Quote Originally Posted by nightflier
I was trying to explain to a good friend over the phone what to listen for when auditinoning speakers. Now I know what I like to listen for, but I couldn't really put it into words. Basically, he's looking for average speakers typically found at GG, CC, BB, etc., but he wants to avoid buying total junk. He was about to buy an expensive Bose system, so I don't think budget is much of an issue. I'm also sure that he's not going to be buying anything online (he's not really an online guy), so the local stores are it. If so, he's probably going to be wowed by sales reps, shown complex surround systems, force-fed a lot of numbers about watts and volts, and encouraged to buy a bunch of commission-oriented accessories.

So I pointed him towards some better brands and I described a few details about construction that he should look for, but what should he listen for to avoid the junk out there?
Well, one thing that is relatively easy to suggest is listening to male and female vocals, well recorded ones such as Mark Knopfler, Roger Whittaker, Diana Krall, Patricia Barber, and Jennifer Warnes.

I listen mostly to classical music, and I have no idea what to suggest to judge the upper midrange and lower treble in popular music and jazz that is anywhere near as useful as mixed choral music and full orchestra with massed strings.

Here's a link to an old article on How to Judge Loudspeakers by the late Julian Hirsch in Stereo Review for September 1986, which is still relevant. It is somewhat out of date as it is pre-digital, and CDs have no difficulty at all with low frequencies.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/ass...9200314639.pdf

Since RGA has gone to the Audio Note site to suggest some material, he can't possibly object if I suggest an interview with a speaker designer and manufacturer, Paul Barton. The most relevant material is on pages 3-5, and is very easy to understand:

http://stereophile.com/interviews/231/

It is also based on real scientific research done at the National Research Council.

And, to get away from the man who built my speakers, on the Axiom site, there is good advice from an old audio writer, Alan Lofft:

http://www.axiomaudio.com/en-ca/arch...akersound.html


More technical, there are the White Papers on the Harman International site, nobably this one:

http://www.harman.com/wp/pdf/Loudspeakers&RoomsPt2.pdf

That one may be a bit much for someone with just a casual interest in audio.