Hello,
from my experience on ASR, almost no very expensive speaker receives broadly positive recognition. A recent example is the new flagship model from Wilson Audio, which is extremely costly. I understand that many people here prefer to rely on measurements or “proof” on paper to validate a speaker’s performance and only a few manufacturers provide such data.
But even brands with a generally good reputation in this community, such as JBL or Genelec, often receive more negative feedback when it comes to their higher-end or flagship models. Their measurements are frequently scrutinized in great detail, sometimes to the point where every possible flaw is highlighted. At the same time, actual listening tests (which could put these measurements into a more meaningful context) are often avoided or dismissed.
A speaker is nothing more than a purely technical device that converts a voltage into air pressure differences.
How well this performs its task can be captured with a microphone.
Now comes the tricky part.... using 1 microphone on the listening position yields the response of the speaker including the alterations the room makes.
This is what you are listening to. The brain kind-of filters out
some of the room's 'additions'. The microphone doesn't.
This is where the Near Field Scanner comes in. This huge device is basically a moving microphone that measured the speaker all around and using software in order to 'ignore' reflections of the room it is placed in.
O.K. so now there is a ton of measurements done all around the speaker (takes quite a lot of time). Those measurements are combined and various plots are created that show how the sound propagates around the speaker. Based on those measurements one can 'guesstimate' how that speaker might/will sound in a near perfect 'living room'.
Your room at home will differ yet again.
This means we now have a comparable set of measurements for speakers and can see how the emitted sound travels in all directions... which matters.
Research also has shown how the best sounding speakers 'measure'.
This is why most ASR readers scrutinize the measurements and fall over every 'flaw'. There is nothing else to go on.
Reason being you can't trust subjective opinions of owners and 'testers' doing that in their home... because of MANY factors.
Besides.... not all expensive speakers (nor headphones nor electronics) get 'negative votes'.
There are many threads where not a single participant has heard the speaker in question, yet dozens of people still offer negative judgments.
Yep, that's what the forum and poll is for.
Interpreting spin data CORRECTLY requires quite some knowledge about acoustics and knowing what your room does.
Let's face it, there might be a handful of members that can. The rest just looks for 'imperfections', looks at the price and concludes if it is worth it.
There is no room for 'taste' nor how it might really sound where it is placed and how.
This makes me wonder why that is the case. Of course, there are expensive speakers that do not perform well, and sometimes this can indeed be identified through the standard measurements. However, there are also exceptional speakers that are very costly but deliver phenomenal sound quality at least in some categories like sound stage, live like dynamics or... To truly appreciate their capabilities, it is necessary to listen to them in person and experience what they can do!
How likely is it that every reader on ASR (or elsewhere) gets to audition each expensive speaker (as well as electronics) in their own listening room for at least a week or so.
.... Exactly ... zero chance. Even listening to those speakers in some demo room will NOT tell you how it will sound at home.
This is why people express their opinion without hearing it.
They do this based on what they (think) they know and with their wallet in mind.
Also when an expensive device (speaker or not) has not been measured using an NFS or similar 'spin' (there are more ways to skin a cat) even then people form an opinion. Even without having any data other than what they read. Sure... that is just an opinion.
You can ignore as it may be founded or non-founded. All people will always have an opinion... true or not.
My somewhat critical assumption is that many people here may have limited experience listening to a wide range of state-of-the-art loudspeakers, and possibly also limited exposure to the sound of real instruments. Only a small number seem to regularly visit dealers, manufacturers, or live acoustic concerts to explore different approaches to audio reproduction.
Oh sure ... no argument there.
Nevertheless, many participants appear very confident in judging speakers—often in a negative way.
I don’t intend to offend anyone with these remarks. However, I do feel that this approach may lead people in the wrong direction and prevent them from ever experiencing great sound.
Best regards
Thomas
You might well be right.
What is your proposal ...
Only owners can vote or may pass judgement?
In that case threads may be very short (other than people asking questions) and those owners will pass judgement how that sounds in their room to them.
It will include acoustics in their room and their preference.
Nah.... all we have here is measurements and opinions of readers/responders.
It's a bummer if an owner that bought it because they liked it sees it is burned down to the ground by some folks that did not hear it. I suggest they get over it soon and instead of reading the replies simply ignore other people's opinions and enjoy what they hear.
So basically your beef is with yourself... you need to realize not all people will feel the same as you and opinions differ but everyone has them and base it on the 'information' they have.
In the case of expensive gear the experience they have is not hands-on.
Hate ? envy ? lack of knowledge ? who cares other than the reader that has their own differing opinion ?
HATE (especially when shouting) is a very strong word where in reality it isn't hate but disappointment.
. There is a ton of love for Genelec and JBL high end models here. And the low end models too. You can sort the speaker reviews for yourself and see there is a ton of love for good speakers even if they are expensive.
