• 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!

Should we (I) get into speaker testing & measurement

Should we get into proper speaker measurements?

  • Yes

    Votes: 247 76.5%
  • Yes, but do it later.

    Votes: 30 9.3%
  • No. Stay with Electronics.

    Votes: 46 14.2%

  • Total voters
    323

DDF

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Dec 31, 2018
Messages
617
Likes
1,355
Pair matching is not a trivial issue in inexpensive speakers. My 305 mkii which I measured here have immense response variation.

Even longstanding reputable DIY speaker driver suppliers have delivered me driver pairs so far apart that they needed notably different crossover components for left/right
 

617

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 18, 2019
Messages
2,403
Likes
5,296
Location
Somerville, MA
Even longstanding reputable DIY speaker driver suppliers have delivered me driver pairs so far apart that they needed notably different crossover components for left/right

Which? I've had pretty good experiences with ScanSpeak, Dayton, SB Acoustics, Bohlender Graebner. Tweeters seem to be the most variable.
 
OP
amirm

amirm

Founder/Admin
Staff Member
CFO (Chief Fun Officer)
Joined
Feb 13, 2016
Messages
44,368
Likes
234,381
Location
Seattle Area

617

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 18, 2019
Messages
2,403
Likes
5,296
Location
Somerville, MA
I like to test both speakers and headphones but have not come to terms with expense.

Amir do you have a sample dataset produced by the klippel system?
 
OP
amirm

amirm

Founder/Admin
Staff Member
CFO (Chief Fun Officer)
Joined
Feb 13, 2016
Messages
44,368
Likes
234,381
Location
Seattle Area
Amir do you have a sample dataset produced by the klippel system?
Just the brief on the first page. There is a manual for it and some YouTube videos. I am on the phone so can't link.
 

617

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 18, 2019
Messages
2,403
Likes
5,296
Location
Somerville, MA
Just the brief on the first page. There is a manual for it and some YouTube videos. I am on the phone so can't link.

I'll look into it. Have you ever measured a loudspeaker?
 

DDF

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Dec 31, 2018
Messages
617
Likes
1,355
Which? I've had pretty good experiences with ScanSpeak, Dayton, SB Acoustics, Bohlender Graebner. Tweeters seem to be the most variable.

Scanspeak from Solen
 

Bjorn

Major Contributor
Audio Company
Forum Donor
Joined
Feb 22, 2017
Messages
1,286
Likes
2,562
Location
Norway
Any serious speaker company should provide themselves at least horizontal and vertical directivity measurements up on request. Avoiding doing that, should be enough to know they probably aren't serious or have something to hide.

Doing measurements for them is both going to be practically very difficult and expensive. Most likely you will end up only measuring mostly small and low cost speakers with some exceptions. IMO it's better to call upon measurements from the companies and let the public know if they don't provide it.

It should also contain a measurement with the standard IEC263. A standard that we have had since the early 80s but hardly anyone are using! Most of the on-axis measurements and polars shown are way too coarse and look a lot better than what they really are. I'm disappointed that no one are calling this out but instead gives praise to the companies showing these measurements.
 
Last edited:

Krunok

Major Contributor
Joined
Mar 25, 2018
Messages
4,600
Likes
3,065
Location
Zg, Cro
Any serious speaker company should provide themselves at least horizontal and vertical directivity measurements up on request. Avoiding doing that, should be enough to know they probably aren't serious or have something to hide.

Doing measurements for them is both going to be practically very difficult and expensive. Most likely you will end up only measuring mostly only small and low cost speakers with some exceptions. IMO it's better to call upon measurements from the companies and let the public know if they don't provide it.

It should also contain a measurement with the standard IEC263. A standard that we have had since the early 80s but hardly anyone are using! Most of the on-axis measurements and polars shown are way too coarse and look a lot better than what they really are. I'm disappointed that no one are calling this out but instead gives praise to the company showing these measurements.

Heh.. It would be nice, but not even Harman, which does measurements properly, publishes those measurements on their official product webpage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 617

q3cpma

Major Contributor
Joined
May 22, 2019
Messages
3,060
Likes
4,416
Location
France
While Genelec's SAM stuff is arguably overpriced (they offer a free 3 year repair part warranty extension, though), Neumann isn't that much expensive compared to their quality. I find the KH310 is especially hard to beat for its price.
 

Krunok

Major Contributor
Joined
Mar 25, 2018
Messages
4,600
Likes
3,065
Location
Zg, Cro
While Genelec's SAM stuff is arguably overpriced (they offer a free 3 year repair part warranty extension, though), Neumann isn't that much expensive compared to their quality. I find the KH310 is especially hard to beat for its price.

