Interesting, Sean. I have found dynamic dipoles to be the most difficult to position following speaker placement fundamentals. Dipoles subscribe to the multiplicity of drivers (and bigger physical size) you refer to.
The lower register is an example. For one, the direct waveform @, say, 20hz is quite long (hence, room size??); also, up to a certain listening level, our ears are comparatively more sensitive to the 300-3000hz range. Conventional wisdom leads us to play with distance from the back wall in order to find the best sounding spot vs. our listening position. This would be either, the distance where the waveform is complete (vocab?) or, the best sounding compromise between direct & reflected sound. If the room is small, as in doclb & dds' cases, achieving this is very tricky affair.
With a dipole, the waveform is dynamically reproduced (albeit, in X degrees phase inversion, depending upon speaker design) from behind too -- adding to the waveform length through the back wall reflection... and, I think, to complexity and the need for a larger room!
Which brings me back to the original question. My experiential conclusions (pls note, I can't provide scientific explanation) regarding larger speakers w/ multiple drivers is that these need comparatively *more* energy in order to perform optimally i.e., reproducing signals as they were designed and tuned. In turn, such speakers *produce* more energy at optimal operating level, exacerbating room-induced anomalies. Indeed, in my experience, the worst anomaly has been that such speakers *drown*, rather than "are drowned" in, a small listening room.
I have found this happening regardless of speaker sensitivity...
Numerically speaking: my present speakers have 8 drivers each. Assume I *am* providing enough energy (amp current) to get the drivers operating well together. How do I fit the sound *quantity* into a less than text-book room? By compromising in reproduction spectrum: controlling the lower register, damping highs... whatever.
BTW, Sean I too have found that the further away the listening position, the more room acoustics enter the musical equation -- but I get that lower register OK... Difficult to win on all accounts.
Sorry for the lengthy diatribe!
The lower register is an example. For one, the direct waveform @, say, 20hz is quite long (hence, room size??); also, up to a certain listening level, our ears are comparatively more sensitive to the 300-3000hz range. Conventional wisdom leads us to play with distance from the back wall in order to find the best sounding spot vs. our listening position. This would be either, the distance where the waveform is complete (vocab?) or, the best sounding compromise between direct & reflected sound. If the room is small, as in doclb & dds' cases, achieving this is very tricky affair.
With a dipole, the waveform is dynamically reproduced (albeit, in X degrees phase inversion, depending upon speaker design) from behind too -- adding to the waveform length through the back wall reflection... and, I think, to complexity and the need for a larger room!
Which brings me back to the original question. My experiential conclusions (pls note, I can't provide scientific explanation) regarding larger speakers w/ multiple drivers is that these need comparatively *more* energy in order to perform optimally i.e., reproducing signals as they were designed and tuned. In turn, such speakers *produce* more energy at optimal operating level, exacerbating room-induced anomalies. Indeed, in my experience, the worst anomaly has been that such speakers *drown*, rather than "are drowned" in, a small listening room.
I have found this happening regardless of speaker sensitivity...
Numerically speaking: my present speakers have 8 drivers each. Assume I *am* providing enough energy (amp current) to get the drivers operating well together. How do I fit the sound *quantity* into a less than text-book room? By compromising in reproduction spectrum: controlling the lower register, damping highs... whatever.
BTW, Sean I too have found that the further away the listening position, the more room acoustics enter the musical equation -- but I get that lower register OK... Difficult to win on all accounts.
Sorry for the lengthy diatribe!