First order, beyond measurements is, to look at the designer's stomping grounds. If music, what type are their ears tuned to? The reason I say this is, when I was growing into audio as a hobby, we knew some eclectic types with deep pockets, who typically listened to classical or jazz. With systems so sterile, it could not play a compressed pop song or hard rock tune to save their own space. And here they thought this was great, could tell you all the reasons why, but would not have been caught dead at an AC/DC concert. Well, we had all been to AC/DC concerts and their audiophilicism was not even close to an accurate translation.
Is the designer's bent more towards HT? Double duty with music, perhaps? Are they having to eek out every conceivable use for a design? How many different types of rooms/music have they actually designed for. . . . by ear? For rock music, I'd be more inclined to believe someone who could relay, with emotion and a decent amount of detail, what made the likes of a Randy Rhoads so special if they are telling me their design "should do 'ok' with 'most' rock music." And when listening to someone like Stevie Ray Vaughn on their speakers, if you don't get chill bumps up the back of your neck well into your scalp, they are missing the point, numbers and scientific values be damned.
Another thing that is largely (if not wholly by now) controlling speaker design is, the blessed computer, the internet, and the safe bet. The latter of which, comes in the form of a graph that shows an ever predictable, blanketed, flat response. Based on studies that shows perhaps, some seemingly unanimous preferences based on double blind tests by yet even more lab coats. Forget the guy with 4 beers in him that had his socks permanently knocked off by SRV's heavy handed attack with his ( "Number 1") big fretted Strat. And don't dare contest what you are missing, because you'll get a chart stuffed in your mug that forever condemns any chance you may have had at audiophilia.
With that said, and by now, not giving much a damn with the current approaches (not entirely true, some parts I do follow, but with the aforementioned considerations) to modern audio, I have multiple pairs of speakers dating back to about 1980. The oldest of which, is considered "junk" by today's (and yesterday's if you ask audiophiles who were into it then) standards. Which are a pair of Fisher ST-845 chunks, of hard-rock-magnificence, the 'value' of which, by the fact that they are still here, still play and are not blown, is pretty good! I still use them. When I have had enough of farting around, and just want to jam out to the classics, I break those bad boys out and let them rip. The others that seem to do it all pretty well are some older JBLs.
As far as HT and surround? Meh. I can't see how any one setup or type can really do it all. Most evident by the constant pursuit of troubleshooting and corrections we see taking place these days. At least not until everyone involved with every aspect from the recording of and to the playback, arrive at some unanimous industry standard.
