@daveyf wrote:
My point though with regards to very large speakers like these is that even with a large enough room, and room treatments, I think the overall sound will be unlike what hears in a ‘live’ setting, due to the seeming inability of speakers like these to sound intimate enough, when called for.
What is it about a local context of a large system + listening space that makes you deduce the observations made here translates into a general characteristic of other, similarly-ish sized systems - the astronomical price of +$1M? - does that make it a representative for all larger sized speaker setups? If anything it goes to show price in itself doesn’t tell you much about the potential at hand (as you have indicated yourself), also not knowing about the hardware specifics, nor the overall implementation acoustically or otherwise.
Why the secrecy - what’s so important to keep the lid on exposing the speakers at play here? It’s just your opinion - calling out über-expensive speakers + gear for sounding less than ideal shouldn’t be a more precarious matter than saying the same of less expensive speakers. I take it there’ll be no red dot placed on your forehead for spilling the beans, as they say.
Personally, I cannot see paying anything like the ask for a speaker like this. They truly reminded me of the first time I listened to Altec VOTT’s and when I subsequently heard Quad ‘57’s years later. IMO, two different types of performance…and I much preferred the Quads.
You mentioned earlier that a live event is indeed your reference about the statements made on the size of the presentation, and yet to my mind it’s not wholly compatible with your home speaker choice in a small listening space (as well as the Quad’s mentioned above) that I’d say your preference and habitual, sonic exposure is indicative of something other than what emulates of large (or even more intimate), live acoustic space with full dynamic range and frequency extension into the lower octaves.
The question, and I believe this is where I was going with my OP, is such a large and ambitious speaker with the ability to easily override a room really what we want in our listening room? To that, is it possible that even with room treatment ( and a very large room) that a speaker can still sound too large? I believe the speakers in question ( which admittedly I have only heard this one time) could possibly have a design flaw that actually appeals to some, and not others (like myself).
Larger, more SPL savvy and true full-range speakers, as is also pointed to in other posts above, can more easily trigger and challenge an acoustic space into saturation and nasty room modes, but it needn’t be the case depending on how one goes about the implementation and the choice of speakers + their configuration.
What’s more the general notion of the need of fitting large speaker systems in comparatively large listening rooms is blown out of proportion, as I see it, but let those quarrel about that who have neither the inclination nor can find the spousal approval or monetary means (i.e.: because they favor speaker brands, models and segment that already in their mini monitor iterations are insanely expensive) to realize such a project.
@ghdprentice wrote:
I am not sure how many of these large speaker systems / electronics are really trying to sound like the real thing.
True, and an important observation, but the physicality of a larger speaker setup more readily holds the potential to emulate a live setting, certainly in the parameters of dynamics, ease, scale and full-range capabilities.
