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You pay for it and you get it...

When it comes to large speakers, IME what you get far more than any other attribute, is the sense of scale...which is what seems to delineate the best large speakers from the best small speakers. As an example, yesterday I had the pleasure of listening to the new Wilson Sabrina X’s and the new Wilson Alexx V’s. While both speakers are from the same manufacturer, and both employ what looks like some of the same drivers, this is basically where the similarity ends. The big Wilson is about seven times the price of the small model! So, besides a much larger cabinet and a few extra drivers what do you get for your money...the answer is SCALE!! This is something that unless heard, is a little hard to fathom. The small Sabrina X’s do most things well..and I was very impressed by them, far superior across the board to the original model Sabrina. The Alexx V’s in a very large room ( which is also a MAJOR requirement for them to work their magic, and if one does not have this I believe then this is the wrong speaker for you) are able to throw a sense of scale that has to be heard to be believed. This is what you pay for with these large speakers, and in the Alexx V’s case, what you get. The frequency response of the larger model is not that different in the highs..and in some extent I think the midrange resolution was similar, but the bass is where it’s at...and this is where I think the sense of scale and enormity comes from. On paper, the smaller model can drop down to within probably ten Hz’s of the larger model, yet in a room of commensurate size, the little Sabrina X’s will never be able to portray the scale of the Alexx V’s. This aspect seems to apply to all large speakers in large room vs small/middle size speakers in large rooms.
Question is is it even possible to get scale with a smaller speaker in any size room, so far I have not heard this...anyone else?
128x128daveyf
daveyf's avatar
daveyf OP
2,834 posts
 
@mijostyn  Actually the size of the image is NOT what I am referring to as 'scale'. This is where it becomes difficult to describe what 'scale' is. The size of the image has nothing to do with 'scale'...and yet the imaging of the instruments on the stage can be bigger...or smaller ( depending on the instrument being portrayed). Scale is something that I am beginning to understand is misunderstood by a lot of folks who have never heard it...and is totally understood by those that have. Once you hear it, you know immediately what it is. 
My system can portray exacting imaging with excellent depth portrayal and precision of instruments on the stage, BUT it cannot portray scale. 
I am pretty sure that the little Sabrina X's cannot portray scale if they are placed into exactly the same room and with the same gear as the Alexx V's. 
daveyf's avatar
daveyf OP
2,834 posts
 
@dietch2 I’m fairly certain that scale has nothing to do with the recording. (Unfortunately!) I know this as we heard exactly the same recording in the different systems that I discussed above, The Alexx V’s portrayed scale, the Sabrina X’s...did not.
dletch2
455 posts
 
The scale should be in the recording, not artificial from the room.


I was too brief. I meant you should be recreating the scale inherent in the recording, not creating a false one.


daveyf's avatar
daveyf OP
2,834 posts
 
Ok, now what you state makes some sense.
skanda
60 posts
 
@daveyf you mention: "I am pretty sure that the little Sabrina X's cannot portray scale if they are placed into exactly the same room and with the same gear as the Alexx V's." do you think it's possible to get that scale if the sabrina x's are optimally set up in a mid/small room as they are intended to be used?

i'm pretty sure i'm picking up what you're putting down. big speakers have a physicality that little speakers don't. i used to be a big fan of bookshelves and minimonitors. my magico s5mk2 was my first floor stander and i don't think i can ever go back. theres a sense of scale that the monitors never got to and my room isn't huge either (hence why i opted for a sealed cabinet speaker). i've heard the xvx and alexx v though the v was only a few days old and not broken in. the xvx was broken in and i'm not a wilson fan boy but wow that was an impressive speaker.

you mentioned the alexx v should be in a large room. any idea of what those dimensions might be? i'm strongly considering one but i have a rectangular room which isnt super large but not small either. it comfortably runs my magicos along the long wall...the alex v's might be a bit much and may have to go a bit closer to the wall behind them but wilson's driver adjustment apparently allows for being as close as 8ft between listener and speaker. my biggest room issues are a small node at 45hz triggered by just a handful of tracks in my playlists and the wall behind the listener is only about a foot behind their head (nyc apartment living room, so i had to make do with this compromise)

over the years (and i'm not very old lol) i've become less and less bothered by the idea of large speakers in smaller rooms - within reason. nobody reasonable would put the alexx v in a broom closet but i think too many audiophiles are a bit afraid to push the envelope and go for the bigger speaker in their room. i find that it's usually a better choice and worst worst case you're going to need some software to even out any crazy low end issues. what you get in return is that sense of scale and physicality that little speakers tend to miss.
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