Frequency Response

[SpankingVanillaice]

I did noticed that the more expensive speakers are the more flatter they are on lots of studio monitors. Most monitors that are like $300 pair or less are rated +-3db.

[kexodusc]

The +/- 3 dB or 1dB isn't nearly as important as the variations in amplitude of the frequency plot. You could have a plot that is within +/- 1 dB but is constantly zigging and zagging up and down. This could sound a lot worse than another speaker that plots a +/- 3dB response, but with smooth, slow, gradual peaks and dips, so there are no radical changes in response from one frequency to the next.

The convention of using +/- 3dB has nothing to do with a speaker costing $300 or less...Most companies will try to fit as wide a response within a given +/- 3dB parameter to give you some idea of the usuable bass response. It could very well be that the $300 that measures +/- 3dB from 45 Hz to 20 kHz also measures +/- 2 dB from 80 Hz to 20 kHz...and again, this still won't tell you if it sounds good.

Alot of very, good, very expensive speakers would measure +/- 1dB from 30 Hz to 20 kHz or less, with the exception of 1 small dip or spike, so naturally they include the amplitude of the spike, and the spec reads +/- 3 dB.

You really have to look at the shape of the curve more than the range of variance to infer much from it.