[closed] Speaker Review index (v2): updates and feedback

[RickSanchez]

[This thread is now closed as the Tableau dashboards are no longer in service. Please refer to the Master Review Index to see the latest information regarding ASR data + dashboards.]

Hi everyone. I wanted to let folks know about the new version of the Speaker Review Index. Some new features but it can be found in the same location:

• https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/SpeakerTestData/

To date @pozz has done an incredible job capturing the data from the various speaker reviews/measurements. In an effort to lower his workload a bit I've been working with him the last couple of weeks on rebuilding the speaker database behind the scenes to make data entry easier / faster. That in turn necessitated a re-build of the Tableau dashboard we use for listing the speaker review data.

The new index page has the following dashboards which are tabs on the top:

• Speaker Review Index
• Speaker Preference Score Rankings
• Speaker Attribute Comparison Tool
• Notes

Speaker Review Index
This dashboard is almost exactly the same as the previous version. (Again, the rebuild was based on having to work off of a new data structure.) However, I'd like to highlight a few new features:

1. There is now a Parent Company field in the filter list. This allows you to easily see multiple brands under the same corporate parent. For example: "Harman International" (Infinity, JBL, etc.)
2. There is now a Box Type field in the filter list.
3. The Tooltip (which you can see if you hover over the Price or PrefScore fields on the right) has been updated with a new layout.
4. The Tooltip contains a new field: the Product Page. For newer speakers this will take you out to the manufacturer's product page for this speaker; for older speakers this will typically take you to the owners manual. (If you see a better page than what is listed -- or you find a URL that is broken -- please PM me.)
5. You can now search for speaker entries by using the Search box on the upper left.
   • Tip: clear all filters -- set them to "(All)" -- before using Search if you want to explore the entire database.

Speaker Rankings
This is a more simplified, visual view of the speaker preference scores.

1. First, choose whether you want the standard preference score or the preference score (w/ subwoofer). The control is on the top left.
2. Second (optional), choose any of the filters on the left-hand side to narrow down the list.

Speaker Attribute Comparison Tool
Users can compare two numerical speaker attributes in a scatter plot, one on the X axis and one on the Y axis.

• The speaker info appears in the tooltip when you hover over a mark.
• Green marks = recommended by Amir; Red marks = not recommended by Amir.

---------------------
Going forward I'll be maintaining these speaker dashboards, as well as doing most if not all of the data entry for speakers. (Measurements, teardowns, DIYs, etc.) Hopefully this allows pozz to focus on some other areas as ASR continues to grow. Please PM me (or post on this thread) with:

• feature suggestions
• issues you find with the data
• issues with the dashboards

Your feedback is welcome!
---------------------

[edit: 2020.06.21] Added the Speaker Attribute Comparison Tool info.
[edit: 2020.07.01] Added info about the Search function for the Speaker Index.

 

[RickSanchez]

First off: thanks to @amirm @pozz @MZKM @napilopez and all of the other ASR members who have worked -- and continue to work -- really hard to create and organize the speaker data. Putting together a few dashboards wasn't easy but it pales in comparison to the efforts they put in generating speaker measurements and related info.

Second: this post will record major updates to the speaker dashboards or major changes/additions to the speaker data. (Minor changes such as formatting, small functionality updates, adding new speaker reviews, etc. will not be recorded here.)

Changelog

• [2020.06.17] GA release of the Speaker Index and Speaker Rankings dashboards.
• [2020.06.21] GA release of the Speaker Attribute Comparison Tool dashboard.
• [2020.06.23] Added score distribution box plot to the Speaker Rankings dashboard.
• [2020.06.24] Added reference info to the Speaker Index dashboard: # of official (Amir) reviews, and latest Amir review date.
• [2020.06.25] Added a Price Range filter to the Speaker Attribute Comparison Tool dashboard.
• [2020.06.26] Users can now select their preferred color palette for the marks in the Speaker Attribute Comparison Tool. This is to accommodate people who are color blind or people who simply don't want to see distinct mark colors.
• [2020.06.30] The Speaker Index dashboard now has a search box. Simply type in a search string and press Enter to find results in the table.
  • Please note that the filter values take precedence. If you want to search the entire database please set all filters to "(All)".
• [2021.02.22] The default value for the Review Type filter has been modified:
  • Previously it was only "Review & Measurements".
  • Now it is "Review & Measurements" + "Video Review".

