Which speaker would you like to be reviewed? (community interest thread)

[richard12511]

I wouldn't mind seeing some PA speakers tested from all (low-mid-high) tiers. Home theater afficionados have been using PA speakers for years, but there's very little to find in terms of high quality objective measurements.


Also it could/would draw a different crowd as well if some sort of SPL/distortion test could be included. I'm sure PA guys would love the info.

I've got a pair of JBL EON 615 sitting in storage that I never use.

 

[oldsysop]

Any brand and model that meets these 4 premises:
-3 ways.
-Woofer of 12 or 15 inches.
-90 liters as a minimum of box.
-Passive.

The only speakers that interest me.

 

[nerdoldnerdith]

I'd also like to see the Focal Shape 40 measured to see what they have done with their new tweeter. I wonder what they can do by matching it to a small 4" woofer. I like wide, and it should be wide.

 

[quattro98]

Would love to see Kef Reference 3. Would be an interesting comparison to the other Kef.

 

[lherrm]

The list now contains about ~70 speakers already, about 7 to go.
I sometimes picked a random speaker when only a range was specified, sometimes not, please mention a model in that case.
I think it would be counterproductive to keep the list growing, so we might decide to close it quite soon and run the poll, as it's plenty already.
It will certainly be necessary to trim the list down before polling, so if we can agree on "good" reasons to rule out speakers (at least for this first shot), please say so. Height is already one.

8351B can be ruled out since @amirm 's got one.
Max height has increased to about 1110 mm (44 inches).
I didn't collect the speakers'weight, should that be done as criteria of exclusion, or is that alright, @hardisj ?

My 2 cents about what kind of speaker I'd like to be reviewed.
I wish it was not a budget bookshelf (many of them already done here),
and also not something so expensive no one could buy. Something in between.
If it was just me : 3 ways, at least midfield, well powered-active.
An iconic speaker not yet properly measured would be great too.
The community will decide.

@amirm, do you know why I can't edit the first post anymore ?

 

[Dennis Murphy]

If people have "renowned" speakers of yore, it might be fun to (in)validate/understand why they received all that praise and whether it was justified. Speakers like: Dynaco A25, Large Advents, Quad 57s, SL6Si, Spendor SP2, Neat Iota... and on and on. Always wondered if any of them managed to find an objective sweet spot. Anyways - it'd be fun for me, not sure about others.

I keep monitoring ebay for a beat up large Advent to send, but there's always something goofy about them, or they won't be available to ship for two months. I'll keep looking.

 

[Dennis Murphy]

I keep monitoring ebay for a beat up large Advent to send, but there's always something goofy about them, or they won't be available to ship for two months. I'll keep looking.

OK--I found one. But it won't be here for a month. For something like this, I think the basic Klippel measurements would be enough. Erin could throw in some observations if he wishes, but I think it's the measurements everyone would be interested in. I would be happy to throw in my 2 cents worth on subjective impressions, since I have 47 speakers here and can make instant volume-compensated comparisons. I also owned a pair for several years. I'll make sure everything is up to spec and make any repairs if necessary.

 

[Zaireeka]

GGNTKT M1!
And any Geithain model with a 12" or a 15"

 

[jonfitch]

KEF Reference 1 or 3 would be nice.

 

[lherrm]

Listing complete (up to now), 77 speakers : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hNHyHAKgYV3_Chrr5b9ncc2-7jG38Ejr0ioPhOb8fTo/edit?usp=sharing
Many thanks everyone for your suggestions.
I added some attributes so we can filter (hope it's not overcomplicating it) :
- active/passive
- format : bookshelf, midsize (arbitrarily : size>500mm and not a tower), tower, center
- listening distance : nearfield/midfield(+)
- way : 2(<3), 3(+)
- diy : y/n

No idea how many items we can fit in a poll, but with so many contenders, it is likely each of them will get 0, 1 or 2 votes, thus no real winner.
We may continue to list them (though at some moment it will be a list of every existing speaker), but the voting will have more sense if a "sensible" (?) number of items is defined.
Let's consider this the first attempt, and the speakers not chosen will have their chance for later reviews (if any).

