These are true points - I still think the articles is targeted at Harman because there isn't anyone else big enough to bother writing the article. This doesn't mean they don't make good products IMO - And umm I am listening to my AKG headphones (Harman company owned). Nevertheless, the implication unfortunately it is that they are the ones fronting the science papers and ALSO selling loudspeakers with the implication that it will be better than anything on the market by anyone else - because we do tests and ours came out on top (without a list of products). Does the speaker selector account for corner loaded speakers like mine? Pleny of high end speaker makers from Tannoy, Silbatone, Trenner and Freidl etc are close to room boundary designed speakers. Does the size of the room change. Not all speakers are made for the same "size" of room. Some are far-field designs not near-field designs.

People under test listening for "individualized" aspects of sound are not listening to music as they normally would. They're listening for compartmentalized traits. And unfortunately that is what most of these loudspeakers end up sounding like to me when listening in the "real world" and why other, many other speakers sound more musically satisfying over the long haul. Do they change amplifiers with the speakers? Some speakers don't like High damping factor amplifiers. My speakers sound like crud with HDF SS amplifiers - designed for LDF amps for example. Something tells me it's the same amps - they make Crown amps.

I want to see the independent tests because the only magazine that puts out a quasi blind test is Hi-Fi Choice (level matched and blind) with a panel of experienced listeners. And what wins the shootouts sometimes is in line with Harman and sometimes not. So it would be nice to know which speakers Harman used so that I can see secondary confirmation. Tests need to be reproduced by outside organizations no matter how well the perceived "goodness" of their facility or methodology may seem. Which is why the fellows at that link I provided want to have their ringer speakers tested and have it run independently.

Are the speakers set up to the manufacturer's respective set-up guidelines (as opposed to where Harment thinks they should be positioned)? Are they being driven with appropriate amps/cables/sources, in the right room dimensions at the correct distance with the right amount of room acoustics for each speaker.

Devil's advocate
Since my speakers are made for corners and if I was running a test maybe I could bring in 10 speakers (that I know suck in corners) and shove them in a corner and run a 5 watt SET. Listeners would wind up drawing conclusions I know they would end up drawing - even if I used a robot to switch the speakers and I had no idea which speaker was being used - I nevertheless stacked the deck in my favor be very carefully selecting the competition and gearing the experience to what my product is doing well.

Granted we all bring a bias to this - If I was more impressed with their speakers "musically" in regular rooms I might be more moved by their views. But even with the AKGs - I prefer Sennheisers, and Revel has yet to sound pleasing to me (arguably could be the amplifiers they tend to get paired with.