Can speakers be both "big" and "accurate" ?


I've got a small dilemma on my hands and I think I need some outside influence. I've been upgrading my old college stuff (you don't wanna know), and now have a Sonic Frontiers Line1, Bryston 4BST, Rega Planar25, etc, etc. Don't want to get into a discussion about interconnects, please. I've got a 14'x18' room, firing down the long end, and am in the market for speakers. I have auditioned various different types and brands of speakers- I'm not hung up on a name as long as it works with my Line1 & 4BST. In all of my attempts, I haven't yet heard a set of speakers that can do "BIG", as in "fill-the-room-with-sound-big" (or "stupid-loud", as I've sometimes heard it described), while AT THE SAME TIME be "accurate", "detailed", etc, etc, like a mini-monitor. I've got a set of B&W CDM1-NT's in another system, and while I like their clean, accurate sound in that smaller space, they just don't do it for me in the main system. I'm thinking larger floor standers to get the "big" sound thing, but I also want the details and "there" there when I listen to accoustic jazz. Are these two things mutually exclusive, and if not, suggestions? I'm budgeting around $3k. Is this realistic? I really appreciate your time reading this! Thanks!
subcoolman

Showing 2 responses by hpshps

It may well be that what you are looking for does not exist. If your definition of accurate is nearfield listening at moderate SPLs or listening through worldclass headphones, all bets are off. First, nearfield or headphone listening essentially tries to eliminate the room from the equation as much as possible. Second, the behaviour of speakers does not typically scale linearly. Different drivers of a speakers may start to compress at different SPLs, for example, which will alter the sound depending on SPL, or an otherwise excellent amplifier may have trouble delivering the required amount of current fest enough to faithfully reproduce the dynamics of a musical event (and it may not even be amp that is at fault if it starving for power from the wall).

On the other hand, if you definition of accurate is reproduction of musical events with realistic SPLs, sound stage in three dimensions, emotional impact, "suspension of disbelief" for more than mere microseconds etc. there are systems capable of doing just that. Whether a symphonic orchestra at full crescendo can be reproduced accurately is another question. I deliberately used the word system, not speakers, in my above claim. Putting all the burden on the speakers is not fair. Obviously, you have to start with a set of speakers that is capable of producing what you are looking for but then you have to go all the way with proper room tuning, choice of electronics, cables, power, vibration control (which gains in relative importance the higher your SPLs) etc.

I am speaking from experience with the very speakers that I own (Avalon Eidolons). Depending on how they are fed, they are capable of producing accurate auditorium size portraits or simply be loud and unconvincing. I guess that the same will be true with many other speakers.