How to Audition Speakers

[admin]

Shopping for and auditioning speakers can be a daunting experience for newcomers to home theater, and even some veterans for that matter. There are a myriad of brands, styles, price points, and plenty of people willing to give their opinions. For many, the most exciting part of shopping for speakers is sitting down and demoing them. We have to agree. Unfortunately, walking into a HiFi shop and asking to listen to some speakers probably won't get you very far. Sure, the sales person will be happy to crank up some Pink Floyd from their iPod to ear bleeding volume levels and ask if it is the most amazing thing you have ever heard (yes, this happens quite often), but how do you know what you are hearing is because of the speakers and not the receiver, room, iPod, etc.

Discuss "How to Audition Speakers" here. Read the article.

 

[goodman]

Thank you for this well-crafted and clearly written article, perhaps the best I have ever read on how to audition loudspeakers.

 

[ack_bak]

Or, you can plan to come to the annual Audioholics Get Together (GTG) in Clearwater, Florida this October

Oh man... I am going to try and make it out for this. I grew up near Claarwater and have family nearby.. Just need to schedule a vacation with the family to Florida and then find a way to work this...

 

[Nuance AH]

The part about heavy metal music and "taste" is offensive, as I do listen to some of that, and I have great taste and am not deaf. Other than that the article was good, and is almost the same procedure I've been using to audition.

 

[gene]

The part about heavy metal music and "taste" is offensive, as I do listen to some of that, and I have great taste and am not deaf. Other than that the article was good, and is almost the same procedure I've been using to audition.

I listen to some heavy metal (no death metal though) and I would NEVER use it as demo material. With the exception to Porcupine Tree, very few metal or rock bands produce good quality recordings.

 

[Spookyfoot]

I listen to some heavy metal (no death metal though) and I would NEVER use it as demo material. With the exception to Porcupine Tree, very few metal or rock bands produce good quality recordings.

Progressive Metal bands such as Opeth, Dream Theater & Pain Of Salvation can be great choices for auditioning speakers with a lot of swings and dynamic shifts.

 

[gene]

Progressive Metal bands such as Opeth, Dream Theater & Pain Of Salvation can be great choices for auditioning speakers with a lot of swings and dynamic shifts.

I have much of those and they still don't compare to a really good Jazz recording or even the likes of music from Sting, Eagles, etc. Hey use all the music you like and as much diversity b/c ultimately it's what you listen to!

 

[Nuance AH]

I listen to some heavy metal (no death metal though) and I would NEVER use it as demo material. With the exception to Porcupine Tree, very few metal or rock bands produce good quality recordings.

That happens to be one of the bands that came to mind (Porcupine Tree), and also Dream Theater's "Awake" and Joe Satriani's "Electric Joe Satriani: An Anthology." It's not so much that it's not a genre that has good recordings, it's that he said:

" If you primarily listen to heavy metal or dance music, consider bringing along a friend who actually has taste and, you know, isn't deaf... "

Well all know heavy metal and rock isn't usually well recorded, but that comment had nothing to do with that. I understand he tries to justify it later in the article, but he fails to do so. That comment is an intentional insult.

I have much of those and they still don't compare to a really good Jazz recording or even the likes of music from Sting, Eagles, etc. Hey use all the music you like and as much diversity b/c ultimately it's what you listen to!

I agree with that, but some of it is pretty dynamic, not to mention can aid when you're listening for panning effects and separation of instruments. I include at least one rock song on my audition CD/tracks. It's usually Tool, Dream Theater or Joe Satriani.

Anyway, it is what it is...

Progressive Metal bands such as Opeth, Dream Theater & Pain Of Salvation can be great choices for auditioning speakers with a lot of swings and dynamic shifts.

Word.

 

[Spookyfoot]

My favorite tracks to play when showing off the abilities of my KEF's are...

1. Devil's Sweet - Chicago
2. Octavarium - Dream Theater
3. All The Love Of The Universe - Santana
4. Deacon Blues - Steely Dan
5. Awaken - Yes

All these tracks have moments of great space as well as passages of congestion to really highlight or expose your speakers.

