Passive Speaker Recommendations for USA (by @sweetchaos)

[Opal]

Did the DBR62 dropped from 5.7 to 5.2?

 

[sweetchaos]

Correct. Latest Erin’s review shows a slight decline in PS compared to Amir’s original review.

 

[Deleted member 48726]

I don't see any Infinity Kappas on the list. -Useless.

 

[goldark]

Correct. Latest Erin’s review shows a slight decline in PS compared to Amir’s original review.

Thanks for all your hard work!

Just wondering: how do you determine which preference score/whose measurements to use as the default basis in the rankings?

 

[sweetchaos]

Typically, the latest review is the most accurate one. So in this case, since Erin reviewed it recently, it would dictate the new standard.

 

[sweetchaos]

I don't see any Infinity Kappas on the list. -Useless.

Is it still in production? If not, it won’t make the list.

 

[Deleted member 48726]

Is it still in production? If not, it won’t make the list.

Erm. No. It's not..

 

[HighFutility]

Typically, the latest review is the most accurate one. So in this case, since Erin reviewed it recently, it would dictate the new standard.

I think Erins Kef ls50 metas scored ~6 PF

 

[sweetchaos]

I’m aware. I’m waiting for Erin to send Pierre the data for the LS50M, so I can update my table.

I’m also aware that Erin’s PS calculations are typically slightly different from Pierre’s PS calculations. But to maintain consistency across multiple sources of data, I always take Pierre’s PS calculations as the representative value in my table.

 

[Opal]

Correct. Latest Erin’s review shows a slight decline in PS compared to Amir’s original review.

Oh i see thanks for your effort. Hmm any clear reason why the difference is so much? 0.5 is like 10%. i mean 0.1 or 0.2 i can understand the margin of difference in both different test conditions n set ups but wow 0.5 drop

 

[Sancus]

Oh i see thanks for your effort. Hmm any clear reason why the difference is so much? 0.5 is like 10%. i mean 0.1 or 0.2 i can understand the margin of difference in both different test conditions n set ups but wow 0.5 drop

The confidence rating for the score is 0.8 so 0.5 is not that much, no. The chance that the real blind tested score would be within 0.5 is only 45%, so there's a 55% chance the score would be off by more than 0.5.

You should really ignore differences smaller than 1 point and consider personal preference to be a stronger factor within that margin. The score is best used to build a list of possibilities for purchase within your budget, not to pick a specific speaker based on score differences.

E: Some further investigation of the DBR6.2, using Pierre's site, it's easy to compare the two sets of measurements.

Solid line is Erin, dotted is ASR:

Spoiler

There is a bass difference, and quite a bit of treble deviation. The ASR review is pretty old, and I think it predates some adjustments Amir made for both bass and treble measurements.

But that said, the DBR62 is also a pretty cheap speaker and cheap passive speakers often have a lot of unit to unit variation in the treble. So it's entirely possible that Erin just got a slightly worse sample, as well.

If you want +/- 0.5dB precision unit to unit, well that's one of the things we pay Genelec and Neumann so much money for

 

[sweetchaos]

Still available to purchase from USA:
US$1400/pair https://us.kef.com/products/r3

Looks to be officially discontinued now by Kef.

Changelog:
2023-12-31:
-Seeing how Kef just removed R3 non-meta from their US website, I've removed all R non-meta and Reference non-meta from my table

 

[Ghost2231]

I made some wall mounts for the KEF 3 out of some 1" (really 3/4") alder plus heavy duty brackets mounted over studs. The R3 have sealed nuts in the bottom (I don't remeber the size), so I was able securely attach them to the shelf. For smaller speakers one can buy pre-made speaker mounts. One thing I like about the Arendal line is they have wall mounts for most of their speakers.

View attachment 332688

Any pics of them setup?

 

[radix]

Any pics of them setup?

It's not a great photo -- I was installing height speakers to replace the atmos. There's R3s on the side, and an R2c on a floating shelf below the TV. The box to the lower left is a Sigberg Inkognito 10. The rear of that wall was exposed framing in an attic space, so I was able to install 2x4 braces if things did not line up with a stud.

 

[3125b]

I've removed all R non-meta

Seems a bit premature, they're still readily available (at discounted prices) - unlike the non-meta Reference.
Maybe revisit that in half a year or so.

 

[eboleyn]

Distortion handling of a loudspeaker is usually secondary to frequency response. Meaning, a great frequency response and poor distortion handling speaker will still be preferred over a poor frequency response speaker with great distortion handling. A great example of this is the fact that JBL 305P/306P/308P MKII speakers have higher-than-normal distortion, but because of their relatively neutral frequency response, a lot of people still enjoy them.

So I've always thought this was an interesting claim, as it has not been borne out in my own life.

In fact a significant part of the drive that led me to do DIY speaker construction was both mine and my wife's dissatisfaction with our previous HT set (pro audio based) which measured quite flat in frequency response. It would sound fine at normal volume levels listening to things that weren't super-complex, but more complexity or more volume, and sometimes the latter exacerbating the former as we "turned it up to hear", all were just lacking in clarity.

The current DIY speakers we use as the fronts are very low distortion (Seas W18EX001 and RAAL 70-20XR drivers) but also frankly fairly uneven response at lower frequencies and at the crossover point. My wife thought they were so much clearer and better than the previous speakers that she lets me keep them in the living room even though she hates what they look like.

 

[thewas]

 

[HighFutility]

I was really surprised on the Polk Reserve 500 Erin reviewed. PS 6.2 for 1200-dollar speakers. Limitations, of course, but otherwise, a budget king priced similarly to or less than many bookshelf speakers.

 

[jbattman1016]

I was really surprised on the Polk Reserve 500 Erin reviewed. PS 6.2 for 1200-dollar speakers. Limitations, of course, but otherwise, a budget king priced similarly to or less than many bookshelf speakers.

I need to check the review, but for the price they look like a good value. I'm biased to the Encores from monoprice, but only when they are on sale.

 

[sweetchaos]

Changelog:

2024-04-11:
Added a 'NEVER BUY THESE' section:
- In April 2024, a lot of revealing information was released about Tekton (speaker manufacturer).
See these 2 threads:
- Legal fund for Reviewers/Erin? (from Page 1)
- Tekton M-Lore Speaker Review (from Page 13)
In conclusion, this speaker brand should go to the graveyard.
I encourage people to never buy from this speaker brand.

Will update my tables with the recent speaker reviews, shortly.