What do you consider the most when choosing a pair of speakers?

Tonal purity, presence and effortless dynamics. Everything else is secondary.

@henry53 …”Does my foot tap, if not, don’t buy them.”

Please let me know... if your foot taps... at about 2pm this afternoon.

I’m auditioning a pair of Quad ESL 57’s!

Which... by the way... is the best way to select a pair of speakers - how close do they sound to the Quad ESL 57's - the ultimate in sound reproduction, since 1957!

By the way... many of the Harbeth speakers meet this test - when driven with the right electronics!   

Glad to help out. I think it is both. If it sounds bad, then it is a non-starter. However, at some point many speakers sound good. Yes there are some differences - may be one is a bit better in the bass, while another images better, another is a bit clearer or maybe a bit warm . . . but for the average high end buyer, they all sound good and most would be happy with 2 or 3 of the speakers they audition. This is where style or looks come into play for the average buyer and will tip the scales. Of course, there are always people that only care about function (sound) or other that place looks/style above all else.  I go for sound first, then then style.  Wife places higher emphasis on style.  

@arvincastro Funny you said that. The exact conversation I had with Joe from Joe'N'Tell. Most of the products do measure well in general these days. Although we agree that the measurements are still quite important, we say. Haha. 

@wturkey Not sure how to respond to that because I, myself is more like a keeper. Maybe I should be more like you. I think that way I will win more love from my wife. Haha. 

Appearance first. Then I check the specs, price and if all that checks out ok, then I will listen for the sound quality. Anyone of these can be a deal breaker.

ozzy

What my wife will allow me to buy...

Sound first, other items can matter some depending on the application.

I'd rewrite that website, OP. It sure reads as written for non-audio people that can be duped by fancy words, but then again, that's who may drop 25 large on those...  good luck.  It seems 'luxury' slick a bit to read it all.

@monacousticusa
The “Engineered for natural sound” would suggest some engineering measurement or principles, but those are not explicitly shown.

I don’t see any graphs on your website, so that can be a bit of a show stopper for the data driven types.

it looks like there could be diffraction effects coming from the edges where the drivers are mounted, but it is hard to say without graphs. Even impedance would be nice to see.

I also like to see step function response or impulse response.

The “hogged out of a billet” design looks nice though. Usually what I like the WAF scores low on.

I like to switch my speakers around so sometimes one set is moved from the upstairs living room to the basement listening room.  So it is important to me that my wife is able to carry them for me up and down the stairs.  She's almost 70 so I try to buy stand-mount speakers only and keep the weight of each speaker under 40-50 pounds.  Gotta love her!

@monacousticusa , IMHO if you are not freely giving out full measurements in my mind you are hiding something. That's either you don't have them or there is something wrong with them.  Only to people who audition at shows? I would not even bother with that attitude.

Listening to a speaker anywhere but in my space is a near meaningless venture. The room colors the sound too much.  The measurements tell me far more about how it will behave in my room than an audition ever will outside my house. Most speaker vendors provide inadequate information. That is bad enough. Providing none wastes my time. I won't bother.

@toolbox149 

IMO the lower midrange is more important than bass and treble in achieving accurate and realistic reproduction, where you hear the realism, especially with acoustic instruments.

@theaudioamp 

Listening to a speaker anywhere but in my space is a near meaningless venture. The room colors the sound too much. 

Actually ones that measure poorly in a chamber, etc, should also work poorly in your room, or anyone’s room.

The measurements tell me far more about how it will behave in my room than an audition ever will outside my house. Most speaker vendors provide inadequate information. That is bad enough. Providing none wastes my time. I won't bother.

Agreed.