Mid sized room -Full range vs Monitor


I will be moving into a new audio room in the near future. It measures 14'W x 18'L x 8.5'H and will be a dedicated room with moderate acoustic treatment. Three walls are ICF concrete (insulated concrete forms - concrete with 2" foam covered by sheetrock) and the rear wall is standard 2"x6" construction. Is the space sufficient to support the low frequency of a full range speaker such as the Revel Salon? Should I consider a monitor or a smaller speaker with a sub to increase placement flexibility? I am concerned about overloading the room and ending up with boomy bass. I am upgrading my current system (mid fi) so options are open. Thanks for your input.
ryan1fs

Showing 1 response by ryder

Given your room size, you can still accomodate a full-range floorstander. The only question is how large can they go. I had no problems previously with Sonus Faber Grand Pianos in my smallish 11'W x 17'L room. However, in one review by John Atkinson in Stereophile, it was suggested that stand-mounted mini-monitor loudspeakers may offer the best chance of sounding good in the widest range of moderate-sized listening rooms compared to their larger counterparts. Two-way minimonitors hold the advantage of being preferred in the broadcast industry as a nearfield monitor as they emphasized definition and intelligibility over extensive dynamics and subterranean bass response which made them better suited to studio applications.

Having that said, I still feel your room would be able to accomodate moderate-sized floorstanders easily. I reckon many would recommend floorstanders over standmounts as the advantages of the former outweigh the latter in the long-run, given your room size. Getting to know which won't sound boomy would be tricky and may need a bit of research unless you can try it out in your room yourself.