0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic. Read 1300 times.
Welcome!Before you spend too much learn first: Audio basics (including how the room affects sound); music basics/your tastes; join an audio club; explore what's out there (loudspeaker types, tubes/solid state, vinyl/streaming); and audition lots of gear. If all this seems like too much just buy a modest system and be content.How did you fail miserably with the LS50W?
Welcome to AudioCircle, Troubador!The smaller speakers problem in large rooms is mostly limited to their bass performance. The size of the woofer cone should be matched to the room volume. If a speaker sounds better when you turn it up loud and thinner when turned down then the woofer is not big enough, and vicey versey if too much bass even at very low level woofer is too big, though this is rarely encountered. Small woofer speakers can sound full and balanced at low volumes when placed in the appropriate sized rooms. Placing the speakers very close to the front wall will boost the bass at the price of less delayed reflections which create the “soundstage” illusion. You can add more bass energy to the room with subwoofer, but there is some skill and knowledge required to get seamless volume and phase integration between the speakers. And subs vary dramatically in performance so the $300 model will probably not be good enough for your small but otherwise high performance speakers. SVS, Rhythmik, REL, Paradigm, JL Audio make sealed subs that can keep up with your main speakers and can be tuned to sound great.
Welcome to AudioCircle TroubadourTake reviews with a pinch of salt, only trust your own ears. Best to try out kit in your own room with the rest of your kit, that is the only way to truly know what’s what.
Loudspeakers should really be properly auditioned before purchase. If you know the reviewer (have read enough of his reviews to understand his perspective) you might get away without auditioning, but doubtful. Last spring I drove 3 hours each way to audition a couple of well reviewed active monitors and didn't like either one. Specifications, especially for loudspeakers, don't tell the whole story. As richidoo said, match the woofer to the room. The KEF LS50 types are small and known to be best suited for small rooms, which I avoid due to poor acoustics (laws of physics).
