Big speakers, are they really the best way to get great sound?

To say the the overall sound was BIG would be accurate, but also I noticed something else, that I typically hear with big speaker systems. Generally, the speakers were right on edge of overloading the room, depending on music, the dreaded bass boom could be heard. But, the whole presentation was greater in impact than most any smaller speaker system, yet it was almost unlistenable for the long term.

I agree with this. (I bolded what especially hits me right.)

I recently heard a system which was probably close to $1m at YG Acoustics listening room. Besides the fact that the speakers were too far apart (creating a singer with a giant head), my overall impression was that I was listening to a Disney World special effect. Nothing about communicating music or allowing the listener to meet the music in the middle. It was an in-your-face, bombastic, hyperreal sound. Ironically, the system used enormous capital to leave the music behind.

Not if done right.  I've heard videos done this way where the separation is retained and the room acoustics are greatly reduced.  

Knock yourself out.  Especially listen to videos made by Mr. Boochie on his JBL L300s (e.g., Page 331).  And while L300s are certainly not the pinnicle in speakers, you can hear how he has eliminated room acoustics and retained separation in the videos.

@phusis , Hi, yes the Synergy Horns, never heard the real thing but a friend and I roughly assembled out of stiff cardboard a mock up and we were both seriously impressed.

Way back I got a DIY design out of either Speaker Builder magazine or Sound Practices, can't remember which. It was an Edgar horn for mids and easy to build, which was at the time considered as the reference for midrange purity.  I later helped build an Edgar horn system which is most unattractive to look at, a pile of ugly boxes but loved the sound. There were no subs at this stage unfortunately.

I firmly believe if more people heard speakers of this ilk with their effortless dynamics and convincing realism some would find a way to incorporate them into a domestic setting.

mihorn,

To me played back on my monitor your recordings sound "cupped" with a "deadness" in the midrange and less open and airy.

toddalin

mihorn, To me played back on my monitor your recordings sound "cupped" with a "deadness" in the midrange and less open and airy.

I am surprised you point that out. You have great ears. I agree on mid cupped or deadness in sounds. Yes. It makes my forehead hard, heavy, and dead-end (not open sound) feeling. But I am hearing that same sound from the original music too.

I am aware that your system sounds open (not airy tho) on mid-range unlike the original music. To my ears your audio system sound everything opposite to the original music. Where the original music push forward, your system sounds open and backed off, and vice versa.

I know partially why your system sounds like that. Almost all audio systems in the world sound like that. I found a solution of that and apply it to my system. Therefore, my system sounds close to the original music. Alex/WT