Why it is (almost) pointless to recommend speakers

[RoA]

70% of what we hear is the room. Something I found out when I recently moved and my speakers sounded completely different. Same system, same music but completely different.

The room is not the same shape as the previous one even though square footage is not that far off. I now have a substantial room mode (which I managed to subdue) and less side reflection.

We all know the room plays a big role but I think we sometimes underestimate just how much and it also makes it plain clear to me that recommending speakers is fraught with difficulties. Actually no, it is almost impossible.

Erin and his review make it a little easier but even so, it really is difficult to predict how exactly it will pan out. There are room calculators which tell you were modes and null's may be but if your seating arrangement or space is compromised, that is no good either.

No substitute for trying speakers in your home. Room treatment and DSP help but they rarely work 100%.

 

[Kenneth Fernandes]

70% of what we hear is the room. Something I found out when I recently moved and my speakers sounded completely different. Same system, same music but completely different.

The room is not the same shape as the previous one even though square footage is not that far off. I now have a substantial room mode (which I managed to subdue) and less side reflection.

We all know the room plays a big role but I think we sometimes underestimate just how much and it also makes it plain clear to me that recommending speakers is fraught with difficulties. Actually no, it is almost impossible.

Erin and his review make it a little easier but even so, it really is difficult to predict how exactly it will pan out. There are room calculators which tell you were modes and null's may be but if your seating arrangement or space is compromised, that is no good either.

No substitute for trying speakers in your home. Room treatment and DSP help but they rarely work 100%.

There’s got to be only one defined Hi-Fi bubble area to listen to Hi-Res on high-end whole audio setups from the same brand. So, the room and its size won’t matter.

Also, Hi-Fi manufacturers don’t sell their products to auditioning showrooms for use there. And nobody sleeps overnight in the store, to listen to their favourite albums in the store’s dedicated listening room or the open space.

 

[manicm]

70% of what we hear is the room. Something I found out when I recently moved and my speakers sounded completely different. Same system, same music but completely different.

The room is not the same shape as the previous one even though square footage is not that far off. I now have a substantial room mode (which I managed to subdue) and less side reflection.

We all know the room plays a big role but I think we sometimes underestimate just how much and it also makes it plain clear to me that recommending speakers is fraught with difficulties. Actually no, it is almost impossible.

Erin and his review make it a little easier but even so, it really is difficult to predict how exactly it will pan out. There are room calculators which tell you were modes and null's may be but if your seating arrangement or space is compromised, that is no good either.

No substitute for trying speakers in your home. Room treatment and DSP help but they rarely work 100%.

I'm not sure I agree with the herd on that the room makes the biggest difference. Yes, the room may affect bass and high frequency balance. But, for example, room treatment or correction will still not cure a speaker or component that exhibits sibilance.

I find John Darko's emphasis on this in his videos, and his paid-for Roon endorsement a bit more irritating now.

I'm happy to be proven wrong on all counts.

 

[RoA]

I can tell you first hand, the room can make a massive difference as I have just found out. I must have been lucky before as I never had issues to extend I have now.

As to room treatments, my main issue is Bass which would require absolutely huge treatments, not possible in a living room arrangement which is shared with others. DSP was the saviour for me but I did it carefully and only for the frequency which caused the issue. It didn't resolve it completely but it is much better now.

 

[Dave_]

There's no point recommending any kit frankly (at least based on SQ) and particularly to fully paid up subjectivists who believe only in their ears, because if that's solely how you assess SQ then what's the point of seeking other opinions?

 

[Al ears]

There's no point recommending any kit frankly (at least based on SQ) and particularly to fully paid up subjectivists who believe only in their ears, because if that's solely how you assess SQ then what's the point of seeking other opinions?

And so, in an instant, this forum disappeared in a puff of smoke..... 🙂

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Another who doesn't buy the argument that you primarily listen to the room - I don't deny that you can make a massive difference by moving speakers, or having ones better suited to the room in question, but if we have music on with and without both sets of French doors open it makes very little difference to how it sounds, and if that's not changing the listening environment, I don't know what is!

