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?
My room has a minimal acoustic treatment which covering 1st reflection points with few small sponges. 70% left side wall is glass doors covered with a curtain. All audio systems in the world sound unnatural. The unnatural sounds are very bright and blatant. Your ears are used to a left speaker in video. My audio system behaves like a right speaker. Listen to your video in the previous post after watch this. Alex/WTA |
I don’t use any trick. Below video is made by Audiophile Junkie (YT ID.). Alex/WTA |
Yes. Your system does sound similar like the left speaker in the comparison video. Say "Hello" (or any words) while your video is playing. Do same to the original music and my video below. Alex/WTA |
I am amazed by the fact that for most people the speakers alone is the source of the sound , which for me made no sense, because i always tought in acoustics terms , nevermind the speakers design , which i can build a room around and for it ... Speakers design matter but without a very good dedicated room , i will not call anything high end ...Price tag is secondary ...Acoustics primary ...As a relative rule... But now beware, i never said that a 150 bucks speakers will compare with or without acoustics to a many thousand bucks speakers generally ....😊 |
