YouTube Loudspeaker Demo Videos - Yes No Maybe?

[audiomaestro]

The ultimate limiting factor is a lack of imagination. Obviously tablet speakers won't cut it, but a reasonable pair of two way speakers will convey the general character of any other speaker, when other comparisons exist (including the source material).

It works perfectly fine as a rough and ready way to decide whether a speaker may be of interest for proper audition.

You will not want to demo another speaker using your speaker. You're introducing unnecessary variables which will cloud up things. It's far superior to use a quality headphone to at least take your room out of the equation.

 

[Rednaxela]

It depends. 990 of the videos may have been recorded poorly over a cheap cell phone mic with insane amounts of room coloration, while the 10 were done right. I get your point, though. If you're comparing 100 videos that were done sufficiently, and you disliked 99 of them, then I would say its clear as day it's not what you want and the 1 was just an anomaly.

In reality the higher the number of videos, the more these quality aspects will be statistically distributed one way or another. That would perhaps make it more of a constant one could actually work with rather than one to be obstructed by.

 

[TrevC]

Holy moly those B&Ws are bright there. can't tell a damn thing else, it's all reverberant room sound.

The whole thing sounds a bit messy even through headphones, but less messy on the B&W. Most people that dislike the 706 seem to be basing their opinion on previous experiences with other B&W speakers, or worse still the opinion of others on this forum. I think they sound amazing.

 

[dfuller]

The whole thing sounds a bit messy even through headphones, but less messy on the B&W. Most people that dislike the 706 seem to be basing their opinion on previous experiences with other B&W speakers, or worse still the opinion of others on this forum. I think they sound amazing.

I mean, if you like them more power to you. They remind me in the worst way of PMCs.

 

[Jim Shaw]

...However, wouldn’t that be an argument in favour of having even more loudspeaker videos on YT, in as many different environments as possible?

I mean when I don’t like the sound in 990 out of 1000 videos of the same speakers in as many different setups and rooms, what will be the odds that they’re gonna work for me in mine?

Well, isn't that like the old monkeys and typewriters paradigm? Would you want to have to read 100 newspapers (remember them?) to figure out the truth? Or watch 100 Youtube videos with headphones to pick a speaker? (Each video with different music, sources, amps, and wildly different rooms.) After that effort, buy a pair and roll the dice in your room?

I'd prefer to read the trusted measurements (Amir and Erin) in the category I'm seeking, then buy a returnable pair. My hat is off to Crutchfield, et al.

But you do it your way. I will watch from over here.

 

[TrevC]

I mean, if you like them more power to you. They remind me in the worst way of PMCs.

I doubt you've listened to them.

 

[JustJones]

They all sound like the speakers in my tablet

 

[My adventures in stereo]

Personally, I like listening to speaker demos, such as this one from the Sound Sommeliers. Over my Sennheisers HD 580's, it doesn't sound half bad. I dig the opening bass line, though the singer at times is a tad screechy. I also like that his vids have no chatter.

I am drawn in by the high end names thrown in but the listening experience is sub par
He keeps walking around and the changes in levels are distracting
It ends up being neither a audio or video treat

 

[Rednaxela]

Or watch 100 Youtube videos with headphones to pick a speaker? (Each video with different music, sources, amps, and wildly different rooms.) After that effort, buy a pair and roll the dice in your room?

I'd prefer to read the trusted measurements (Amir and Erin) in the category I'm seeking, then buy a returnable pair. My hat is off to Crutchfield, et al.

It doesn’t have to be either/or, does it? At least for me it isn’t. Just an additional data point, that’s all.

 

[TrevC]

They all sound like the speakers in my tablet

Wow! What tablet is that?

 

[Rednaxela]

They all sound like the speakers in my tablet

Point made several times already and taken. A good pair of headphones or IEM’s takes a lot of this away.

 

[ta240]

It doesn’t have to be either/or, does it? At least for me it isn’t. Just an additional data point, that’s all.

Exactly. And for some people shopping is fun. I listen to a lot of videos in the background while I work so listening to different speakers doesn't take up any extra time that way; and sometimes I stumble on interesting music https://www.youtube.com/c/seaslyd/videos .
I'm sure plenty of easily swayed shoppers either buy or don't buy based on how the speakers sound in the video but there is no stopping that, the same way they do or don't based on what their favorite content creator tells them about it.

 

[LightninBoy]

I think its very simple. The youtube video in the OP is useless for evaluating the speaker.

HOWEVER, that doesn't mean that all such youtube videos are useless. There are a few channels that do an excellent job of producing *comparison* videos that alternate quickly between source, speaker A, and speaker B. Done with care and when listening back through a reasonably good playback system, these videos can highlight the tonal differences between speakers. This has value.

I'm surprised and disappointed by the amount of animosity thrown at these as it seems to me its a clear cut case of perfect being the enemy of the good. This from a site that slaps a "preference rating" on speakers. Like the preference rating, the comparison videos are not perfect but they have some value. Most importantly, they are orders of magnitude more valuable than subjective impressions from a stranger, which comprises most of the audio review press.

