What is considered as "too much speaker" for a room?

Just1more

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Hi folks,

Just curious...
What is considered as 'too much speaker" for a given room? What should I be considering as to this?

Thank you in advance.
 
This is more of an intuitive sense than an actual cut and dried rule. Imagine having a speakers that has 2x10" Bass Drivers in each speaker, then imagine putting that in a 10ft x 10ft bedroom (3m x 3m).

On the other hand I have seen people with PA systems in their bedroom.

Generally it is about the amount of air being moved, a speaker with TWO 10" Bass Drivers each moves a lot of air, the problem is a 3m x 3m room doesn't have a lot of air that can be moved.

Very much a generalization, but in a room with dimension in the range of 10ft (3m), you are pretty much limited to bookshelf speakers, or perhaps a small Lifestyle Satellite/Sub system. In a room with dimensions in the range of 20ft (6m), you can pretty much have anything - Bookshelf, Small Floorstaning, Medium Floorstanding. In a room with dimensions in the range of 30ft, you are reaching the limit of what is possible with Bookshelf speakers and moving more into Floorstanding.

Now this is if you are only considering a PAIR of speakers. In a Surround Sound system, I think a Bookshelf/Sub system serves the most people under the most circumstances. However, in a medium to large room, floorstanding can go a good job.

Again, that is nothing more than a generalization. There is no hard and fast rule for this. It is more instinct and common sense than a clear rule.

Steve/bluewizard
 
As Steve says, it's about common sense. A pair of physically large loudspeakers in a small room won't leave room for you to sit and listen. The situation is even worse if you're considering 7 floorstanders and an 18" subwoofer for your AV and 85" TV in a 3m x 3m room.
 
As Steve says, it's about common sense. A pair of physically large loudspeakers in a small room won't leave room for you to sit and listen. The situation is even worse if you're considering 7 floorstanders and an 18" subwoofer for your AV and 85" TV in a 3m x 3m room.
It is easy to understand this at the extremes, but a little more difficult to determine at the border. Where is the fine line between a room appropriate for bookshelf and a room appropriate for Floorstanding? That is a very gray line.

Though I do agree, it is simply the application of common sense, reasonable budget, and a reasonable assessment of the circumstances. But at the same time, there is no fine dividing line.

Steve/bluewizard
 
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Thank you for the replies...I was looking at this in conjunction with my other thread of perhaps eliminating the subwoofer & going with larger fronts...which lead me to worry that such a solution might overwhelm the room due to the fronts being too large...It seems that having a sub is best for my needs...and that the larger model is a bit too much speaker for my room...so at least I've been able to eliminate a couple ideas...thanks once again.
 
If I recall, your room is a relatively narrow 4m (13ft) and relatively long at 8m (26ft).

However, the details of the room matter. If you have a large screen that forces you to shove your speakers into the corners. Floorstanding speakers are not going to like this even with a Subwoofer. So, the little details matter. You have to think of the entire room combined with the equipment as a single system. Each decision will effect the other aspects.

With the room only 13ft (4m) wide an on the assumption that this is were the screen and equipment will be, you don't have much space. If we trim 3ft off each side to make room for larger speakers, then that leaves a 7ft space in which to place the screen and the equipment. That still leaves room for a pretty large screen.

Further, not only do the speakers need to be away from the Side Walls, but they need to be forward of the wall behind the speaker, by how much will depend on the specific speakers, but you can count on at least 1ft forward.

Most Movie systems will want a Subwoofer, especially if you are into Action movies, though personally, I don't use a Subwoofer, but I have FOUR Front Speakers, which means I push considerably more air than the average system, and as a result am able to generate considerably more impact. Though my room is only 16ft x 16ft (5mx5m), the entire spaces is 16ft x 36ft (5mx11m), so my large speakers have plenty of space to unload into.

Also, if I recall from your other thread, you have a very considerable amount of money to spend ... very considerable. Give that, I would say that you give some serious consideration to Room Acoustics, with that much money on the line, you want to make sure you get your money's worth, and Acoustic Treatments will help toward that end.

A couple acoustic panels placed at the point of first reflection, perhaps some bass traps in the corners, and a combination of acoustic panels and diffusion on the far back wall should do the trick at a very reasonable price. All this combined with the Room-EQ that any modern AV Receiver is likely to have, and you should be able to do very well.

With what I interpret as your budget, you could even call in an Acoustic Consultant to make recommendations for you about room treatments.

More than any one factor - you, your preferences, your circumstances, your room, and your budget - are the determining factors.

Steve/bluewizard
 
If you think larger front speakers are to big why would you consider 15" or 18" sub's they will all need equing to some extent large speakers or sub's what's the difference.If you can afford larger speaker's why wouldn't you.
 

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