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

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.
 

@phusis 

I live with 8 foot tall electrostatics and you would be surprised. With enough power (200 watts/ch) and crossed out at 100 Hx 48 dB/oct the little suckers (LS3 5As) will punch it out louder than anybody needs. As a system for people who really do not want big speakers in the room this is a wonderful solution which is why I have done so many of them. The last one being for my son in law around Harbeth P3 ESR XDs crossing to two 12" subs digitally with a MiniDSP HSD.  

@bubba12 

No need to change that approach if you pick the right line. Check out the Franco Serblin Ketema. One of the best dynamic speakers I have ever heard and relative to other top of the line speakers dirt cheap. They are also really good looking. 

uum, The ultra tight miniature musician presentation with the hyper detail is super cool, especially in the evening. I always end up owning systems that compliment live recordings tho even if I listen mostly to studio recordings.

Imho the more air you move, the better. So, the bigger the better, … relative to room size and room tuning. 

@unreceivedogma Your proviso makes sense. Room size and room tuning are important regardless of the size of the speaker. But it is indeed all relative.

Which brings me to @phusis The point you seem to be making is that a big speaker can be made to work well in a small space. I would not dispute this, but what it also means is that the big speaker is probably not working to its fullest in said space due to size limitations. What you say about a small speaker in a large space is not always true either. IME, a small speaker can be made to work well in a large space, but the job is also not easy.

The point I think some are missing here, is this. If you try and shoe-horn a large speaker into a small ( not even medium) space that is too small for the speaker, then you will not be listening to what the large speaker can deliver, assuming that it has decent SQ in the first place. Conversely, if you try and place a small speaker into a too large space, then you will most likely also have to deal with various issues, and if not done, the small speaker will probably sound...small. Which is why i do believe that fitting your speaker size to the size of your room is very important, otherwise you will have to fight the lack of synergy at the very least.