When you are looking to buy some speakers, you need to know what you’re after or at least an idea of what you want to achieve. There are plenty of types of speakers, sizes, shapes, budgets, colours and purpose. There is no point going out shopping for speakers when you have no clue of what you want.
One step is to know what your end result is. Can you envision what the speakers look like? Are they floorstanding or bookshelf speakers or anything else for that matter. It would be a waste of your time going around and listening to every speaker possible. You need to get the right speaker for that room. For example if you like big loud sound, a small satellite speaker system will not cut it. A small speaker will never give you the sound levels of a large floorstanding speaker. At the other end, if the room is small, a 7.1.4 floorstanding sound system will too large to suite the room.
Once you have an idea of what speaker type and configuration, next step is to set yourself a budget. What would feel comfortable spending? You can get a 5.1 speaker package under $1,000 or you could spend $100,000. And everything in between.
Once you have and idea of what you want then make yourself a playlist of music that you know intimately. You should bring along a cd with your favourites. My recommendation is no more then five tracks, five track that you know, with a mixture of male and female vocals. Music from genre that you listen to everyday. It would be silly to audition speakers with pop music when you listen to classical or visa versa. It would also be a waste of time listening to every speaker possible. Select two or three speakers to start with. You can always remove or add another speaker to the list.
Now that you have narrowed down your search, YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO THE SPEAKERS. I can’t stress this enough, you need to listen to them, not your mate, anyone else, YOU. Your family and friends can recommend something but you need listen to them. You could bring someone along for some moral support BUT LISTEN TO THEM YOURSELF. Remember that this purchase is for you and you have to listen to them for a long time.
When you listen to the speakers, have the volume at a moderate level. I tend to audition speakers a little bit louder than normal talking. Listen for a minute or two. Have a listen to the vocals, does the singer sound real? Does the voice sound like they are there in front of you? Does it sound clear and precise or muffled? Do the instruments sound like the instruments should? Does the drum sound like a drum or someone beating a can? I say a minute or two on each speaker to eliminate them or keep them on your list. After you have narrowed down the number of speakers, then you could listen to a few tracks so can get a better understanding if the speaker is up to scratch.
If you are unsure that it’s the speaker for you, you might need go back and listen to the speakers another time.
My check list to choosing speakers,
- Sound
- Size
- Look
- Purpose
- Price
If it ticks all of my checklist, I would be happy. I am sure there are other factors that come in play in choosing your speakers.
To sum it up;
- Figure out what type of speakers you want.
- Set yourself a budget.
- Narrow down a selection of speakers you want to listen to.
- Make a playlist.
- LISTEN
- LISTEN
- LISTEN