What are some of the most underrated and overrated loudspeakers you’ve auditioned?


What speaker do you believe are the most overrated and which one do you consider the most overrated?
mrc4u

Showing 4 responses by prof

Just to play this game....

When I don’t like the sound of a speaker, especially a popular one, I normally don’t think "boy are these overrated." I just note that they are not for me, and can usually see what someone else might find in them.
If I look back I can only really think of two speaker brands that had me thinking "My gawd these suuuuuuuck!"

One was the Talon speakers back when they were the ’it’ thing (circa 2000 I believe). I simply could not believe how bad the models sounded that I heard, how utterly colored they sounded (and they measured as they sounded). I was truly left baffled by the praise for those things.

The other speaker encounter that baffles me every time are the McIntosh Speakers (as noted by dep14). They manage to produce the most bland sound I’ve ever heard from a "high end" speaker. They sound like a bunch of tiny bose-quality drivers giving you a wall of yucky, grayish, cheap, gritty sound. Given the reputation of McIntosh, I’m always left puzzled.

Joseph Audio (expensive speaker with off the shelf drivers, no low diffraction cab or waveguide even, can easily be replicated for a cheaper price).

Ah, naive "argument-from-cost-of-materials." And "you can DIY this stuff."

Never gets old ;-)

The Joseph speakers have garnered rave reviews and have been consistently rated at or near "best of show" year after year at audio shows, by picky audiophiles and reviewers. You can’t just go on "materials used" but on the skill of the designer in achieving through much time and effort the balance between the drivers, crossovers, cabinet etc. And it’s one thing to achieve the sound, another to have a viable speaker-selling business.


The "I could build that in my basement for cheaper" crowd never seem to get out of their basement to show they can produce a speaker that can receive that much conformity in praise, while being a viable product.

Told ya this thread would go well...;-)






Someone mentioned Totem.   Yes!  When I hear them and then see all the praise, "over-rated" certainly describes my mindset.
(Again...pure subjectivity...0