I really appreciate the fact that despite how difficult it is to do a blind speaker test you gave it a shot and reported your findings. The more members that do this, the more will see the “science” is real.
Now you have a rig to test a kinds of speakers, even those that people leave on the curb to throw away, or even goodwill $25 speakers.
One suggestion, if you can, is repeat the test but with model A on the opposite side you originally had it, and B to the other side. I realize it’s more difficult to do blind, but even in well designed listening rooms/environments, most people have a preferred side/corner and the only way you can control for that is swap from left to right.
It also appears that your listening tests were single blind and didn’t appear to influence what you heard. You could recruit another family member to conduct test so it would be double blind and I’m pretty sure you will find that it makes no difference in what you are trying to determine. In addition, the size of your cohort is perfect, despite what anyone may tell you. It has you, trying to see if it sounds better in your room, to your ears, with your music, to make a decision on a buy/no-buy decision, plus your better half (happy wife . . .). That’s all you need. How the higher range sound in other rooms to other people, or a showroom, or at a lab on a turntable are of no consequence to what your test is for.
Bravo for stepping into the abyss. Just think, 20 years ago we would have all (if we are being honest and not in the audio biz) been saying that there was no way the higher range speaker didn’t sound better, that it was clearly your deficient hearing or other subjective failing. There should be a section on the Forum with links to posts like this where people have gone the extra mile to put theory into practice.
