Mike Jeffries Audio Home Page - Listening to Speakers

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Listening to Speakers RCA Cable

When auditioning and testing speakers, there are many things to be listening for. Some of the things are listed on this page. You may want to print out a copy of this page and take it with you while auditioning & testing and rate the speakers for further reference.

Does the speaker sound musically accurate? No speaker has a perfectly flat frequency response, but try for a speaker that is pretty close. If you are listening and the bass, midrange or treble seems to be too prominent, the speaker is probably not very musically accurate.

Is there good dispersion? Don't stay in one listening position. Move side to side and try different listening locations. If the sound changes a lot, this indicates that the speaker may not have very good off axis response and the area "sweet spot" may be very small.

Does the speaker provide good detail? Listen to see if the speaker sounds very clear, and has good transient response - not smeared and slow.

Does the speaker faithfully present a good soundstage, and does it image well? When listening, try and pick out where each instrument and vocal "seems" to be coming from. If it is hard to tell, or if the music seems to be coming from not a performance stage, but just from a pair of speakers, they are not very good and it sort of defeats the whole purpose of pleasurable listening.

Is the music dynamic? Does the speaker separate the soft quiet sounds well from the loud peak sounds, or does it all sound about the same volume? When it sounds about the same volume level, the sound is "compressed" and it does not sound very good. The more dynamic the better.

Does there appear to be any distortion coming from the speaker? Especially when playing bass or loud music, does the speaker begin to sound like it is "colouring" or adding some tones that should not be there? Does the bass remain clean or does it sound raspy. You do not want distortion coming from the speakers - it sounds very bad.
There should also be no colouration of any part of the music spectrum. If there is, again, it is probably not musically correct.

Does the enclosure of the speaker resonate? It is very hard to tell, and more experienced ears can pick it out easily. Try to see if you can pick out exactly where the speakers are in the room. If you can, they are not doing their job properly. The better the speakers, the more they are supposed to sound like they have disappeared and you are listening to a live performance.

Does the speaker's bass extend as low as you would like it to? If not, you can try moving the speakers closer to the back wall and corners of the room. This reinforces the bass a bit.

What is the overall character of the speaker? Does it present tight, quick, well defined bass, or is it slower and boomy? Does the speaker sound aggressive or laid back? Does it sound bright, or warm? You have to decide what kind of sound you like best and see if the speaker suits your taste.