What Hi*Fi Speaker reviews, more info needed?

[steve_1979]

It's a great question, but an even better one would be, why use a standmount at all, especially a chunkier one that needs a heavy stand? A floorstanding speaker that is the same size as the standmount, but extruded all the way to the floor, will take up exactly as much space and will outperform the standmount every time. So why do people buy standmount+stand despite no advantages? It's got something to do with WAF but like most things related to that, makes no sense at all.

Floorstanders are usually capable of reproducing deeper bass frequencies than stand mount speakers thanks to their larger enclosure volume. But stand mount speakers often have advantages in other areas.

Stand mount speakers tend to have a better stereo image and while the bass isn't a deep it is often better controlled. This is because the large enclosure surfaces in floorstanders create more internal standing waves which can make them sound a bit boomy by comparison.

There are pros and cons to both types of speaker.

 

[busb]

I totally agree with the points made. We'll make sure things like ports, speaker position and some indication of dimensions is made in forthcoming speaker reviews.

Thats great.

Out of interest what size is your auditioning room?

This might answer your question

http://www.whathifi.com/how-we-test

That settee in room 1 needs moving further into the room IMHO despite the bass traps - it's too close to the rear wall.

EDITED:

I'd also hope that budget equipment gets matched to the sort of stuff end-users are likely to use it with - unlike some exhibitors at Hi Fi shows that put budget speakers on the end of exotic amplification - dishonestly to my mind. However, saying that, I didn't pick up on that at Bristol this year.

 

[BigH]

I totally agree with the points made. We'll make sure things like ports, speaker position and some indication of dimensions is made in forthcoming speaker reviews.

Thats great.

Out of interest what size is your auditioning room?

This might answer your question

http://www.whathifi.com/how-we-test

That settee in room 1 needs moving further into the room IMHO despite the bass traps - it's too close to the rear wall.

EDITED:

I'd also hope that budget equipment gets matched to the sort of stuff end-users are likely to use it with - unlike some exhibitors at Hi Fi shows that put budget speakers on the end of exotic amplification - dishonestly to my mind. However, saying that, I didn't pick up on that at Bristol this year.

The settee does look a bit off centre as well, but maybe the camera angle. Yes I agree about partnering with likely gear, I would not expect £300 -£500 speakers to be on the end of £2,000 amps.

 

[chebby]

Also, why can't most BOOKSHELF speakers be used on an actual bookshelf? Why sould they be designed to require the use of some ugly stands?

This excellent question wasn't responded to and I think it's important enough to 'bump' it.

Ugly stands hack me off too and I would love to see more 'bookshelf' speakers that actually perform well on shelves and/or wall brackets.

Is it because most manufacturers don't know how to make a decent sealed cabinet speaker any more? (With a few exceptions like Harbeth and Spendor.)

My new 'old' JPW Sonatas (1991 vintage) were killer budget speakers in their day with lots of great reviews and awards (along with their Mini Monitor and Monitor Gold brethren). I simply cannot believe that speakers like them cannot be made economically today.

My feeling (confirmed by one or two commercial speaker designers here on the forum in the past) is that it's mostly to do with (a) fashion and (b) trying to make the lower bass specs look as good as possible on paper.

 

[BenLaw]

Also, why can't most BOOKSHELF speakers be used on an actual bookshelf? Why sould they be designed to require the use of some ugly stands?

This excellent question wasn't responded to and I think it's important enough to 'bump' it.

Ugly stands hack me off too and I would love to see more 'bookshelf' speakers that actually perform well on shelves and/or wall brackets.

Is it because most manufacturers don't know how to make a decent sealed cabinet speaker any more? (With a few exceptions like Harbeth and Spendor.)

My new 'old' JPW Sonatas (1991 vintage) were killer budget speakers in their day with lots of great reviews and awards (along with their Mini Monitor and Monitor Gold brethren). I simply cannot believe that speakers like them cannot be made economically today.

My feeling (confirmed by one or two commercial speaker designers here on the forum in the past) is that it's mostly to do with (a) fashion and (b) trying to make the lower bass specs look as good as possible on paper.

I'd agree with (a) and slightly modify (b) - space is at a premium so people want small speakers but they're also obsessed with bass. Not necessarily just the specs but they want to hear 'deep bass' even if it is a buzzy, ported homogenous mess. Many people haven't heard bass from a monitor style sealed speaker and therefore haven't heard better or don't want a different kind of bass. So you get lots of ported speakers.

 

[Andy Madden]

Hi all,

just thought i'd let you know we've just updated the SX2 review to include a couple of lines mentioning positioning and biwiring. The SX2s are quite large standmounters so i don't think they'd be suitable for a bookshelf, especially if they're only going to be a mm or two from a back wall.

thanks

 

[nopiano]

Hi all,

just thought i'd let you know we've just updated the SX2 review to include a couple of lines mentioning positioning and biwiring. The SX2s are quite large standmounters so i don't think they'd be suitable for a bookshelf, especially if they're only going to be a mm or two from a back wall.

thanks

kudos to you and Ketan for listening to your readers!

A little ask from me, as I'm here: I'd like the pics to include one with the grilles on (where they are provided). Quite often there is no such pic in the entire article, let alone the website.

 

[Andy Madden]

I can't promise anything, but i'll see what we can do!