Best home speakers

[LittleJoey]

Speaker sound, just because of the highest price speakers doesn''t mean there the best. Cheaper sometimes are better? It depends on the persons ears. I owned many different speakers & I thougjt jbl book shelf was better than Bose ( way over price ) Cambridge Sound works way better. My first home speakers was KLH model 23?? Any how thats my thought.

 

[Kvn_Walker]

So what are you giving away?

 

[Pogre]

Far as I know KLH make some pretty decent speakers?

To the point of more expensive = better speakers I'd say you're right to a point. There are some lower cost speakers that can and do outperform their higher cost counterparts. From what I've observed as a general rule, after aesthetics, higher costs can and do equate to better sound quality if it goes to the right places such as higher quality parts, engineering and build quality. The point of diminishing returns does become a factor after a certain price point tho, and you start paying more and more for increasingly smaller and smaller improvements.

 

[Kvn_Walker]

Far as I know KLH make some pretty decent speakers?

To the point of more expensive = better speakers I'd say you're right to a point. There are some lower cost speakers that can and do outperform their higher cost counterparts. From what I've observed as a general rule, after aesthetics, higher costs can and do equate to better sound quality if it goes to the right places such as higher quality parts, engineering and build quality. The point of diminishing returns does become a factor after a certain price point tho, and you start paying more and more for increasingly smaller and smaller improvements.

Most of a speaker's cost is the cabinet. I look at a lot of these "furniture grade curved handcrafted Corinthian veneer" enclosures and wish they'd just put the same drivers in a big ugly box that met the T/S parameters. Would cost probably 40-60% less in many cases.

 

[snakeeyes]

Most of a speaker's cost is the cabinet. I look at a lot of these "furniture grade curved handcrafted Corinthian veneer" enclosures and wish they'd just put the same drivers in a big ugly box that met the T/S parameters. Would cost probably 40-60% less in many cases.

Sometimes you pay a bit extra for the “bug shape”. LOL

 

[Kvn_Walker]

Sometimes you pay a bit extra for the “bug shape”. LOL

True that. Glass top? I can't see it sitting down and it's just decoration (an expensive, fragile one). The curved cabinet? Well the interior of the speaker is all hard angles. I know a curved face can help with diffraction, but I don't know if curved sides serve any purpose beyond aesthetics.

You look at Jim Salk's tower lineup and most follow the traditional box shape. But those are some of the most beautiful speakers I've ever seen (and never heard). If I had the money I'd ship mine to him and pay him to re-finish them (the matte black is more pleasant to my eyes than a glossy would have been, but I'm not a fan of solid black speakers).

 

[Pogre]

I know a curved face can help with diffraction, but I don't know if curved sides serve any purpose beyond aesthetics.

I think the curved cabinets also help reduce standing waves by eliminating parallel surfaces as well.

 

[shadyJ]

I think the curved cabinets also help reduce standing waves by eliminating parallel surfaces as well.

That's the theory. In practice, I don't think its ever been shown to be a real audible issue.

 

[D Murphy]

That's the theory. In practice, I don't think its ever been shown to be a real audible issue.

Right--that's the theory. But I agree with you that it really doesn't make any doo da difference assuming you properly treat the interior of the cabinet. I could never tell any difference between my BMR's in a curved cabinet and a rectangular one.

 

[KEW]

True that. Glass top? I can't see it sitting down and it's just decoration (an expensive, fragile one). The curved cabinet? Well the interior of the speaker is all hard angles. I know a curved face can help with diffraction, but I don't know if curved sides serve any purpose beyond aesthetics.

The "bug" shape was a reference to Canton Vento speakers and an idiosyncrasy of translation from German (I presume, because I don't see too much bug in the shape). In the case of the Cantons, the interior follows the same shape as the exterior. There are six laminations of wood (like plywood) that get steamed (to bend easily), pressed, and glued together in order to make for a very rigid shape (you might imagine taking 6 cards from a deck of cards and gluing them together while holding a bend in the cards until the glue sets - once the glue has set you cannot straighten the cards ... short of a failure of the glue (or destruction of the cards)!
But my point is that, in the case of the Canton Vento, the curve on the outside is the same as the interior.

I know a curved face can help with diffraction, but I don't know if curved sides serve any purpose beyond aesthetics.

The biggest audible benefit of curved surfaces (any surface, not face in particular) for a speaker cabinet is a curved surface allows much less resonance as compared to a flat panel.
Nonetheless, your point is valid. I believe a box made from flat stock, IF properly designed with appropriate bracing, can be the audible equivalent of a (much more expensive to produce) curved box. So while the curved design does offer a audible benefit over a non-braced flat box, it is often chosen for an up scale aesthetic since bracing is less expensive!

Most of a speaker's cost is the cabinet. I look at a lot of these "furniture grade curved handcrafted Corinthian veneer" enclosures and wish they'd just put the same drivers in a big ugly box that met the T/S parameters. Would cost probably 40-60% less in many cases.

Canton did exactly that with their A45 (45th Anniversary model) speakers. They took their Reference drivers and put them in a box with flat panels (and proper bracing) to come up with a less expensive speaker that challenges the best speakers they make. Interestingly, I believe (in Europe) that they only sell the A45 series direct from Canton!

 

[67-79]

The problem in speaker building is that they just sell all choice of drivers like woofer and tweeters but they do not assist in box construction materials. so to build your own speakers you have to find all kind of materials at home hardware, some even cut your wood panels for 1 or 2 dollars per cut.. Also for measuring tools too much sellers of overpriced software tools. few test signals and measuring tools are offered and broadly used. I think that some software provider like mlssa charge 2 000$ for their programms, this is killing the market. Any test cd's and some calibrated mics and recorder sould sell for less than 150.00 $ at any part-express or madisound or solen.

 

[67-79]

Also speaker builder have to tailor made their speakers and boxs and speaker placement. Normally the number one problem is loudness,. first most listening rooms are almost in the streets with small rooms with open windows and moving cars and truck just some 15 feets away…. LOL.
In any refined listening room like La scala where Pavarotti sing, there is silence between notes, so you need a silent listening room with some very small speakers near you to get into the action.