Identifying Legitimately High Fidelity Loudspeakers - Part 1

A

admin

Audioholics Robot
Staff member
This article explores the economics behind the speaker business and some of the cost cutting approaches loudspeaker companies make to maximize profits while still keeping the products affordable to the consumer. It is our goal to help the reader decide if loudspeakers from their favorite manufacturer are built for serious sound or serious profit. Speaker building, especially during the design phase, is, if nothing else, an effort in compromise for all but those most expensive systems. A good designer must weigh every choice in light of its cost, as well as its relative contribution to the overall performance of the system. It does so with a historical perspective considering what has come before, and the changes which have occurred in the marketplace over the last three decades. We will briefly delve into the shortcomings that arise resulting from these cost cutting techniques used, especially when poorly applied.


Discuss "Identifying Legitimately High Fidelity Loudspeakers - Part 1" here. Read the article.
 
W

westcott

Audioholic General
It is refreshing to know that you know a lot more than just audio.

China refuses to "float" their currency yet still gets "permanent normal trade relations" from the US.

We export jobs overseas for decades then wonder why no one can find employment.

While Republicans and Democrats fight amongst one another, politicians are destroying our country for personal gain.

Sorry, just had to vent and thanks for a start to a great article. I especially liked the part about speaker efficiency being so important.
 
MinusTheBear

MinusTheBear

Audioholic Ninja
Informative stuff. Can't wait to read the next two parts to this series of articles.
 
zhimbo

zhimbo

Audioholic General
"It's a fine balancing act all A/V publications must manage to avoid becoming blacklisted and never receive subsequent samples from the manufacturer under review."
This part had me thinking...it would be interesting for Audioholics to maintain a list of manufacturers who have turned down requests for reviews. I see folks from Audioholics talk about this in discussions and name manufacturers, so I assume there isn't any prohibition on doing so. It wouldn't prove anything one way or another, but it would certainly give some context.

I think some people - mostly newbies - sense favoritism in the reviews at Audioholics because they sense a correlation between better reviews and more advertising, but it seems pretty clear to me that it works the other way: Good reviews draw in more advertising, and less-than-orgasmic reviews will cause advertisers to pull out (especially if they're used to the fluff reviews of most audiophile mags).
 
F

farrow099

Audioholic Intern
I hope it wasn't my comparison of the EMP e55ti to the RBH signature line that sparked this rather passionate article! haha

This article gives me the impression that I'd be better off buying high end drivers from parts express and building my own box than buying loudspeakers retail! :eek:

-----

Could someone clarify for my feeble mind as to why a low resistance (ohm) load needlessly wastes power in the bass region?

"Did the manufacturer avoid extremely low impedance dips (under 3 ohms, especially at low frequencies) where amp power would be gobbled up needlessly? "

I have a custom tc sounds lms-r running off a crown xls 2000 in 2ohm stereo config. I've felt for a long time that wiring dual voicecoils in series produced less "punch" than wiring in stereo (err dual mono) or parallel. That single line of this article made me wonder if I should rethink this opinion!
 
Last edited:
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Okay, the new Linkwitz Orions use SEAS drivers for woofers, instead of the Peerless.

This is article saying it's bad?
 
GranteedEV

GranteedEV

Audioholic Ninja
Good article :) but..

One particular example that recently comes to mind is from a high end online loudspeaker company utilizing a fabulous SEAS mid woofer as a bass driver in a tower speaker that was tuned too low causing the driver to bottom out if played at output levels exceeding 75dB 10 ft away from the speaker in a moderately large theater room. In our opinion, the woofers in a well engineered system should never bottom out, nor should they ever try to reach beyond their designed bandwidth.
I hope this wasn't a knock on the same HT2-TLs that Tom gave a 5 for dynamic range, 5 for bass accuracy, and 5 for bass extension :eek:
 
GranteedEV

GranteedEV

Audioholic Ninja
Okay, the new Linkwitz Orions use SEAS drivers for woofers, instead of the Peerless.

This is article saying it's bad?
The seas in the new orions are are the W26 or bigger (10" or 12")...the seas pictured there was either a W15(5.25") or W18(6.5").

I have a custom tc sounds lms-r running off a crown xls 2000 in 2ohm stereo config. I've felt for a long time that wiring dual voicecoils in series produced less "punch" than wiring in stereo (err dual mono) or parallel. That single line of this article made me wonder if I should rethink this opinion!
Besides impedance, the only relevance parameter that would change going from parallel to series, would be Le - inductance.

It's possible that the LMS-R has high enough Voice Coil inductance, that for your crossover point, there is a reduced frequency response and increased distortion from running the VC in series. I don't know what whether shorting rings are used in that driver.
 
Last edited:
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
I think some people - mostly newbies - sense favoritism in the reviews at Audioholics because they sense a correlation between better reviews and more advertising, but it seems pretty clear to me that it works the other way: Good reviews draw in more advertising, and less-than-orgasmic reviews will cause advertisers to pull out (especially if they're used to the fluff reviews of most audiophile mags).
Thank you for bringing this up and its VERY true. We prefer reviewing products that are well built, sound and measure well in hopes the manufacturer will advertise. Nobody wants to needlessly trash a product. Its not good business for anyone involved and it also ensures we won't get future samples to review.