 

[gene]

The part about heavy metal music and "taste" is offensive, as I do listen to some of that, and I have great taste and am not deaf. Other than that the article was good, and is almost the same procedure I've been using to audition.

I re-read this passage and I can see how it's insensitive to our readers so I changed it as follows:

If you primarily listen to heavily compressed music, consider bring along an audiophile friend (or his choice music collection) that has a wide diversity of quality recordings so you can use higher quality source material to really appreciate the qualities of the speakers you’re comparing.

thanks for bringing this to my attention.

 

[Lordhumungus]

Thanks Gene, now us metal heads no longer have to live in shame around here

We are after all, basically people too.

 

[GranteedEV]

Ah, yes, sales people. You are going to have some interesting experiences in this realm, from the person who says "Everything is garbage except brand X", to the person who can’t figure out how to turn on the speakers you want to listen to.

.. or the guy who told me that unless I'm using MY amp in HIS audition room, it's POINTLESS to audition.

 

[Nuance AH]

I re-read this passage and I can see how it's insensitive to our readers so I changed it as follows:

If you primarily listen to heavily compressed music, consider bring along an audiophile friend (or his choice music collection) that has a wide diversity of quality recordings so you can use higher quality source material to really appreciate the qualities of the speakers you’re comparing.

thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Why thank you. I've got to hand it to you and your staff, you really do care about your readers. Kudos to you and your team.

 

[MinusTheBear]

43% Burnt by the Dillinger Escape Plan made Joe Schmoe's head explode

 

[3db]

I prefer classical (especially violin and piano concertos) and blues music to audition speakers. The concertos will show case the tonality of a speaker during its solo and dynamic ability of the speaker when the orchestra goes full tilt with all instruments playing. Its during the busy time that demonstrates a speaker's ability to articulate the individual instruments. I like Blues because it showcases male and female vocals. Blues music doesn't suffer as much from compression either.

 

[Rickster71]

The part about heavy metal music and "taste" is offensive, as I do listen to some of that, and I have great taste and am not deaf. Other than that the article was good, and is almost the same procedure I've been using to audition.

I found that statement to be more fun and tongue in cheek.
Lets face it; We're not going to use "Bodies" by Drowning Pool
"Let the bodies hit the floor!" to test a speaker's subtle vocal nuances.

 

[Irvrobinson]

.. or the guy who told me that unless I'm using MY amp in HIS audition room, it's POINTLESS to audition.

Are you implying he's wrong? That's probably because he wanted to chose the correct interconnects, cables, and power cord.

 

[3db]

Are you implying he's wrong? That's probably because he wanted to chose the correct interconnects, cables, and power cord.

Don't even go down that stupid road of cables, interconnects and power cords. They make next to no impact at all (less than .0000000000001%) on a systems resolution abilities. Its an industry wide snake oil campaign bent on fleecing nieve audiophiles of their hard earned money.

 

[Irvrobinson]

I'm surprised the article doesn't delve more into how to interpret what you're hearing. For example, recordings should sound different from one another on great speakers. Bring along material that you know sounds different. If the speakers being demonstrated make the recordings all sound bright or dull, or suddenly every selection has a very pleasing bass richness, that's a good indicator that the speaker has probably been "voiced" to demo well with some well-chosen bumps in the frequency response. On really good speakers properly set up you can hear the differences in the studio or venue acoustics.

I agree with the article that well-recorded jazz is excellent test material. Trumpets should "blat" at you. A trumpet is actually a loud, in-your-face instrument. A stand-up bass, properly recorded, is a very subtle instrument, and shouldn't sound like it's 20 feet tall. Cymbals are awesome test sounds. Many good speakers these days can get the sound of wood hitting brass correct, and most people recognize what that sounds like. On the other hand, lots of tweeters can't reproduce a cymbal properly without it sounding hashy, and those speakers should be avoided.

Some jazz singers are recorded very naturally; Diana Krall is a good example. On a very good speaker she can sound live on several of her recordings.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Don't even go down that stupid road of cables, interconnects and power cords. They make next to no impact at all (less than .0000000000001%) on a systems resolution abilities. Its an industry wide snake oil campaign bent on fleecing nieve audiophiles of their hard earned money.

Couldn't you see I was joking? There's no difference in cables unless they use silver conductors.