 

[restorer-john]

Your feedback is welcome!

Just a bug I'm sure, but just quickly looking at some prices.

You can't just halve a pair price on powered speakers that are only sold as a pair to list an "each" price. They are not sold individually. The three listed below also have the amplification in one side and the other speaker is passive.

 

[RickSanchez]

Just a bug I'm sure, but just quickly looking at some prices.

You can't just halve a pair price on powered speakers that are only sold as a pair to list an "each" price. They are not sold individually. The three listed below also have the amplification in one side and the other speaker is passive.

View attachment 69462
View attachment 69464
View attachment 69463

Thanks, good feedback. The basic choice for this column is price (each) or price (pair); you bring up an important point about powered speakers.

Obviously the other side of the coin is listings for center channels or subs, where price (pair) is technically correct but doesn't make much sense. Let me think about the best option to pursue.

 

[Hiten]

Excellent work ! Will be helpful to lots of people. Could the preference setting 'Apply' button which now is in each individual boxes can be made single at the bottom ? This way people can select all the preferences and finally click single apply button.
Thanks and regards.

 

[RickSanchez]

Excellent work ! Will be helpful to lots of people. Could the preference setting 'Apply' button which now is in each individual boxes can be made single at the bottom ? This way people can select all the preferences and finally click single apply button.
Thanks and regards.

That's a good suggestion, and something I (briefly) researched during development. As far as I know the tool we use for dashboards -- Tableau Public -- does not support this. But let me look into it a little more; I'll likely drop that question onto their support forum and see what responses I get.

 

[pozz]

Just a bug I'm sure, but just quickly looking at some prices.

You can't just halve a pair price on powered speakers that are only sold as a pair to list an "each" price. They are not sold individually. The three listed below also have the amplification in one side and the other speaker is passive.

View attachment 69462
View attachment 69464
View attachment 69463

The price for one/price per pair division is more for sorting than representations of market availability. There are speakers that are sold as singles, like @RickSanchez brought up, namely lifestyle devices by Sonos and Apple and center channels, and then those you noted that only sell as pairs. I think Amir makes a point to list both values in his reviews now; in his older ones there were always questions whether the price he quoted was for one or for a pair. This should help clear that up somewhat.

 

[Hiten]

That's a good suggestion, and something I (briefly) researched during development. As far as I know the tool we use for dashboards -- Tableau Public -- does not support this. But let me look into it a little more; I'll likely drop that question onto their support forum and see what responses I get.

if column (Last three) width with few numerals can be reduced it will give more user friendly experience by bringing together various fields in a row . As some low resolution Computer screen the columns may takes space and adds horizontal scroll to be adjusted to see figures that would be avoided too.
See if both are easily done. Otherwise no worries. We are already indulged with such a good informative data on speakers.
Regards.

 

[RickSanchez]

if column (Last three) width with few numerals can be reduced it will give more user friendly experience by bringing together various fields in a row . As some low resolution Computer screen the columns may takes space and adds horizontal scroll to be adjusted to see figures that would be avoided too.
See if both are easily done. Otherwise no worries. We are already indulged with such a good informative data on speakers.
Regards.

Good suggestion. The spacing here is controlled by the tool (Tableau Public) and is based on the column headings, where it defaults the spacing to be equal for the last three columns. Which means they are all sized based on the largest column: "PrefScore (w/ sub)". But I will see if there's a way to modify this or find a workaround.

 

[RickSanchez]

Wanted to let folks know that I added a new dashboard yesterday: the Speaker Attribute Comparison Tool. (Same location, it's a new tab on the top.)

The dashboard allows users to select two attributes to compare: one on the X axis, one on the Y axis. (Use the controls on the upper left.) You can then also narrow down the number of speakers included by using the relevant filters. Keep in mind that this kind of scatter plot only works with numerical values for the X and Y axes.

This particular dashboard is still a bit of work-in-progress but I felt it was release ready, and wanted to get it out there for feedback. One feature in particular worth noting:

• I wouldn't get too attached to the shape (up / down triangles) of the marks, which represent Amir's recommendation. I personally like them, but I think those shapes only work for the near future. As the volume of speaker measurements go up this scatter plot will become more dense. At that point the triangles will likely have to be retired for readability, and they'll be replaced by smaller circles. The coloring (green / red) will stay the same.

I hope members here find it useful / interesting.

