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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
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 

@phusis 

Darn, I like your philosophy. I also like your system. Please explain what you mean by, "actively configured"?  The only thing I do not like is running the 15" woofer up to 600 Hz. I assume this is because of the horn's low frequency cut off. I would use a very high order cross. Minimizing room interaction by limiting dispersion is a very important concept. Omni Directionality is a problematic attribute as it maximizes room interaction. You "hear" the room which destroys the impression that you are in a large space. It is also much harder to achieve controlled directionality and not overdo it and limit reasonable listening positions. Horns are really good at limiting dispersion without overdoing it.

You have a full frequency, limited dispersion point source system. I have a full frequency, limited dispersion line source system. I also configure everything "actively", by which I mean all crossovers and processing are done digitally and each driver or transformer has its own amplifier. I would love to be able to compare the two systems. 

gumbedamit
109 posts
 

Sometimes more is just More!

chowkwan
167 posts
 

Big speaker small room.

Big speaker small room Part Deux.

* Klipsch Jubilee

rolox
181 posts
 

Live music is loud, effortless  and impactful. Small speakers never really are. I can never be fooled into thinking I'm in the room with the musicians as I listen to small speakers. 

To me, small systems are the equivalent of a very nice photography of an event; you will see everything on it but you're not "there".

YMMV and we all have our preferences but I sure like a grand piano to sound like a GRAND piano!

pennfootball71's avatar
pennfootball71
278 posts
 

Oh my GOD why can’t people realize room size depends on speaker size possible!!!

Bookshelves for small room only!

ugh 

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