say, the speakers retail in the mid to high $300k range. These speakers, and I will not be naming them, were sourced by about $800k of upstream gear. Room size was about thirty by twenty, maybe a little larger.
To say the the overall sound was BIG would be accurate, but also I noticed something else, that I typically hear with big speaker systems. Generally, the speakers were right on edge of overloading the room, depending on music, the dreaded bass boom could be heard. But, the whole presentation was greater in impact than most any smaller speaker system, yet it was almost unlistenable for the long term.

The question I asked myself, is do we really want this type of presentation in our home audio systems? The speakers threw a pretty large soundstage, but also made things sound somewhat larger than life. I also thought that this type of speaker is akin to the large box dynamic speakers of yesteryear. For example, a set of large horns from Altec Lansing or similar was reminiscent of this sound. Makes me believe that if one has a big room, a similar sound can be obtained from most any large speaker system and at a fraction of the price.

I listen in a very small room, and by necessity in the near field, yet I think the overall intimacy of this type of listening experience is better for me, your thoughts?

128x128daveyf

Yep, dial it in so you have everything in balance. If you listen so bass/mids/and highs are out of balance, you're throwing away much of what you paid so much for to have in the first place.

Just my 2cents worth.

Enjoy,

Dan

Smaller speakers in a smaller room make sense. You can always add a small sub if you need a little boost. Large speakers in a small room can be very difficult to control. It’s all relative to woofer output and the volume of space you’re trying to fill.

Works for me. Small(er) room that is. Larger speakers in a larger room usually compensates for the size of the room and you can experience a larger soundstage etc, but you can overdrive any room (and/or system) and its important to not do so just because you can.  If I want really 'big' audio I simply go to symphony hall, sit in the center/orchestra and get blown away, especially listening to some Mahler! :-).