Speaker Rankings....Please comment

[JKBKS]

Hi Guys,

This is the latest ranking from Consu. reports alongwith the definitin of Accuracy. How many of you think, it is fair?

Definition of Accuracy: An accuracy score of 100 would indicate that a speaker didn’t overemphasize or underemphasize any frequency. But no speaker is perfectly accurate. Because the typical listener is unlikely to notice a difference of less than eight points in accuracy

BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS Accuracy
1 Cambridge Soundworks Newton Series M80 94
2 Sony SS-MB350H 92
3 BIC America Venturi DV62si 91
4 Bose 201 Series V 89
5 Boston Acoustics CR75 90
6 Cambridge Soundworks Model Six 89
7 Boston Acoustics VR-M50 90
8 Cambridge Soundworks Newton Series M60 90
9 PSB Image 2B Note: Discontinued. 88
10 Pioneer S-DF2-K 88
11 Boston Acoustics CR85 86

 

[Josuah]

Well, if they did frequency measurements, then by their definition of accuracy, I'm sure their rankings are correct from among those speakers.

But they did leave out decay, off-axis response, power compression, distortion, group delay, etc. And no idea if they tested at multiple voltage levels. So...

 

[brendy]

The fact that they rate the Sony & Bose above PSB & Boston Acoustics pretty much "says it all"

 

[Sheep]

The fact that they rate the Sony & Bose above PSB & Boston Acoustics pretty much "says it all"

Agreed.

SheepStar

 

[johsti]

The speakers aren't ranked in order. I believe each speakers score in this test is the number next to each make/model.

BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS Accuracy
1 Cambridge Soundworks Newton Series M80 94
2 Sony SS-MB350H 92
3 BIC America Venturi DV62si 91
4(tie) Boston Acoustics CR75 90
4(tie) Boston Acoustics VR-M50 90
4(tie) Cambridge Soundworks Newton Series M60 90
5(tie) Cambridge Soundworks Model Six 89
5(tie) Bose 201 Series V 89
6(tie) PSB Image 2B Note: Discontinued. 88
6(tie) Pioneer S-DF2-K 88
7 Boston Acoustics CR85 86

Either way, CR should stick with rating refrigerators, not speakers.

 

[3db]

I sincerely believe

Hi Guys,

This is the latest ranking from Consu. reports alongwith the definitin of Accuracy. How many of you think, it is fair?

Definition of Accuracy: An accuracy score of 100 would indicate that a speaker didn’t overemphasize or underemphasize any frequency. But no speaker is perfectly accurate. Because the typical listener is unlikely to notice a difference of less than eight points in accuracy

BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS Accuracy
1 Cambridge Soundworks Newton Series M80 94
2 Sony SS-MB350H 92
3 BIC America Venturi DV62si 91
4 Bose 201 Series V 89
5 Boston Acoustics CR75 90
6 Cambridge Soundworks Model Six 89
7 Boston Acoustics VR-M50 90
8 Cambridge Soundworks Newton Series M60 90
9 PSB Image 2B Note: Discontinued. 88
10 Pioneer S-DF2-K 88
11 Boston Acoustics CR85 86

That CR is technical not competent enough to arrang nor conduct a meaningful speaker test let alone interpret the test data in a some meaningful way. As usual I chalk their speaker tests to me meaningless drivel and is therefore irrelevant.

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

Hi Guys,

This is the latest ranking from Consu. reports alongwith the definitin of Accuracy. How many of you think, it is fair?

Definition of Accuracy: An accuracy score of 100 would indicate that a speaker didn’t overemphasize or underemphasize any frequency. But no speaker is perfectly accurate. Because the typical listener is unlikely to notice a difference of less than eight points in accuracy

BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS Accuracy
1 Cambridge Soundworks Newton Series M80 94
2 Sony SS-MB350H 92
3 BIC America Venturi DV62si 91
4 Bose 201 Series V 89
5 Boston Acoustics CR75 90
6 Cambridge Soundworks Model Six 89
7 Boston Acoustics VR-M50 90
8 Cambridge Soundworks Newton Series M60 90
9 PSB Image 2B Note: Discontinued. 88
10 Pioneer S-DF2-K 88
11 Boston Acoustics CR85 86

IMO........ I would completely disregard that list. Not only are some of the top choices very suspect, some of the most respected speakers arent even on that list.

