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Why wont speaker companies publish their measurements?

It's not ok to assess the quality of a speaker just by listening to it. Most listeners are not trained. They dont have the skills or knowledge of an expert like me to know what the hell they are listening for. There are too many other variables that affect the sound quality such as room acoustics, source material, amp quality, hearing loss, preference etc. For all these reasons, we MUST rely on speaker measurements ALONE when deciding how good a speaker is. 

The problem is however that the wretched speaker companies WONT DO IT! They just will not publish their measurements. 

Are they embarrassed? Are they hiding it? Do they even have the measurements? Worried they wont match if somebody else does the measurements?

Speaker companies cannot claim that their speaker is superior to a competitors speaker since neither of them will publish their measurements. As a result the claims are uncorroborated HOGWASH. Despite this, there is intense competition among the speaker companies. There is a WAR going on out there and its a war that cannot be won!

The only way to separate the wheat from the chaff is to examine the measurements. Until that happens nobody has the right to claim that one speaker is better than another. Nobody knows which speakers are better than others. Until the day comes when they will publish the data, its all just hearsay and opinions.

If you want to be a first rate audiophile, do not settle for anything less than the TRUTH. We deserve it.

kenjit
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
Why wont speaker companies publish their measurements?
If your talking about the in depth detail that Stereophile go into when they measure speakers, it's because most don't have that kind of expensive measuring equipment/room, just the basics.

Cheers George


pragmasi
212 posts
 
I get that measurements aren't everything but they're a useful guide if you're looking for something specific, particularly as it's not that easy to walk into a showroom at the moment. What measurements beyond the standard power, efficiency, physical dimensions etc. do you think are missing?
kenjit OP
1,771 posts
 
If your talking about the in depth detail that Stereophile go into when they measure speakers, it's because most don't have that kind of expensive measuring equipment/room, just the basics.
Great answer. Nice to know the speaker companies dont have that kind of equipment.
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,648 posts
 
Most people could care less about specs and measurements. They just buy what they like based of whatever criteria they want and some companies just rely on that and marketing to sell stuff. Happens here all the time...surprise!.
That's the way most people buy most things and why advertising and PR have more influence on the general market than do logic or value.  One would hope, however, that people with a deep interest and enthusiasm in a hobby might be more reflective.  Guess not.
If your talking about the in depth detail that Stereophile go into when they measure speakers, it's because most don't have that kind of expensive measuring equipment/room, just the basics.
 Sad, imho, but true.   OTOH, there are many that do have the measurements but won't divulge them and others that are large/successful enough to do so but choose not to.
pragmasi
212 posts
 
If your talking about the in depth detail that Stereophile go into when they measure speakers, it's because most don't have that kind of expensive measuring equipment/room, just the basics.

But there are plenty of test facilities around... I can rent an anechoic chamber 10 miles away and I'm in a rural part of England. There must be loads of facilities in the US. Test equipment isn't hard to hire either... If you're speccing a product then you only have to do it once provided you've got decent manufacturing processes. 
I think there might be a reluctance because loudspeakers by their nature don't measure well in comparison to the other parts of a hi-fi. 
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