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Will floorstanders work in a small listening room?

Hello all,

Currently I have my speakers in the living and dining room, it is a pretty big wide open area. I am thinking of moving to a dedicated listening space. Before I do so, I wanted to know if it is better to listen in an open space or in a room? The speakers are b&w 702 s2 and are floorstanders.

I have 2 area as options:
A. A family hall with 3 walls. Room size is 10.5 feet by about 12 feet side wall without a rear wall, and it opens up another 12 feet. Ceiling height is 11 feet
B. A four wall room but smaller in size about 9.5 feet by 12.5 feet. Ceiling height is 11 feet here as well

I would prefer A since I can still use B as a guest room. Will it be better to move to room A instead of having my speakers in an open space? Or is it better to have a four wall listening room?

And regarding speakers, do you think these floorstanders will work or do I have to switch to a pair of booksheves?

Thanks.
slash21
6 responses Add your response
soix
9,456 posts
 
Room A should work fine and keep your guest room, though not sure why in a room that’s 10.5’ wide the speakers can only be up to 6’ apart (6’ should be fine though)?
nekoaudio's avatar
nekoaudio
489 posts
 
@slash21 room or wide open space is probably more of a listener preference than anything, as long as the room is large enough to avoid the basic problems.

I personally prefer a dead room, which is closer to a very large room or open space. Others prefer a more lively room. Some speaker designs and specifications are based on the result with "typical room interaction". Others are designed and list specifications for when in an anechoic chamber.
slash21 OP
16 posts
 
Thanks @knotscott, I didn’t want to try and see, as it will mean I need to move a lot of things around to try...

In the living room, I currently have my speakers about 8 ft apart and sit about 9-10 ft away. I like the big soundstage, but in room A based on some initial calculations, they are going to be like 5-6 ft apart, but I can sit closer to the speakers...

I am curious to know, theoretically will it sound better in a room or a wide open space. Or I should not expect any big changes.



knotscott
921 posts
 
You’d have to try it to know for sure, and it depends floor treatment and other furniture in the room, but those B&Ws seem like a lot of speaker for a room that small.    Placement will be critical.

Small woofers in transmission lines or sealed enclosures tend to stimulate the room less than a larger ported enclosure.  
gdnrbob
4,444 posts
 
It depends upon the speaker.
Room A seems to be good for a Vandy 3a sig or Treo/Quatro.
Room B would be good for a Vandy 1 or VLR bookshelf.
IMHO.
I would PM or call Johnny Rutan (audioconnection). He knows what would work, even if you don't want Vandy's.
Bob
nekoaudio's avatar
nekoaudio
489 posts
 
Assuming the larger room allows for a symmetrical presentation of the speakers, I'd go with the larger room. The downside may be that the larger room cannot be "filled" as much and is therefore more reflective, versus what you could do in terms of furniture, household items, and room treatments in the smaller room. But it sounds like that wouldn't be the case since you described it as intended as a dedicated listening space.

Floorstanders are fine in either room as long as you are seated far enough away for the sound to properly converge.
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