Well, consider the source... Consumer Reports also used to disseminate the same type of crap. I have not read their publication in years, so I don't know if they still do.
It depends on the context, for a typical consumer that sort of information may be relevant. Crazy nutty people who obsess about audio details, maybe not so much
The problem is that there is no "best", not even for the typical consumer. I speculate that those speaker brands listed may have paid to be included in the list, and the author did not bother listening to all of the speakers in the list, let alone compare them, in a listening test, to other comparably priced speakers in their categories. If my speculation is correct, it really is a disservice to consumers.It depends on the context, for a typical consumer that sort of information may be relevant. Crazy nutty people who obsess about audio details, maybe not so much
It still depends on your perspective mostly. Typical consumers don't even dwell on it beyond what works great for me at this moment in mostly a non-critical audio environment?
I think Apple changed all that with the Airpod Max.
Regular consumers are willing to spend more sometimes, but they still consider it "expensive".
Well we now have $10,000 soundbars so I think what is considered "expensive" is morphing.Regular consumers are willing to spend more sometimes, but they still consider it "expensive".
Meanwhile in the "audiophile" world nothing under $3K is considered expensive.
Probably you are correct. I can see some people not really caring much about the sound quality, but just want something that fits their decor and produces some boom and sizzle. The guy from whom I bought my house installed a Klipsch surround system with 5 smallish speakers hanging from the ceiling and a crap subwoofer. (He probably read one of those 10 best speakers lists). The system is not what you would call HiFi. But, they are there, I don't feel like patching up the ceiling, and I hardly ever use that room. So, I never bothered pulling them out.
over here they would have ripped them out and taken them with them. Just leave the holes.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Sonos is more than good enough for most people. Luckily Sonos is not only popular, but has their heads on straight when it comes to sound quality, at least as far as their design constraints go. It's not "true" hi-fi but it's far from a disaster like Beats was at first.
