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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US manufactured speakers offer better value since shipping speakers from overseas adds considerable cost, especially these days with all the logistics issues..

So, that would be a big factor for me; biggest bang for the buck. And, IMHO, Legacy is the best value in USA made speakers.

I agree with Ted. So many instances where folks have speakers way too big for their rooms. But those folks are primarily buying with their eyes and not their ears. Often pushed in that direction by highly skilled but fundamentally dishonest salesmen.

BTW, I respectably disagree with buying speakers based solely on measurements.

They need to be small enough to hold under each arm.  Speakers are so expensive that the only one's I'm going to like I'm probably going to have to steal, so being small enough to make a quick getaway with is essential.

@jasonbourne52.....The Snell A2's are my fav. of all time. I wish I could find another pair.....But they are BIG.😀

@Buddyboy1 Listen to the wide baffle Sonus Faber.  Amazing.  Similar principle in wide, curved baffle. Still made, I believe.

@vinylvalet, do you mean measurements or specifications? Specifications are for all intents and purposes meaningless when it comes to loudspeakers. How a speaker is going to perform is based almost entirely on it's design. Frequency response characteristics can be adjusted but to what end? This really needs to be done in the speaker's final location. 

Where is this size phobia coming from?  In order to make low bass a speaker needs to be larger. All those tower speakers with 6" woofers do not make low bass. A speaker's loudness limit is usually determined by it's tweeter. For arguments sake, lets say we have the worlds best 1" dome tweeter. I can put that tweeter in an enclosure with two 6" woofers and have a lovely little tower speaker or bookshelf. I can take the same tweeter and stick it in a much larger enclosure with two 6" midrange drivers and two 12" woofers. Both speakers will go just as loud but which one is going to make better bass? One guess only. Which speaker is going to be more enjoyable to listen to? Does the room size make a difference? The larger speaker is going to sound much better in any size room for two reasons, it makes more and lower bass and there is much less distortion in the midrange because those drivers have been relieved of the long excursions bass requires. As a rule of thumb bigger speakers are better. They are also more expensive so, you get the sour grapes attitude you frequently see and hear on this website. My speakers are HUGE and I love every square inch. There is not a single smaller loudspeaker I would care to own, even ones that are extremely more expensive. As most women know, size is everything:)