i've often read people writing about "room overload" or "overpowering a room" and i have no idea of what it is, what it does when it happens, and i don't even know if it really does happen.
is that another audio myth?
my suspicion is that there can be ear/brain overload, but "room overload"!

does anyone know?

Are you talking about a speaker overpowering a room? Definitely. Could be caused by simply poor loudspeaker design, room modes/resonances or a combination of the above..

Large ported floorstanding speakers full range below the schroeder frequency, corner placed up against the wall could tend to over power a room.

do you mean the effect is somewhat like loud sounds in a bare room where it becomes a cacophony that makes you run out of that room?

in other words, the reflected sounds are much stronger than the direct sound and it all becomes un-listenable?

J.B.,

While i am not familiar with the specific phenomena you are talking about. I think it can be though of analytically. If you take your room for instance, I would venture to say that people who believe in this phenomena would say that your room is "over loaded" with your M80's as compared to the size of your room.


However, it appears as though you have several feet behind your 80's, as you have your sub behind the TV... Now, if you tucked your 80's in the back corner and turned them up, i think you would experience the phenomena your asking about.

However, i think it has more to do with the way (how loud) you listen, than the equipment used.