Music Lovers Speaker vs. Audiophile Speaker


In my quest for a new set of speakers to replace the Paradigm 5se I've had for 25+ years I've come across a couple of terms I'd like clarified: the musical speaker and the audiophile speaker.

What's the difference? 

I can think of two analogies, both of which may be way off mark.

One is the "mp3" analogy. mp3's dumb down the music, but capture what a music lover may consider to be the important stuff. The audiophile version is the CD.

So in this case, the musical speaker doesn't perform as well as the audiophile speaker, but it is at the right price point or has other features (particularly finish) that the listener desires.

The other analogy is the "radio station" analogy. The station doesn't dumb down the music, but it does intentionally change the sound to suit the audience. Classic rock is bass heavy, and dynamic range may be compressed to raise the overall level. An easy-listening station will have a lighter sound with different frequencies emphasized.

Comments ...
128x128jimspov

Showing 1 response by analogluvr

213runnin that's tannoys for you, they sound great with all types of music!!  That's my rule of thumb, we've all had speakers that have us playing the "audiophile tracks" all the time as they can't rock out.  A musical speaker will make all genres sound like music. 
Tannoys got me off the merry go round. As someone else mentioned earlier, now I go to shows and listen to the latest megabuck stuff they're trying to say is the best thing since sliced bread, but I can't wait to go listen to my tannoys and 845 SET.