It’s not just that people are dumb and dominated by time constraints. Part of it is lack of data and awareness thereof. Until now, where was the spinorama for this speaker and ones like it? Nowhere which is why I sent it. Additionally, people do not know what they do not know much less how to find the knowledge they lack. Spinorama is largely unknown in the pro audio world. I think I’ve mentioned that I’ve been involved in recording to some degree since the 90’s and only heard of it in the past five years. This site receives a lot of traffic (1.5MM unique users per month?) so the idea will grow.They exist because of legacy (historical reasons) and reputation (people don’t have time to get wise, it’s easier to be safe and go with what the established colleagues are doing)
Yes when the Auratones were around stock car stereos were horrible; with their 4.5”drivers with tiny magnets, no sub-bass in the doors of cars with their whizzer cones. For shit and giggles @amirm should measure things like this; you know, from a 1973 Ford Escort, to see how far we’ve come.
The modern recording studio should be equipped with EarPods ( those white Apple earphones are probably the most popular earphone in C21), UE Boom (probably the most popular Bluetooth speaker), and a laptop or LCD TV. Because my bet is that cumulatively. These 3 devices account for a majority of how people are enjoying their music.
Are these the best audio devices? No, but if you can get it to sound nice on these devices they probably sound good enough for the consumer market.
As for the recording tech; (s)he ain’t a god(dess). It’s a job. Not everyone is Bob Katz who says tuck it; I will only do amazing recordings on my full frequency, full dynamic range 5’ floor standers and multi subs EQed in an acoustically treated room for audiophiles with disposal incomes.
Most people have to earn a living, do recordings for tv ads, jingles. Many musicians have second or third jobs.
One thing remains undefined: what, if any, of the objective qualities of the Mixcube and similar speakers, ATC monitors, the NS-10 and similar cause mix engineers to produce work they deem superior?
Saying, “yuck, bad, TV set” etc is again lopsided assessment. One thing is clear: there is a disconnect between highly popular “pro” monitoring and loudspeakers which approach “objective perfection”.
I acknowledge that it may be entirely due to marketing, autohypnosis, herd mentality, and other similar factors. Or, it might not. After all, the ‘Harman metrics’ are not based on nearfield usage. It could be that metrics are entirely adequate to deduce the answer but we are not measuring properly. Yes, I think everything a loudspeaker can physically do can be measured. What we might not have refined as well is our ability to interpret the data as usefully for nearfield applications.
One idea I have is related to critical bands in our hearing. Sure, this speaker has massive resonances but - maybe - the forward presentation of these bands facilitates mix decisions. After all, the NS-10 and the Yamaha HS5 both have midrange peaking (though different in location and Q). The other is equal loudness contours. This speaker seems to have greatest emphasis in ranges where our ears peak: namely 2.7kHz (ear canal resonance) and around 1kHz. I’m not looking at the graph right now, just throwing out ideas. Basically, before we decapitate it for good and moo along like a bunch of instantly-convinced cattle to our next squiggly fix, let’s give a little thought as to what actual, concrete merit this tool offers or doesn’t.