 

[johsti]

http://www.hotbuyselectronics.com/item_detail.php?item_id=107231

How can these ^

even be in the same category as these...

http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=7529&FEID=191&PMNID=416&srccode=cii_14110944&cpncode=07-7040665-2

Unbelievable.

 

[kingtut]

CR is good for testing appliances/reliability of cars, but when it comes to audio -- they have no clue. I wonder what kind of audio system do their testing staffs own?

 

[dirtraven]

radio

CR is good for testing appliances/reliability of cars, but when it comes to audio -- they have no clue. I wonder what kind of audio system do their testing staffs own?

Realistic Receiver (Best overall power) and a Emerson CD Player (Best overall spin power)

 

[jonnythan]

Consumer Reports has testing staff? I thought they relied on... *consumer reports* for their ratings.

 

[JaceTheAce]

Realistic Receiver (Best overall power) and a Emerson CD Player (Best overall spin power)

Paired up with Realistic speakers!

 

[highfihoney]

consumer reports is an outdated behind the times source for information on just about everything now days.

 

[Johnd]

highfihoney: What do I get the sense that you're saying that just because your Macs didn't even rate? Consumer Reports must not believe that they're even good enough to test.

Seriously though, anyone shopping for medium+ grade speakers in Consumer Reports deserves to get whatever is dealt them (especially if they take their word as golden without auditioning the speakers firsthand).

 

[Pyrrho]

Hi Guys,

This is the latest ranking from Consu. reports alongwith the definitin of Accuracy. How many of you think, it is fair?

Definition of Accuracy: An accuracy score of 100 would indicate that a speaker didn’t overemphasize or underemphasize any frequency. But no speaker is perfectly accurate. Because the typical listener is unlikely to notice a difference of less than eight points in accuracy

BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS Accuracy
1 Cambridge Soundworks Newton Series M80 94
2 Sony SS-MB350H 92
3 BIC America Venturi DV62si 91
4 Bose 201 Series V 89
5 Boston Acoustics CR75 90
6 Cambridge Soundworks Model Six 89
7 Boston Acoustics VR-M50 90
8 Cambridge Soundworks Newton Series M60 90
9 PSB Image 2B Note: Discontinued. 88
10 Pioneer S-DF2-K 88
11 Boston Acoustics CR85 86

I think if you read the rest of what they say, they will tell you that you should listen to the speakers before you buy them (which is excellent advice). The "accuracy" rating is only one aspect of speaker performance, though it is an important one. Often, though, people do not like "accurate" speakers, as, for example, many people like exaggerated bass and therefore will select a speaker that Consumer Reports rates poorly.

What often happens with "audiophiles" is that they rate speakers they never heard based upon reputation of the brand. And then they complain about what Consumer Reports does! What Consumer Reports does is measure the frequency response and tells you which one had the flattest response. Whether that is the one you want or not is another matter, but when one does actual measurements, one does not always rate the most expensive product as best, nor the one with the best reputation.

I seem to recall some years back that they pointed out a horrible frequency response anomaly in a speaker made by a well regarded company, and yet many "audiophiles" loved the speaker (though others noticed the horrible frequency response and hated it; CR was right about the problem).

You should realize that people often select things based upon reputation rather than actual performance, and do not bother to even consider the possibility that a "bad" brand might make something decent. Some people judge by price, and imagine that a more expensive product must be better, which, of course, is obviously false when you think about it. Others judge them by how they look, which, again, is not going to tell you how it sounds.

Basically, when selecting speakers, you should listen to as many different speakers, of as many different types (e.g., ribbon tweeters, dome tweeters, planar drivers, etc.) as possible, and remember that no matter what you buy, it will not be the best in every way. Pick the ones with the defects that annoy you least and be happy with your choice.

Of course, if instead of listening to the speakers, you wish to have them to impress your "audiophile" friends, you shouldn't bother with listening to them and just buy the ones with the best reputation rather than the ones that actually sound good to you.

