Room size


Sorry if this has been discussed. How big is a large room? Medium size room? Size is always mentioned, but dimensions rarely given. My room is 14x21 with ceilings that go from 7 ft to a peak of 13 ft and back down to 7 ft. Is this considered a large or medium size room? Im considering going to a monitor speaker (Totem perhaps) and wonder if they will be fine or too small for a room this size. Thanks to all who reply.
winoguy17

Showing 2 responses by onhwy61

Whether you classify your room as large or medium really doesn't matter. Choosing an appropriately sized speaker depends not only on room dimensions but also openings to other rooms, wall/ceiling construction, listening volume preference and musical tastes. You also have to take into account that some speakers are designed to work best in real rooms and others are simply boxes with drivers that measure well in anechoic chambers.

Being that there are so many variables, you can really only try an individual speaker in your room and see if it works. I'm not saying that the advice offered by others above is wrong, but what they said will unnecessarily limit your possibilities. I've heard very large speakers perform wonderfully in rooms much smaller than yours. I've also heard small speakers sound great in really large rooms. I've also heard mediocre to bad sound in each situation. This subject is too complex for easy generalization.
Jax2, it's also been my experience to hear many systems with very large speakers in smallish rooms sound bad. My earlier point is that on occasion I've heard great sound under the same circumstances, though the former experience is more common.

Jamo, Gradient, Quad, Snell, Mirage, Allison and many other speaker manufacturers have all done interesting work on how speakers interact with a room. I strongly recommend reading the Robert Greene website on the subject.