My Informal Speaker Reviews

I have worked for many years on a review system for speakers that would include what the reviewer (me) hears in an objective sense to give the reader a flat impression along with a a biased (mine) overall take on the speakers. Note I did something similar back in the early 2000s.

Some forum posters note that reviewers often soft peddle their take to satisfy manufacturers - which is often true - and reviewers should be about protecting, as far as possible, the end consumer.

Further a complaint about reviews is they often lack a value from money proposition. You often see threads about diminishing returns and with this system you can see that. A speaker that is $1,000 may sore 64 points while a $10,000 speaker scores 84 points. It is better but it is not 10 times better.

How the ratings are determined.

I have divided the speakers into 13 categories or qualities of sound reproduction. Each category is given a score initially based out of 100, though it is possible for speakers to get higher than 100 if it so warrants. So this is not a percentage.

Bass (Bass covers deep bass to Mid-bass (roughly 15hz-200hz): I put more emphasis on the quality of bass – is it tuneful rather than one note – is it lively versus dead. Therefore, a speaker that can reproduce 25hz may get a lower score than speaker that can only hit 40hz. Smaller speakers will tend to suffer here because bass is foundational to many instruments; Thus, if a loudspeaker has little bass it is missing large parts of the musical event. So depth of bass still matters.

Mid-range: This is arguably the most critical part of the frequency response band as most music happens here. The Mid-range does depend on the bass and treble as well as dynamics. Still, I have tried to isolate the mid-range into clarity, timbre, and airiness.

High Frequencies: Treble is not just about frequency extension, but also about capturing the event without break-up. A metal tweeter may have more extension but often sound metallic. Therefore, this score is about the naturalness of the HF response and a lack of grain than the ability to crack glass. The macro-dynamics rating is for that.

Dynamics (Macro): The ability to create a love sensation at high levels. Typically, large horns do well here and are generally the speaker’s ability to play loud with dynamic ease.

Dynamics (Micro-Midi): This is a rating for lower level dynamics. Speakers that perform well at low volumes, and are better able to reproduce nuance in dynamics in instrument texture. Speakers that need to “play loud” to come alive tend not to do well here. This is also inclusive of delicacy the soft nuanced surrounding of notes.

Attack: The ability of the speaker to reproduce the initial attack transients of notes – guitar picks, sticks etc. A speaker that is slow or overly warm typically has poorer attack.

Decay: The after effects of Attack is how do the notes fade out after the initial notes are struck. This generally requires the speaker to be fuller in range especially for larger scale instruments like piano or stand-up bass.

Resolution: Is the ability of the system to contrast recordings and to allow the listener to hear the musical event with more of the individual pieces combined. In short, a clearer picture of the musical event.

Imaging: The ability to place the locations and size of instruments within the soundstage.

Soundstage: How speakers reproduce the size and shape of the musical event. Soundstage has a few parameters not just the size left to right but also front to back as well as height.

Tonal Quality: How well a speaker reproduces the timbres of instruments accurately and believably.

Cohesiveness: How well speaker drivers convince the listener that the music portrayed is seamless. How the tweeter hands off to the mid-woofer or bass driver. Do the drivers have a matching sonic signature? Single Driver speakers such as those using full range drivers like Lowthers are highly cohesive. Large Multi-way speakers tend to suffer.

Gestalt: The overall sensation or experience. The forest over the trees evaluation. Some speakers and systems simply rise above their individual parameters and create a superbly woven balance between strength and weakness. Other speakers which when taken individually are technical marvels but seem to sound lifeless or A-musical.

Bias brackets: The (*2) is my evaluation of importance relative to other parameters. I find mid-range to be twice as important as bass or treble for example. I find resolution, the ability to reveal contrast among recordings much more important than exact image placement of the oboe. Because I was not at the recording, I do not care if the Oboe is presented 6 feet to the left or 4 feet to the left. Gestalt is the overall impression and sensation of the music event being portrayed. This is taking the forest for the trees. Not enough reviewer bias is mentioned in reviews.

