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Music Lovers Speaker vs. Audiophile Speaker

In my quest for a new set of speakers to replace the Paradigm 5se I've had for 25+ years I've come across a couple of terms I'd like clarified: the musical speaker and the audiophile speaker.

What's the difference? 

I can think of two analogies, both of which may be way off mark.

One is the "mp3" analogy. mp3's dumb down the music, but capture what a music lover may consider to be the important stuff. The audiophile version is the CD.

So in this case, the musical speaker doesn't perform as well as the audiophile speaker, but it is at the right price point or has other features (particularly finish) that the listener desires.

The other analogy is the "radio station" analogy. The station doesn't dumb down the music, but it does intentionally change the sound to suit the audience. Classic rock is bass heavy, and dynamic range may be compressed to raise the overall level. An easy-listening station will have a lighter sound with different frequencies emphasized.

Comments ...
128x128jimspov
martykl
3,563 posts
 
In today's world, the difference seems to be that that an audiophile speaker doesn't have Bluetooth.
stevensctt
65 posts
 
Audiophile speakers are judged by specs and measurements.  Musical speakers are judged by the human ear, without regard to specs and measurements
xti16
1,495 posts
 
@stevensctt
In general I agree with you. But there are exceptions. IMO I have audiophile speakers but the specs and measurements look horrible. They are tuned by the designer using his ears in the end. To me my speakers are exceptionally musical sounding but have a ton of detail - speed and clarity. They are Raidho D2's. When most folks see the window sticker of Raidho they tend to run - not walk away.

Bottom line is use your ears. Everyone has different expectations and personal taste. Some folks want a rock concert in their home while others prefer the sound of a smaller more intimate setting. In the end it's your budget and expectations.
timlub
1,649 posts
 
In my mind an Audiophile is a person and a speaker is a speaker.
Of course all speakers are not Audiophile worthy, so I understand calling a speaker an Audiophile speaker, but beyond that, not so much.
Analytical vs Musical?
A detailed speaker that plays music very to the point, without a real flow can certainly be considered analytical, but I have changed equipment in front of such speakers and found that they were very involving.
As mentioned above,  sometimes peaks and dips are designed into the speakers frequency response,  other times they are hard to get rid of and the speaker builder chooses to leave them rather than adding complicated networks to try to remove the issue. This is the case with many (but not all) High sensitivity speakers (zu and tekton come to mind).  Overall,  once you are into a speaker that makes it to the Audiophile level... as all things with our bunch.  Its all subjective. Tim
bcgator's avatar
bcgator
354 posts
 
I try to avoid this trap of categorizing things using these labels as if they're ideologies or political parties.   I don't care what a pair of speakers costs - if you like them, and you feel they present the music accurately, then guess what...they're audiophile speakers.   The alternative is that we project our own standards onto other people...those speakers aren't expensive enough, or exclusive enough, or detailed enough, etc.    At the end of the day, it's just about enjoying music.  However you get there, good for you.  I still remember my first AM radio, sitting under a tree in our yard listening to '70s music.  I must have been 8 years old.  That radio cost my dad $6 - I don't know if music ever sounded better than it did from that $6 radio.  

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