 

[JaceTheAce]

http://www.hotbuyselectronics.com/item_detail.php?item_id=107231

How can these ^

even be in the same category as these...

http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=7529&FEID=191&PMNID=416&srccode=cii_14110944&cpncode=07-7040665-2

Unbelievable.

LOL, check out the "frequency response" of the Sony speakers:

Frequency Range --- 50Hz - 50kHz

50,000 Hz? Either a misprint or at 50kHz level is -5,003,534,195,343 db!

 

[Johnd]

JaceTheAce: If you scroll down further in the specs, the 50kHz spec is for sound reproduction on High Resolution Audio. Unimpressive when you consider that sacds extend to 100 kHz.

frequency response = frequency range vs. amplitude

 

[sajohnson]

I think if you read the rest of what they say, they will tell you that you should listen to the speakers before you buy them (which is excellent advice). The "accuracy" rating is only one aspect of speaker performance, though it is an important one. Often, though, people do not like "accurate" speakers, as, for example, many people like exaggerated bass and therefore will select a speaker that Consumer Reports rates poorly.

What often happens with "audiophiles" is that they rate speakers they never heard based upon reputation of the brand. And then they complain about what Consumer Reports does! What Consumer Reports does is measure the frequency response and tells you which one had the flattest response. Whether that is the one you want or not is another matter, but when one does actual measurements, one does not always rate the most expensive product as best, nor the one with the best reputation.

I seem to recall some years back that they pointed out a horrible frequency response anomaly in a speaker made by a well regarded company, and yet many "audiophiles" loved the speaker (though others noticed the horrible frequency response and hated it; CR was right about the problem).

You should realize that people often select things based upon reputation rather than actual performance, and do not bother to even consider the possibility that a "bad" brand might make something decent. Some people judge by price, and imagine that a more expensive product must be better, which, of course, is obviously false when you think about it. Others judge them by how they look, which, again, is not going to tell you how it sounds.

Basically, when selecting speakers, you should listen to as many different speakers, of as many different types (e.g., ribbon tweeters, dome tweeters, planar drivers, etc.) as possible, and remember that no matter what you buy, it will not be the best in every way. Pick the ones with the defects that annoy you least and be happy with your choice.

Of course, if instead of listening to the speakers, you wish to have them to impress your "audiophile" friends, you shouldn't bother with listening to them and just buy the ones with the best reputation rather than the ones that actually sound good to you.

First of all, I want to say that this is an excellent post -- full of truth and insight.

Second, I have been a CR subscriber for about 20 years. They may not be the last word on any given product that they test, but they _do_ know what they're doing. It's kind of funny to read posts where people say, "Oh, they're good at testing cars but not speakers" because over on nasioc.com (a Subaru forum) the guys say, "Oh, they may be good at testing TVs/toasters/etc, but they don't know anything about cars". The fact is, CR has a staff of highly educated professionals doing their research and testing. If they feel they don't have the proper test equipment or expertise, they'll find outside help. All they do is report the facts. Sometimes people don't like what they hear and try to 'shoot the messenger', but that never changes the truth.

In any case, I found this thread because I am looking for info about the Boston CR75 and any other two-way speakers with 6.5" drivers.

I would like to use three (3) identical speakers fro L/C/R and am concentrating on 6.5" two-ways because Tom Nousaine has said that in all his years of testing they are (generally) the best performing design when used with a sub.

So far, I've listened to the B&W 685, av123.com Rocket RS250MkII, and Axiom M3 v2 and I prefer the Rockets.

I'm considering auditioning the KEF iQ3s as well.

Any suggestions appreciated, thank you!

 

[Jack Hammer]

I haven't really followed CR in over 15 years. I think they mean well, but they tend to not clarify a few things. I think they should add something along the lines of "for under $X" or "for readily available at BB/CC." There seems to be that type of quantitative statement to these reports missing that impeeds upon the credibility of their results to those with a little more knowlege.

Jack

 

[furrycute]

A lot of people don't like a flat frequency response, myself included.

Vienna Acoustics speakers have terrible frequency response, yet many people rave about VA speakers. I like the VA sound as well.

I would say Consumer Reports did an excellent job with their testing. People don't seem to like the Newton speakers. Yeah, they sound dry and sterile because they are accurate speakers.