I hope this wasn't a knock on the same HT2-TLs that Tom gave a 5 for dynamic range, 5 for bass accuracy, and 5 for bass extension
No it wasn't the product Tom reviewed. The samples I had only contained a single driver in a big box. The manufacturer sent me 2 different models and both had design issues so I never actually wrote a formal review. They did acknowledge the issues and actually re-tuned the cabinet as a result of my feedback.
 
R

randyb

Full Audioholic
Really great article. I look forward to Part 2 and 3.
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
This article gives me the impression that I'd be better off buying high end drivers from parts express and building my own box than buying loudspeakers retail!
Only if you know what you're doing. Good drivers and components do NOT a good speaker make if poorly executed.

Could someone clarify for my feeble mind as to why a low resistance (ohm) load needlessly wastes power in the bass region?
yes, lets say you have a 3-way tower speaker. If the manufacturer doesn't employ a HPF on the midrange and lets it play fullrange and its in parallel with the bass drivers, the overall speaker impedance at low frequencies can dip to dangerously low levels. Since the midrange driver is incapable of producing any usable bass at those frequencies, you are simply throwing away amp power and also straining that driver, thus increasing distortion and limiting system dynamics.

Do you guys think I should add that point for clarity in the article?
 
GranteedEV

GranteedEV

Audioholic Ninja
yes, lets say you have a 3-way tower speaker. If the manufacturer doesn't employ a HPF on the midrange and lets it play fullrange and its in parallel with the bass drivers,
Then it's a 2.5 way, not a 3-way ;)

Do you guys think I should add that point for clarity in the article?
Rather than bass region, I would say "in frequency regions where loud, dynamic audio content creates high power draw, low impedances often quickly lead to amplifier strain"
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
I updated that section to:

Was the crossover designed correctly? Did the manufacturer avoid extremely low impedance dips (under 3 ohms, especially at low frequencies) where amp power would be gobbled up needlessly? Did they make the mistake of running a midrange driver full-range which causes it to exceed its excursion capabilities and allows it to play audibly into its break up mode, (high and audible distortion), while also dropping low frequency system impedance?

Quote:
Originally Posted by gene View Post
yes, lets say you have a 3-way tower speaker. If the manufacturer doesn't employ a HPF on the midrange and lets it play fullrange and its in parallel with the bass drivers,
Then it's a 2.5 way, not a 3-way
Sadly you are correct but when a manufacturer sticks the driver into its own small enclosure, it stops being effective below 60-70Hz and even higher if the driver diameter is small. So now the true benefits of a 2.5 way system are not realized but the downsides still are :confused:
 
GranteedEV

GranteedEV

Audioholic Ninja
Sadly you are correct but when a manufacturer sticks the driver into its own small enclosure, it stops being effective below 60-70Hz and even higher if the driver diameter is small. So now the true benefits of a 2.5 way system are not realized but the downsides still are :confused:
Just nonsensical cost cutting, unless the woofers are also sealed (not ported) for a true THX style speaker that rolls off 12db/octave below 80hz, intended for use with a subwoofer ONLY in a THX sub crossover and explicitly stated.

*sigh*
 
MinusTheBear

MinusTheBear

Audioholic Ninja
I sort of remember you mentioning in your impedance article the potential of those speakers employing those type of crossover designs potentially running into serious over excursion (subsonic) problems with turntables as well?
 
F

farrow099

Audioholic Intern
Only if you know what you're doing. Good drivers and components do NOT a good speaker make if poorly executed.

yes, lets say you have a 3-way tower speaker. If the manufacturer doesn't employ a HPF on the midrange and lets it play fullrange and its in parallel with the bass drivers, the overall speaker impedance at low frequencies can dip to dangerously low levels. Since the midrange driver is incapable of producing any usable bass at those frequencies, you are simply throwing away amp power and also straining that driver, thus increasing distortion and limiting system dynamics.

Do you guys think I should add that point for clarity in the article?
Thank you for elaborating, I read that in a completely different way than you intended.

As for building my own speakers; I don't really intend to start building speakers. Though i find it all fascinating, you are correct that buying top dollar components and stuffing them into a winisd designed box doesn't necessarily make for good sound!

I'm one of those guys that has spent a ton of money buying various speakers in my budget friendly price range (say $1k a pair) when I really should have saved that money and gone up to the $3k class of towers. :eek:

I'm kind of curious how those DIY loudspeaker kits from parts express fair?
Has audioholics ever tested one of those kits?
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
So far so good:D but the last name of WC Fields needs to be capitalized.:D
It is the first time mentioned where it is not.
 
F

farrow099

Audioholic Intern
Rather than kits, I recommend strongly considering some established DIY designs.

FOr example, if you've got 600 bucks to spend, consider this one:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68531
Interesting; Though I don't have the woodworking equipment necessary. I could have the local shop that CNC cut my subwoofer enclosure do that part of the build... Of course I'd have to convince the spouse to let go of the oh so glossy EMP's! haha

Certainly something to keep in mind at any rate. Thanks
 
Last edited:
ski2xblack

ski2xblack

Audioholic Field Marshall
Hey, who says big speakers are out?

According to Paul Jacobs, currently manning the helm at Klipsch, the Hope factory is running at full capacity for the first time in ten years, cranking out RF7's, Heritage and cinema stuff. Good news, in light of their recent acquisition by Audiovox.

JTR's and other biggies get recommended here often.

Long live large speakers! They will always mock their puny, anemic smaller brethren.
 
newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top