BlueWizard
Distinguished Member
I've mentioned this several times before in passing, but if you can't get out to audition every speaker ever made, or even ever speaker that you might have a passing interest in, then you might want to browse YouTube.
For virtually any and every speaker you can think of, somebody is showing it off on YouTube, and likely many of the other video sites on the internet.
Just a few things to remember, the audio quality of YouTube videos is always going to be compromised, sometimes severely so. People are driving their amps above reasonable limits with maximum bass boost, which in turn means they are overdriving the microphones in their video cameras.
So, you should never consider this a true and fair test, that can only happen in person, but these videos can give you some sense of a speaker, and whether this is a speaker you might want to pursue.
For myself, yes I do want to hear that a speaker has good bass, but far more important for me is the integrity of the midrange and treble. The midrange should be clear and distinct, if it is muddy or muddled, and the treble clear and distinct, but not overbearing. If can't attribute poor qualities in the areas to a lacking of the quality of the video, then that is not likely a speaker I'm interested in. Though fairly, the Drum and Bass crowd might find it perfect.
I also generally don't like 2-way speakers because I think it tends to compromise the midrange. Yet some 2-ways still manage to do an excellent job.
As an example, here is the very rare Diamond 9.3, while the video's audio quality is so-so, do notice the clarity of the midrange -
YouTube - Wharfedale Diamond 9.3
Now, here is a Wharfedale Diamond 9.6. Most of the 9.6 videos are trash, overdriven amp, hyper-bass, and distorted microphones. This particular video is very well balanced. Notice that the camera is very low, near the bottom of the speaker, which means you are to really getting balanced sound. But, I'm impressed with how tight and controlled the bass is, and though not so well balanced in the video, the midrange also sound impressive.
YouTube - Wharfedale 9.6
Here is another Diamond 9.6 video where the owner is massively overdriving them with a NAD C372 which is a 150 watt/channel stereo amp. You can see by how hard the bass drivers are jumping, that he is at ridiculous levels with the bass control to the max, but also notice how well the Diamonds handle the abuse. Also, notice the shot of the amp as he turns the volume up from about 60% to 80%, despite that being massively loud for the speakers, the amp, and the microphone, it still holds together reasonably well. I'm impressed that the Diamond can take that kind of abuse -
YouTube - Wharfedale Diamond 9.6 + NAD = Perfect Bass.
One speaker that is most often overlooked and somewhat hard to get an audition with are the many Dali models. There are tons of video featuring the Dali Concept and Ikon models, especially the model 7 in each line. Despite being complex multi-way speakers, my impression is that they hold together pretty well.
The sound quality in this video is moderately good, and is a sweet system. At on point he starts at the top and moves down the speaker so you can clearly hear the output of each speaker. Keep in mind this is Metallica -
Dali Ikon 7 speaker - "Metallica - Devil's Dance"
YouTube - Dali Ikon 7 speaker - "Metallica - Devil's Dance"
Not the best, but enough to impress me with the quality of the Dali speakers. It is extremely difficult to get a smooth well balance multi-way speaker system like this molded into a coherent response.
This is just a broad cross section to give you an idea of the possibilities, and I am by no means suggesting this substitutes for a real in-person audition, but, as I said, it can give you some sense of a speaker, if you are willing to view several videos and make some allowance for the poor quality of the video itself.
Nearly any speaker you can think of B&W 600's, B&W 800's, Monitor Audio, Mordaunt Short, they are all hear for the listening.
Sorry for the overly large post, and for being slightly off topic, but I do think this can be a resource for people shopping for speakers, IF they can keep the quality of the video itself in perspective.
For what it's worth.
Steve/bluewizard
For virtually any and every speaker you can think of, somebody is showing it off on YouTube, and likely many of the other video sites on the internet.
Just a few things to remember, the audio quality of YouTube videos is always going to be compromised, sometimes severely so. People are driving their amps above reasonable limits with maximum bass boost, which in turn means they are overdriving the microphones in their video cameras.
So, you should never consider this a true and fair test, that can only happen in person, but these videos can give you some sense of a speaker, and whether this is a speaker you might want to pursue.
For myself, yes I do want to hear that a speaker has good bass, but far more important for me is the integrity of the midrange and treble. The midrange should be clear and distinct, if it is muddy or muddled, and the treble clear and distinct, but not overbearing. If can't attribute poor qualities in the areas to a lacking of the quality of the video, then that is not likely a speaker I'm interested in. Though fairly, the Drum and Bass crowd might find it perfect.
I also generally don't like 2-way speakers because I think it tends to compromise the midrange. Yet some 2-ways still manage to do an excellent job.
As an example, here is the very rare Diamond 9.3, while the video's audio quality is so-so, do notice the clarity of the midrange -
YouTube - Wharfedale Diamond 9.3
Now, here is a Wharfedale Diamond 9.6. Most of the 9.6 videos are trash, overdriven amp, hyper-bass, and distorted microphones. This particular video is very well balanced. Notice that the camera is very low, near the bottom of the speaker, which means you are to really getting balanced sound. But, I'm impressed with how tight and controlled the bass is, and though not so well balanced in the video, the midrange also sound impressive.
YouTube - Wharfedale 9.6
Here is another Diamond 9.6 video where the owner is massively overdriving them with a NAD C372 which is a 150 watt/channel stereo amp. You can see by how hard the bass drivers are jumping, that he is at ridiculous levels with the bass control to the max, but also notice how well the Diamonds handle the abuse. Also, notice the shot of the amp as he turns the volume up from about 60% to 80%, despite that being massively loud for the speakers, the amp, and the microphone, it still holds together reasonably well. I'm impressed that the Diamond can take that kind of abuse -
YouTube - Wharfedale Diamond 9.6 + NAD = Perfect Bass.
One speaker that is most often overlooked and somewhat hard to get an audition with are the many Dali models. There are tons of video featuring the Dali Concept and Ikon models, especially the model 7 in each line. Despite being complex multi-way speakers, my impression is that they hold together pretty well.
The sound quality in this video is moderately good, and is a sweet system. At on point he starts at the top and moves down the speaker so you can clearly hear the output of each speaker. Keep in mind this is Metallica -
Dali Ikon 7 speaker - "Metallica - Devil's Dance"
YouTube - Dali Ikon 7 speaker - "Metallica - Devil's Dance"
Not the best, but enough to impress me with the quality of the Dali speakers. It is extremely difficult to get a smooth well balance multi-way speaker system like this molded into a coherent response.
This is just a broad cross section to give you an idea of the possibilities, and I am by no means suggesting this substitutes for a real in-person audition, but, as I said, it can give you some sense of a speaker, if you are willing to view several videos and make some allowance for the poor quality of the video itself.
Nearly any speaker you can think of B&W 600's, B&W 800's, Monitor Audio, Mordaunt Short, they are all hear for the listening.
Sorry for the overly large post, and for being slightly off topic, but I do think this can be a resource for people shopping for speakers, IF they can keep the quality of the video itself in perspective.
For what it's worth.
Steve/bluewizard