Can speakers be too large for a room

Having owned a couple pair of Wilson speakers. . .

First, 100 watts (8 ohms) of power is generally sufficient for most Wilson speakers - they are pretty efficient. Though I think in general terms that more power is frequently better in general.

Second, I have run various Wilsons in rooms smaller than your with excellent results. I have not owned the Sophia's as I personally like the WP better for my listening preferences. The W/P run in smaller rooms than yours have done very well.

In terms of a replacement, I cannot recommend highly enough the Wilson Duettes. However, perhaps your problem is that you don't like the Wilsons in the first place, then perahps the Duettes will also not be to your liking. I ran the Duettes in both nearfield and regular listening positions with terrific results in both. They are much less susceptable to placement, very good flexibility and have external cross over (included) that allow for tailoring the sound to your room via easy to replace resistors (these are included with the speakers and are no more difficult to change than wiring the speakers from your amp - 5 minutes no electrical experience - no tools - well maybe a screw driver).

A further thought, following up on my previous post:

Among the recordings that you have done the assessments with, are at least a few of them presumably high quality audiophile-caliber recordings, with minimal dynamic range compression, minimal equalization, and minimal processing generally, AND have you listened to them at approximately real-life volume levels, similar to what would be heard in a concert hall or jazz club?

If not, what I'm thinking is that with recordings that are some combination of low quality, inaccurate, overly compressed, distorted, overly processed, etc. there is a natural tendency to listen at lower than real-life volume levels. The more accurate the recording and its reproduction, the higher the volume level that can be tolerated without fatigue.

And listening at lower than real-life volume levels will tend to invoke the Fletcher-Munson Effect, which causes our hearing mechanisms to perceive highs (and lows) at reduced levels relative to the mid-range.

Perhaps that is a factor here.

Regards,
-- Al

Almarg

muffled or dull is a good word for it.
When i removed the panel it seem to open up a little.
I don't know that i do need first reflection panels. I put them there because everything i've read about room setups say that the first reflection panels and corner traps were a must.So once i started building the reflection panel and corner traps. I built and installed them at the same time. Thinking this to be a good place to start. And could start tuning the room from there. I talked with a person yesterday on Audio circle that lives in my area that has his own line of diffusors and is going to come by an evaluate my room. I sure he wants to sell me something and he might.

One thing I didn't mention is that my room is built With resileint channels and double layered drywall with mlv between. The walls and ceiling absorb a lot of vibration in the room. Don't know if it makes a difference or not.

As far as the media is concerned. I look mostly for well record music more than genrie and I use the Bryston cdp for most of my listen.

I hear the difference mostly in instuments like the cymbal's.

Bostonbean

I know that the Wilson's are good speakers, but aren't for everyone. They are a good starting point though.That was the reason for speaker suggestions. If I get my room set up right and still am not satisfied then I could sell the wilsons and try a different pair. It's rare to run into a (legal) deal like i got.

Ckoffend

I was auditioning the duette's at my local dealer when I found the Sofia offer. I liked them very much. Though it was in there showroom and not in mine.



Thanks for all the feedback guy's

Matt,

Wow, you did a real job on your room. Built as you have described, I'm not sure why you feel the need for the additional treatments; especially if the floor is carpeted.

I converted a 3rd garage stall into a recording studio for one of my daughters and did pretty much the same things that you described. It worked very well - too well in fact; the room was almost acoustically dead. I had to remove some of the carpeting and add wood parquet to sections of the walls and ceiling in order to adjust the acoustics. Figuring out how to un-treat the room properly was much harder than the initial room planning and construction.

Br3098

I couldn't ask for better sound proofing. No one in the building can hear my music at all not even the bass.
I am a commercial construction subcontractor that specializes in doors and I am a factory certifed sound door installer for several major manufactures. So i have the opportunity to talk with several professional in the soundproofing field.

It helps to know people.

Removing the first reflection panel is about the only untreating i can do. The corner trap aren't built in place, but will make a big mess if removed. I would have to move out of my office to do this and at this time it is not an option. I have considered room measuring software and a mike, but that is something else to learn and i don't really have the time right now.