 

[Hiten]

I hope members here find it useful / interesting.

Trust me. Speaker Attribute Comparison Tool is very helpful. Very easy to visually judge speakers. Well done. thanks for the effort. And dont worry about graph getting dense. One can sparse them by selecting Speaker type or amplification or box type.
Best regards

 

[RickSanchez]

I've added a score distribution to the Speaker Rankings dashboard. It's a quick summary of all speakers that have a preference rating score.

Notes

1. This summary will adjust based on whether the user selects the Pref Score or the Pref Score (w/ sub).
2. This summary will not adjust based on any of the filter selections. (This is on purpose; again, this is meant to show the distribution of scores of all speakers.)
3. The orange boxes indicate the middle 50 percent of the data. That is, the middle two quartiles of the data's distribution.
4. The lines -- called "whiskers" -- display all points within 1.5 times the interquartile range. (i.e., all points within 1.5 times the width of the adjoining box.)
5. This summary automatically updates as new speaker preference rating scores are added to the database.

 

[pozz]

And it keeps getting better and better

 

[RickSanchez]

Thanks! Fortunately a pretty easy widget to build. I know this rankings list is already pretty long and we're not even at 100 speakers yet; as such I figured some sort of summary metric could be helpful.

 

[RickSanchez]

if column (Last three) width with few numerals can be reduced it will give more user friendly experience by bringing together various fields in a row . As some low resolution Computer screen the columns may takes space and adds horizontal scroll to be adjusted to see figures that would be avoided too.
See if both are easily done. Otherwise no worries. We are already indulged with such a good informative data on speakers.
Regards.

Just wanted to follow up on this. I was able to narrow those three columns a bit, but overall the table width is pretty much at its limit. (We just added a new field -- Review Type -- so that affects the width as well.) I realize it may not resolve your issue with the horizontal scroll bar, but maybe it's better?

I'm still investigating the "Apply All" capability. Currently it doesn't look feasible but I'm still researching.

 

[Hiten]

Thanks
regarding column width. Not necessary but if the column head (title) is made in two lines like

price
(each) USD

Score
W/sub

it can further be reduced. since data is only two numerals.

thanks again
best regards

 

[RickSanchez]

The Speaker Attribute Comparison Tool now allows the user to pick what color palette they want to use for the marks. As a reminder: the colors indicate whether Amir recommends or does not recommend a speaker.

• Green/Red (the default)
• Color Blind Friendly
• Off (which sets all marks to dark grey)

Thanks to @Kal Rubinson for the reminder about good data visualization design. (From this post ...)

"I really wish that everyone would choose colors that can be distinguished by those of us with red-green color blindness, found in about 6% of the male population. These graphs, and many others, are incomprehensible to me."

 

[Kal Rubinson]

The Speaker Attribute Comparison Tool now allows the user to pick what color palette they want to use for the marks. As a reminder: the colors indicate whether Amir recommends or does not recommend a speaker.

• Green/Red (the default)
• Color Blind Friendly
• Off (which sets all marks to dark grey)

Thanks to @Kal Rubinson for the reminder about good data visualization design. (From this post ...)

Thanks so much. I cannot distinguish the colors on the two flanking graphs, only on the central Color Blind Friendly one. Does anyone with normal trichromatic vision have trouble with it or should it be made standard?

 

[RickSanchez]

Thanks so much. I cannot distinguish the colors on the two flanking graphs, only on the central Color Blind Friendly one. Does anyone with normal trichromatic vision have trouble with it or should it be made standard?

Sorry, I probably wasn't clear in my description. For the three options:

• Green/Red: this is the color palette option that is regular green and regular red. This option is not color blind friendly.
• Color Blind Friendly: this uses colors from a color blind-specific palette built by Tableau.
• Off: this is monochromatic. All marks are dark grey. This option is there for anyone who prefers not to see the marks color-coded to Amir's recommendation for speakers.

 

[RickSanchez]

The Speaker Index dashboard now has a Search function. Pretty simple to use:

1. Type in the text you want to search.
2. Press enter on your keyboard.

Tip: if you want to search against the entire database of speakers make sure to clear all of the filters first. (Otherwise search will just look for values within the filtered dataset.) You can do this by setting filters to "(All)".

Right now the search function works with the following fields:

• Speaker Type
• Amplification
• Box Type
• Parent Company
• Brand
• Model
• Posted By
• Review Type

I will add more fields as needed.