what specification matters most to the quality of speaker ..?

Question

is the frequency response of the speaker adequate measure for the quality of a speaker what else defines quality of a sound system?

Answer 1

This is my business.
Unfortunately, almost all specifications in home audio are pointless. While the original intention was to give some grasp of objective information, the specs are all very simplified one-dimensional measurements that don't correlate well to the very complex experience of listening to music.

And speakers in particluar are tremendously subjective products - because they translate energy from one form to another (electrical to mechanical) they are very inefficient. In order to build a working speaker, tradeoffs have to get made.

The High End companies have made their tradeoff choices based on what they fell sounds better - the goal may be a "big" sound, a "fast" sound, or an "accurate" sound, but the choices are based on sound.

The mass market companies have made their choices based on the measurements and specifications, because their products are compared based on the specs, not on valid demonstrations. This has caused further sacrifice of overall performance quality. They sell by the numbers, so they build to the numbers, so they can sell more by the numbers so they have to build more to the numbers etc. It's a truly vicious cycle.


The bad news is the good news: ultimately it's much more effective use of your time to listen - find a good hi-fi shop, and they can demonstrate how things really will work for you.

Answer 2

Hi.All very good answers from the other posters. During the 60's and 70's there were fewer manufacturers of quality loudspeakers.So the choice was relatively easy. Brands such as JBL, Acoustic Research ,Advent ,Quad, Goodmans,KEF,Wharfedale ,Celestion ,Tannoy and B &W,were some of the best brands around.They were expensive to buy because the demand was only for Hi FI enthuiasts,which represented the minority of serious listeners.Most people were happy to buy something easy to use and listen to.They were not interested in getting the "perfect"sound.
Today with home theater, most of the original companies are back with many new ones after your business.Because of mass production on a large scale ,speakers are not made with the same loving care as they were back in the early days.Some are made better than others but the cost has to be kept low otherwise people wont purchase them.
The enjoyment of music is a personal, subjective experience.What one person considers "good music" may be regarded poorly by someone else.However.this subjective musical preference should not be confused with the objective task of music reproduction,to reproduce the original music exactly as it was performed.That is why there are no "jazz speakers".or "rock speakers" or "classical speakers",just poor,good,better ,and great speakers.Of the 400 hundred brands of speakers available today,there are only 20 or so really good speakers manufacturers.There are literally hundreds of poor speakers on the market.As different as good speakers can sound there are things that all good speakers have in common.One is a seamless sound from the very low bass to the very highest highs.(you don't hear the individual drivers).The other is the ability to reproduce voices well

The most important specification for a speaker is the flatness of its frequency response.For example :40HZ to 20K.HZ at plus or minus 2 DB.That means there is little under emphasis and little over emphasis of any of the speakers range The speakers nominal impedance will tell you if the amplifier is a suitable match.The power rating of the speaker should be sufficient for the amplifier to drive without distortion at loud levels.
These specifications ,however will not tell you how a speaker will sound to you.You still have to listen with your favourite CDs on similar equipment you have at home to make a choice.They are a guide only.

Answer 3

I can't argue with anything Nathan said. But I will add that specs can be used to your advantage if you use them properly. In my opinion, specs are good for narrowing down the field before you start to shop and listen.

The specs to use are not those supplied by the speaker manufacturers. Use measured specs from reputable magazines such as Stereophile, Home Theater, Widescreen Review, etc. If their measured specs throw a red flag for you, then you can cross one potential purchase off your list. Also read the text of the reviews. Just looking at graphs will not tell you much about the actual performance of a speaker. You have to bring your favorite music to the stores and audition speakers with familiar music.

Anyway, to answer your question, the specs you can compare easily include frequency response, harmonic distortion, sensitivity, and dispersion. Other important characteristics, such as speed, are not so easily measured and graphed. Others, such as crossover-induced phase errors, seem to be ignored by reviewers.

Answer 4

1. Frequency Response
Ofcource you need 20Hz to 20000Hz response range
While most speakers work in mid range, for low freq
(Bass) you need large diameter speaker. Larger the better
but recently 10-12inch dia is good for most of the people.
For high freq (treble) you need horn tweeter

So you need atleast a 3-way speaker system (there are
2 way 3 speker systemwith 2 woofers).

2. Distortion
Mostly the amp limits or cause the distorion. Usually the
power of the amp is specified at certain distortion level
(measure ment is % THD, Total Harmonic Distorion)
Good amp should be about 0.01% at the rated power

3. Power Level
Ofcource some power is good, most of the living room
does not need more than 30Wx5.

4. Ambience:
A speaker will repoduce sound very badly if the ambience
or surrounding is not good (no reflections etc)

Answer 5

audio equipment are solid in the event that they sound solid to you. maximum audio equipment won't have any complications in the event that they paintings properly initially. in case you like the sound of the extra on your budget audio equipment virtually as properly because of the fact the costlier audio equipment, then it may well be on your extra advantageous activity to keep the money by using having the cheap audio equipment. There are commerce-offs in any audio equipment equipment. oftentimes, the extra you spend (particularly with the same form), the fewer reported the commerce-offs would be. some super advantages of powered audio equipment are their simplicity. With a powered speaker equipment, you do no longer could desire to tournament any amplifiers with them because of the fact the producer has already performed this for you. purely plug them right into a source (i.e. television, preamp, rapidly right into a CD participant or mixer) and you're performed. some super advantages of passive audio equipment are their flexibility. they do no longer seem to be restrained to a equipped-in amplifier and you will no longer could desire to plug in each speaker to a wall outlet. additionally, passive audio equipment oftentimes may well be pushed to greater volumes with a extra useful amplifier. in case you should make particular you're getting the proper speaker equipment to suite your tastes, hear to particularly some audio equipment that seem solid to you, and decide the single that supplies the proper sound for the money. happy listening!

Answer 6

Here's the simple, direct answer.

Sure you can read reviews and they'll give you pluses and minuses. But, the best thing to do is go into a decent audio store (or Best Buy w/ Magnolia store) with a bunch of your favorite CDs. Have the salesperson test them out for you with the receiver that closely matches what you have at home. Whatever YOU like, is the set you should buy.