I present the flat rating because if you the reader values Soundstage and imaging as 5 times more important then you can run the calculation and get a much different score.

VALUE:

I have provided a bang for the buck value system. I have developed a numerical guide based on where a speaker should score relative to a price range. The ratings get wider as the price increases due to diminishing returns and more leniency granted to different designs and room size requirements.

Price / (Rating of where a speaker should score for the money)
Up to $150 (20-29)
$151 - $250 (30-34)
$251 - $350 (35-39)
$351 - $500 (40-44)
$501-$1,000 (45 -49)
$1,001 - $1500 (50 -54)
$1,501 - $2,000 (55 – 59)
$2,001 - $3,000 (60 - 64)
$3,001 - $4,000 (65- 69)
$4,001 - $6,000 (70-74)
$6,001 - $9,000 (75-79)
$9,001 - $13,000 (80-84)
$13,001 - $18,000 (85-89)
$18,001 - $25,000 (90-94)
$25,001 - $35,000 (95-99)
$35,001 - $50,000 (100-104)
$50,001 -$70,000 (105-109)
$70,001 - $100,000 (105-110)
$100,001 and up (110+)

Awards.

Awards are given out based on the score with modifier.

Award level 1: Products that score within expected price range are recommended.

Recommended


Award Level 2: Product that score beyond their expected price band, with at least 3 point spread, is awarded a Recommended Best Buy (This is one of the best speakers you can buy in the price range as it is exceeding what is expected at the price)

Recommended

Award Level 3: Products that scores 2 levels above where it should score will be awarded a Recommended Gold Star Award for being a true stand out at that price. This product should be considered as the reference standard at the price.

Recommended


Award Level 4: Any product, regardless of price, that scores 105 for Gestalt is given an award for being wholly satisfying and gratifying. This product may not offer good value or particularly strong sonic traits but is state of the art for engagement. This product may be given in addition to the previous awards or it may stand alone.



Lastly, these are by no means official reviews. They are speakers though that I have auditioned usually on more than one occasion at shows, dealers, and or homes of audiophiles. Some of them I have reviewed. Speakers that I have auditioned only once have been recommended or better because it was so good under poor conditions that it would definitely better under better conditions.

 

First speaker

KEF LS-50 2 Way Standmount speakers $1,499
Where score should place $1,001 - $1500 (50 -54)

Qualities
Bass........................................................ 50
Midrange 200hz to 3khz ...................... 52 (*2)
High Frequency 3khz up .......................58
Dynamics (Macro)..................................55
Dynamics (Micro/Midi)......................... 50
Attack...................................................... 60
Decay...................................................... 53
Resolution.............................................. 53 (*3)
Imaging ................................................. .80
Soundstage.............................................. 75
Tonal Quality.......................................... 52 (*4)
Cohesiveness .......................................... 75 (*2)
Gestalt..................................................... 55 (*5)

Total Rating: 715/13 = 55
Rating with modifier: 1324/24 = 55
This speaker is scoring in the $1,501 - $2,000 (55 – 59) range but did not meet the 3 point spread.

Recommended

Special Note: On a number of occasions this speaker has been selling for $899 placing it in the $501-$1,000 (45 -49) category. Therefore, at this retail price the Speaker would be performing above its expected rating and would be awarded

 

B&W 705S2 2 Way Standmount Speakers $2,998
Where score should place $2,001 - $3,000.00 (60 - 64)

Qualities
Bass........................................................ 53
Midrange 200hz to 3khz....................... 53 (*2)
High Frequency 3khz up....................... 63
Dynamics (Macro) ................................ 62
Dynamics (Micro/Midi) ....................... 55
Attack..................................................... 66
Decay .................................................... 56
Resolution .............................................. 60 (*3)
Imaging................................................... 80
Soundstage.............................................. 80
Tonal Quality .......................................... 52 (*4)
Cohesiveness........................................... 52 (*2)
Gestalt ................................................... 48 (*5)


Total Rating: 780/13 = 60

Rating with modifier: 1353/24 = 56

This speaker is scoring at the $1,501 - $2,000 (55 – 59) level


Note: As you can see objectively the speaker would be recommended but with my modifier the score is lower.