I believe there is great untapped potential for an objective based review site like ASR, Audioholics, or Erin's to add more rigor to these comparison videos and make them even more valuable (better is the goal, not perfect). Combined with detailed measurements, subjective comments and produced to fully leverage the power of youtube, there's a chance here to further revolutionize the speaker review and leave the traditional audio press in the dust.

 

[Vacceo]

I'm terrible at figuring out space, so if there is something positive about speaker videos is the point of reference with other gear (amps, tables, shelves...). That does give me a better sense of size.

 

[Rednaxela]

Loved the last bit @LightninBoy.

 

[MattHooper]

Of course thinking you are hearing exactly what a different speaker sounds like, over youtube, through your own speakers, is going to be foolhardy for obvious reasons already pointed out.

On the other hand we shouldn't take skepticism too far. It may be essentially incredibly improbable to hear "through" your own speakers the exact sound of other speakers recorded in another room, but that doesn't mean that no relevant, informative sonic information about the character of a speaker can't be captured in this way. That would of course make zero sense - one may as well imply microphones (and playback systems) can't capture salient characteristics of the sounds of anything...from the differences in human voices to a horn honk.

If you play two different speakers in the same room, and those speakers have different sonic characteristics, that will in all likelihood be captured by a decent microphone, and be relayed through a decent (the more neutral the better) sound system. I think this is best suited for indicating some relative differences between speakers, moreso than a single speaker's character. No substitute for actual in person listening by a long shot, but on the other hand, not in principle utterly bereft of information. I've certainly heard all sorts of relative differences in youtube speaker comparisons. Some of which match pretty closely to my having heard those same speakers in person.

I actually enjoy some of the youtube speaker videos, mostly as sheer entertainment.

In fact just a couple nights ago I was watching some youtube Axpona tour videos (and other audio shows) in my home theater. The combination of the big super clear images on my projection screen had a "stairing in to that room" feeling and the sound quality through my home theater system was suprisingly clear, rich and "realistic" in sonic size. The sound shape shifted in character with each different speaker demo, really changing the sense of acoustics and sonic character with each room. The ILLUSION was fairly uncanny of actually visiting those rooms. As I say, fun for entertainment purposes.

 

[antcollinet]

The ultimate limiting factor is a lack of imagination. Obviously tablet speakers won't cut it, but a reasonable pair of two way speakers will convey the general character of any other speaker, when other comparisons exist (including the source material).

It works perfectly fine as a rough and ready way to decide whether a speaker may be of interest for proper audition.

If my speakers have a character, and the speakers on youtube have a character - which character am I hearing?

 

[MattHooper]

If my speakers have a character, and the speakers on youtube have a character - which character am I hearing?

That's certainly a fair question.

But on the other hand, what is your answer if we give another example:

Take a recording of a human voice, be it of someone you know, or say James Earl Jones.


Now re-ask your question:

IF my speakers have a character, and the recorded person's voice has a character - which character am I hearing?

How would you answer this question?

 

[antcollinet]

That's certainly a fair question.

But on the other hand, what is your answer if we give another example:

Take a recording of a human voice, be it of someone you know, or say James Earl Jones.


Now re-ask your question:

IF my speakers have a character, and the recorded person's voice has a character - which character am I hearing?

How would you answer this question?

I'd call that a false equivalence. The variation is far more significant between human voices. More importantly our speech "hearing" has evolved to be ridiculously sensitive to speech/voice variation just so that we *can* recognise people by their voices.

I think we'd all fail to recognise a (hifi) speakers voice just by listening to it in isolation. Sure if listening to poor speakers on a good speaker we can hear the "lack". Im far from convinced that listening to a good speaker through another good speaker can tell us anything useful.

 

[MattHooper]

I'd call that a false equivalence. The variation is far more significant between human voices. More importantly our speech "hearing" has evolved to be ridiculously sensitive to speech/voice variation just so that we *can* recognise people by their voices.

I think we'd all fail to recognise a (hifi) speakers voice just by listening to it in isolation. Sure if listening to poor speakers on a good speaker we can hear the "lack". Im far from convinced that listening to a good speaker through another good speaker can tell us anything useful.

It can't be a false equivalence: microphones either pick up sonic differences or they don't. A playback system either reproduces those sonic differences or it doesn't. It doesn't matter if we are talking about a human voice or anything else.

I could just re-phrase the question referring to a recording of any musical instrument. If you take a recording of a sax, or a xylophone, or a flute, or a chime, and you can ask "IF my speakers have a character, and the recorded instrument has a character - which character am I hearing?

So it's a question that can't be avoided by claiming there is something special about the human voice. How would you answer that re-phrased question?

I mean, I certainly agree with skepticism as to getting a substantial read on the abilities of many speakers via such videos. But I'm just saying in principle some sonic information can come through.

It's quite clear from any number of speaker comparison videos that sonic differences are captured, that one can hear through one's own sound system.