When choosing new Speakers, what matters most to you?


When auditioning new speakers have you ever listened to a pair you thought you really liked only to realize you didn’t like them at all after seeing their measurements/specifications? And I’m not talking about speakers that would be too difficult for your electronics to drive but rather, you just didn’t like their waterfall plot, or their frequency response or some other measurement even though subjectively, you loved the way they sounded? Conversely have you ever listened to a pair of speakers you did not care for only to change your mind after seeing their specs?
 

Assuming speakers can be easily driven by your home electronics, in other words, no compatibility issues related to sensitivity or impedance, what is the single most important thing you look for when finding speakers you’ll enjoy listening to? How do you go about confirming the speakers you buy will be enjoyable to listen to in your home system?

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Showing 1 response by cat_doorman

I don’t care how it measures if I don’t like the way it sounds. And if I like the way it sounds then why do I care how it measures. It’s not like I have the option to EQ my ears and I doubt they have a flat curve.

The most important spec is price. Why torture or tease yourself with options grossly out of reach? Likewise, you can’t just ignore amplification because if the speakers require different amps then that needs to be in the budget. Reviews and subjective evaluations are much more likely to pique my interest than any measurement can. But they’re also less likely to deter me if I’m already interested. Confirmation bias is human nature. We look for data to support the conclusion that we want.

Bottom line is I’m going to check price and amp compatibility (as relates to price) before anything else, and then look for reviews because I don’t have any experience correlating specs to whether or not a snare hit, cello, or vocal is going to sound right.