Obviously based on the popular goal of "room filling sound", something that is quite different from a typical audiophile quest for "lifelike high fidelity reproduction of live acoustic music", THIS October 23 "Best Home Speakers 2020" article at Rolling Stone covers some popular contemporary examples of what I call "yupscale" consumer home audio. Regardless of one's personal audio goals, I always cringe a bit when I hear people claim this or that is the "best" audio component, because Like the current FLOTUS meme for schoolchildren entitled "Be Best", "best" is a useless term without carefully identified parameters and standards.
OTOH, these systems might work just fine for the family room and outdoor spaces of audiophiles whose families could care less about Dad's audio hobby and his dedicated listening room or the home theater room.
Below are some quotes from the article that don't jibe with my definition of "high fidelity playback of recorded music." The writing style and vocabulary is quite different from audiophile magazines and websites, but it is designed to reach the majority of audio consumers - not those of us among the fringe element who are ardent fans of pursuing "accuracy" in music reproduction.
This first quote from the article shows how different our audio goals can be compared to the world of general, non-audiophile consumers.
Bose:
Amazon Echo: (With an interesting take on DSP.)
Sonos One (Gen 2): I cannot argue much with the descriptors of the sound as stated - much better than "muddy and muffled sound!")
OontZ Angle 3 PRO (Cambridge):
OTOH, these systems might work just fine for the family room and outdoor spaces of audiophiles whose families could care less about Dad's audio hobby and his dedicated listening room or the home theater room.
Below are some quotes from the article that don't jibe with my definition of "high fidelity playback of recorded music." The writing style and vocabulary is quite different from audiophile magazines and websites, but it is designed to reach the majority of audio consumers - not those of us among the fringe element who are ardent fans of pursuing "accuracy" in music reproduction.
This first quote from the article shows how different our audio goals can be compared to the world of general, non-audiophile consumers.
It used to be that the only option for a surround sound setup to fully fill your space with warm, enveloping sound required a central receiver, with connecting wires running around the room, and multiple speakers in every corner
Bose:
Anyone familiar with Bose knows that they’re masters of engineering big, rich sound out of compact speakers.
Amazon Echo: (With an interesting take on DSP.)
Built-in Dolby Atmos technology sends sounds in all directions, providing an immersive experience that instantly enriches any audio. The unit automatically feels out the acoustics of a room, and pumps out the best dimensions of sound to fill the space.
Sonos One (Gen 2): I cannot argue much with the descriptors of the sound as stated - much better than "muddy and muffled sound!")
Sonos users who are familiar with the company’s other products won’t be disappointed with the sound that this sleek four-pound speaker cranks out. The quality is crisp, clear, and detailed.
OontZ Angle 3 PRO (Cambridge):
Don’t be dissuaded if you’ve never heard of OontZ – the brand is owned by Cambridge Soundworks, a 30+ year veteran in the speaker manufacturing game, and a legendary contender when it comes to precise audio engineering.
At only 1.32 pounds, this is the lightest of the bunch, but can still get loud. The Neodymium drivers are 40% larger than previous models, giving it a boost of up to 21 watts and 50% more output. Inside, there’s double the airspace for acoustics, and a 30% larger passive bass radiator, allowing you to safely turn it up without the music crackling.