It is difficult to outlive the fact that the majority of us live in small homes. Short of space as we are, we have to share our live-in space with our passion for good audio. So, our stereo systems live with us in our living room or bedroom. And we strive to make the best of that compromise in squeezing the maximum performance out of our systems.

That performance is getting the best quality of sound reproduction possible. We have to make choices in selection of components - CD players, amplifiers, speakers - in achieving that goal. It is the speakers that interact vigorously with the room, influencing what you hear. In small rooms, their selection becomes more critical.

One of the guiding principles of high-end audio is that a loudspeaker's bass output should be proportionate to the size of the listening room. The smaller the room, the less bass the loudspeakers should produce. This is to avoid boominess of sound in small spaces.

Bass extension works against good sound quality in small rooms. Small rooms excite spaced resonance modes (standing waves) that are higher in frequency. The effect of that reaches into the midrange. Not only do you have boomy bass, but a clouded midrange too! That's why it's difficult to get good sounding bass in small rooms. Not much you can do to avoid that, except to adjust the location of the speakers to lessen the resonances, or change the room!

Relocating the speakers to spread out the resonances more evenly will help in producing better sound. However, that often means moving the speakers away from room boundaries and into the room. Now, would you rather live there or your speakers!

The solution, then, is to choose speakers that will excite the small room's resonance modes least of all. Small speakers, with limited bass output, will sound better. These speakers, using drivers up to 165 mm in size, often limit their bass response to about 50 Hz. However, placed close to walls, with boundary reinforcement of bass frequencies, these speakers give a very satisfying and full sound.

Clarity of midrange reproduction is most important. Also, it is much easier to overlook a lack of bass extension, than have a bloated bass, reminding you that you are listening to unnatural sound.