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What qualities do you crave most out of your speakers?

Gang-Twanger

Gang-Twanger

Resident Wharfedaliophool
When you shop for speakers, what qualities, sonic or otherwise (including build-quality and looks/style), are most-important to you?

Everybody has their own individual tastes and what not. We may all have similarly-designed ears, but our BRAINS are all different, especially the creative side, and this is why there is and will never be "the perfect speaker". It's simply just not possible to satisfy everyone's tastes simultaneously. It's science. :D

So, where are you in terms of the speakers you like/look for? What qualities are you least-willing to trade off on when you shop/scour the earth for them? What sonic AND visual aspects are most-important to you? Visually-speaking, some like the furniture-style stuff while others like the sleek and/or minimalistic look. Some are into BIG, yet sleek speakers, while others are simply trying to save space, and some, I guess, are somewhere in between. Sonically, many people like a more-vintage-type sound, perhaps noticeably-reminiscent of a particular decade (like my W90's) while others have a modern, cutting-edge design ethic, even in the case of certain 30-40 year old speakers, and of course some simply fall in between somewhere. Some care most about extension and accuracy, and others are obsessed with the mighty middle, and again, some are really just a balance of the two, So, where are you? Where do your tastes live?

I love the old furniture-speaker look myself. And most of the music I listen to is older, analog-recorded music from the early '80's and earlier, although I do listen to some '90's and later stuff occasionally (The bulk of it, though, is from, say, 1984 and earlier... Just happens to be my thing, that's all), so I tend to gravitate towards a speaker sound that suits those eras best, musically-speaking. I do like my bass, but not overly-forward bass, and I REALLY don't like overly-forward mids and highs. That is essential. I like a relaxed, laid-back sound with very-smooth highs and rich, natural mids. The natural part is especially-important to me (I really got spoiled on that with my current mains). And I like an effortless, laid-back bass response, but I also like PRAT, so there has to be some life to that bass. It has to move me. And I hate unforgiving, warts-and-all speakers. I like to enjoy the mediocre recordings same as the audiophile stuff, and some speakers are capable of that without sounding dulled-over when playing the audiophile-caliber recordings.

Anywho, ... I leave it to youse'.
 
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I think I'm with you in a lot of things (but what is PRAT?) I can't listen to anything and consider it good unless it has decent bass response, but I'm not into the whole boomy subwoofer thing, I just like the bass to be there when it is needed. I do like some detail, but really listen to music first and gear second.

My latest acquisition was a pair of KLH 23s and unfortunately I have managed to listen to exactly one album on them so far since recapping them, but they have managed to push all my buttons so far.
 
N8Nagel said:
I think I'm with you in a lot of things (but what is PRAT?) I can't listen to anything and consider it good unless it has decent bass response, but I'm not into the whole boomy subwoofer thing, I just like the bass to be there when it is needed. I do like some detail, but really listen to music first and gear second.

My latest acquisition was a pair of KLH 23s and unfortunately I have managed to listen to exactly one album on them so far since recapping them, but they have managed to push all my buttons so far.
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Pace, rhythm, and timing, I believe.

I'm the same way with bass. Just what's on the recording. I don't like an unnaturally-big-sounding bass (or unnatural-sounding in other ways).

The 23 is a nice model. Isn't that the one that's basically the same as the Six?
 
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It used to be all about the bass, but I find myself gravitating toward a stronger and cleaner midrange. I like clarity. I like to be able to distinguish the different instruments in the orchestra and the sweeping feeling of the arrangement. I like to hear fingers rubbing on strings, piano pedals and organ keys closing, the clean clack of a drumstick hitting the rim. I like to hear Bud Powell mumbling during his solos. And I like wood and fabric.
 
Basic sound from any speaker should replicate "live performance tone" in my books.After yrs of concert/nightclub scene attendance I have developed an ear for that sound and that's what I look for.Thats why I enjoy the higher end Vintage speakers,I want deep punchy bass,and accurate sound,i want to hear the musicians fingers sliding on the frets of the guitar,Cymbals and kick drum have to be clean and distinguishable.Voices are of the utmost importance.Those are the basics,from there my tube preamps can shape the sound to my particular tastes on any given listening session.

hunter
 
While I value a lot of things about a speaker, perhaps at the top of my list is tonal balance and dynamic scale. Without proper tone, a speaker is fatally flawed. But a speaker must also get the dynamic scale of instruments, singers, and bands right....otherwise it just sounds like a stereo. This occurs at a macro level like when your favorite rock or blues band kicks it in high gear, but also at the micro level, so that a cymbal crash sounds right and decays properly, or a wicked trumpet solo is played. More than anything tone and dynamic scale is what defines the sounds we hear, what the essence of music sounds like.

I also want a speaker to image well, to create that illusion of a performance. Now it does not need to be bigger than life, but to create a nice layered and stable image with the speaker disappearing. Also the mids have to be spot on, with a naturalness that conveys what a voice or instrument sounds natural.

