How do you chose speakers based on room size?

This is a great thread !

I was wondering if we could take this a step further ?

Is there some aspect of speaker build/design that one should look for in those small room/nearfield situations that would be different than the larger rooms and visa- versa ? Something that would not be placement specific .

In the larger room one will want to turn up the volume so as to pressurize the room while sitting farther away from the speakers . But in a small room one will want to turn down the volume because there is less area to pressurize and you are sitting closer the speakers .

Newbee addressed speaker types , Duke talks about spreading the bass sources and reducing the port frequency in a tight space , mapman suggests tight driver integration for small rooms and bigger drivers for large rooms . But then J Bailey speaks of single drivers for easier driver integration and uses 3 way big woofer back loaded horn speakers in his small room .

Are there some simple guidlines for design as well as size ?

Thank you .

Duke ;

Like the others ...your explanation has cleared up a lot of things that I have noticed along the way ! Thank you .

What I was trying to get at concerning the 'guidelines' were things to look for that were specific to the size of room that the speakers are to be used in , not an all in one approach .
What design characteristics would be favorable for speakers in a small room that would not be favorable for speakers that were to be used in a large room and visa/versa ?

Thank you .

"In a small room I like a fairly narrow pattern that can be aimed to minimize early sidewall reflections"

Duke , is this why some speakers have the driver recessed from the front face of the speaker box and others put some type of built up ring around the driver if it is mounted on the face ? Or a narrow dispersion horn usage rather than a wide dispersion horn ? Would these perhaps be design features to look for if considering a small room speaker ?

And finally , what is your take on back loaded horns as suggested by J Bailey ? And speakers like the Altec 15 and 19 , used in small rooms in the Orient , where they are slammed up against the wall behind them but also used successfully away from the back wall in a larger room such as member 'T bone' does ?

Thank you .