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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 oliver_reid

oliver_reid
64 posts
 

I find that listening to a full range of well recorded human voice (spoken word) is very revealing of colorations and crossover issues. If a speaker passes the test: you can make yourself believe you are listening to a live voice, it’s going to do well on all kinds of music.

For most speakers, I find, you know within 10 seconds you are listening to the kind kind of electronically reproduced voice that you could never confuse with a live person’s.

Also listening to the treble/soprano sections of naturally recorded choral music -- (Faure’s Requiem [Kings College Choir] I use often), or Paul Desmond’s sax on Time Out tracks, is very revealing of upper range crossover smoothness, and colorations.

Good speakers are revealing of less than perfect recordings. Music that can sound lively and sweet on cheaper speakers can sound un-engaging on really good speakers. But then listen to, say, Diana Krall’s "Walflower" and then you hear what you are paying for.

I had pair of ProAc EBS studios for about 30 years. Just sold those and now have an ATC set up. Very happy.

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