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Active Speaker Recommendations for USA (by @sweetchaos)

dfuller

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but even those speakers with "average" good vertical window of 20 degrees total should work horizontally at med field MLP in most situations. Given control over placement and angle of course.
The issue at hand is that these are horizontal directivity. +/- 20 degrees vertical is totally fine, it's the +/- 20 degrees horizontal (and uneven at that) that's the issue.
 

sdiver68

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The issue at hand is that these are horizontal directivity. +/- 20 degrees vertical is totally fine, it's the +/- 20 degrees horizontal (and uneven at that) that's the issue.

I was refering to horizontal placement of vertical speakers, so the axis flips. It creates the same situation you describe but not for MLP.
 

Martyreasoner

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Is it me or is this list broken? Why are the Neumanns dropping off the list as price increases and then Kali's stay on even though they were ranked lower than Neumanns.
 
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sweetchaos

sweetchaos

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Not broken...but incomplete.
It shows how difficult it is to have a recommendation system based on a single metric (preference score), ignoring all other metrics.
Anyone making a similar list to mine would run into the same limitation.

If this was a dynamic table, then you can easily filter down by any criteria you want, which makes finding speakers (for your use case) much easier.
 

Martyreasoner

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Why are the kh80s not listed as worthy on the $2400 category. They have a higher preference rating than the Kali's.
 
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sweetchaos

sweetchaos

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Back when the whole testing of 3 of KH80's samples was done, Amir didn't perform a listening test and so didn't give a final recommendation.
So they don't make this list.

Kali's were measured and recommended by Erin, so they made the list. Plus, Kali's are a 3-way coaxial speaker, which is rare for their budget, which, is worthy of making the list (at least in my opinion).
 
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sweetchaos

sweetchaos

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Because their preference rating alone puts them at top 3 picks for those price brackets..regardless of Amir's lack of recommendation.
 

Martyreasoner

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This is an odd distinction, that you have not included or explained in the main post. Essentially what you are saying it's that the top 3 are based on preference score and "worthy" is based on some amalgamation of factors that you have weighted using your personal opinion. It's a strange mix of objective criteria and subjective belief, especially as your opinion is based on second hand experiences of reviewers.
 

sdiver68

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This is an odd distinction, that you have not included or explained in the main post. Essentially what you are saying it's that the top 3 are based on preference score and "worthy" is based on some amalgamation of factors that you have weighted using your personal opinion. It's a strange mix of objective criteria and subjective belief, especially as your opinion is based on second hand experiences of reviewers.

Rankings like this are always going to be debated and subjective. I think he's done a very good job pulling together data and information from various sources.
 

Martyreasoner

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Rankings like this are always going to be debated and subjective. I think he's done a very good job pulling together data and information from various sources.
I agree, it is a worthwhile list. I think the worthy category is not clear.
I've explained my reasoning in post #1 already, from the beginning.
You have with your edit re: the kh120.

You have by stating that Erin and amir must reccomend.

I think it is worth mentioning in post one that at some point you make a subjective call that kicks a speaker off the list despite a higher preference score based on what I am guessing is max spl, distortion, a unique or noteworthy design such as 3-way coaxial as you have identified as being important to you, etc.
 

Kervel

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Very useful list, thanks for making it! Who is it intended for? If it's targeted at a new ASR visitors looking for well measuring speakers within a price class, I think the list should include, for each speaker, the use case of near, mid, or far field--however defined. Imagine someone with a medium-large living room and 4.5k budget. The suggested 8331a wont nearly go loud enough and frankly be a terrible suggestion.
 

David_M

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Hey ... where does the Kali LP-8v2 fit in your list? I'm trying to decide between the LP-6v2 and LP-8v2.
 
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sweetchaos

sweetchaos

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Hey ... where does the Kali LP-8v2 fit in your list? I'm trying to decide between the LP-6v2 and LP-8v2.
LP-6v2 has a preference score of 5.9 and they retail for US$200/ea.
LP-8v2 has a preference score of 5.1 and they retail for US$250/ea. Which means, they would be #4 spot under US$550/pair. But since I'm only listing top 3 picks, they didn't make the list.
I think the LP-6v2's are a better value speaker.
 
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sweetchaos

sweetchaos

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I think the list should include, for each speaker, the use case of near, mid, or far field--however defined. Imagine someone with a medium-large living room and 4.5k budget. The suggested 8331a wont nearly go loud enough and frankly be a terrible suggestion.
Interesting idea.

So what would be the criteria to differentiate each speaker's intended use case?
Size of woofer? 2-way vs 3-way? Amplifier power?
 

Kervel

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So what would be the criteria to differentiate each speaker's intended use case?
Size of woofer? 2-way vs 3-way? Amplifier power?
All are actives so amplifier power could work; woofer size as well. While near, mid and far are just three categories, in some cases also near/mid can work, which is how I would classify Genelec 8040 for instance. I'm OK with an arbitrary classification, since the list is intended as an advice to new readers. The exact data is in Amir's measurements.
 

David_M

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LP-6v2 has a preference score of 5.9 and they retail for US$200/ea.
LP-8v2 has a preference score of 5.1 and they retail for US$250/ea. Which means, they would be #4 spot under US$550/pair. But since I'm only listing top 3 picks, they didn't make the list.
I think the LP-6v2's are a better value speaker.
Thank you ... now this preference score...what is it and what went into its calculation such that the 6v2 has a higher score than the 8v2? Does the 8v2 have audibly deeper/better bass, so it'd score higher than the 6v2 in that regard alone?
 
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sweetchaos

sweetchaos

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Thank you ... now this preference score...what is it and what went into its calculation such that the 6v2 has a higher score than the 8v2? Does the 8v2 have audibly deeper/better bass, so it'd score higher than the 6v2 in that regard alone?
Here's the comparison between the 2.
LP-6v2:
Bass extension: 39Hz at -6dB
Preference Score is 5.9 and would be 7.7 with a perfect subwoofer.

LP-8v2:
Bass extension: 35Hz at -6dB
Preference Score is 5.1 and would be 6.8 with a perfect subwoofer.

I don't think you'll notice the deeper bass (only 4hz) ...when playing at lower volumes.
At higher volumes (as visible by Erin's Response Linearity test), the limiter kicks in for LP-6v2 earlier, which cuts off the bass, whereas Lp-8v2's limiter won't kick in until lower frequency.

You can read the preference score using the patent from Sean Olive:
Also, Erin did an interview with Sean Olive talking about the preference score, here:
 

David_M

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Here's the comparison between the 2.
LP-6v2:
Bass extension: 39Hz at -6dB
Preference Score is 5.9 and would be 7.7 with a perfect subwoofer.

LP-8v2:
Bass extension: 35Hz at -6dB
Preference Score is 5.1 and would be 6.8 with a perfect subwoofer.

I don't think you'll notice the deeper bass (only 4hz) ...when playing at lower volumes.
At higher volumes (as visible by Erin's Response Linearity test), the limiter kicks in for LP-6v2 earlier, which cuts off the bass, whereas Lp-8v2's limiter won't kick in until lower frequency.

You can read the preference score using the patent from Sean Olive:
Also, Erin did an interview with Sean Olive talking about the preference score, here:
Thank you ... so at normal listening levels (way under their compression points) both speakers will sound identical in bass tone and overall frequency balance?
 
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