The perfect speaker: Stop searching for that unicorn!

[Audiovet]

Ouch

But agreeing with most of what has been posted above. The moment I read about equipment being regarded as perfect/not, judged by any one person's hearing, it goes against the grain like measuring your mains voltage with a +/- 20% accurate voltmeter. Yes, use your ears - but please, only to judge stuff for your listening pleasure! One sometimes wonders if folks have any idea how human hearing (as in fact all our senses) can vary one person to the next, and even with the same person under different conditions. And in case that strikes a nerve (sorry, no intention!) kindly note that this exists mainly for our protection; it is not necessarily a 'shortcoming'..

I will not offend by going into that; many reports over decades exist to illustrate what human hearing are actually capable and not capable of. Illustrations abound of how instruments/small groups played behind a 'curtain' compared to an audio recording of the same music, and how the difference could not be noticed. There has even been reports of a live orchestra occasionally not 'sounding right'. In a concert hall; the music will sound different from place to place in the hall, and quite noticably so between full and empty halls.

The quite real problem for a designer EE: For whose hearing under which circumstances must he design? Otherwise, with respect to Mr Guttenberg, not valid.

(There might of course be the subjective impression that another loudspeaker sounds better than the one you now own. It has even been demonstarted that a different system will sound 'better' simply because of the change. Quite a maize, this business can be, or perhaps will be once one starts off on a quest for 'the best'.)

No better advice here than, if possible, to compare to live performances, and then shut out funky desires as mind games.

 

[justjed2]

All of my gear is decidedly mid-fi. My pre-amp, at $450 new, was the most expensive component. And my speakers, while not cheap, are also not expensive, and certainly don't qualify as audiophile approved. They're home theater speakers. I got them to do one thing, play louder, and with more bass, than the speakers they replaced. This they do adequately. But yesterday, when the gear was nicely warmed up, and the volume was correct for the music I was playing (the new Kansas) I noticed that I was having to work to hear the speakers though the music. They pretty much disappeared, just as they're supposed to when things are working properly. I compared the LP to the CD. Too close to call. I had to smile, it was the best sound this system has ever put out. And then I changed something. I replaced the stock power cable to my phono-pre with a heavier gauge cord from a computer. And I spun the Kansas again. Cleaner, tighter bass, airier mids and highs, more detail. I could hear the change. Not just different, better. I even compared the LP to the CD again, I think the record sounded better. Everything I played sounded smoother. Again, and that easily, it was the best sound this system has ever put out. Even better than a mere 5 minutes before. I had to smile. Not because anything in the chain was perfect, but because together it was good enough.

Would I enjoy better speakers? Hell, yeah! Will I get better speakers? I hope so. Do I need better speakers to enjoy the music I listen to most? Nope. Just need my wife to spend more time out of the house so I can crank it up to where everything is working its best.

 

[KDAC]

The absolute best that you can hope for is that, when you get it set up in your room, you actually LIKE the way it sounds.

Nailed it. Which is why I dropped off one of the KLH 9250B speakers displayed in my avatar at a repair shop today so as to replace a torn 5 1/4-inch mid-range driver and when I pick it up next week, I am FINISHED. I purchased them 12 years ago in '04, fell in love with their sound over time, and am simply satisfied. Far better/costlier/more accurate/more sensitive speakers undoubtedly exist, but I most likely cannot afford them with cash (not credit) and, at this point, wouldn't want them anyway. I'm not chasing, I'm listening.

 

[armyslowrdr]

Agree. Well I haven't read the article, but I have two sets of speakers in the listening area. Epos Elans and Advent Smallers. They sound nothing alike. Yet I cannot say I prefer one over the other.

 

[dave1701]

I think that there may be such a thing as a perfect speaker, but many of us wouldn't know it. We get bored of equipment and convince ourselves that something else is better.

 

[theophile]

I haven't read most of this thread because I only want to comment on the article. Guttenberg closed the article with a very intelligent statement:

"Then, if you want something better, read a lot of reviews, and try to listen to as many of the ones that sparked your interest as possible. Let your ears be the judge."

I agree totally with another statement that he said in that article:

"Some audiophiles who hear the B6 are disappointed, when the reality of what it sounds like doesn't line up with their expectations. That's also true for the even better ELAC Uni-Fi UB5 speakers, and even the greatest high-end speakers on the market. Imagining what they sound like and hearing what they really sound like are usually very different things."

On the subject of the best speakers in the world, I posted the following on another forum. It is a truth that I find very few are aware of:

"I find it impossible to discuss the capabilities of excellent speakers, especially supremely excellent speakers, without reference to the context of the system and room they were being played in. Unlike so-so barely adequate speakers, supremely excellent speakers are first and foremost an wide open window to both the system they are used within, and even more so reflect the insight of the user regarding his/her ability to find work around solutions to room acoustic and placement problems.

I often suspect that disagreements over the ultimate capability of a given superlative component, and supremely excellent speakers are top of the list for this, come down to the ancillary components, the room and the depth of understanding of the user with regard to the ability to get the most out of all the factors. A really, truly great system will 'call-out' the user or person who set it all up, as either someone who really understands the intricacies of deriving great results from systems and rooms or someone who can gather great components into a system, place them in a great room, and still not be able to do what is necessary to bring that great system and great room to the pinnacle of what it can offer."