Which brand makes the best quality loudspeakers?

[scwlw]

Iv'e heard really good sound from KEF, Revel, Dynaudio, Focal, and Vienna Acoustics and if you want to go back a few decades EPI and ADS come to mind. Personally have yet heard a pair of B&W properly set up because they all have had a cupped hands sounding vocals and we know by all the reviews they are great speakers.

 

[gzubeck]

Iv'e heard really good sound from KEF, Revel, Dynaudio, Focal, and Vienna Acoustics and if you want to go back a few decades EPI and ADS come to mind. Personally have yet heard a pair of B&W properly set up because they all have had a cupped hands sounding vocals and we know by all the reviews they are great speakers.

B&W 802 D3 newest version.

 

[gzubeck]

Iv'e heard really good sound from KEF, Revel, Dynaudio, Focal, and Vienna Acoustics and if you want to go back a few decades EPI and ADS come to mind. Personally have yet heard a pair of B&W properly set up because they all have had a cupped hands sounding vocals and we know by all the reviews they are great speakers.

After seeing these modified JBL 4343s from kenrick audio in Japan...my end game if I had the room.

 

[scwlw]

I appreciate the you tube demonstrations but they only sound as good as my logitech powered computer speakers.

 

[gzubeck]

I appreciate the you tube demonstrations but they only sound as good as my logitech powered computer speakers.

Much nicer using my $150 sony bluetooth headphones with aptx.

 

[KenM10759]

And I'm sure those expensive speakers sound exactly like your $150 Sony headphones. With aptX.

 

[gzubeck]

And I'm sure those expensive speakers sound exactly like your $150 Sony headphones. With aptX.

high quality youtubes are available and given my experience with many different types of speakers I get a very good feel for the general quality good or bad. Having little computer noisemakers for demo is something I cant control. I even chromecasted these demos to my much better speakers in my living room and the demos are still pretty nice.

 

[KenM10759]

You can get a sense of what a particular piece of music may sound like, but there is NO WAY to convey how any speaker sounds in a given space via a YouTube video. No matter how you slice it, it's your speakers playing not the ones in the video. I can play YouTube videos on my system though my loudspeakers and all I'm hearing is my speakers and a good or bad source.

 

[gzubeck]

You can get a sense of what a particular piece of music may sound like, but there is NO WAY to convey how any speaker sounds in a given space via a YouTube video. No matter how you slice it, it's your speakers playing not the ones in the video. I can play YouTube videos on my system though my loudspeakers and all I'm hearing is my speakers and a good or bad source.

Your just wrong and your trolling for an argument. I can definitely tell by watching multiple you tube videos. some people have good equipment which captures the experience and some people have garbage. Kenrick and others who have high quality recording equipment can definitely give you a solid feel. obviously if you want to nitpick its not perfect. if you cant tell thats your problem not mine. you simply have not watched enough high quality systems with quality recordings to get a feel. If you cant tell with thses two videos I cant help you!

 

[Dave Blount]

Your just wrong and your trolling for an argument. I can definitely tell by watching multiple you tube videos. some people have good equipment which captures the experience and some people have garbage. Kenrick and others who have high quality recording equipment can definitely give you a solid feel. obviously if you want to nitpick its not perfect. if you cant tell thats your problem not mine. you simply have not watched enough high quality systems with quality recordings to get a feel. If you cant tell with thses two videos I cant help you!

LOL ...... and you said, "have not 'watched' enough high quality systems" ....... are you kidding me, yeah you're correct, but I guarantee you, I've 'LISTENED' to plenty !!

 

[gzubeck]

LOL ...... and you said, "have not 'watched' enough high quality systems" ....... are you kidding me, yeah you're correct, but I guarantee you, I've 'LISTENED' to plenty !!

Are you dave or Ken? or do you have a split personality?

 

[KenM10759]

You're the first to ever accuse me of trolling for an argument. I do not wish to argue with you or anyone, I'm just stating my case for why videos of speakers playing cannot tell us how speakers really sound. Sorry if I offended you. Try not to be so defensive.

 

[gzubeck]

You're the first to ever accuse me of trolling for an argument. I do not wish to argue with you or anyone, I'm just stating my case for why videos of speakers playing cannot tell us how speakers really sound. Sorry if I offended you. Try not to be so defensive.

This has been the most difficult forum (Audioholics) to post in as Ive got accounts with Headfi, emotiva, audioholics, superbest audio friends, audiokarma etc. The videos I pick would be my high quality picks and are there for a reason. Im not going to post junk. The experience I get from most posters on here are they're surround sound oriented without much experience in other areas and are quick to disparage others without thinking it through. Find a good playback system that connects to youtube and watch at least ten kendrick youtube videos. It might not be 100% exact to being there but if you have any experience with high end systems you will definitely get a feel through high quality youtube videos.

 

[KenM10759]

I have heard many speaker pairs north of $30K per pair in person, in a well appointed and damped listening room. I have also played a few good YouTube videos of movies, shows and yes, speakers playing...all via my home system which is listed in my signature.