 

[RoA]

Another who doesn't buy the argument that you primarily listen to the room - I don't deny that you can make a massive difference by moving speakers, or having ones better suited to the room in question, but if we have music on with and without both sets of French doors open it makes very little difference to how it sounds, and if that's not changing the listening environment, I don't know what is!

That is the way I used to think when reading stuff about speakers and rooms. Not anymore.

 

[Gray]

....So, the room and its size won’t matter.

Unless you're listening on headphones, the room always matters to the sound.

 

[Gray]

I killed the worst of my room's reverberence (by making 2 walls and the ceiling less reflective).
It really confirmed how much I'd been compromising the sound - of all previous equipment upgrades.

Where it's needed, improving room acoustics comes second only to ear syringing / microsuction in benefitting the quality of what you hear.

 

[abacus]

If you look at professional installations (Home or concert halls) the room is the biggest factor to get over, this requires treatment (Although this is limited in a domestic environment) and careful choice of components (Speakers etc.) to get the sound right.
The room is, and always has been the biggest factor in getting the best sound out of a system.

Bill

 

[Kenneth Fernandes]

Unless you're listening on headphones, the room always matters to the sound.

Yes, for one row seating arrangements, at home, manufacturers could easily design floor standing speakers to operate within that fixed distance from the speakers. So, the room size wouldn’t matter much, considering all homes are built to specific specifications that match the speakers volume and Hi-Fi audio quality.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Not sure how much sense it makes comparing concert venues with a domestic room - Trevor Cox has written extensively about the former, and the shapes tend to be much more compromising than they are for the latter.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

That is the way I used to think when reading stuff about speakers and rooms. Not anymore.

Perfectly happy to judge my listening experience on what I hear, rather than what I read.

 

[Dave_]

And so, in an instant, this forum disappeared in a puff of smoke..... 🙂

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Jasonovich]

70% of what we hear is the room. Something I found out when I recently moved and my speakers sounded completely different. Same system, same music but completely different.

The room is not the same shape as the previous one even though square footage is not that far off. I now have a substantial room mode (which I managed to subdue) and less side reflection.

We all know the room plays a big role but I think we sometimes underestimate just how much and it also makes it plain clear to me that recommending speakers is fraught with difficulties. Actually no, it is almost impossible.

Erin and his review make it a little easier but even so, it really is difficult to predict how exactly it will pan out. There are room calculators which tell you were modes and null's may be but if your seating arrangement or space is compromised, that is no good either.

No substitute for trying speakers in your home. Room treatment and DSP help but they rarely work 100%.

Yes, it can be hit and miss. The wrong room can make a good speaker sound bad. There are small things you can do, like install sound installation panels.

This was a saviour for me, my Focal subwoofer in the study have two way woofers going in the opposite direction. It was so boomy because it was up against the wall, so I pinched my missus's palates gym mat. I lined it up against the wall and Voila, the problem was no more.

Every room has it's own unique finger print, can't guarantee damping panels would work or just deaden the sound? It is a bit like Russian Roulette.
The remedy is for the dealer to allow you to test it in your room, those dealers are hard to find or find seller who allows you to return the speakers within thirty days. Not sure if this already exists in statute, the UK consumer laws are forever changing.

I guess when everything else fails, get yourself a nice pair of headphones 🙂

 

[R2D2]

70% of what we hear is the room. Something I found out when I recently moved and my speakers sounded completely different. Same system, same music but completely different.

The room is not the same shape as the previous one even though square footage is not that far off. I now have a substantial room mode (which I managed to subdue) and less side reflection.

We all know the room plays a big role but I think we sometimes underestimate just how much and it also makes it plain clear to me that recommending speakers is fraught with difficulties. Actually no, it is almost impossible.

Erin and his review make it a little easier but even so, it really is difficult to predict how exactly it will pan out. There are room calculators which tell you were modes and null's may be but if your seating arrangement or space is compromised, that is no good either.

No substitute for trying speakers in your home. Room treatment and DSP help but they rarely work 100%.

I rarely if at all recommend speakers on any forum. I have recommended the Samsung q990d soundbar before because I used to own one and you can get good discounts on it if you are careful. But One I haven’t heard many speakers and two I agree they sound different to all people.