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is too large a room no good?

I am looking into a new apartment that is approximately 48' long, 18 feet/23 feet wide and 10' ceilings.

Does anyone have experience moving their system into such a large room?

I heard Greg Petans system - which are the huge Sunny Speakers in his massive 2100 sq/ft room and then the slightly larger version in Clement Perry's rather normal size room, and Clement's sounded better.

On another note, I'm almost sure the place I'm considering does not have concrete floors, since it;s a very old structure (but with no columns).

I will sorely miss the concrete floor in our old building, since no one above or below me could hear my system, and the structural stability was great.
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Showing 4 responses by mapman

mapman's avatar
mapman
21,857 posts
 
Large rooms are great in general. Gives the speakers more room to breath and express themselves.

A big room can deliver a big sound as well, but it will generally cost more to do it than a small room. Larger speakers will be needed and more power to drive them, in general.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,857 posts
 
Tonywinsc,

I agree. Its nice to have a large and small room to provide different diametrically opposed listening experiences, if possible.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,857 posts
 
Gregger,

I think you nailed the room size issue pretty good. ITs pretty straightforward really.

Large rooms, properly utilized provide a grander sense of scale. Smaller rooms provide a more intimate listening environment where you can focus more on details and listen into the "nooks and crannnies" of what's going on in the recording.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,857 posts
 
All other things aside, I'd say I prefer a larger room for sure, so size does matter.

But there are so many other factors that come into play that size alone is certainly no guarantee of good sound.

The fact is your room is part of your system and you should treat it that way. If you do, you can achieve spectacular results in many cases without spending yourself into oblivion.

Actually, some of the best sounds I've ever heard coming out of a stereo system were no rooms at all, ie with speakers set up outside on a porch or landing with only a single wall behind them.
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