Buying Speakers Based on Specs

There’s some value to the specs and likely the Spendors will go lower. But if you can get the dealer to set up the speakers to approximate your listening room as much as possible it will help. Also, see if there’s a return policy just in case. Last, don’t forget that new speakers take some time to break in. 

Not all manufacturers measure ,low-end extension with the same yardstick, so imo you can’t necessarily make an apples-to-apples comparison between different manufacturers based on specs unless you have a pretty good idea of how they arrived at those specs.

(One manufacturer may assume a generous amount of boundary reinforcement, for instance, while the other does not. One may simply have a more optimistic marketing department than the other. I compete in another market where one of my strongest competitors claims an octave more low-end extension than I do... he makes really good speakers, but our real-world low-end extension is virtually identical.)

In general, a larger speaker will either go deeper or be more efficient, or some combination of the two, assuming both have the same type of bass loading (both ported, for instance).

Duke

It may be a good idea to shop based on specs in your case, since you are looking at one specific spec in particular.

But that does not mean you should buy them based only on specs.

You could end up with a speaker that meets your criteria for that one spec, yet still sound bad in other areas.

Narrow your choices with specs, pic your purchase by what sounds best.

The size of your listening room and type of music you listen to has more to do with your perceived bass response than the specs. 

You might want to entertain the idea of finding a pair of subwoofers that will take care of the low end of things, if, in fact, you like everything else about your Paradigms.

Just a thought. Regards,
Dan

I agree with islandmandan. Get yourself a couple subs.  This will not only give you the bottom end you want,it will also enhance the soundstage. 

Specs are all that matters. Absolutely. Anechoic measurement really does tell you everything you need to know about how they'll sound in your room. Just be sure to impedance match, and you are set. Then again might want to check with your wife. You know, the one you married based on her height, weight, and measurements.

LOL- @millercarbon. Seriously, what millercarbon is saying is DON'T buy speakers based solely on specs. All speakers sound different yet may measure close to the same. I agree with millercarbon. Buy speakers that you like the sound of, not how they measure.

Tom

Two of the main reasons you can instantly tell two acoustic instruments apart playing the same tone is by their attack and decay.  Do you think all speaker material produces tone in the same way?...and then reverberates that tone with the same harmonic overtones?  Specs would never be able to capture that.

Remember the old days when the catalog showed "20-watt speakers", and the next better ones were "40-watt speakers", and the best ones were "60-watt speakers"?

No, it's not a good idiea, and also, room acoustics!!

Good room acoustics can make your speakers sound a lot bigger and faster and tighter. :)


So, consider that first.

A good dealer will let you take a pair home if they have demos of the model you are interested.....its almost always where I start.  I narrow it down with showroom demos and if necessary do a home demo.   Only purchased one pair of speakers sight unseen over 35 years in this...   a pair of PSB Platinum M2 and fortunately they were great speakers.... so much I would buy another pair used.....but I have brought home several well regarded speakers that I thought sounded like crap in my system....    and that's just it,  it's a System and not all electronics gel with each other and different speakers....  Obviously room acoustics and the speaker's dispursion pattern play greatly , but I believe synergy is real and just doesnt always happen no matter how much money you throw at a system.

I was fortunate,  my dealer had my amps and preamp on hand so I was pretty sure they would sound great at home, and they did

My current Heresy III are perfect for my listenting space right now, I listened in store, brought them home and then had them order a new pair in cherry instead of walnut....  

Terrible idea!

In terms of overall sound profile Spendor vs Paradigm could not sound more different at a base level.  The Paradigms are MUCH more forward.

This is not a bad thing but if you were to swap in Spendors for your Paradigms and assume they will just go a bit lower, man will you be disappointed.  

If you want deeper bass response, add a sub or two or consider a larger speaker from the same manufacturer unless you want to replace your electronics in this case.  Otherwise, if you want to switch manufacturers, you need to hunt another speaker down that is similarly forward. 

Ported speakers rely on room reinforcement to supplement the low bass,  also many full range speakers have complex (power robbing) xovers so a speaker rated to -6db at 26 hz may never be realized by the average consumer. I like subs for movies but prefer a full range 2 channel system for music. 

A really bad idea. Speaker specs are largely meaningless, with the possible exception of efficiency. 

I am willing to bet none of you guys have ever dated Ms. Kate Upton.

Buying speakers based on the CEA-2034 measurements (aka Spinorama) is probably the safest thing when it comes to buying speakers if you are going to just rely on 1 factor alone. According to NRC research it will tell you about 98% of the performance of speaker.

According to NRC research it will tell you about 98% of the performance of speaker.

@jaechang -- Ha!!! That is such a loada crap! Nothing tells u 98% of the performance of a speaker except ur own ears. Ur a measurement moron who probably can’t trust his own ears. Take ur 4 posts and go home.

Thanks to all your input. Sounds (no pun intended) like it is not a good idea. I would love to have the Spendor or PMC speakers in my house with my electronics for a trial. But I haven't found a dealer or seller (I live in Houston) any brand, besides Audio Advisor with a 30 day money back satisfaction guarantee.