Bass isn't a huge deal for me, but I do like it. As long as it is fast and tight i don't care if it does not reach the lowest of low. But I don't want it to stick out like a sore thumb. Having a cohesive sound from top to bottom is a goal for sure.

Finally a speaker should be efficient enough to be used with low powered amps. Not only is this a characteristic that aids that ability to render dynamic scale, it also allows for amplification that uses fewer parts, shorter signal paths, and a more direct design. I am not a fan of 200 watt plus amps into 85db efficient speakers. I prefer 8 wpc into 96 dB+ speakers.

And this usually means horns. I love horns and bass bins. I cannot afford a pair right now, so i got the next best thing. a co-axial 10" speaker in an open baffle arrangement and a pair of 10" bass drivers on each side. But I am plotting for horns, they are going to be my next big purchase. It may take a few years but i will get there. The horns could be made of wood, or an automotive painted fiberglass, or even paper mache. Yes there is someone building a very intriguing paper mache horn these days.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Back in the "day" it was ALL about POWER AND VOLUME! Today it's totally about accurate sound reproduction and detail. I want to hear a singer take a breath, the pick on the strings, fingers moving up and down the neck of a guitar, etc. I still like SPL's on occasion.
 
Speakers/sound system needs to want to make me dance.. or involuntary foot tapping... in the very least.
 
First and foremost there has to be effortless reproduction with life-like scale and a sense of dimensionality that reaches beyond the wall behind the speakers and resolution that surgically populates the sound stage with the distinct sonic images that exist in the recording as if they're being located on a virtual 3D grid in the room...primarily the area in the front half of the room. Detail can't leave you second guessing and is best served macro to micro. If those fundamentals of sonic structure aren't there I'm done as I have better things to do with my time than sit and have a listening experience that I can get from the stereo in my truck or my bedroom rig.

There also has to be full spectrum dynamics that offer blink inducing, air stirring bursts of sonic energy and a tactile element that is felt head to toe...and that includes everything above 125 Hz as well (flamenco guitar should feel like a percussion instrument).

Mid range has to be clean and balanced with a slightly aggressive component so the element of realism is maintained accordingly...which also ensures that raunchy, distorted guitar has some crunch and bite.

LF reproduction has to be distortion-free, authoritative, robust, room encompassing, well balanced, smooth, punchy and paced spot on to maintain timing with the lightning fast transients that are occurring in the mids and highs. In a nutshell LF should massage your lower back while at the same time gut punch you mercilessly.

Highs should be clean with some sizzle and hurt just a little when the dynamics come up because that's just how it is when you're hearing the real thing.

And all this needs to happen at moderate listening levels and be somewhat forgiving of lesser quality recordings...though if the performance is good I can tolerate a few warts so long as the above are being satisfied.

Small speakers need not apply.

Laid back speakers need not apply.

I've found that Altecs, JBL's and Infinities with big drivers or multiples of the same driver (such as a line source) and/or horns do a pretty good job. But everything needs multiple subs and a room that fits the speakers and that has a favorable acoustic response. I don't listen all day long, so I don't need a tame speaker. I usually listen for an hour and two and I want that time full of the excitement and adrenaline I get when I play with other musicians or get up close and personal with the real deal.
 
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I want goose bumps and the compelling ability to make me do nothing but listen. If I can multitask the speakers IMO are not doing their job.
 
^^^

No doubt. If it doesn't compel me to sit and listen and demand my total attention by virtue of its magnificence then I'm doing little more than trying to figure out what will. Once you've experienced a speaker that can do that it's hard to truly enjoy anything less...well, for me at least.
 
Scalability*. I think any good modern speaker will have (almost by definition) accuracy, detail and imaging, but when it comes to bass extension and dynamics, the better ones will continue to be linear even at higher sound pressure levels. The sound should keep growing in output without losing its dynamic range, detail or bass extension.

I know there are a lot of ways to achieve that goal, but however you do it, that's what I'm after. When a speaker starts compressing or distorting at higher output levels, I lose my love for it.

* "Scalability is the ability of a system, network, or process to handle a growing amount of work in a capable manner or its ability to be enlarged to accommodate that growth."

N8Nagel said:
what is PRAT?
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Gang-Twanger said:
Pace, rhythm, and timing
Click to expand...

I would love to mail a dictionary to the moron who came up with that phrase, or at least pace and rhythm. Neither word has anything like the meaning that he tried to cram into it. ("You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.")
 
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I value imaging, coherency through the midrange, and well controlled bass. The speakers I like tend to be smaller, simpler, and well braced.

Bloated bass and metallic treble are dealbreakers for me. Some other people would call this "extension" and "detail". I think my taste just leans to the leaner, more boring side.
 
Extension is where the bass is relatively flat to a lower frequency. A speaker that rolls off at 30 Hz has more/lower/deeper extension than one that rolls off at 40 Hz. Bloated or boomy versus tight bass is a different attribute, and to my mind speaks more of linearity, versus distortion.
 
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