 

how many speakers you have for us?

 

If your reviews are as attractive as your avatar, I'm following you. Any Klipsch review in the near future ?

 

Audio Note AX Two 2 way Standmount speakers ($1,000)
Where score should place: $501-$1,000 (45 -49)

Qualities
Bass..................................................... 50
Midrange 200hz to 3khz.................... 60 (*2)
High Frequency 3khz up.................... 60
Dynamics (Macro) ............................. 47
Dynamics (Micro/Midi) .................... 57
Attack ................................................ 53
Decay .................................................. 60
Resolution .......................................... 62 (*3)
Imaging .............................................. 73
Soundstage ......................................... 75
Tonal Quality ..................................... 64 (*4)
Cohesiveness ..................................... 75 (*2)
Gestalt .............................................. 63 (*5)

Total Rating: 789/13 = 61
Rating with modifier: 1492/24 = 62

This speaker is scoring at the $2,001 - $3,000.00 (60 - 64) level

Recommended

 

Tannoy Eaton (2019) 2 way Standmount speakers ($5,500)
Where score should place: $4,001 - $6,000 (70-74)

Qualities
Bass..................................................... 60
Midrange 200hz to 3khz.................... 68 (*2)
High Frequency 3khz up.................... 68
Dynamics (Macro)............................. 65
Dynamics (Micro/Midi).................... 77
Attack................................................. 74
Decay ................................................. 72
Resolution.......................................... 75 (*3)
Imaging.............................................. 70
Soundstage ........................................ 75
Tonal Quality ..................................... 73 (*4)
Cohesiveness ..................................... 78 (*2)
Gestalt ............................................... 75 (*5)

Total Rating: 930/13 = 72

Rating with modifier: 1745/24 = 73

This speaker is scoring at the $4,001 - $6,000 (70-74) level

Recommended

 

It's important to note that the awards are only given based on bang for buck - the Tannoy Eaton for example has a much higher score than lower priced speakers like the AX Two or KEF LS-50 so while those are good value for the dollar speakers - the Eaton is a major step up in sound quality.

 

Unfortunately, not as yet. I was dissatisfied with the stores selling Klipsch models and while i have long listened to a number of Klipsch models I don't think I can be remotely fair to them. If I see a set I'll check them out.

 

Reference 3a MM De Capo Be (2019) 2 way Standmount speakers ($3,290)
Where score should place: $3,001 - $4,000 (65- 69)

Qualities

Bass............................................................. 60
Midrange 200hz to 3khz ............................ 70 (*2)
High Frequency 3khz up ......................... 75
Dynamics (Macro)...................................... 65
Dynamics (Micro/Midi)............................. 65
Attack ........................................................ 75
Decay ....................................................... 67
Resolution ................................................. 68 (*3)
Imaging .................................................... 80
Soundstage ............................................... 80
Tonal Quality ............................................ 62 (*4)
Cohesiveness ............................................. 55 (*2)
Gestalt ...................................................... 55 (*5)

Total Rating: 877/13 = 67

Rating with modifier: 1544/24 = 64

This speaker is scoring at the $2,001 - $3,000 (60 - 64) level.

