How do you know what a good speaker is?


Frequency response for high end speakers at every price level is usually relatively flat. The differences in audible sound quality reported by audiophiles is disproportionate to the differences in frequency response between different speakers therefore frequency response cannot be a very significant factor in what we're hearing.
Distortion is usually below 0.5% so again the same reasoning applies.
I'm not convinced that polar response is quite as important as is sometimes claimed. 

If you look at the specs of most ultra high end loudspeakers,  there's no hard evidence provided by the manufacturers to justify their claims that their speaker is vastly superior.
And if there was it would need to be independently verified.

So how does the consumer know how close any given loudspeaker is to the ideal loudspeaker? How do we know how close a loudspeaker is to recreating the sound of a violin, cello, piano, human voice, or anything else? 

What makes a magico vastly different from a yg or Wilson? On the other hand if the difference between these speakers is extremely small then why is there such a discrepancy in opinions and why do we need a yg and a magico and Wilson and tidal audio and b&w etc on the market if they're all so similar?  







kenjit

Showing 1 response by ggc

First off I agree with those who have stated that the best pair of speakers are the ones that ultimately put a smile on your face.

That said, Specs - especially Frequency Response should only be used as a guide as to how to filter down your purchasing decisions. 

MIT and NASA concur that the natural environment in which humans process sound has a Frequency Response of 15Hz to 150Khz. 

The questions that you need to answer for yourself is how relevant is that information to you? Are you after the purest sound replication or are you more into convenience or aesthetics? What kind of investment are you willing to make to accomplish your goals?  There are no wrong answers.

If you are truly dedicated to pure sound replication then your goal should be to try to work towards creating an environment as close to 15Hz to 150Khz as you can get. The listed specs from manufacturers should be able to narrow this field down for you. It will take actual listening on your part to decide which one replicates the right violin, cello, piano, human voice for you.  

I know one person who does not believe MIT and NASA. The set up he has is good enough for him and his needs.

Another person believes in the findings, however just likes the sweet mid range sound staging that EL 34 tubes create and has worked towards accomplishing those goals.

There are only a handful of companies that list that they have speakers that match the 15Hz-150Khz spec. These are all listed at astronomical prices.

Another audiophile I know does believe in the MIT/NASA findings and has the scratch to throw $250K++ just at speakers alone. However he has learned that the speakers are just one ingredient in creating this environment as there several other components to factor in.