Does speaker size matter!

[John]

I have some natural room acoustics that seem to allow for the bass to be well controlled Perhaps one of the reasons why I can get away with it is that I can have my speakers set up with adquate space from back walls

[MartinT]

You should separate the room from the speakers. In order to tame the room, use acoustic treatment, not downsized speakers. If you ever want to experience the true scale of music, you need large speakers - probably larger than you'd match to a room. Reference to colouration should be aimed at smaller speakers: of course a small speaker working hard is going to distort more than a large speaker working less hard. In order to move air, you need surface area and cone excursion. Small cones need large movements and that spells distortion and heat dissipation problems.

You can't beat large speakers. If WAF is a big issue, you haven't got the right W!

[Marco]

I think that one just sneaks in as post of the year, Martin!

I agree with every word. I'll comment more on this topic later, chaps, although it's been done before under a very similar thread title (which I think TGW has already resurrected once)... Check the archives!

Marco.

[John]

Great post Martin

[The Grand Wazoo]

I agree with every word. I'll comment more on this topic later, chaps, although it's been done before under a very similar thread title (which I think TGW has already resurrected once)... Check the archives!

Marco.

See 'From The Grave'

Post No. 1

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3088

Now also appearing as Post No. 57

[Mr. C]

Basic question, but a good one
There is a high intimacy and innate musicality factor that high quality stand mounts can generate, that all bar the very best large floor standers can not compete with. Due to less cabinet/driver constraints, near field listening positions etc.
However, if you truly wish to be absorbed in music within its entirety of performance then the old adage ‘they ain’t no substitute for cubes' comes into play.
We are fortunate to have to have all options open to us here, and we appreciate both methods equally as well.

[hifinutt]

so standmounts can be just as good as floorstanders?

[John]

Nahh
It might be eaiser to build and get right but a really good large speaker will beat a really good small one
But you can get some good sounds from them

[DSJR]

so standmounts can be just as good as floorstanders?

A smaller speaker on a decent stand can sound much better than the same speaker with carcass going down to the floor - Sometimes a floor standing box has a rigid partition inside keeping the speaker working volume the same as the stand mount version. the trouble is, you have a secondary hollow void underneath which adds its own colouration. Just making the box internals doesn't work either unless the driver is optimised for such, as TDL did so well with the delighful RTL2 mk1 (shame about the godawful plastic veneer though).

large boxes can add colouration as I've said before, but most british listeners not used to such are usually bowled away by the extra ease and scale such speakers usually have in abundance. Currently, my money (if I had any) would be on either some mid sized Tannoys (gawd, they've worked hard on them despite boxy boxes...) or Harbeth 40.1's, which sound so good in passive form I wonder if the actives really would be a huge improvement, assuming they make such - I don't think they do currently...

[Primalsea]

IMO nothing beats big drivers and large enclosures. You shouldn't just think about driver size, the enclosure and driver become one system. The problem is that almost all commercial speakers have enclosures that are smaller than optimum. The ones that have the large enclosures tend to be for willy waving and as, as such have too many drivers and crossovers so complex you don't stand a chance as they have too many passive components sucking the life out of the music.