What makes big speakers sound "big"and smaller ones sound "small"?

[Pearljam5000]

Sorry for the stupid question but
Bigger speakers also sound bigger to me than smaller ones even at the same volume.
I've been told this is not correct and impossible but i still feel that way, and also other people do because I read the cliche of "these speaekrs sound much bigger than they are" Pretty much everywhere.
What is the cause of this phenomenon?

 

[Moonhead]

SPL

 

[Music1969]

Sorry for the stupid question but
Bigger speakers also sound bigger to me than smaller ones even at the same volume.
I've been told this is not correct and impossible but i still feel that way, and also other people do because I read the cliche of "these speaekrs sound much bigger than they are" Pretty much everywhere.
What is the cause of this phenomenon?

Frequency response. Especially bass may be very different.

@mitchco has done some great writing about big full-range speakers vs small+sub/s (which can achieve full range FR)... the key though (and not that easy to do) is proper integration of subs with smalls.

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

Sorry for the stupid question but
Bigger speakers also sound bigger to me than smaller ones even at the same volume.
I've been told this is not correct and impossible but i still feel that way, and also other people do because I read the cliche of "these speaekrs sound much bigger than they are" Pretty much everywhere.
What is the cause of this phenomenon?

I have pondered this for a long time and am asking the same question.

SPL

No.

 

[KSTR]

For me it's (I) narrow directivity and (II) low distortion and (III) low cutoff freq what makes a speaker sound "big" especially at high SPL levels. Flat FR in any case. When you have low distortion and no "room sound overload" higher SPL is not perceived as louder, the sound just gets bigger. It starts to get felt as louder when distortion kicks in at levels below where the ear starts to distort itself heavily and when the room just adds too much reverb/echo/boom...

 

[oursmagenta]

Hi


I have pondered this for a long time and am asking the same question.



No.

Love the conciseness .

 

[TimVG]

Apart from what has been said: keeping pattern control down to lower frequencies (=/< 500Hz) in my subjective experience.

 

[Mnyb]

For me it's (I) narrow directivity and (II) low distortion and (III) low cutoff freq what makes a speaker sound "big" especially at high SPL levels. Flat FR in any case. When you have low distortion and no "room sound overload" higher SPL is not perceived as louder, the sound just gets bigger. It starts to get felt as louder when distortion kicks in at levels below where the ear starts to distort itself heavily and when the room just adds too much reverb/echo/boom...

Apart from what has been said: keeping pattern control down to lower frequencies (=/< 500Hz) in my subjective experience.

Is this an effect off a traditional wide and big baffle speaker or can it be achieved in some other way ?

I get the feel that the slim tower format preferred due to decorative concerns is a problem if not done right .Whatever you need to do, has KEF for example done it with their R series towers even if they are slim and tall ? 3 way somewhat narrow directivity ?

 

[Senior NEET Engineer]

Bass extension mainly. It has an impact on soundstage. I noticed this when my sub level was accidentally set 5 dB too low. Most passive bookshelf speakers start rolling off at 150hz.

 

[KSTR]

Is this an effect off a traditional wide and big baffle speaker or can it be achieved in some other way ?

Big baffle sure helps to lower the baffle step frequency but you can't get really low of course.
The most impressive "big speaker" effect I've personally enjoyed came from Danley Synergy monitors, even without subs those rendered a huge image scaling in size with SPL. With very dry source signals (news speaker voices) they project the phantom source way in front of themselves which is rather seldom and is IHMO a big part of the "bigness"

 

[RobL]

It would be interesting to see if a big speaker still sounded “bigger” than a small speaker in a blind test that was level matched with source material eq’d so the smaller speaker wasn’t disadvantaged in the bass region...

 

[TimVG]

Is this an effect off a traditional wide and big baffle speaker or can it be achieved in some other way ?

Cardioid a la Kii and D&D.

 

[More Dynamics Please]

Bigger speakers frequently produce a bigger sound than smaller speakers but not always. Blind comparison listening is mandatory because it's been demonstrated that visual impressions influence our audio impressions, i.e. we subconsciously believe a bigger speaker is going to sound bigger than a smaller one. The key to actually sounding bigger is to be able to recreate lifelike sounds of big events that cover the full auditory range. As retired JBL designer/engineer Greg Timbers stated in an interview:

I believe that solid Dynamic behavior is most important to get lifelike sound. Dynamics require high efficiency since transducers are pitiful in energy conversion. I also believe that sound staging is extremely important. I think natural midrange and bass presentation precedes the treble range. Of course all things have to be balanced!

https://positive-feedback.com/interviews/greg-timbers-jbl

 

[mitchco]

Frequency response. Especially bass may be very different.

@mitchco has done some great writing about big full-range speakers vs small+sub/s (which can achieve full range FR)... the key though (and not that easy to do) is proper integration of subs with smalls.

Thanks @Music1969 @Pearljam5000 while not fully representative, I made some binaural recordings comparing a very large JBL cinema speaker with KEF LS50 (both with subs). See if you can hear the difference: https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/revi...ker-comparison-with-binaural-recordings-r768/

 

[egellings]

Larger radiating area? Often times higher efficiency?

 

[Robin L]

The size of the box. There's so much of what we think of as the "sound" of electronic gear that comes from the look of the gear. Of course, the baffle, the box the speakers are in also gives sonic cues as regards the size of the speakers. This makes me think of the Spica TC 50 speakers, small speakers that could throw a large image. Open you eyes, much of the illusion fell apart [of course, they also were pretty limited in the bass as well].

 

[pma]

What is the cause of this phenomenon?

Membrane area. The bigger diameter, bigger area, less excursion is needed to move the same volume of the air and it is easier for the speaker to have extended bass response. Appropriate box volume is of course assumed.

 

[Cadguy]

Shahinian "polydirectional" speakers are said to present a symphony orchestra's size, scale and dynamic range in a way that few other speakers can equal. I know this is a gimmicky effect and they have massive problems in many other ways. I'd love to see their measurements LOL.

 

[Jdunk54nl]

1) Sighted bias. We see big and think big, we see small and think small. Don't believe me, try a test and hide the speakers and have someone randomly change between the two (making sure all other things are kept consistent like in any blind test)

2) Low frequency response is a HUGE factor in sound quality. Floyd Toole and others have pointed this out many times through research. Big speakers usually have bigger drivers that extend lower (or more of them).

 

[FrantzM]

The size of the box. There's so much of what we think of as the "sound" of electronic gear that comes from the look of the gear. Of course, the baffle, the box the speakers are in also gives sonic cues as regards the size of the speakers. This makes me think of the Spica TC 50 speakers, small speakers that could throw a large image. Open you eyes, much of the illusion fell apart [of course, they also were pretty limited in the bass as well].

View attachment 118915

Spica was unto something. Impressive speaker with an uncanny ability to play big while disappearing as a discrete sound source. Spica followed the TC-50 with a "Angelus" model that was bigger and more more expensive but the magic of the TC-50 was gone..