Expert: Cleggsan - 10/27/2008

Question
hello,
please help me decide on which speakers to get.
there are so many different types of speakers, from different brands, etc, that it is hard to choose
I need to know which speakers would be best (e.g. Sony, kamasonic, etc?) in terms of quality and efficiency.
thanks, and appreciate the help in advance

Answer
Speakers are very subjective - that is, like a beautiful women, the beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. In speakers the beautiful sound is heard by the ears.  There are so many technical things that effect the sound quality:  The basic technical parameters of the speaker itself, the box it is mounted in, the driving amplifier, the acoustic properties of the room or car/cabin it is playing into, etc.

For example, a speaker that sounds great in one installation may not sound the same at all in another mounting environment.

Therefore, I hesitate from making recommendations because of these variations and sound quality factors.

I suggest you google the reviews of models you are interested in.  Then, visit a few shops and listen to a few; talk with the sales staff, etc. It is a learning experience to say the least.

Unfortunately, the technical specifications published by the speaker manufacturers do not mean much with regard to sound quality.

The most important specification is the impedance.  It must be properly matched to the output of the amplifier for maximum overall performance.

The other important feature of a speaker is its power handling capability; however, the ratings published by the manufacturer are not very meaningful and you will need to learn about power from either experience or comments from reviewers/sales staff.

Another factor that will be important in the installation design is sensitivity.  This spec gives an idea of how much sound level it will produce with a given input power. It is an efficiency rating, sort of.  The important thing to remember here is that 3db difference means a 2/1 power difference. For example, one speaker with a rating of 95db will require twice the power input of a speaker with a rating of 98db to produce the same audio level or sound output.

So, you have some homework to do.  Give it some personal investigation and you will quickly learn how to make a good decision.

Thanks for a stimulating question.  If I have confused you in any way about the nature of selecting a speaker please come back to me with asking for further clarification.

C