Post by macca on Apr 1, 2019 13:26:37 GMT
Not an exhaustive list:
1) Single driver and two way speakers are better because they are simple. - No, most 2 way speakers are rubbish and have shocking levels of mid-range distortion due to using one driver to do almost everything. exceptions - Tannoy DC and JBLs and a few others because they use compression drivers that cover the upper mids as well as the top end. Single driver speakers are generally awful in absolute terms.
2) Active speakers are always better because they are active - No, should be true as on paper active is superior to passive but you are stuck with whatever amps they have put in there and these vary widely in quality
3) Open baffles and dipoles have better bass - no, they usually have a shedload of compromises, especially in the bass, probably more than any box speaker. Note I said 'usually'.
4) speakers with a rise in the treble extremes will sound 'bright', 'toppy', 'harsh' - or alternatively 'airy, spacious, detailed etc - No, fact is you probably can't hear higher than 15Khz so a few extra dB at 19 or 20Khz is not going to make any difference to anything, good or bad.
5) Speakers will be listened to in a normal room and no-one listens in an anechoic chamber so that design approach is all wrong - No, get your speaker to have a flat response in an anechoic chamber and when you put it in a normal room the boundary effects and absorption will boost the bass and attenuate the treble giving you a nice downward response curve from bottom to top. Aka a 'house curve'. This is the balance the vast majority of people will find to be most pleasing and natural.
6) Ports are bad, mmmkay? - if used to provide artificial stunt bass one note peaks then yes, they are terrible. Used correctly they simply load the drivers properly and augment the low frequency across a broad range. Plenty of ported speakers that port-haters would love if you disguised them as sealed boxes and didn't let on.
7) Metal dome tweeters are harsh, hard, peaky, 'metal sounding' etc etc. - No, what's actually happening is that the mid-range is rubbish, so either it is a rubbish speaker or the amps are rubbish. or your turntable set up needs work. What people think the tweeter does and what it actually does are two different things.
8) It's all about correct phase - No. The importance of phase is massively overstated. We are not very good at all at hearing phase issues. Phase problems are often touted as a reason for the superiority of the single driver speaker, but the cure is far worse than the disease.
9) Small speakers have better stereo imaging because they are small. - No, this is something made up by manufacturers and parroted by reviewers. Good imaging has nothing to do with the size of the speaker.
10) The room is the most important factor. No, aside from silly mismatches the room will not be make or break on sound quality. We are used to hearing sound in rooms, the brain compensates. Your speakers will sound much worse in an room with 100% absorption - or try putting your speakers out in the garden and listening there if you don't believe this. They just won't sound right.
1) Single driver and two way speakers are better because they are simple. - No, most 2 way speakers are rubbish and have shocking levels of mid-range distortion due to using one driver to do almost everything. exceptions - Tannoy DC and JBLs and a few others because they use compression drivers that cover the upper mids as well as the top end. Single driver speakers are generally awful in absolute terms.
2) Active speakers are always better because they are active - No, should be true as on paper active is superior to passive but you are stuck with whatever amps they have put in there and these vary widely in quality
3) Open baffles and dipoles have better bass - no, they usually have a shedload of compromises, especially in the bass, probably more than any box speaker. Note I said 'usually'.
4) speakers with a rise in the treble extremes will sound 'bright', 'toppy', 'harsh' - or alternatively 'airy, spacious, detailed etc - No, fact is you probably can't hear higher than 15Khz so a few extra dB at 19 or 20Khz is not going to make any difference to anything, good or bad.
5) Speakers will be listened to in a normal room and no-one listens in an anechoic chamber so that design approach is all wrong - No, get your speaker to have a flat response in an anechoic chamber and when you put it in a normal room the boundary effects and absorption will boost the bass and attenuate the treble giving you a nice downward response curve from bottom to top. Aka a 'house curve'. This is the balance the vast majority of people will find to be most pleasing and natural.
6) Ports are bad, mmmkay? - if used to provide artificial stunt bass one note peaks then yes, they are terrible. Used correctly they simply load the drivers properly and augment the low frequency across a broad range. Plenty of ported speakers that port-haters would love if you disguised them as sealed boxes and didn't let on.
7) Metal dome tweeters are harsh, hard, peaky, 'metal sounding' etc etc. - No, what's actually happening is that the mid-range is rubbish, so either it is a rubbish speaker or the amps are rubbish. or your turntable set up needs work. What people think the tweeter does and what it actually does are two different things.
8) It's all about correct phase - No. The importance of phase is massively overstated. We are not very good at all at hearing phase issues. Phase problems are often touted as a reason for the superiority of the single driver speaker, but the cure is far worse than the disease.
9) Small speakers have better stereo imaging because they are small. - No, this is something made up by manufacturers and parroted by reviewers. Good imaging has nothing to do with the size of the speaker.
10) The room is the most important factor. No, aside from silly mismatches the room will not be make or break on sound quality. We are used to hearing sound in rooms, the brain compensates. Your speakers will sound much worse in an room with 100% absorption - or try putting your speakers out in the garden and listening there if you don't believe this. They just won't sound right.
