Little speakers and big rooms

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Little speakers and big rooms

There seems a common misconception that big rooms need big speakers.

The truth can be very different.

Aesthetically there's no doubt a small pair of stand-mounted bookshelf speakers may not fit a large room's vibe, but from a sonic standpoint, it really shouldn't matter.

The size of woofer and box determines the speaker's low end, not how loudly it plays in a room.

A 6.5" woofer married to a 1" tweeter in a small box plays at about the same loudness as the same driver complement in a floor-standing enclosure. The floor stander has more internal volume from which the woofer can relax more and go deeper, but chances are good it won't play any louder.

One benefit of a bigger box is room for more drivers. It's much easier to build a 3-way or 4-way speaker when you have the available real estate.

And its shape and size may be more aesthetically pleasing in a large room.

If you're not too concerned with the look, then a small speaker in a big room works just fine.

(And there's always the possibility of sneaking a couple of subwoofers in the room to augment the smaller woofer)

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Paul McGowan

Founder & CEO

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