Better speakers, bigger room problems

Every step up in speakers is a step up in what they reveal. In an untreated room, that includes the room. So the better the speaker, the worse a bad room can make it sound.

I moved from my Klipsch Reference Premiere to the Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series D4, a speaker I had dreamed about and auditioned at length. At home it was too harsh, the soundstage was gone, and elements I used to hear on the Klipsch were no longer there. The Klipsch had been forgiving my room for years without telling me.

Nothing was wrong with the new speakers. More revealing speakers make the problems sound even bigger. The comb filtering, the bass peaks and nulls, the smeared early reflections had all been there before; the Diamonds simply refused to cover for them.

I believe you have all experienced this somehow: I did not see it, and I went down the rabbit hole of gear answers. What finally helped cost nothing: toe-in, toe-out, the distance from the back wall and from the side walls, in very small increments. Speaker positioning was the first step, and it is still the first step I recommend to anyone.

A revealing speaker is honest about everything. That includes the walls you put it between.