the big one: how do you choose speakers? By what features, data?


I am curious how the experts choose speakers when upgrading? What are the priorities, what would make you stretch your budget?

Based on e.g....

  • brand/company’s reputation
  • price
  • sensitivity
  • crossover frequency
  • compatibility with existing amp, etc.?

I don’t have buyer’s remorse for my last pair but I sure made some stupid choices until I got there, that I could have avoided if I had known about this forum sooner.

 

grislybutter

i don't have a typical rich person's monster amplifier, so speakers i use must be fairly sensitive, above about 88 db [1w/1m] sensitivity. my thiel cs.5s barely made the cut as do my present magnapans.   they also [for the same aforementioned reason] must not dip below 4 ohms. stereophonic imaging is very important to me, so that is one more thing i check for when auditioning speakers systems. it has to get the midrange right at least, neutrality in the trebles is also important, the bass can be adjusted somewhat so that is less important so long as it has power handling and sensitivity down there. 

@emrofsemanon thank you ! Midrange seems to be the common theme, and I very much agree with sensitivity

@needfreestuff You described the OGY. Really. The midrange is crystal because you have a world class single driver without a crossover to muck things up. The bass is so tight thanks to the transmission line. The cabinet is solid plywood. No MDF. There’s 0 port farting. It’s fast. Sensitivity is 91db. I don’t know how I would describe the highs. The speaker is so transparent.