As an example I recently watched a decent quality video of Paradigm Persona 9F speakers playing. That video did nothing to impress me as compared to sitting on front of a pair of them at my local dealer. When you state "definitely get a feel" for speakers via even a high quality YouTube video, I'm sorry but I just plain disagree that has any value. The Persona 9F speakers were just mind blowing good...in person and the video to me was nothing more than a moving picture of walking around them when they were done playing.

 

[gzubeck]

I have heard many speaker pairs north of $30K per pair in person, in a well appointed and damped listening room. I have also played a few good YouTube videos of movies, shows and yes, speakers playing...all via my home system which is listed in my signature.

As an example I recently watched a decent quality video of Paradigm Persona 9F speakers playing. That video did nothing to impress me as compared to sitting on front of a pair of them at my local dealer. When you state "definitely get a feel" for speakers via even a high quality YouTube video, I'm sorry but I just plain disagree that has any value. The Persona 9F speakers were just mind blowing good...in person and the video to me was nothing more than a moving picture of walking around them when they were done playing.

Just because theyre $30000 doesnt mean theyre good. Sat in front of Revel salons hooked up to a $30000 amp at an audio show and thought they were average. Then went into another room with revel gem speakers hooked up to a mark levinson amplifier and was much more pleased for 1/5th the cost. setup has alot to do with it. I guess with my experience I can tell whats pretty good through a well recorded video.

 

[sterling shoote]

I've enjoyed many Kenrick YouTube videos; and, from them I get a sensation of the sort of sound produced by whatever speakers are being demonstrated. The sensation is transcribed whether listening from my iPad or through my HT. For example, I recently watched a video from Kenrick which demonstrated a pair of JBL L300's; and another one demonstrating L100's. My impression was the L300's were superior to the L100's. Don't know the mechanics or psychology of it. I don't care, even though curious about it. Perhaps,the L300's appeared to sound better because I expected them to sound better. At any rate, I've enjoyed those videos enough to call it a pastime. Now that is disturbing, squandering my leisure time, which is a luxury, watching YouTube videos.

 

[shadyJ]

Trying to gauge how speakers sound through a youtube video is absurd for a a variety of reasons.

1. What kind of microphone was used in the recording? Cardoid? Bidirectional? Omni? That will have a huge effect on the recorded sound.
2. What is the frequency response of the microphone and all of the signal chain up to the master of the recording of the youtube video? That will have a big effect on the sound.
3. Room acoustics have a colossal effect on the sound. You are hearing to the room more than the speakers. I wouldn't even compare many of the high-end setups I have heard in person because of the differences in room acoustics.
4. What is the frequency response of every part of the signal chain in the setup that is being recorded? Are you sure it's just the speakers that is being voiced?
5. How familiar are you with the content that is being replayed by the setup? If you don't have a reference point for the music that is being played, than how can you judge how any speaker system sounds like using unfamiliar content as a source?
6. Youtube uses compression on sound as well as video. How much of what you are hearing is a result of processing the audio for streaming?

That is just the problems I can think of off the top of my head at the moment, I am sure there is more inherently wrong with trying to judge a setup from a Youtube video. And this is all assuming you are getting a very accurate response from your own system in the first place.

 

[KenM10759]

Well that really nailed it for me. Thank you so much for posting that!

 

[gzubeck]

Trying to gauge how speakers sound through a youtube video is absurd for a a variety of reasons.

1. What kind of microphone was used in the recording? Cardoid? Bidirectional? Omni? That will have a huge effect on the recorded sound.
2. What is the frequency response of the microphone and all of the signal chain up to the master of the recording of the youtube video? That will have a big effect on the sound.
3. Room acoustics have a colossal effect on the sound. You are hearing to the room more than the speakers. I wouldn't even compare many of the high-end setups I have heard in person because of the differences in room acoustics.
4. What is the frequency response of every part of the signal chain in the setup that is being recorded? Are you sure it's just the speakers that is being voiced?
5. How familiar are you with the content that is being replayed by the setup? If you don't have a reference point for the music that is being played, than how can you judge how any speaker system sounds like using unfamiliar content as a source?
6. Youtube uses compression on sound as well as video. How much of what you are hearing is a result of processing the audio for streaming?

That is just the problems I can think of off the top of my head at the moment, I am sure there is more inherently wrong with trying to judge a setup from a Youtube video. And this is all assuming you are getting a very accurate response from your own system in the first place.

were arguing apples and oranges. your arguing for 100% accurate reproduction versus 90% accurate reproduction which can give you a very good feel for a system. If it doesn't work for you that's fine ignore me. If others think that its possible to get an interesting proxy for a particular setup from a quality video/audio recording then they can pursue an audition of that speaker setup. a quality video can still save you time.

 

[shadyJ]

A youtube video of a speaker audition is a misleading demo, period. "90% accurate"? It is an extremely poor way to get a handle on a speaker's sound. You can not properly judge how a speaker sounds from a Youtube video. It is not even close. In my list of reasons why it can't suffice, I did not even get into the audiological problems ie how your ears register sound, which is not much like a microphone. A microphone is no substitute for your ears, and the list of reasons why that is so is also the list of reasons why a Youtube video can not be a proxy for a speaker audition. It would be a big list, and I don't have time to get into it at the moment.