How To SHOP for SPEAKERS without HEARING THEM?

[raghupb]

Because every measurement is in a controlled environment and does not involve the Hearing Senses, just measurement devices.
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[Enkay78]

Because every measurement is in a controlled environment and does not involve the Hearing Senses, just measurement devices.
Cheers,
Raghu

Aww common @raghupb you know better than that.

Spinorama also measures how the room reflections will effect it's performance.

PS: I still feel FMs are posting without having read the psaudio article.

PS: Why do I get a feeling as if there is a written rule/law in Hifivision (as of lately) that measurements are to be shunned? I am finding it hard to comprehend.

 

[raghupb]

I have read the article. Somewhere in the essay it says:
"(keep in mind that Spinorama measurements are done in an anechoic chamber)"
Controlled environment!! My room is not an anechoic chamber.

Spinorama or even simple frequency response or on-axis/off-axis graphs are not useless. They have their use.
Though it is daunting for a non-technical person to interpret what it means for in-room performance with a human involved.

<snip>
Spinorama also measures how the room reflections will effect it's performance.
<snip>

In the above sentence, change "will" to "may" and it makes more sense

That's why I listed out my "order of specs/factors" that I would consider, followed by "user subjective opinions".
Both of the above given appropriate weight. The youtube guy also says this, at least that's why I gleaned out of it.
Measurements form the base, after which "user subjective opinions" should be sought or read up to complete the story.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[Vineethkumar01]

I fail to understand the above.

How can spinorama be an incomplete measurements? (I guess the psaudio article I shared is not read....yeah even psaudio is coming around to speaker measurements)

If the measurements is taken good and competently how can it be shaped to look good?

The chart and graph itself will blow away the manipulation when peered reviewed. (Off course spinorama is meant to be peered reviewed. But it's another matter that most speakers manufacturers don't publish their speakers ones).

I personally look at measurements, a lot. But spinorama is not enough is what i said. Because it is just frequency domain magnitude response (without the phase response shown). This is one of the reasons which makes it incomplete. If the phase response(s) were also shown and we all knew how to glean useful info from it, it would have been more complete. I dont see anyone dissuading people from measurements here as you suspect. People are saying to weigh different factors according to one's own knowledge. Compensate for the incompleteness in objective approach with a subjective approach.

Please take a look at the attached frequency response and associated time domain response plots below. They are got by two different crossover topologies acting on the same accoustic construct. The frequency response graphs from top of the plot to bottom are 1)on axis, 2)listening window, 3)sound power 4&5) DI and ERDI

Note how similar the "spinorama" looks. Note how different their time domain response on the left hand side of each plot looks. Both of these configurations of the same speaker sound very differently.

PS: Personally i couldn't care less about what PS audio says. If videos from Paul McGowan are anything to go by, i would gladly steer away from it.

 

[mail2sumanth]

If possible, you must listen to a speaker in your room with your setup before purchasing.

Is this thing even a possibility ?? I personally often find it hard to get some listening places unless you know the dealer, and they are ready to dedicate few hours with your own content. it is even tough to get all the models and makes in one place due to various issues. May be few people in mega cities can try and succeed with some weekend trips. On top, getting to move them to your place and listen in your own room before buying is a mammoth task... I wish I could do this .

 

[raghupb]

Is this thing even a possibility ?? I personally often find it hard to get some listening places unless you know the dealer, and they are ready to dedicate few hours with your own content. it is even tough to get all the models and makes in one place due to various issues. May be few people in mega cities can try and succeed with some weekend trips. On top, getting to move them to your place and listen in your own room before buying is a mammoth task... I wish I could do this .

It is next to impossible. If you do have the opportunity then consider yourself very lucky.
But then, there is HFV. Make friends in your city and hear out their systems. It is always educational.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[Credoh]

It's a great question by the OP. There is no straight answer. What sounds good in a treated room with a high end chain may sound different at home. While buying blind is far from ideal for speakers most of us dont have the luxury to audition. I think if you are buying something that is well within you budget then go for a very well known model that has tons of "reviews" and ownership threads - this helps to atleast get an idea and isn't too far from the general view in my experience. For anything relatively expensive I'd never buy blind. Or something like what Indiq does with a 15 day no questions asked return is a fantastic proposition.