Big Speaker in a small room?

[Disruptor]

Hey,
i would like to hear some opinions about big speakers in a relatively small room.

I have a small room dedicated for my hifi setup thats 12x11x8 ft (3,4m x 3,7m x 2,4m).
It has some rockwool absorption panels and 2d diffuses which i made myself and by doing so i saved around 4000€
Now to the question (please ignore the price difference here):
Should i get the canton reference 9k (bookselfs) or jump to the 5k which are big floor standing speakers, would i "overload" the room with the floor standing speakers by doing so?

 

[Purité Audio]

Neither, have a look at Mitchcos review of the Dutch&Dutch 8Cs, they are a largish standmount completely full range and with built in EQ if any room /bass issues raise their head.
Keith

 

[DonH56]

Been putting big speakers in little rooms for decades. The only problems other than aesthetics with big speakers I can think of are (1) if you are sitting too close for the drivers to integrate (wavefront coalescence) and (2) they are too large to physically fit the space you have for them. I recently had to rearrange things a bit to accommodate larger surround and rear floorstanders in my modest room but am very happy with the result.

I tend to think the "big room = big speakers, small room = small speakers" is, if not a myth, vastly overstated. Many smaller speakers can fill a large room when paired with adequate subwoofage, and many large speakers work very well in smaller rooms.

FWIWFM, YMMV, etc. - Don

 

[Sal1950]

tend to think the "big room = big speakers, small room = small speakers" is, if not a myth, vastly overstated. Many smaller speakers can fill a large room when paired with adequate subwoofage, and many large speakers work very well in smaller rooms.

I agree, I've only seen some instances of speakers so large that it wasn't possible to get enough room between them for proper imaging. IME Most speakers of any type require some room around them for good imaging both, behind and to the sides.
YMMV

 

[Propeller]

I tend to think the "big room = big speakers, small room = small speakers" is, if not a myth, vastly overstated. Many smaller speakers can fill a large room when paired with adequate subwoofage, and many large speakers work very well in smaller rooms.

I agree. About the only combination that really doesn't work is big speakers for nearfield listening.

 

[RayDunzl]

These fit...

 

[RayDunzl]

Should i get the canton reference 9k (bookselfs) or jump to the 5k which are big floor standing speakers,

If space is a major consideration, there isn't much difference after setup...

 

[Disruptor]

If space is a major consideration, there isn't much difference after setup...

View attachment 15439

so you are saying that they got almost the same footprint i just should go for the floor standing ones?

 

[RayDunzl]

so you are saying that they got almost the same footprint i just should go for the floor standing ones?

If I wanted the big ones I'd get them. Might not need them, but...

My room is 18'6" x 13'9" x 9'4", a little bigger, my mains are 72H x 18W x 13D on the 13 foot wall, plus 4 15" cheeze subs, plus some JBL LSR 308, plus the rack, plus the TV. It's open on the left rear, so that helps (and hurts).

My head is 5 feet from the wall behind, the speakers almost 4 feet out from the wall behind them.

I have 10 feet ear to speaker, you might get 8~9 feet or so.

 

[Fitzcaraldo215]

If you are worried about driver integration vs. distance, you can always get Wilson WAMM Master Chronosonics, with those beautifully engineered mechanical adjustments for driver front/back in the mids and highs. And, they are huuuuge!

 

[andrew]

I've always thought that - setting aside issues of visuals and driver integration - big (wide baffle or horn) speakers can in fact work better in a small room due to the directivity. That said, as Keith point's out, the new range of DSP controlled bookshelf speakers achieve this outcome with a small footprint.

 

[Wombat]

I agree. About the only combination that really doesn't work is big speakers for nearfield listening.

15" or 16" co-axial monitor speakers were commonly used for near-field listening in studios.

 

[Propeller]

15" or 16" co-axial monitor speakers were commonly used for near-field listening in studios.

Yes that can work well, but I've never seen 15" or 16" coaxials in small room home environments. People mostly use small monitors (coaxial or not) and a subwoofer.

 

[watchnerd]

I love small 2 ways. If you can live without the lowest octave, or pair it well with a subwoofer, the smaller, tighter cabinet and simpler crossover can leave the midrange to be as good as it gets, especially for the money.

I also love gigantic 3 ways. The ability to pressurize a room and go loud without strain can make music seem more dynamic and lifelike.

It's the "tweener" mid size towers that I usually have little use for, being neither fish nor fowl.

 

[sideways2]

Yup...agreed...mini monitors are awesome in a small room!!

That said...my living room is only 13x15 and I ran Maggies in there...they were wonderful!! I would easily recommend them for any room...

 

[Krunok]

I agree. About the only combination that really doesn't work is big speakers for nearfield listening.

Look again at the measures of his room and you will see that he cannot possibly avoid nearfield listening.
Let's not forget that the wavelength of the 100Hz wave is 3.44m.

 

[RayDunzl]

I'm getting the feeling from the responses that size doesn't matter (that much, within reason, YMMV, etc)...

 

[Krunok]

I'm getting the feeling from the responses that size doesn't matter (that much, within reason, YMMV, etc)...

That's what men are saying, but maybe it's time to finally ask women?

 

[RayDunzl]

Let's ask some experts!

 

[Krunok]

Holly shit, that's some performance!