The attraction of small speakers is obvious. They won’t dominate a room and can be tucked out of the way, maybe close to a wall, or – less ideally in a sonic sense – in a corner or a bookshelf. From this, it would be easy to conclude that opting for a pair of compact speakers is all about convenience and little else.
Physics certainly dictates that a speaker barely larger than a shoebox will have clear limitations compared with something more generously dimensioned. The disadvantages range from restricted bass-reach to compromised large-scale dynamics and lower volume limits.
