# What do you look for in a speaker?



## JCD (Apr 20, 2006)

One of those "I cant fall asleep, so my mind wanders around" type of things that popped in my head recently -- what do most people look for in a speaker? I came up with a few characteristics that I thought would be items I'd want to reference while auditioning a speaker. Here is the list with my own very un-scientific terms:

Sound Stage -- how wide and deep is the stereo image
Dynamics -- how "quick" is the speaker
Loudness -- how loud does it go
Treble -- how clear are the upper octaves
Mid-range performance -- how well does the speaker handle the middle octaves
Bass -- how well does the speaker handle the lower octaves, how low does the speaker go
Cleanness -- how clean is the sound -- i.e., distortion
Separation -- can clean is the separation of the instruments, or do they kind of get muddled together
Aesthetics -- how pretty is the speaker

The list above is not my order of preference.. I figured I'd post my thoughts after few others already had.


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## Endesereth (Sep 15, 2009)

This is what I look for in a speaker(just about the same as yours)  (from greatest to least)

1 clean(no distortion with a huge blend of frequencies playing)
2 sound(like how tight is the bass warm mids and crisp highs)
3 separation (crossover points not in specific areas)
4 Loudness
5 wide sound stage in a given area
6 response to small signals(mostly for hitting all the instruments and separation of the music)
7 Pretty flat frequency response
8 quickness(punchy bass)
9 range of the speaker
10 How the speaker looks


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## astrolopitec (Dec 24, 2009)

I always pay special attention to how natural female vocals sound. Some tweeter sound great for percussion but terrible and unnatural on silibates.


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## JCD (Apr 20, 2006)

My actual order would be this.. at least right now..


Sound Stage -- I'm a sucker for a wide/deep sound stage
Cleanness -- I had this farther down at first, but after thinking about it, I realized it's all for nothing if everything is muddy and distorted
Separation -- related to the sound stage
Dynamics -- there is something to be said when a speaker sounds "effortless"
Mid-range performance -- this is where most of the action is, so I'd like this to be the sweet spot
Treble -- I do not like bright speakers. They're good for a little bit, but the fatigue hits quickly
Bass -- I'm always going to have a subwoofer, so I'm not too critical here
Loudness -- I like music at moderate levels. It doesn't have to be loud to be good
Aesthetics -- I admit that this will play into my buying decision, but I'm enough of a purist to want sound before looking good


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## Endesereth (Sep 15, 2009)

JCD said:


> My actual order would be this.. at least right now..
> 
> 
> Sound Stage -- I'm a sucker for a wide/deep sound stage
> ...



Ya i agree with the loudness:T I do feel like i am going def sometimes:help:


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## DanTheMan (Oct 12, 2009)

1. An excellent horizontal polar response above 300Hz that has a smooth off axis response above 1.5 kHz.
Examples:








from http://www.linaeum.com/
or








From me

Below 200-300 Hz, the room dominates the response so it is placement dependent. EQ is almost certainly necessary here for perfection. My room is closer to 200Hz.

Dan


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## lsiberian (Mar 24, 2009)

1. DIY or made by a good brand that improves the quality of speakers in our world. 

2. Ultra low resonance. 

3. excellent off-axis response so that treating the 1st order reflections has a negative effect.

4. True 3-way design with wide crossover points 500hz or lower and 4khz or higher

5. rounded horizontal edges on the baffle to smooth out the baffle step. 

6. Crossover with good Baffle Step compensation. 

7. Active where possible.

8. All vertical drivers. 

9. Solid extension down to 50hz if possible. 

10. Smooth F-R waterfall with excellent decay.


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## Matteo (Jul 12, 2006)

1)10 Hz or lower extension
2)Makes popcorn
3)Tells me if my wife is coming downstairs
4)Has an LED light on front that moves back and forth like a Cylon
5)Plays loud enough to make my ears bleed
6)Holds cold beverages
7)Has at least 15 drivers
:daydream:

Matteo


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## Endesereth (Sep 15, 2009)

Matteo said:


> 1)10 Hz or lower extension
> 2)Makes popcorn
> 3)Tells me if my wife is coming downstairs
> 4)Has an LED light on front that moves back and forth like a Cylon
> ...


:T:T:T
hahaha that made me laugh so hard thanks for that:rofl:


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## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

loudness
sweetness of treble
bass definition
overall blending of sound
cosmetics


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## Trick McKaha (Oct 7, 2009)

Some of you all seem to know more about what speaker characteristics bring pleasing sound. I'll just list the kinds of sound I want from my speakers.

