The two most common mistakes are bass and treble


OK, so I know many of you will have a knee jerk reaction to that with something like "well you've just covered most of the spectrum!" but I mean to say more than what I can fit in a headline.

When first purchasing speakers the biggest regrets, or sometimes bad choices without regret, is looking for a speaker that is too detailed. In the store over 10 minutes it mesmerizes you with the resolution of frequencies you thought you would never hear again.  You take the speakers home and after a month you realize they are ear drills.  High pitched, shrill sounding harpies you can't believe you listened to long enough to make a choice.

The other mistake, which audiophiles life with far too long is buying too big a speaker for the room.  The specmanship of getting 8 more Hertz in the -3dB cutoff is a huge factor in speaker purchases.

What do you think the biggest mistakes are when buying speakers?
erik_squires
Nowadays the biggest mistake is not looking at as many measurements as possible including klippel NFS so you have a good idea where your problem areas will need to be addressed. 
The biggest mistake is buying a low impedance non efficient model that taxes an amplifier to the point that the sound suffers badly and the speakers o modern times all seem to have drive difficulty problems that you need a superamp to overcome.
to say low a lower ohm speaker that doesnot have a high sensitivity are not worth buying is  not a very sound statement 
there are many excellent Loudspeakers that are 4 ohm or lower 
this would eliminate all planer and Electrostat speakers ,as well as some of the best in the world like MBL 101s.  That is why there are many exceptions to the rule !!
For many years I chased resolution and got the ear drill after long term listening I’ve learned to listen to speakers for what they are and just enjoy the music. A friend in high end once told me that what I want might not exist. I was able to relate to that. I do think there is a certain mental condition that goes deeper than just hearing well associated with this pursuit. Some get flat out addicted to audio. I think the designating something as better because it's a personal preference is a path to support the  illness. That's more of a mistake than bass or treble!

I had the exact same experience noted here.  But could not get out of my head the fantastic sound of the speakers in the show-room.  Finally, I got a cheap tube amp, and I've never worried about my system since.   (I realize this may be a case of the the tubes having LESS resolution, and the amp being less accurate.  But since what I want is music, I'm happy.  Apparently the pluses and minuses of the various parts of my system now balance out just fine, and it looks cool as hell--which is something that cannot be dismissed!)