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

@phusis I thought you did not care about speaker-room interaction because upstream you posted this:"brought on as the BS rationale of "fitting your speakers to the listening room size-wise."

IMO, if you want to run too large a speaker into too small a room, there really is nothing you can do to compensate for this error. Sure, you can make the speaker work, but it will NOT work anywhere near what its full capability is. Therefore, the highlighted point is incorrect, as it is of major importance to fit your speaker to your room, size-wise, IMO. As I stated before, there are numerous examples of this mistake, many foisted on the a’phile by the fact that he wants the biggest speaker possible (and re-enforced by his/her dealer, as large speakers are typically more $$) but not having the room to accommodate the speaker.

@daveyf wrote/quoted:

I thought you did not care about speaker-room interaction because upstream you posted this:"brought on as the BS rationale of "fitting your speakers to the listening room size-wise."

You're missing an important piece of information, because as I stressed at the end of above quote: "size-wise." Your (and many others') presumption of fitting speakers to a given listening space is based on a size matching criteria (that is: small speakers to small rooms, (not least) large speakers to large rooms, and everything in between), a strict adherence I don't buy into, whereas I care about fitting bulky speakers of high efficiency into a given listening space that isn't necessarily a large one (fitting smaller speakers into larger listening spaces is usually problematic, unless sitting relatively nearfield and having the mains subs augmented and preferable high-passed). So, I DO care about speaker-room interaction, just not the way you'd like for it to pan out.

While my position, at not least my context of it isn't representative with regard to speaker segment and configuration, I will state categorically that a large speaker system CAN work extremely well in a moderately sized listening room, and that a larger ditto isn't mandatory for the same to come true. In fact larger listening rooms can bring about new challenges with added room interaction, as you've no doubt experienced re: your OP, that - unless taken very well care of - can make matters worse. 

@phusis 

Small speakers only sound small because of no low bass and visual considerations.

I have set up, lord knows, maybe 10 LS3 5A systems with two subwoofers crossed at 100 Hz. I always put the speakers up on stands in positions people would normally use for towers. Close your eyes and they sound as big as any Wilson or Magico. 

Our vision and eyes are intimately connected. Our eyes and ears have to agree on our position in space or you get vertigo and sea sick. Our brains are also very suggestible. You tend to hear what you see which is why I always close my eyes when evaluating a system. 

@mijostyn wrote:

Small speakers only sound small because of no low bass and visual considerations.

I have set up, lord knows, maybe 10 LS3 5A systems with two subwoofers crossed at 100 Hz. I always put the speakers up on stands in positions people would normally use for towers. Close your eyes and they sound as big as any Wilson or Magico. 

Our vision and eyes are intimately connected. Our eyes and ears have to agree on our position in space or you get vertigo and sea sick. Our brains are also very suggestible. You tend to hear what you see which is why I always close my eyes when evaluating a system. 

The LS3 5A's are lovely speakers in their own right, but they're also hideously inefficient and will have to be used within their confinements. High-passing them of course will help adding more headroom. 

With regard to perceived sonic size, yes, a pair of subs will also help. As such (not least high-passed @100Hz) they could really be regarded as 3-way speakers with a 4 1/2" midrange/upper bass driver.

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.  

An interesting thread @lemonhaze as I had the same question to my dealer (who is very pragmatic … and definitely believes in diminishing returns)

His view on reference speakers ($100k+) is they were “money is no object” speakers and really not about sound. Look and best of everything … with no real return on sound. 

In my case he believed the “tipping point” for diminishing returns was the Sonus Faber Amati.. half the price of a reference (or even less than half) and incredible sound with a tonne of volume and fullness. 

After 40 years of selling audio .. those are his dream speakers .. when he could have any speaker.