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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
erik_squires
5,268 posts
 
Please, stop saying that " we don't here the same and we have different tastes in sound quality" If this is the case, how come we agreed on the best sounding music halls around the world? How come we agreed on the best sounding recordings from LP, Master tapes and even CD's?

I think the core statement is provable. With age, gender and individual exposure we all have measurably different hearing.

On top of that, we have very different choices in music, and listening habits and our pleasure centers are trained by our past.

Listening at low volumes vs. concert levels is a very different thing, and we are right to want to judge our speakers based on that alone, not to mention music preferences.

Oh, and then there are rooms, and amplifiers. Both of these can make a significant difference in the sound.

So, the truth is we do not here [sic] the same and we do have very different tastes in the experiences we wish to have.

Best,
E
mapman's avatar
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mapman
15,679 posts
 
When you hear it.
russellrcncom
206 posts
 
Great question.  The short answer is I don't.  One thing I can say is that after attending jazz concerts in a small venue, I was left shaking my head when reflecting on my present system.  It has to be incredibly difficult to capture and render in an accurate fashion the level of dynamics and speed of transients I kept hearing.  Stat's and horns come the closest but even then it's a tough act.  I realize this is a theoretical goal which will never be reached but my question is are we even close?  I'm skeptical.  
marqmike
676 posts
 
+1 Mapman. It is about that simple if you are concerned about sound quality.  If it sounds good, wait for the drum roll ......., it is good. But first you have to know what your listening for. Live acoustic music for me is the best way to get a handle on what sounds best in a speaker.
wolf_garcia
4,650 posts
 
I have 2 dissimilar speakers around, Silverline Preludes and Klipsch Heresy IIIs, and they sound astonishingly similar relative to general tonality. Although the Silverlines are reasonably efficient, my quest for more efficient speakers led me to try Sonist Recital IIIs which are beautifully made and efficient, but not for me tonally as I was used to the Preludes clearer top end...sold 'em...Next I auditioned the Heresy IIIs and thought...hmmm...could be the thing...bought a pair and man...these things are really great sounding speakers, coherent, efficient, accurate, engaging, short, fat, etc., need subs which I have, so now I'll say goodbye to the Preludes. Note that all of this was prompted by switching to a lower powered single ended tube amp that sounds glorious, but sounds gloriouser with efficient speakers, and the Heresy IIIs provide that efficiency. System dependent? You bet.
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