Need advice on what makes a speaker good (1 Viewer)

[JeanVanDam]

I know the best way to test a speaker is to audition them, but as I am shopping online, I read the specs for speakers and can't tell what is considered good or above average, can anybody explain to me or at least tell me what is above average for speaker specs and material construction?

For example,
Frequency response
Impdedance
Efficiency
what's a good material for cone woofers? Tweeters?

 

[Jason_Me]

I would say the average speaker has

Frequency response +/- 3db
impedance 8 ohms
Efficiency 87db 1w/1m
cone woofers? polypropylene
Tweeters? soft dome

None of these specs can really tell you how a speaker will sound.

 

[JeanVanDam]

Thanks!

 

[Ernest Yee]

Yeah - your best bet if you're doing this blindly without auditioning is to read reviews and all the threads and posts that you can from this board and a few others to create your own impression of what you might want and what might work best for you. Unlike computer parts where the specs/benchmarks will pretty much tell you the whole story, speakers are totally subjective which makes all the stats pretty much meaningless in terms of finding what speaker will suit you best.

 

[Jim Rakowiecki]

What makes a great speaker is what you hear not what you read.