Right-sizing the system / room treatment evangelist

Thank you @rocray ​​​​@tablejockey. I fell in love with Sonus Faber years ago and had a couple sets. My last set were Olympica 3. My dealer and I discussed a levels up and down from the Amati. Even though the next step up was twice as expensive he discouraged it. We also discussed a lot of systems he implemented for clients. He helped me connect the dots from my own observations I had made in the past on the subject of sizing. I really consider this current system a collaboration between him and I. It is also his favorite system. We have similar tastes… natural / musical system. As opposed to ear bleeding detail striped of musicality. He constantly complements the space… one of the best he has ever heard.

Also, when I had ribbon speakers the stuff in between and the bare wall was not detrimental sonically (I tried with and without). But when I switched the dynamic speakers, wow, big soundstage improvements removing the components and treating wall. Now the soundstage goes back 10 - 12 feet actually behind the wall.

While initially with my speakers set up toed in (most typical) the soundstage was confined to between the speakers… it opened up as I moved them to no toe in. The heavy Afghan made a big difference in allowing the soundstage to increase in depth. Now the speakers disappear (one of their abilities)… But to get there, I’m pretty sure the space of my room was required as well as treatments. My room is also highly asymmetrical, which is also really helpful.

Too many people read specs and look at the lower frequency cutoff only thinking of making it go lower and lower without thinking of the room, room gain and bass modes.

I'd much rather have a nice two way in an appropriate room (see many of my posts) than an oversized multi-way speaker that overpowers a room.

Of course, good room treatment makes any room more speaker friendly, but lacking that, small is beautiful.

@erik_squires

Yes. I remember getting some big speakers and putting them in an early house we had with a tiny living room. I struggled figuring out what the problem was. The room was overwhelmed with sound bouncing around. I can now immediately hear it when it happens. I got bass traps, which helped… but my significant other refused more “non-decorative” changes… it was after all our living room, not my living room. Perhaps this is why I have my own floor of the house to do what I wish… and  us to have a decorated live room (although with her home theater… B&W 800 series, 2 subwoofers, 2,200 watts.. but tastefully decorated).

A good EQ can be your friend, clipping bass modes and moderating the overall bass level.  It's not as good as properly matched speakers and bass traps but it can be the difference between getting entirely new speakers and enjoying them.

Hey folks, I don’t post often but read plenty. I have a small square dedicated listening room - roughly 13 x 13 - so I’ve been a big fan of room treatments out of necessity.  My current speakers (Aerial Acoustic 6t’s) are probably a little too big for the space, but I’ve got them dialed in pretty good with the treatments and bass traps. Although I still have that 40-60Hz bloat that comes along with a square space.  I’ve had the 6t almost 3 years and I’m researching upgrades now, being very cautious not to overload the room while still getting some nice punch from tight low end.  So I’ll likely still end up with small towers again (vs monitors), but I’m not ruling anything out in the $10-15K range.  Candidates are Joseph Audio Perspective 2, SF Olympica Nova II, QLN Prestige 3, Wilson Sabrina X (stretch), TAD ME1. We’ll see what I can demo at home and how they play w, current my system.