Accurate speakers v Fun speakers

[CRACKIE]

Just curious to hear about your priority when choosing speakers ( or any other Hi-Fi gear for that matter ).....faithful / accurate measured response or conveying the 'spirit' of the performance ?

This is generalising but I'm sure you know what I'm getting at. Some speakers can get you close to the feeling of "being there" but measure all over the place i.e horn speakers whilst some speakers have flawless specs & convey loads of detail / information but are, relatively, tiring and dreary to listen to.

[900T-R]

CRACKIE said:

Just curious to hear about your priority when choosing speakers ( or any other Hi-Fi gear for that matter ).....faithful / accurate measured response or conveying the 'spirit' of the performance ?

This is generalising but I'm sure you know what I'm getting at. Some speakers can get you close to the feeling of "being there" but measure all over the place i.e horn speakers whilst some speakers have flawless specs & convey loads of detail / information but are, relatively, tiring and dreary to listen to.

I'd go for the musically communicative speaker but would conversely state that if a speaker is less convincing in getting the spirit of the performance across, it's actually not that accurate irrespective of its 'measured' performance (which is about as relevant as relating one's speed to how safe a driver you are ). In fact, so-called 'neutral' speakers were/are often just overly polite - not having any glaring faults having taken a precedence over everything else in the development process) and 'uncoloured' speakers are often colourless, dulling every tonal nuance to a sameish shade of grey.

Personally I feel that in general, high efficiency, easy to drive speakers in combination with simple, low- powered (valve) amplification give the most emotionally involving and exciting musical performance where you actually stop listening to the equipment and just effortlessly get drawn into the music - even though there may be some compromises in 'measured' performance.

[Saintjsmythe]

what I look for when auditioning a speaker in order of importance:

1. Does the music through the speaker make you want to tap your foot/finger/head whatever?
2. Do they make you smile?
3. Can you listen to a whole piece of music without wanting to change tracks?
4. Does it bring something else out of the recording that you've not heard before?

[PJ S]

No such thing as a poorly measuring speaker transporting you to the recording venue - by definition they are masking or generating sounds not originally in the recording.
If you're talking about the "musical" speaker vs the "analytical" one, I'd take accuracy over "musicality", since that's the point of investing in decent separates.
I want to hear the fine nuances captured rather than have an overpriced boombox/midi/micro system.

[CRACKIE]

PJ S said:

No such thing as a poorly measuring speaker transporting you to the recording venue - by definition they are masking or generating sounds not originally in the recording.

Understood but IMHO too high a priority is often placed on ruler flat amplitude response, abscence of phase errors etc using FFT measuring systems like MLSSA/CLIO/B&K but these tools don't tell the whole story. At home I use a pair of Duntech speakers which measure far better than most and sound amazing however the Impulse H2 speakers I used to use before measured shockingly badly by comparison but often did a better job of creating the illusion of a real venue with instruments and performers in front of you. Horns are fun and often have that "being there" magic that's missing from most direct radiators.

Edited by CRACKIE on Monday 25th January 18:05

[PJ S]

Funny you should mention Duntechs, as THAT is precisely who I was thinking of when I wrote that. Mind you, Mr Dunlavy wasn't purely about measurement solely, it had to measure well from the starting point, after that it could be "voiced" by him/his team until it was where they thought it was spot on, and ready to go.

I used to have Carver Silver Edition speakers, and whilst not the last word on transparency, by feck they were bloody good at revealing subtleties many another missed or masked.