Here are some propositions to rule some speakers out, once we'll have decided to stop the listing :
- diy : nothing against them, but Erin's not gonna to do it, so who would ?
No to mean we shall never have a DIY speaker reviewed, but maybe not for this first shot (easier is better).
- inwall stuff : how shall this be measured ?

Then , maybe we can do a first pool to choose a category of speaker we'd like FIRST, like :
- active - 2 way
- active - 3 way
- passive - 2 way
- passive - 3 way
or
- active - bookshelf
- passive - bookshelf
- active - bigger
- passive - bigger
?
Then on next poll, we'll pick the speakers of the winning category.
All suggestions welcome.

 

[eddantes]

OK--I found one. But it won't be here for a month. For something like this, I think the basic Klippel measurements would be enough. Erin could throw in some observations if he wishes, but I think it's the measurements everyone would be interested in. I would be happy to throw in my 2 cents worth on subjective impressions, since I have 47 speakers here and can make instant volume-compensated comparisons. I also owned a pair for several years. I'll make sure everything is up to spec and make any repairs if necessary.

Thank you Dennis. It will be wonderful to have spins on some of these to be able to compare and contrast and to understand.

 

[TabCam]

Would love to see some measurements in the uber HiFi category like Magico (s5/q7/m3/m6) or YG Acoustics Carmel/Sonja/Invincible) and TAD (ME1, CE1)
Furthermore some more European brands like Quadral (Titan 9, Vulkan) Focal (Sopra no 1 & 2, Spectral 40), Canton (Reference 3K/5K), Dynaudio (Confidence 30/60) and DALI (Epicon 2/6)
Maybe it is also good to include high selling products like B&W 603s2, 703s3, Klipsch RF8000 etc.

 

[Enchy]

Just one more to add:

Home Theater Direct Level 3 Bookshelf

 

[AGL]

Another ones:

-Lipinski L505

They were an standard for mastering and linearity a few years ago...I would like to see how different they measure to other moderno designs that claim to be mastering quality.

 

[More Dynamics Please]

Yeah I'd happily put up $25 for anything from those three manufacturers.

I asked for measurements on the official PSA speaker thread on AVS and Tom V basically told me to take my money elsewhere. Now I really want to see measurements.

I remember reading that thread. To be fair, Tom V said that he would update the PSA site with measurements of the latest model incorporating new drivers as soon as the weather warms up but if measurements were needed immediately it would be best to shop elsewhere. Measurements of an older model would likely not be representative of the latest models with new B&C woofer and tweeter.

 

[nerdoldnerdith]

Would love to see some measurements in the uber HiFi category like Magico (s5/q7/m3/m6) or YG Acoustics Carmel/Sonja/Invincible) and TAD (ME1, CE1)

Send me a pair as well! I'll gladly measure them. It might take a few months or years, but I promise I'll get those measurements delivered sooner or later.

 

[User5910]

KEF Egg Wireless - 2-way 4¼" Uni-Q coaxial bass reflex, active crossovers, 2 class D stereo amps (50 W total) in right speaker power the pair

I can send you mine for testing if needed.

 

[pozz]

Wishlist: Barefoot MicroMain or Footprint series.

 

[MrGoodbits]

Paradigm Founder 40B

 

[MZKM]

Tom V said that he would update the PSA site with measurements of the latest model incorporating new drivers as soon as the weather warms up but if measurements were needed immediately it would be best to shop elsewhere.

I find it ironic that none of his speakers have measurements (even the frequency response specs don’t state +/- dB) yet I found this on his blog post about frequency response:

if a manufacturer of a speaker or subwoofer doesn't have basic frequency response measurements of their products available on their website take that as a warning flag.

We know his subs perform, it’s the speakers that I’m interested in.