Measurements
or what you hear?
August
18, 2020
Marc,
In
general, when choosing speakers and looking at reviews, how important are the measurements
as opposed to one's ears? If the measurements have a potential flaw but my ears say
otherwise, which way do I lean?
Sheldon
Simon
You
ask one of high-end audio's eternal questions -- how predictive of realistic musical
reproduction are measurements? The answer you get depends on the person you ask. For me,
while measurements certainly show something about a speaker, I rely on what I hear. I buy
speakers to listen to them, not to look at their measurements, which are generally done in
an anechoic chamber (real or approximated by software) -- a space that's completely unlike
any room in which the speakers will be used. Measurements are mostly useful as proof that
a problem you hear exists -- a suck out or hump in the frequency range, for instance. But
I would caution you not to buy based on them or based on articles written by writers who
believe strongly in their efficacy. I consider measurements peripheral -- the fourth or
fifth indicator of what a speaker is doing, but certainly not the first. -Marc
Mickelson
Four
or more?
August
12, 2020
Marc,
With
your DIY IKEA isolation platform that uses stainless-steel ball bearings
between bamboo chopping boards, I am wondering why you use only four ball bearings, two on
each side of opposite corners. Would it not be better to use eight ball bearings, two on
each side of all four corners?
Jeff
Levine
I
hadn't thought about using more ball bearings. I figured that fewer contact points --
fewer ball bearings -- was best, but eight instead of four would certainly lock the top
board in place better. I'll give it a try. -Marc Mickelson
Please
add me
August
1, 2020
Marc,
Please
add me to your e-mail subscription list. Thanks.
Rick
Campbell
You've
been added. To join TAB's e-mail list and find out about new articles first,
send e-mail to rl@theaudiobeat.com.
-Marc Mickelson