 

Pure Audio Project Quintet 15 Horn Floor-standing speakers $9,995
Where score should place: $9,001 - $13,000 (80-84)

Qualities

Bass...................................................... 85
Midrange 200hz to 3khz..................... 88 (*2)
High Frequency 3khz up..................... 90
Dynamics (Macro)............................... 88
Dynamics (Micro/Midi)...................... 90
Attack................................................... 94
Decay ................................................... 92
Resolution............................................ 90 (*3)
Imaging ............................................... 83
Soundstage........................................... 85
Tonal Quality........................................ 90 (*4)
Cohesiveness........................................ 90 (*2)
Gestalt ................................................. 100 (*5)

Total Rating: 1165/13 = 90

Rating with modifier: 2193/24 = 91

This speaker is scoring at the $18,001 - $25,000 (90-94) level.

Recommended

 

B&W 802 D3 Floor-standing speakers $22,000
Where score should place: $18,001 - $25,000 (90-94)

Qualities
Bass ................................................... 95
Midrange 200hz to 3khz.................... 85 (*2)
High Frequency 3khz up .................... 91
Dynamics (Macro)............................... 96
Dynamics (Micro/Midi) ..................... 84
Attack .................................................. 94
Decay ................................................... 85
Resolution............................................ 85 (*3)
Imaging................................................ 95
Soundstage .......................................... 95
Tonal Quality ....................................... 85 (*4)
Cohesiveness ....................................... 80 (*2)
Gestalt ................................................. 70 (*5)

Total Rating: 1140/13 = 88

Rating with modifier: 2010/24 = 84

This speaker is scoring at the $9,001 - $13,000 (80-84) level.

 

Audio Note AN K/SPe (2019) 2 way Standmount speakers ($4,800)
Where score should place: $4,001 - $6,000 (70-74)

Qualities

Bass.................................................. 63
Midrange 200hz to 3khz ................ 78 (*2)
High Frequency 3khz up................. 74
Dynamics (Macro)........................... 66
Dynamics (Micro/Midi).................. 83
Attack............................................... 73
Decay................................................ 75
Resolution ....................................... 83 (*3)
Imaging ........................................... 75
Soundstage ...................................... 75
Tonal Quality ................................... 77 (*4)
Cohesiveness ................................... 78 (*2)
Gestalt ............................................. 78 (*5)

Total Rating: 978/13 = 75

Rating with modifier: 1843/24 = 77

This speaker is scoring at the $6,001 - $9,000 (75-79) level


Recommended

 

Harbeth P3ESR 2 way Standmount speakers ($2,400)
Where score should place: $2,001 - $3,000.00 (60 - 64)

Qualities

Bass .................................................. 40
Midrange 200hz to 3khz .................. 59 (*2)
High Frequency 3khz up ...................60
Dynamics (Macro) .............................35
Dynamics (Micro/Midi) .................... 60
Attack ................................................ 60
Decay .................................................60
Resolution ..........................................62 (*3)
Imaging ..............................................80
Soundstage .........................................80
Tonal Quality ....................................62 (*4)
Cohesiveness ...................................... 70 (*2)
Gestalt ................................................ 55 (*5)

Total Rating: 783/13 = 60

Rating with modifier: 1442/24 = 60

This speaker is scoring at the $2,001 - $3,000 (60 - 64)

Recommended

 

Let me guess - AN is gonna win!!

 

I applaud the effort.

 

Only qualifier, all reviews should be done with identical front end in same venue.

 

Scoring is notoriously difficult and can be very controversial. I appreciate your approach of breaking things down to well described categories. The reader can drop those that are not important or emphasize those that are. Nice job!

 

Yes I made no pretense that these were completely fair reviews - I did note that in the original post. Nevertheless, my evaluations were always with quality components and similarly fair rooms. Speakers positioned well etc. Having the same electronics actually isn't fair. A speaker like mine are much better with SET amplifiers - a KEF LS-50 isn't. So to be fair to a low efficiency speaker you generally need a good SS amplifier whereas the same amp will not be good with my speakers. Further a Large speaker may suck in a small room and a small speaker could suck in a large room.

