What if a high end speaker measures really badly?


You know, it's true that I feel listening is more important than measurements and that it's generally difficult to really tie together measurements with pleasure.  Below 0.05% THD do I care?  No I do not.  I really don't care. The number tells me nothing about whether I'd like the amp more or not anymore.

In this one memorable review for the Alta Audio Adam speaker, I really felt shivers go up my spine when I looked at the measurements, especially at ~$20kUSD.   This looks like an absolute hot mess.  Does it sound this bad though?  I certainly don't have the $20K to test that out myself. What do you all think? 

erik_squires

Showing 3 responses by steve59

Yeah, speakers with lumpy response can tailor our setlist because while they take some songs over the top, they hold others back. Companies like B&W have obviously done some research on their target market and tune their speakers for them I'm great with that because they're a legitimate company building consistent products.

I can respect that horn lovers prefer dynamics to flat response. There was a good argument for the fletcher munson curve also. A flat speaker nearly always sounds bass shy.

Personally, in a demo I'll probably pick the speakers that elevate the bass and treble that can also image well. The livelier the drum kit sounds the more interested I am.