[Arctos]

I am not talking about physically not fitting in the room, but from a sonic standpoint.  Are there reasons why a pair of large, high quality floor standing speakers would not sound good in a smaller room due the physical size of the room alone?

Thanks,

RDS

[sjd]

Interesting question.  How much of this notion is just our perception too?  Consider that a given speaker produces sound across the spectrum of frequencies.  Larger, in general, produce a wider range.  Other than that, volume is a function of the amplification (and sensitivity, etc.).  Rooms provide the reflections, absorptions, and sonic signature.  So is it the volume, or the frequency spectrum that "fills" a larger room?  How are smaller speakers ever going to generate those lower Hz to satisfy in the smaller room?  IS it just that reflections of lower frequencies in smaller rooms become increasingly destructive waveforms?  It seems indeed the room is so very important, but the speakers are more a constant.  In other words, get the full range speakers, but increasingly treat and damp for smaller rooms.  I am not saying anything definitive, just thinking aloud.  INterested to hear the opinions of people with more physics background to explain all this...

[Carlman]

Maybe the reason people say a speaker is too big is just a generic way of saying the speakers don't sound as good as they'd like them to for the room they're in?  

I have found them to be a bit big when:
- the presentation of the individual drivers doesn't have time to blend before it reaches the listener's ear
- the surrounding rooms are large and there are openings to them from the listening area.. causing all sorts of bad reflections...
- the speakers can't be separated wide enough to produce a good soundstage...

I'm always surprised at how small the room can be to place large speakers and still be OK.  I have also found that smaller speakers image better in a smaller room but, lose some of the realism that larger speakers can convey.

[Sedona Sky Sound]

For large line arrays (or pseudo-line arrays), convergance can be a big issue.  A few years ago I had the chance to purchase a pair of Cello Stradivarius Grand Masters. The listening room was about 20 feet deep and maybe 30 feet wide. I started listening at about 12 feet but I could clearly hear individual drivers. I then slowly moved all the way to the back wall but there were still some convergance issues. It wasn't until I went through a pair of French doors into the adjoining room that the sound actually converged (about 25-30 feet from the speakers). At that point, the speakers sounded fantastic. Needless to say, I had to pass on that purchase just because I did not think I would ever have a room large enough to do the speakers justice.  

Julian

[RussKon]

i work at an electronics distributor that mainly specializes in commercial audio..(paging systems, etc)....

the owner happened to get a used pair of altec voice-of-the-theatres....
we hooked them up and they sounded surprisingly good hooked up to a 60 watt paging amplifier.....

but they did not sound good closeup..... you had to get back about 20-25 ft before they sounded ok....

[Arctos]

It sounds like I should not have a problem in my situation.  I plan on using a pair of DIY floor standers with an 8" driver and 1" dome tweeter that are positioned very close together.  They should F3 at about 32Hz, so I guess I should look into damping the room a bit.  Hopefully there will be enough space to position them properly.

Thanks for the info,

RDS

[IanATC]

I am not talking about physically not fitting in the room, but from a sonic standpoint.  Are there reasons why a pair of large, high quality floor standing speakers would not sound good in a smaller room due the physical size of the room alone?

Thanks,

RDS

I can speak from experience here.  I am new to this forum, because some other boards are populated with shall we say…sick inmates.

Anyway, I live in an all-concrete residence.  Floor, ceiling, walls all concrete and brick.  My listening lounge is 18 x 14 feet.  

I tried to use larger floor standers, but some required placement far from the back or side walls, and more space to breathe than my room allowed.

Already, I have near-perfect bass reinforcement.  There is so little loss, that even the smallest speakers sound pretty big.

A large floor stander would have absurdly overpowering bass.  The bass would be slow and murky.  I visited an American chap that works for my company.  He has some large floor standing speakers with dual 12” woofers.  They are simply choked for space, and the bass was bloody awful.  They are less than 1 foot from the back and side walls.  The shout is pretty bad. Can you guess what brand I speak of?  I know they should at least have crisper bass attack.  They would if he had space.

Another thing that happens, is a node or standing waves.  There might be a rise in mid bass thickness that is unacceptable colour. I was faced with both issues at one time or another.  My listening position was in the center of standing waves, and bass was canceling itself at that junction.  It was thin sounding. Dynamics and usable SPL was lower also.

Mini monitors and a sub in my place provide full range response, flexibility of setup, and superior imaging.  That is compared to a large, wide baffle floor stander that needs more space.

My .02

[audiojerry]

Welcome to the Circle, Ian.
Where do you hail from?
What are those mysterious speakers with double 12" drivers?   I can think of a few.

[RussKon]

welcome to the forum!

let me take a guess.... Klipsch KLF-30's

if those were the speakers, then the quality of the amplifier needs to be addressed as well..... despite their great efficency (102db @ 1watt @ 1meter) they need a good amp to handle the bass frequencies....

i've gone through about 6 different amplifiers in the search for the "perfect" amp... i ended up with a carver professional ZR 1000...

awesome bass as well as awesome sound throughout the entire speaker...

[IanATC]

welcome to the forum!

let me take a guess.... Klipsch KLF-30's

if those were the speakers, then the quality of the amplifier needs to be addressed as well..... despite their great efficency (102db @ 1watt @ 1meter) they need a good amp to handle the bass frequencies....

i've gone through about 6 different amplifiers in the search for the "perfect" amp... i ended up with a carver professional ZR 1000...

awesome bass as well as awesome sound throughout the entire speaker...

You are indeed correct.  They are KLF-30's.  They needed more space than the chap allowed.  They were set up in a domestic situation.

I am from Cambridgeshire, England.

cheers,
IC

[Jason1]

Instead of trying to find speakers that will produce perfect bass in my small 11.5' x 13.5' room, I opted for large sealed monitors that natuarly start to roll off at 80 hz. A sub is then used to perfectly control the bass (adding a BFD soon).

[IanATC]

Instead of trying to find speakers that will produce perfect bass in my small 11.5' x 13.5' room, I opted for large sealed monitors that natuarly start to roll off at 80 hz. A sub is then used to perfectly control the bass (adding a BFD soon).

I agree 100%!
  My speakers have that [conservative]  spec.
I am addicted to the bass quality of sealed.  I have the ATC SCM-12.  I have them high-pass crossed over to a sub.

The 80hz is .5db down...very, very conservative.

I will probably never go back to ported designs again.

[RussKon]

i appreciate the tight bass sound in a smaller system....

i use a pair of KLH model seventeen's in my bedroom with a smaller HSU powered sub.....

but i enjoy the sound of my larger Klipsch KLF-30's in my living room .....

the bass extends down below 40 hz..almost flat.... i rarely use the sub for two channel music..... the bass is totally natural and very musical....