”The amplitude response of a speaker is a moving target. It will change depending on the room. There are also other factors that play a significant role in audio fidelity like phase behavior and group delays. I do not pay attention to specs. I review the design of the speaker and make the best determination I can that I will be able to make the speaker perform to my expectations.”
“I might also add that measuring your system in place is much more informative.”
This is how I roll. However, when I was much younger, I was a technical specification person. If the device had low THD/IMD and depicted a ruler flat response, to me, it must be a good thing. As we grow and mature in this hobby, we now know through experience that that methodology is not entirely accurate as to what we actually perceive as musicality in the actual operating environment which has numerous variables.
There is one caveat. When auditioning very large speakers, multiple listening samplings at various locations / venues must be conducted in order to grasp the persona of that speaker. When comparing and contrasting a speaker you have owned for many years to something different, it will be readily obvious that what you hear is either good or bad in a fairly short amount of time. That’s why when I go to audio shows and walk into a room, if it sounds bad to me, I am out in either a few seconds or a minute. My comparative reference is different than anyone else and what sounds good to me, may not necessarily sound good to someone else.
What should start a new thread call titling it “What have you learned” or something like that.