• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Can you choose a great speaker by its frequency response?

TheBatsEar

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 16, 2020
Messages
3,084
Likes
4,963
Location
Germany
Voted 2, could live with them with a sub.
 

Mart68

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 22, 2021
Messages
2,610
Likes
4,862
Location
England
Voted 2, could live with them with a sub.
Me too although I can live without bass below 40Hz. It's rare I listen to anything with that sort of LF content.

Although when I do I admit I do notice the lack of low bass, having in the past used big TLs with useful output down to 20Hz.

Anyway turns out there was really no wrong answer. Everyone gets a prize!
 

AwesomeSauce2015

Active Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2022
Messages
198
Likes
189
i win-ed!!!!!

Also, how did I guess right that the green (#2) was a revel speaker??? (I didn't post b/c I didn't want to taint the results)
I think it had something to do with A. the response tilt, and B. the "bump" around 100hz. Both are characteristic of Revel from what I've seen.

But yeah, we should do this again! (Except this time with 1 good ,1 OK, and 1 junk speaker maybe?)
 
OP
Rick Sykora

Rick Sykora

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 14, 2020
Messages
3,520
Likes
7,032
Location
Stow, Ohio USA
If you don't know the scaling of the vertical axis you can't say if the curves are horrible or great. All you can say is by comparing the three curves which one of them is better. You can't compare them to any other if you don't know the Y axis.

As stated in the OP (and a few times afterwards, the scaling is identical for all 3 plots. It is roughly +/- 3 dB. I did not post the absolute values because I did not want it to influence the comparison.

I mainly picked the scale because it is the most frequently quoted spec by manufacturers. Even though some complain that it is too expanded, I think it is instructive in any case. Anyway, will use something different next time and, if appropriate, show the scale. :)
 

2020

Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2020
Messages
48
Likes
23
Speaker 1, because it looks the smoothest. Sure, the bass is recessed, but that can be fixed with a low shelf. The treble area looks to be the most consistent and that is what I like.

Speaker 2 has a that 7k rollercoaster drop, not to mention looks like it goes up and down all over the place.

Speaker 3, what the hell is going on with it? Some kind of coaxial design? All those huge dips.
 

thewas

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 15, 2020
Messages
6,758
Likes
16,226
Now for the big moment!

Here is a plot of the original 3 speakers with the typical scaling restored:

1652088622791.png


Realize the fonts are rather small, so here are the revealed speakers in list form:
  1. The Genelec 8361B (speaker #1) is the blue trace
  2. The Revel F228Be is speaker #2 and is the green trace
  3. The GR Research X-LS Encore is speaker #3 (red trace)
By the way even in this case a different loudspeaker can work better for different usages, for example for people not using EQ and placing the loudspeakers closer to boundaries the Revel bass tuning possibly could work better. Ok, those Genelecs come with GLM included, so its rather a theoretical thesis for a loudspeaker without such and a similar bass response.
 
OP
Rick Sykora

Rick Sykora

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 14, 2020
Messages
3,520
Likes
7,032
Location
Stow, Ohio USA
By the way even in this case a different loudspeaker can work better for different usages, for example for people not using EQ and placing the loudspeakers closer to boundaries the Revel bass tuning possibly could work better. Ok, those Genelecs come with GLM included, so its rather a theoretical thesis for a loudspeaker without such and a similar bass response.

Notably the Genelec is a studio monitor so it is targeted for a different market than the other speakers shown. As I mentioned, I avoided the the cost of each speaker too. The target room conditions should be considered and so this set of speakers is less likely to be typical as well. So yes, this contest is a very one dimensional look, but does highlight how important it is to measure and hear a speaker before a purchase.

In another thread, the continued decline in places to audition speakers has been mentioned. Otoh, little has been done by manufacturers to offer enough information to serve as a proxy for not being able to listen before a purchase. This is a shame and a missed opportunity IMO. For some of us more information helps but is not a good answer for the larger and less technically astute masses. The company that manages to bridge the gap is one I would invest in!
 
Top Bottom