KH310 is a nearfield studio monitor. Neumann is known for producing professional equipment rather than for home use.
 

q3cpma

Major Contributor
Joined
May 22, 2019
Messages
3,060
Likes
4,416
Location
France
That's not a problem in my books, unless you want to use them as midfield (in the living room facing your sofa). In this case, the KH420 or Genelec's 8260 would probably be better. I personally went from Dali Zensor 1 to Yamaha HS7 and couldn't agree that pro gear has no place at home.
In fact, I think that the home/pro divide is mostly imaginary, as Genelec's G serie shows: the only difference with the corresponding 80x0 is the simpler name and RCA input.
 

napilopez

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Oct 17, 2018
Messages
2,109
Likes
8,420
Location
NYC
Any serious speaker company should provide themselves at least horizontal and vertical directivity measurements up on request. Avoiding doing that, should be enough to know they probably aren't serious or have something to hide.

Doing measurements for them is both going to be practically very difficult and expensive. Most likely you will end up only measuring mostly small and low cost speakers with some exceptions. IMO it's better to call upon measurements from the companies and let the public know if they don't provide it.

It should also contain a measurement with the standard IEC263. A standard that we have had since the early 80s but hardly anyone are using! Most of the on-axis measurements and polars shown are way too coarse and look a lot better than what they really are. I'm disappointed that no one are calling this out but instead gives praise to the companies showing these measurements.

While I don't disagree with you, I find it unlikely that most companies would provide measurements on request, regardless of how the speaker performs - I've tried asking a few times. As Krunok said, Harman doesn't even provide measurements on most of their speakers, and I've seen plenty of speakers that measure well in independent testing whose manufacturers don't provide much data. By only sharing the speakers from more forthright manufacturers, ASR would likely miss out on a sizeable swath of good speakers.

I do wonder why manufacturers are so reticient to share measurements though. I don't know whether it's the engineers, marketing, or other higher ups making the decisions about not posting them, but I imagine these companies don't provide measurements on purpose rather than out of laziness or something to hide. My guess is it's because they don't want to deal with always having to explain why a speaker measures a certain way or have people read too much into the data. I sometimes feel people interpret certain measurements as gospel without knowing the full reasoning behind a design, such as if a speaker is designed with a certain use or positioning in mind.

I also remember when two Harman speakers were pitted against one another in a blind test - the Revel Salon2 vs the JBL M2. Even though I thought the Spinorama data for the M2 looked "prettier," the Salon2 ended up winning the blind test.

Not saying this is a great excuse - I don't think that simply omitting the measurements is better - but my point is that I don't think ASR can rely on manufacturers providing extensive data, even for speakers that do measure well.

In fact, part of the reason I think Amir should measure speakers if he's up to it is that it might just encourage manufacturers to be more open about sharing measurements. We've already seen his influence in the DAC/amp world.

Personally, I don't think measuring speakers regularly is so insurmountable a task, especially if Amir ends up getting the Klippel system. Some manufacturers I'm sure would be happy to send samples, especially as ASR gains traction. Recieving and shipping speakers back is a pain, but I expect over time it'll become a more efficient process.
 

Krunok

Major Contributor
Joined
Mar 25, 2018
Messages
4,600
Likes
3,065
Location
Zg, Cro
I personally went from Dali Zensor 1 to Yamaha HS7 and couldn't agree that pro gear has no place at home.

Most of the pro speakers are so ugly even I don't want them in my living room, not to mention my wife. :D
 

Krunok

Major Contributor
Joined
Mar 25, 2018
Messages
4,600
Likes
3,065
Location
Zg, Cro
In fact, part of the reason I think Amir should measure speakers if he's up to it is that it might just encourage manufacturers to be more open about sharing measurements. We've already seen his influence in the DAC/amp world.

I fully agree with this.

Personally, I don't think measuring speakers regularly is so insurmountable a task, especially if Amir ends up getting the Klippel system. Some manufacturers I'm sure would be happy to send samples, especially as ASR gains traction.

Yes, some manufacturers will send samples and by doing so they will send an important message to their potential customers. Some won't, but that will send equally important message. ;)
 

LeftCoastTim

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Apr 15, 2019
Messages
375
Likes
757
Has Amir decided one way or another? Or is this question still in contemplation phase? I've missed out on 10 pages of discussions, and don't want to wade through them all.
 
Top Bottom