what makes one speaker better then the next

[camrsz]

So i was at the store listening to different floor standing speakers. I asked the sales man what exactly makes one set sound better then the next. he couldnt give me a real answer. Is it the drivers the cross overs encloser? what do you think is the biggest difference?

 

[oppman99]

All of the things you mentioned have an effect on the overall sound of a speaker. Other things that have an effect are interactions with the room surfaces, your mood and expectations, and quality of the source material. I don't consider myself knowledgable enough to rate which has the greatest overall effect. Low quality drivers, a poorly designed crossover and poorly braced cabinets will all have negative effects on sound quality.

 

[JerryLove]

Everything but the color.

 

[highfigh]

So i was at the store listening to different floor standing speakers. I asked the sales man what exactly makes one set sound better then the next. he couldnt give me a real answer. Is it the drivers, the cross overs, encloser? what do you think is the biggest difference?

I would avoid talking to that guy again. If he couldn't give a decent answer to that question, he should do something else for a living. Everything you listed makes a big difference.

 

[j_garcia]

Everything but the color.

In a nutshell: What he said

To me, it comes down to the guy(s) designing it. If they know what they're doing, you can get great speakers.

 

[dougg]

Your Ears

Some love this Speaker some love that other Speaker. That tells Me it's Personal Preference to the Sound of the Speaker. Given the Room Acoustics are the same it will still be Your Ears that says the most about the Speaker, IMO.
Doug S.

 

[serenity737]

The way a speaker sounds ...

Given everyone has their own preference, I prefer speakers which are fairly neutral. I like to have a system with the characteristic of getting out of the way of the music so as I listen I can have a sense I am there during the performance. Words such as transparency, clarity, soundstage, openness come to mind.

People have differing tastes. Some like a booming bottom end, other a precise high end, etc. Get to know your own preferences and find favorite source material you love, which you know very well, and can use to listen to various speakers. That is the best way to assess a speaker's sound within the context of your preference.

Best,

Mike

 

[JerryLove]

Those personal preferences will make one sound better or worse. But the speaker is a function of its crossover, driver integration, cabinet resonance, driver response, placement, and.. well.. everything.

And even then everything is a compramise. No one driver can do 20-20k including harmonics flat with a 360-degree radiation pattern and no resonances. Until one can: speakers will always be a trade-off

 

[lsiberian]

I do!

Actually in seriousness the first part is build quality. second part is drivers. Third part is crossovers. If you jack up any those your speaker is gonna be sub par. Still most speakers sound good to me. It's just a difference between good(Infinity Primus) and exceptional(B&W 802). Even a simple speaker can sound good after you get used to it.

 

[fhlh]

So i was at the store listening to different floor standing speakers. I asked the sales man what exactly makes one set sound better then the next. he couldnt give me a real answer. Is it the drivers the cross overs encloser? what do you think is the biggest difference?

your ears...
anyone that tells you different is trying to sell you something more expensive...

 

[JerryLove]

Actually in seriousness the first part is build quality. second part is drivers. Third part is crossovers. If you jack up any those your speaker is gonna be sub par. Still most speakers sound good to me. It's just a difference between good(Infinity Primus) and exceptional(B&W 802). Even a simple speaker can sound good after you get used to it.

Ear break-in. Works great unless you go spend a few hours on your good set before moving to the bad ones

 

[jamie2112]

Whatever the sales guy tells me I believe....... I would use my ears first to pick whatever sounds best to you.

 

[camrsz]

so would a good driver in a poorly designed cabinet still sound better then a sub par driver in a well designed cabinet?

 

[TLS Guy]

so would a good driver in a poorly designed cabinet still sound better then a sub par driver in a well designed cabinet?

No both would sound lousy. A speaker is the sum of compromises and intelligent choices and judgments by the designer.

 

[mtrycrafts]

so would a good driver in a poorly designed cabinet still sound better then a sub par driver in a well designed cabinet?

They would be equally impaired as those two go hand in hand but not only those two parameters. You cannot isolate it to just those two. The whole speaker system, a complete box, driver, crossover, etc.

 

[JerryLove]

so would a good driver in a poorly designed cabinet still sound better then a sub par driver in a well designed cabinet?

Who will run faster: The guy with the working ankle and broken knee, or the guy with the working knee and broken ankle?

Of course: in my analogy you have some idea how bad "bad" is. You haven't quantified "poorly designed", and I'm not sure you really could.

The point of all we've been saying is that there's no answer to your question. The weakest link will be the biggest problem.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Well, if you are rich, just buy the B&W 800D.

If you are not, forget about all those specs like (cabinet resonance, flat frequency response, drivers, crossovers, etc.) and just buy the speakers that sound the best to you.

But please, just do us a favor and don't buy BOSE.

 

[KEW]

Everything but the color.

Au contraire!

I find that the better looking of two otherwise identical speakers always sounds slightly better in my mind's ear (unless it is a blind test)!
If we are including psychological factors, I don't think we should rule out color!