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

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to listen to some very large speakers that are considered to be at, or close to, the pinnacle in speaker design and ability. Needless to say, the speakers retail in the mid to high $300k range. These speakers, and I will not be naming them, were sourced by about $800k of upstream gear. Room size was about thirty by twenty, maybe a little larger.
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.

The question I asked myself, is do we really want this type of presentation in our home audio systems? The speakers threw a pretty large soundstage, but also made things sound somewhat larger than life. I also thought that this type of speaker is akin to the large box dynamic speakers of yesteryear. For example, a set of large horns from Altec Lansing or similar was reminiscent of this sound. Makes me believe that if one has a big room, a similar sound can be obtained from most any large speaker system and at a fraction of the price.

I listen in a very small room, and by necessity in the near field, yet I think the overall intimacy of this type of listening experience is better for me, your thoughts?

128x128daveyf
daveyf's avatar
daveyf OP
2,880 posts
 

I will compare to any audio system in the world. Please you show me any audio system’s live recording video sounds better than mine. Alex/Wavetouch audio

Like phusis stated above, based on a video?? Even in a ’live room experience’, you cannot truly compare two complete systems and come up with an absolute as there are so many variables, starting with different rooms, listener preferences, gear, cabling, power distribution, climate and on and on.

The best one can say is that system A meets your own preferences better than system B on a given day. Not that it is better than ’any audio system in the world’!

In my OP, I referenced a system that was not only far far more expensive than the system that you tout, but also was probably able to easily out do your system in several areas. Would this make this system a ’world beater’...I think not. As I mentioned, it was not one that I personally could see myself living with for the long term, and yet I presume there were plenty of folks at this demo that day, that absolutely could~

mihorn
517 posts
 
@mihorn wrote:  I will compare to any audio system in the world. Please you show me any audio system’s live recording video sounds better than mine. Alex/Wavetouch audio

phusis   So, you're the sole judge of that - based on a video? 

This is a plan. You choose a live recording video from online. Then I'll upload my system's live recording of same music. One condition, the music is NOT an instrumental. The instrumental music is harder to judge. So, the music must have a singer.  Alex/Wavetouch

mofojo
2,304 posts
 

@mihorn ……

 

lol. You’re not helping your business by doing this YouTube comparison BS! Get a clue dude. 

mihorn
517 posts
 
mofojo

@mihorn … lol. You’re not helping your business by doing this YouTube comparison BS! Get a clue dude.

Do you think "A" sounds better than "B" in YT, but "B" is better than "A" in real? I don’t think so.

I exhibit my audio system in an audio show every year and I heard almost every rooms in the show every year. I know what I heard. Alex/WT

ditusa's avatar
ditusa
1,895 posts
 

@phusis Wrote:

I'll still maintain though that as a standalone speaker the LS3 5A's aren't big sounding in my book (eyes closed and all), even disregarding my own speaker context at the opposite end of the size scale.  

I agree!

Mike

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