How big/powerful should my speakers be?

[tentaguasu]

I'm clueless about how to know how large my speakers need to be for a dedicated home theater.

I'll have a roughly 15x18x8 sized room.

I have no idea even how to start - should I be looking at how many watts the speakers produce?

If I'm buying speakers separately (i.e. not as a full set), is there a problem with matching them in terms of power?

I'm sure it partly depends on how loud I want it, but I guess the bottom line is when I'm looking at speaker packages, how do I know whether they will nicely fill the room, or sound like a tin can in the corner (or whether I'm paying for an ability to reach a volume I'd never use....)

Thanks for any guidance!

 

[jostenmeat]

I'm clueless about how to know how large my speakers need to be for a dedicated home theater.

Don't worry about size. Some big speakers sound good, some sound bad. Some small speakers sound good, some sound bad.

I have no idea even how to start - should I be looking at how many watts the speakers produce?

Not really. What's your budget?

If I'm buying speakers separately (i.e. not as a full set), is there a problem with matching them in terms of power?

Not really, that's what level matching is for. However, the best match is the identical speaker. If you are using a flat panel, or a relatively smaller PJ screen, see if you can fit a 3rd identical speaker as your center. The benefits will be multiple. Even better would be to have all three on the same plane, assuming that the plane isn't too low or high.

I'm sure it partly depends on how loud I want it, but I guess the bottom line is when I'm looking at speaker packages, how do I know whether they will nicely fill the room, or sound like a tin can in the corner (or whether I'm paying for an ability to reach a volume I'd never use....)

Thanks for any guidance!

Speakers hate being stuffed in corners. The closer the speaker is to any boundary, the more you will hear the boundary, which means the less you hear of the speaker. A corner represents three boundaries, and so the effect is multiplied. I would not fear the tin can effect so much as the muddied/chesty effect with putting a speaker SHOVED into a corner.

Also, when you want them to nicely fill the room, it's actually the room that you hear more than your speakers. This is why many experts really advise the use of room treatments. Hear less of your room, and more of your speakers.

As for how loud you need it, that's very hard to answer. That's like if I'm asking, "If I buy a nice car, how do I know if I'm paying for power I will never use?".

So, the first question I might* ask is if you would like it just as loud as it is in a theater. Then again, I have the belief that the more you treat your room, the more freedom you have with greater volumes of playback.

 

[oppman99]

I think it's all about personal preference. I have a comparably sized listening room and have used both bookshelf sized and floor standing speakers. I have noticed that I turn the volume up slightly for the bookshelf. One thing to mention is that my bookshelf speakers are Paradigm Signatures, so they are definately a quality product. You may find more issues with lower quality speakers from a big box store. Also, is your room enclosed, or is it open to another room. That will definately make a difference. Personally, I prefer floorstanding speakers, but that's just me. Speaker placement is another topic to consider. Some brands can be very particular with room placement and sound quality.

As far as power rating, speakers can handle more power than their rating for short periods of time. The power rating is the continuous power. Are you planning on using an AVR or external amplifier? If you plan to use an AVR, any speaker 100 Watts or more should be fine. I really wouldn't worry about the power rating and just concern myself with how they sound to you.

I would start listening to as many brands as you can to figure out what you like. All brands have strengths and weaknesses. I'd recommend going with the same brand/line for you fronts and center channel. In most cases this will give you a continuous soundstage. If you mix and match, you run the risk of having speakers that are not a good sonic match (especially if you're new to this). Going with a different brand for the surrounds is less problematic.

Do you have a budget or any specific speakers in mind? Also, are you looking at a 5 or 7 channel setup? The more info you give, the better we can help you out. Good luck!

 

[mtrycrafts]

I'm clueless about how to know how large my speakers need to be for a dedicated home theater.

I'll have a roughly 15x18x8 sized room.

I have no idea even how to start - should I be looking at how many watts the speakers produce?

If I'm buying speakers separately (i.e. not as a full set), is there a problem with matching them in terms of power?

I'm sure it partly depends on how loud I want it, but I guess the bottom line is when I'm looking at speaker packages, how do I know whether they will nicely fill the room, or sound like a tin can in the corner (or whether I'm paying for an ability to reach a volume I'd never use....)

Thanks for any guidance!

You may also want to spend some time at the home page and read some of the recommendations there and the audio tutorials to get familiar, or you will be lost in the maze.

 

[tentaguasu]

Thanks for your help.

I don't have a specific budget, other than "small." I'd certainly like to be under $500, and if I could get it under $300 that'd be fantastic.

In order to have anything worthwhile at that price, I have though of two strategies:

1. Go with a simple 2.1 channel set up to start with. I figure if I can have a decent two channel solution w/ subwoofer, I can always add speakers later.

2. Possibly build my own speakers. I have time and patience and I'm relatively handy. My understanding is that you can build speakers that are much better than what you can buy at a give price point. Particularly subwoofers.

So for instance, the "Microbe" speakers plus subwoofer can apparently be built for under $300 for the set.

rjbaudio.com/Microbe/microbe.html

But I have no idea whether those speakers are far to small to fill out a 15x18 room.

As for volume, I love deep, rumbling bass, but generally speaking, if the sound is rich and full, I don't need it to be loud.

And if I decide I can't build my own, I don't know what to look at if I'm perusing ebay or a garage sale...

 

[Davemcc]

1. Go with a simple 2.1 channel set up to start with. I figure if I can have a decent two channel solution w/ subwoofer, I can always add speakers later.

This.

For that budget.

 

[alexwakelin]

I agree, a 2.1 system would be the way to go for your budget. Is the $300 all going towards speakers, or do you need a receiver as well? Building your own speakers is also definitely a way to get a bit more for your money. These two kits both get good reviews and are an excellent value:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-700

http://www.madisound.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=8525

I have built a pair of the Madisound Recession Busters and I'm really happy with them so far, though I am using them as computer speakers.

 

[highfigh]

I'm clueless about how to know how large my speakers need to be for a dedicated home theater.

I'll have a roughly 15x18x8 sized room.

I have no idea even how to start - should I be looking at how many watts the speakers produce?

If I'm buying speakers separately (i.e. not as a full set), is there a problem with matching them in terms of power?

I'm sure it partly depends on how loud I want it, but I guess the bottom line is when I'm looking at speaker packages, how do I know whether they will nicely fill the room, or sound like a tin can in the corner (or whether I'm paying for an ability to reach a volume I'd never use....)

Thanks for any guidance!

Your personal preference should determine what you buy but we need to clear up a few things. Speakers don't produce watts. They respond to electrical energy, and the units for this is generally expressed as Watts. Speakers have a spec called sensitivity and the higher this number is, the louder they'll be with a given amount of input. More doesn't necessarily mean they'll sound better but they'll fill a given space with less amplifier power.

However, woofer size can be too large for a given room. For many common room sizes, a 10" is great and won't sound too boomy. For main speakers, as long as the box is properly designed, a 6-1/2" will do very well for everything but the deepest notes and if you decide that you really don't want to deal with a subwoofer, some of the tower speakers do a great job. The reviews here should help clear up some of the questions and if you go to the top of the home page, you'll see AV University. Look for Loudspeaker Basics for more answers.

 

[tentaguasu]

Again, thanks to everyone for their wonderfully helpful replies.

My $300ish budget is entirely for speakers. I don't have a totally fixed budget, but the lower it is, the better.

So if I understand you all correctly, 2.1 is a fine way to start, building my own speakers is a great way to get more bang for my $$, and even relatively small bookshelf-sized speakers can do an admirable job in an 15x18ft home theater, provided they are good speakers and teamed with a subwoofer... sound about right?