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The Room, not us, determines our speaker choices

A bit cryptic perhaps, but after going through several pairs of expensive speakers, one just clicked with my room in an incredible way. It was like the errors in the speaker complimented the errors in my room so perfectly that the speaker actually sounded better to me than other "better" speakers. Unfortunately, you have to just keep trying until it happens. There's no way to predict which one it's going to be, but when the stars line up, it's a beautiful thing.

I guess if you have a dedicated audio room, where you can place the speakers 6 feet out from the front wall, 5 feet away from the corners and 10 feet from your couch, which is 5 feet from the rear wall, you may have some predictable performance, but how many have that? I would wager that many of us are fighting with clutter, TVs, computer desks,,,

Keep working at it - if you find the speaker that clicks with your room, you'll be a long way towards audio bliss. As a former musician, I always knew that NOTHING affects the sound more than the room. The greatest acoustic guitar played in a POS room sounded like a POS. You just have to find a friendly speaker and you'll know it when you do. It's a worthwhile quest.

I'm not saying your source or amplification components are not important. They make a huge difference once you find the right speaker. It's just without that speaker you're back to the great guitar in the shitty room. Experiment people. A bit of a crazy rant, but my pills are kicking in, so i'm more prolific than ususal. Have at it.
chayro

Showing 3 responses by mrtennis

mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
i don't agree. i find a less-than-optimal set up of panel speakers preferred over most cone designs.

if i like a speaker, i would rather own it, than a speaker that i don't like that mates well with a room.

as an example, an mg 20.1 in a small room sounds better than any book shelf speaker in a small room, because i don't like box speakers. i can respect some brands , but i can't live with them very long. their faults annoy me.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
soundstage is over rated. i lived with tympany 1b's for 14 years, with no soundstage width. the speakers did not disappear. it was a wall of sound. the instruments sounded realistic.

i heard the mg 20 when it was first introduced at ces, in the Golden Nugget, downtown Las Vegas. it was set up in a small hotel room. the sound was wonderful.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
hi magnumpi:

i have been to ces for 16 years. i have noticed certain speaker systems consistently sound good, in spite of bad rooms. most manufacturer's blame the room, when, often it is the equipment.

"a bum mechanic blames his tools". a poor speaker designer blames the room.

a decent speaker, will always sound "good", even in a bad set up, but mat sound better when a room is treated.

just as it is easy to recognize a great recording on a mediocre stereo system, it is easy to recognize a great speaker in a bad room. make the best of your room, but choose your speakers wisely.

don't be a box speaker fool, panels rule ! LOL
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