Room size.


I often see folks recommending speakers (or discouraging) certain speakers based on size of the listeners room.  While I have a good idea what would be considered a small room (both length and width no more than 15 ft), I am uncertain on the drawing line between a medium/moderate room and a large room.  Would a 15 x 20 ft be considered medium, and 20 x 25 a large? Disregarding room height for now. 
ihor

Showing 1 response by ghdprentice

I would think 20’ x 25’ would be about the minimum to be called large.

Rules in audio can always be broken. I have heard an outstanding system in something the size of a walk in closet... and not a big one. I have hear terrible sounding, very expensive big components in a tiny space. I have heard a ridiculously large system in a tiny room that was breathtaking..

If you want scale and volume in a big space you need big speakers. It can be harder to get really big speakers to sound good in a small room. But it is absolutely possible. I think where the utility of the rule comes in is in cost effectiveness and in ease of achieving good sound.

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Most of us approach this from the inexpensive side. So spending $40K on speakers for a tiny room might not be putting money in the right place when $20K speakers would have done the trick... but even then it is a question of what sound do you value... if massive bass is it... then oversized speakers may be the ticket.

Like everything in audio, there is seldom a rule that does not have exceptions.