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Why are big speakers in small rooms bad?

I'm moving shortly to a new house and a new dedicated room that is 11x15. I was hoping to use an old pair of PSB Goldi's that are, no doubt, a bit large for that size of a room.

My question is, what are the reasons behind big speakers being a no no in smaller rooms? I've heard that the bass will overpower the room. If so, then why are people recommending monitors with a sub for a small room? Is it simply because of more flexable placement?

So, if you're able to place your speakers anywhere in the room and apply suitable acoustic treatment to the room, what are the physics behind the universal disdain for large speakers in smaller rooms? Not tiny rooms mind you, but say a 150^2 ft. room vs. a 300^2 ft. room. All rooms have nodes and other problems, is it just easier to treat a large room?

Thanks.
superfund
newbee
4,767 posts
 
Many large speakers need distance between the listener and the speakers for the speakers to properly integrate. When you set them up properly, usually well away from the back walls there isn't enuf room left to put the listening position in the right place. Of course that is only relevant if the best imaging is really important to you. Uneven bass response is a potential problem. A sub can sometimes work because you can position it away from the main speakers and take advantage of finding a locatation which provides the smoothest bass.
distortion
571 posts
 
I suppose that the limited amount of drivers typically found in a monitor more easily integrate given the reduced listening distance.

I also suppose, that typically the greater bass quantities that larger speakers output may over power some rooms. Though you're exactly right, you can treat these problems pretty easily.

IMO, big speakers in little rooms arent necessarily bad. Look at my "small two channel" system. I am currently setting up what most would consider at least a medium sized speaker in an 11x11 room. I just started this system this week so no applicable knowledge is yet to be gleaned. Its currently breaking in.
maxxc
177 posts
 
The only way you will know for sure is to try the PSB's.

With the Goldi. As mentioned Bass response will probably be an issue. Another has to do with the speaker being a 3 way. You generally need a fairly large distance between speaker and listener for the 3 drivers to sound integrated properly when they reach the listener. These are basically the reasons a monitor or small 2 way floorstander are the speaker of choice for a small room.

BW Maxx
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
11X15 Dedicated room doesnt sound all that small, you can pull your speakers 3 feet from wall and still have 10 feet of room between you and speakers if you place your spot on back wall (I gave you 2 feet from back wall) , if you place speakers closer to wall you have even more room.
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
For me it is more a visual thing than sonic problems. My room is also small but I've had speakers as large as Vandersteen 2CE sigs in there and although the sound can get cogested at higher volumes, at normal listening levels they didn't sound too bad. They did however overpower the room visually. Give the PSBs a try and let us know how they work and what position works best.
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