What does listening to a speaker really tell us?


Ok. I got lots of advice here from people telling me the only way to know if a speaker is right for me is to listen to it. I want a speaker that represents true fidelity. Now, I read lots of people talking about a speakers transparency. I'm assuming that they mean that the speaker does not "interpret" the original source signal in any way. But, how do they know? How does anyone know unless they were actually in the recording studio or performance hall? Isn't true that we can only comment on the RELATIVE color a speaker adds in reference to another speaker? This assumes of course that the upstream components are "perfect."
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Showing 1 response by rny

Introducing a loudspeaker in your room, listening to a reference piece of music on your unchanged upstream components, ics, pcs, tweaks, etc. gives you the nature of that loudspeaker's performance relative to your current reference loudspeaker. Aural memory of other speakers used within this identical setup will expand the base of knowledge of what speakers can tell you. For me, information about any particular item in the chain can only be gathered after a reference has been established. Then, preferences become meaningful and allow you to find audio equipment “perfect” for you.

So, what does listening to a speaker (in our own room) really tell us? From a layman's perspective I can detect, dispersion characteristics, weight, color, balance, an so forth. The most important thing the speaker will tell you is whether you have found a “keeper” or to keep looking. Good luck.