How do you know what a good speaker is?

I don't see how measuring a speaker against what a live guitar or live piano sounds like is practical. Even in a live situation a mic'd acoustic guitar will sound different from an un-mic'd guitar. If we're hearing it on a speaker then that sound has been recorded by someone. And all the manipulation that involves.  A recording is not the real thing. So it seems to me the gold standard would have to be that what you are hearing is being heard the way the engineer/producer intended you to hear it.

I can't count how many speakers I've heard that sounded good, but you were hearing the sound of the speaker and not the sound of the music.

I decided I wanted to hear the music and not the speaker; that's why mine are custom made (absolutely not recommended). A speaker design engineer assisted; he designed the crossover, and I chose the drivers. The cabinet was the hardest part, which is why I would never do it again.

Imagine crystal clear electronics, and you got my speakers; by not having a sound of their own, it makes them different from any speaker I have ever heard; they only reveal the sound of the music.

The bottom line is; do you want to hear the music or the speaker?


The speaker you choose is the best speaker for you.

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.

I completely disagree. If you are going by specmanship, yes, this is true. You cannot look at a speaker’s numbers.

However, I have found repeatedly that the details of the FR matter a great deal. A lot of speakers which are purported to give details, or incredible imaging have tweaks in the FR and if you know what to look for you’ll see it. The tell is a reviewer making a claim like this:

I found myself going through my old record collection and I heard things I've never heard before!

That's usually a pretty good indicator of this.

It disturbs me greatly when I see audio critics calling these speakers transparent or neutral when their own measurements show otherwise. JA does this to the pint when he finds a neutral speaker he calls it deliberately altered. The point is, these critics set the bar as to what the community calls neutral.
Besides FR and distortion, dispersion and stored energy matter a great deal. Dispersion affects how well a speaker will sound in a particular room and where imaging will be best. Stored energy will affect the ability of a speaker to sound natural, transparent.

Another overlooked item which matters (more with some amps than others) is the impedance curve, and I know for a fact some manufacturers deliberately tweak their speakers to be more "discerning" of amplifiers.

I reiterate my position: Buy what yo like to listen to. You have that unqualified right. These are my technical observations.

E

kenjit

How do we know how close a loudspeaker is to recreating the sound of a violin, cello, piano, human voice, or anything else ...

If you know what real instruments sound like, you'll recognize them when you hear them through a speaker system.

I think my speakers are good. They are largish tower speakers. They pass Tomcarr's smile test every time. And are a joy to listen to all evening long.

I don't know enough to explain why they are 'good'. But the two things you notice most when you examine them is that they are dense. Knock on them with your hand and it feels like they are made of a solid block of wood. Seriously. And the second thing you will notice is that they are heavy. Even heavier than their density and appearance would suggest. So heavy they are difficult to move around and re-position with just one person.

I have no idea if these are critical speaker features or not. But they are definitely noticeable and apparently very intentional.

I’m convinced that a “good” speaker is only good within a given “system”. Same speaker moved to a different room and paired with a different system will not be as “good”.

The reason why the majority of speakers offered today have good frequency, dynamic, timbre and spacial responses is due to competition from a wide variety of designers and companies, each with their own version of the answer to your main question. Each individual carries her/his own set of subjective, objective, emotional, quantitative and qualitiative values, opinions, ears and eyes as to what forms the so-called "ideal." Even identical twins have their own sets of preferences simply because it's physically impossible for any two people to always occupy the same place and time, and experience the exact same things, simultaneously.

I celebrate that we get to live in a time when there is an abundance of choice, that there is no "ideal" or absolute, and that part of the pleasure is in the hunt to find the speaker, and, as importantly, its associated components and listening environment, to form the system, and, as Tom says, puts the smile on my face and makes me want to listen for hours.

The polar response is indeed important, but the off-axis measurements done by Stereophile, SoundStage/NRC, etc. use is more telling. 
 
Good vertical response is important too, say withhin a +/-10° window; this is where speakers like the Tekton Double Impacts do horribly in, you need to be on the reference axis or else the response changes greatly. 
 
Dynamic compression is also important, how the speaker measures at low and high volumes. 
 
How its spectral decay and transient response is also are important. You want fast transient and an even decay that’s also decently fast. 
 

A good speaker is one that puts a smile on your face when you are listening and makes you want to listen for hours. 

Tom

@kenjit - one more important speaker attribute - i.e. LOOKS !

"Generally" - this has little to do with the sound produced, but if a design pleases the eye of the listener then it can play a significant role in a listener’s final choice.
e.g. Speakers with those bright cast aluminum chassis or those spectacular Horn speakers, tend to look more expensive and will probably win out over a more mundane design regardless of performance

But back to the questions in your original post...how can one judge speaker performance?

It comes down to very subtle differences in what the listener is able to discern. Basically, how well suited is that specific speaker suited to the listeners ears.

Everybody’s ears are very different and therefore, we each hear different subtleties from one speaker to another.

The tools for measuring speaker performance are not capable of "rating" the tonal qualities of a speaker AND take into account the acuteness of each individual’s hearing. It would be nice if one day, someone invents a Timbre Meter :-)

Technological Advances in driver design can give a brand a perceived "edge" - i.e. some listeners can discern differences while others just like the idea, or must have the latest in technology.

e.g. the Plasma Tweeter Driver - supposed to provide excellent reproduction in the very top end, but my ears could not discern it’s advantages over a more conventional design, so for me it was not worth that additional expense - but they did sound very good :-)

Unfortunately most of the results from today’s wonderful developments in speaker design are lost or coloured in the inadequate listening environments of our local audio stores and homes and the systems & cables they are connected too.

e.g. - my speakers were designed and tested with the aid of an anechoic chamber at an independent institute using the most sensitive tools to "gauge" performance. Results from SPL meters, oscilloscopes etc.. show the speaker replicate the input signal to a high level of accuracy.

But that was far from the listening environment at the store where I bought them and totally different from my house/room where I listen. And then MY ears provided that final judgement.

How do I asses speakers? - personally, I have been exposed to the playing of "live" instruments for most of my years and have become very familiar with those sounds. That is what I use as my reference.

If a speaker can reproduce those sounds to a degree of accuracy as I recall them and to what I deem as an acceptable degree of accuracy, then it will probably be the one I select

I no longer look at spec’s, because as you stated …
- they are ALL so very similar.

I Trust my ears - they are the best tool each individual has and they can save you a ton of cash. Why pay for something you cannot hear?

FYI:
- I always take my amp and cables to audition speakers
- Trusting my ears has lead me to buy only two pairs of speakers in nearly 35 years for my audio system.
- My speakers are mundane to look at - but they sound great

Unfortunately - there is no real answer here, but maybe some insights?

Happy Listening - Steve

A great speaker will be sought after as a reference for many decades and remain in production for many decades. A great speaker will be equally sought after by professional audio engineers, studios, musicians as well as audiophiles.

The toughest test for a speaker design is to remain desirable many years after the initial product is released without any significant changes to the design/sound.

The easiest way to sell speakers is like B&W - aesthetics and new models coming out each year or so and with every model sounding/looking different - just like a shoe store or fashion clothing store - lots of choice!

Without resorting to a time-tested design, a buyer might stumble on the latest best thing since sliced bread speaker but in all probably a buyer is simply looking at a speaker that just happens to be the fashion du jour.

3 things make a great speaker cabinet,drivers and crossover these together make a great speaker.