1) Big. Big sound when you need it big. I expect that will give small sound when you need that.
2) Balanced treble, mid, and bass. All three big, so bass to 20 hz. or near and treble flat to the limits of my hearing. Of course, the bass can come from subwoofers and not the mains so long as I can't tell the difference. Want the bass integrated with everything else, though, not all coming from the corner of the room. Balanced.
3) Good attack, which brings good presence and realistic reproduction of live instruments. For me, that means compression drivers, but we will all know it when we hear it, however it is made.
4) Easy compatibility with the room. For me, that means open baffle, but anything that works. 
5) High def. Not sure what this requires, but I recognized a big improvement in definition of the sound - resolution of more details - with my recent speaker & amp upgrades. High Def means hearing details of the strings plucked and decaying, subtleties of the reverb and pitch bends applied in the effects, how the singer's inhaled breath punctuates her previous note, etc.
6) That stuff about sound stage, I'm not so sure, myself. Surely, the best music I find is available in stereo only, so 5.1 mixes are not always the answer for sound stage. I don't care as much about being able to visualize the musicians across the stage. I like it when the music is mixed with percussion coming from various places, and I seriously doubt the drummer moved around from take to take. I like to hear guitars separated, not so I can visualize them standing around, but so I can keep track of each guitar line weaving with the other(s). Sometimes, again, those guitars are multitracked by the same musician. So, I just like a good creative mix of good arrangements played well. (My favorite examples are all by Rickie Lee Jones.)


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## Matteo (Jul 12, 2006)

Endesereth, You are very welcome. I'm glad somebody derived some joy from it. I am in the process of building them now. I will post some pics when they are done. 

Matteo


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

Additionally... build quality, fit/finish, materials of construction.


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## hearingspecialist (Mar 15, 2010)

Oh boy I love this question:heehee: In no specific order:

1. THX black look, or impressive look. I want the WOW factor when looking at them, powerful looking.
2. Response, I expect my towers to go deep even if I don't use them that way.
3. Realism, I expect them to image, stage, and have depth.
4. Dynamics, I expect them to deliver what was recorded and produced.
5. Warmth, I expect them to deliver a warm and rich sound.
6. Brilliance, they must have a tremendous top end that is clear and well defined.
7. They must be accurate with music and must blow us away watching blue ray's.
8. I expect the sound to be huge and that you can't tell where the subs are. Sub-bass must image with the rest and be invisible.

I'm strange in that I tune to deliver a huge sense of realism with music but 99% of the time we as a family are using the system as a HT. When I'm alone before work I love listening to my test disks to remind myself either through music or test tracks that the system is correctly set up. I periodically re-calibrate the system with the Yamaha YPAO and each time it gets better and better even with the reference mic in the same spot. :nerd:


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## Toby Jack (Feb 5, 2010)

hearingspecialist said:


> Oh boy I love this question:heehee: In no specific order:
> 
> 1. THX black look, or impressive look. I want the WOW factor when looking at them, powerful looking.
> 2. Response, I expect my towers to go deep even if I don't use them that way.
> ...


The actual physical characteristics are much higher on my priority list as well...especially since wife-approval is important. I feel like speakers have become much more like pieces of art/furniture and less like utilitarian tools for good sound. I know this has affected quality on some level with enclosures & drivers becoming smaller & smaller but it's worth it for me to have something I love looking at every time I walk in the living room.


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## Omega (Apr 21, 2010)

I go for timbre, if I like it then I pay more attention, else I move to the next speaker if I am at a showroom.

If I get a chance to audition at home than after careful placement and room treatment and measurement I look for all the other stuff that is already mentioned.

Timbre is what makes one speaker different from other, the rest can be achieved using placement, treatment etc. etc.

obviously, you should pick speakers that measures good in your audition list.


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## JoeESP9 (Jun 29, 2009)

I look for a speaker that sounds so good it's hard to use for background music. For instance, my ESL's draw me in so easily I can't sit in front of them and read a book or newspaper while they're playing. No matter how good the book or interesting the news article I find my attention drawn to the music. Speakers that do that to me are the ones I want and have!


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## polarbare (Feb 12, 2010)

Soundstage - deep and wide
Non fatigueing - I have a few artists that sound like nails on a chalkboard on some speakers (Beth Orton)
Effortlessness while reproducing music (is that even a word?)
The rest is pretty common when you get out of the lower end models

FWIW, I don't have a golden ear, and am just getting back into listening to music. I feel like I don't even know what I'm listening for sometimes - I guess I just fall back onto what sounds good to my ears.

I finally decided on a pair of Salk HT2-TL's :bigsmile:


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## tagaiz (Jul 1, 2010)

Pretty much everything everyone said, but there's also that special something that you just can't put your finger(or ear) on. I also have a soft spot for older cerwin vegas just because they're great speakers for cranking to deafening levels evey once in awhile.


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