The point of diminishing for speakers is...?

[Pearljam5000]

From what price would you say speakers hit the point of diminishing returns?

 

[phoenixdogfan]

To me that's the point where you get most of the frequency spectrum, played with good dynamic range and smoooth directivity. So the Kef R3 at $2000.

 

[abdo123]

there isn't a precise point really.

To play loud you need multiple woofers which drives up cost.

To have a design with no audible cabinet resonances (buzzing/rattling) when playing loud it will also take $$$ for research and development.

But for me for bookshelves it would be KEF R3 (2000$ a pair) or the equivalent in Genelecs lineup, as it has no audible harmonic distortion at any level near field and excellent radiation due to coaxial design.

For floor standers / far field it would be Revel F208 (5000$ a pair).

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

there isn't a precise point really.

To play loud you need multiple woofers which drives up cost.

To have a design with no audible cabinet resonances (buzzing/rattling) when playing loud it will also take $$$ for research and development.

But for me for bookshelves it would be KEF R3 (2000$ a pair) or the equivalent in Genelecs lineup, as it has no audible harmonic distortion at any level near field and excellent radiation due to coaxial design.

For floor standers / far field it would be Revel F208 (5000$ a pair).

I got the R7... This tower can go insanely loud and much deeper than my last speaker (r300)

 

[Robin L]

When you run out of money.

 

[abdo123]

This tower can go insanely loud

this is not really a metric imo, the important question is whether it bothers you at these insanely loud levels (distortion).

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

this is not really a metric imo, the important question is whether it bothers you at these insanely loud levels (distortion).

The towers can go very loud without show any distortion, is not even a comparable to my previous bookshelf

In my pre amp the r300 at 55 the drivers show itself unhappy, but the R7 can go to 85..i dont know if that was the limit but wtffff was too much for my entire house...

 

[Kal Rubinson]

The towers can go very loud without show any distortion, is not even a comparable to my previous bookshelf

In my pre amp the r300 at 55 the drivers show itself unhappy, but the R7 can go to 85..i dont know if that was the limit but wtffff was too much for my entire house...

What do you mean by 55 and 85?

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

What do you mean by 55 and 85?

The volumen in my pre amp 0-99 3vrms - > power amp is purifi eigentakt eval1

 

[charleski]

What do you mean by 55 and 85?

Kids these days don’t know how lucky they are, back in the day speakers could only go up to 11.

 

[Cadguy]

I've often wondered about this. If the Revel Salon, the Genelec 8351a/W371 are considered SOTA then at what price point could you get 80% of their performance? I realize "performance" would have to be defined and quantified in a meaningful way.

 

[warpdrive]

80/20 rule. When you get 80% of the satisfaction when spending 20% of your money.

 

[mhardy6647]

I've often wondered about this. If the Revel Salon, the Genelec 8351a/W371 are considered SOTA then at what price point could you get 80% of their performance? I realize "performance" would have to be defined and quantified in a meaningful way.

Is 80% of their performance measured on a linear or log scale? I get so confused with audio components...

 

[Senior NEET Engineer]

Emotiva B1+ $200

 

[dfuller]

I think up to about $4500-5000 a pair performance continues to improve. Beyond that it slows down, pretty considerably.

 

[dominikz]

From what price would you say speakers hit the point of diminishing returns?

My (possibly unpopular) opinion is that in audio the returns diminish very quickly. Every other speaker I bought or heard after e.g. the JBL LSR305 (~300$/pair) has been a relatively small SQ increment vs the huge SQ jump of going from some random BT, multimedia or TV loudspeaker to the 305s.
My SPL requirements are pretty low though, so that makes it easier on the budget - of course the 305s wouldn't work at large distances in big rooms.

In addition, going from no room EQ capability to a system with it will IMHO be a much bigger investment in SQ than any improvement gained from slightly better loudspeakers - this is all of course assuming the original loudspeakers have decent directivity and sufficient SPL capability.

However, in the end all that didn't stop me from upgrading my loudspeakers.

 

[thewas]

Is 80% of their performance measured on a linear or log scale? I get so confused with audio components...

-6 dB of the price gives you -3dB of the performance (both as power values)

 

[redshift]

From what price would you say speakers hit the point of diminishing returns?

Good stuff is priceless and music reproduction is in the speakers, room acoustics, biological DSP/encoder and ears of the beholder.

Check out the specs, measurements and ideally audition the speakers in the room where you intend on placing them.

You’ll find the point of diminishing returns soon enough.

 

[hex168]

Even if you were to define your requirements, how would one plot the extent to which the requirements are met vs. price?

I can't even define my requirements. For example, would I prefer a pair of Revel F208's in stereo to nine ELAC DBR-62s using Auro 3D upmixing? I have no idea.

 

[redshift]

Even if you were to define your requirements, how would one plot the extent to which the requirements are met vs. price?

I can't even define my requirements. For example, would I prefer a pair of Revel F208's in stereo to nine ELAC DBR-62s using Auro 3D upmixing? I have no idea.

Perhaps do like nature? Plenty of trial - mostly error.

Unfortunately there isn’t any practical/convenient tools for simulating how the speaker will sound with your circumstances. I.e, in your room, then played back on, for example, accurate headphones.