Does room size affect volume and bass?

As Panzrwagn describes the situation, the dealer is correct that you will need less acoustic output of the speaker to achieve the same volume level in the smaller room.  The question that cannot be easily answered is:  will that be enough?  If you normally play music at very high volume levels, a small stand-mounted speaker  like the Electa Amatour will be stressed and will probably not sound their best.  If you like the sound of these speakers with the vast majority of music you listen to at the volume level you mostly listen at, you have to decide whether it is worth while giving up on some head-banging activity.  All choices involve some compromises in certain areas of performance.

I listened to the Sonus Faber Cremora at a dealer’s showroom. It sounded beautiful as long as the dealer played his choice of tunes. But, when I asked him to play some rock music (Green River -CCR) boy did they crack and pop, the dealer immediately lowered the volume.

So, I say if won’t play what you like at the dealers show room do not think it will behave differently in your home.

But more specific to your 3-year question, yes, the room size does affect the bass quality and amount.

ozzy

Oof. In acoustics (as well as a lot of other areas) there's this thing called the inverse square law. Basically, SPL decreases inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source. So, go from 1M to 2M and the SPL drops -6dB. In open space. In a real room it's more complicated. The direct sound drops according to the inverse square, but the reverberant field does not. Also, low frequencies use the room surfaces and load up like horns: freespace = 1 , hemisphere = 2X (same acoustic power into half the space), quarter space (intersection of 2 walls) 4X; eighth space (2 walls and the floor) 8X. And it's all frequency dependent. This is why speaker placement matters so much. 

But SPL at the listener's ears is a combination of direct, reflected, and reverberant levels. Here, halving the room volume, all other things being held constant, the same energy input into the room will be doubled per cubic foot, and that's 3dB. 

So, yeah, the dealer is kinda correct, but in an oversimplified way. If your room is acoustically very absorbent it might take even more power. If you load your speakers closer to room boundaries, we already covered that. At best, the answer is a qualified maybe. In any event, listening a realistic levels in a good sized room is not something most HiFi speakers will do, they just can't move the air. You need some big Klipsch or real JBL monitors - S4700 or such. Full disclosure, I've never been a Klipsch fan, and JBL L-100s are simply terrible. But the new JBLs 3900, 4700, are simply spectacular.

You cannot judge a speaker in isolation. That’s just not a good call. Get it home position it in your system. Then judge. 

Lets not get too technical.A speaker fed identical signal level will produce the same output, but the room will make a big difference, just as where you position speakers does. A small speaker that sounds thin and bright in a large room can be transformed by moving to a smaller room. Low tech demo: pick up your jam-box and walk around the house, it sounds like your changing the volume as you move closer to walls and into smaller areas. Thats why setting up speakers can be so difficult. As always try it in your room .I have heard speakers that would not play bass-lines in my room, sound fine in larger rooms. Try before you buy.

Since we are on the subject, if given a choice, how would you position speakers in a half catheral ceiling room? Highest ceiling height above the listener or the opposite? I have two different opinions from speaker designers. Would a half catheral ceiling be desireable as compare to a 8 ft or 10 ft flat ceiling?

Carl is absolutely correct. However, the best 40Hz tone I ever heard (electronically) came from standing 27.86 feet from a big Krell pushing a big speaker in a big room!!

Bass frequencies can still be perceived accurately in smaller rooms, whether or not the room supports the full wavelength. Bass waveforms do not have to be a "travelling wave" in order to be accurately reproduced.

IN DEALING WITH ROOM SIZE, ACOUSTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE SPEAKER AND WHETHER THE ROOM IS A SOFT OR HARD ROOM PLAY A CRITICAL PART, NOT JUST THE SIZE OF THE ROOM. HIGH FREQUENCY ROLLOFF AND SOUND ABSORBING ROOMS CAN CREATE HAVIC. CEILING HEIGHTH SUCH AS HIGH VAULTED CEILINGS CAN EAT UP SINE WAVE ENERGY AND LOSE SOME OF THE EFFECTS OF THE AUDIO PROGRAM IN THE SOUND REPRODUCTION. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE IN REFERENCE TO THE PROGRAM MATERIAL YOU USED. A PARAMETRIC EQ AND SOUND ANALYIZER CAN TELL YOU IF YOU ARE MISSING OUT.

Incidently, the size of the room will affect the bass simply because of its dimensions, because a 40Hz tone, which so many claim to produce, has a wavelength of nearly 30ft.

QED: Room volume affects power necessary to produce desired SPL hence cone excursion, indirectly, but most certainly.

Ignore that dealer, he is dead wrong. The room's volume has ZERO to do with cone excursion. Only if the speaker is receiving less power from the amp, will the cone have less excursion. If you are actually playing the speaker quiter, but the SPL at the listening seat is similar to the higher power in the vary large room (because you're closer, and the room is smaller) only then will the cone move less. I build speakers...

Who let Cybil out ???

I was speaking on your behalf but I know what your talking about

You mean that I meant the dealer said that?

I meant that the dealer said I wouldn't have to use as much power in my room to play at the same levels as in his showroom, therefore if I wasn't using as much power to get the SPL I wouldn't make the cone hit its excersion. Sound correct?

Onhwy69 - I think the dealer's room was bigger which would make him correct. I also agree that a larger amp would be necessary in the dealer's room - esp. if 90db is the norm for equipment auditions! Wow - don't want to buy floor model speakers from that guy!

Your question is somewhat confusing, but if I have interpreted it correctly, your dealer is wrong. A smaller room should attain higher volume levels than a larger room for the same power input. Also cone excursion is independent of room volume and is only a factor of power input. Hope this helps.