 

Legacy Studio HD 2 Way Standmount speakers $1,899
Where score should place $1,501 - $2,000 (55 – 59)

Qualities

Bass.................................................. 62
Midrange 200hz to 3khz ................ 55 (*2)
High Frequency 3khz up ................. 68
Dynamics (Macro) ........................... 60
Dynamics (Micro/Midi) .................. 55
Attack ............................................... 67
Decay ................................................55
Resolution.........................................65 (*3)
Imaging.............................................75
Soundstage .......................................75
Tonal Quality ....................................67 (*4)
Cohesiveness .................................... 70 (*2)
Gestalt............................................... 60 (*5)

Total Rating: 836/13 = 64

Rating with modifier: 1532/24 = 64

This speaker is scoring at the $2,001 - $3,000.00 (60 - 64)


Recommended

 

You might as well throw darts at a board to pick your numbers, it makes as much sense as your current scoring system. Good grief.

 

How do you decide to give a score of 55 in a category instead of, say, a 58?

 

Audio Note AX One - 2 way Standmount speakers ($700)
Where score should place: $501-$1,000 (45 -49)

Qualities

Bass ............................................... 27
Midrange 200hz to 3khz .............. 45 (*2)
High Frequency 3khz up .............. 45
Dynamics (Macro) ....................... 38
Dynamics (Micro/Midi) ............... 46
Attack ............................................ 38
Decay ........................................... 46
Resolution ..................................... 45 (*3)
Imaging ......................................... 75
Soundstage .................................... 73
Tonal Quality..................................45 (*4)
Cohesiveness ..................................50 (*2)
Gestalt ........................................... 34 (*5)

Total Rating: 607/13 = 47
Rating with modifier: 1063/24 = 44

This speaker is scoring at the $351 - $500 (40-44) Level

 

What I did was come up with a fairly large number of speakers and weigh them off each other. So I did a baseline in 10s like 60, 70, 80 and then within the range I tried to add or subtract a little. So if one speaker scored a 60 for bass and another speaker I felt was a little better overall I would add a couple more points.

But what you will find is that I left quite a bit of leeway here so if you add five points here or there it will not really effect the total rating.

Take the AX Two, Kef LS-50 and B&W 705S2 - the first 2 speakers I give a 50 and the B&W I award a 53. But this would not affect the overall rating if you add 3 pints to the other speakers or took away 3 points of the B&W. All three speakers present bass differently. The AX Two is an older fashion bass that is better with acoustic instruments - the KEF has more slam so will do better on amplified music at higher levels but sounds more one note and less tuneful. The B&W I feel is a little more in between so I awarded it a slightly more points as objectively as I could although it wasn't enough better to be noteworthy.


Guys - this is just for fun - I have used these things as general guides for myself to kind of keep track of where a speaker generally fits for me.

So the main number for me is Gestalt - and the total number ranking. The award thing was for me to try and come up with "reference" standard speakers at the price - then using that series of qualities to determine how a new speaker performs against it. So I would compare speakers to the Audio Note K, Tannoy Eaton etc when I evaluate another speaker for similar dollars.

Plus some folks moan that I only like one speaker so I wanted to put in writing where I view various speakers. Even some of the above speakers with no award I still rank as a superior speaker to those where I give an award so in absolute terms value for the dollar not a consideration I rank a B&W higher than Audio Note or Tannoy - speakers I usually recommend versus one that I do not.

You will notice I have no aesthetics, or build quality, or sensitivity rankings. So part of the money spent on a really nice looking, pretty cabinet will be a part of the purchase price. The AX Two is a pretty dumpy looking speaker compared to the KEF or B&W. So while the AX Two for me is valued far higher for sound for the dollar - the fact is it looks like a DIY boring old dime store box.

 

Thank you. This is a great effort. Even if the scoring of each category may be entirely subjective and biased (as I think any review would be), because it is all done by one person it at least gives me an "idea" of the various differences in each of the speakers from the OP's perspective. I would value these reviews, especially if I was looking to buy another speaker, as a starting point in narrowing down my "top contender" list before I actually go listen to them (as I would any review out there).