How to Buy Stereo Speakers

Regardless of speaker price, design, or number of drivers, speaker manufacturers make products for two types of listeners: those who want accurate reproduction and those who want "colored" reproduction.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Speaker Cables
• Speakers

1. Read reviews in audio magazines and on the Internet to help you decide which speakers you want to listen to.
2. Budget for speaker cables. Cables can run from a few dollars to thousands of dollars.
3. Look for acoustic suspension (sealed box) speakers if you want clean, tight, accurate bass.
4. Look for bass reflex (ported) speakers if you want lots of bass and the widest selection of models.
5. Look for flat panel speakers if you want the biggest, widest soundstage.
6. If you want inexpensive speakers, shop in consumer electronics stores. If you want high-fidelity speakers, shop in specialty audio stores.
7. Take a few familiar CDs to stores you visit. Choose pieces that will challenge the bass and treble, imaging and soundstaging, and dynamic range capabilities of the equipment. If possible, take recordings of music you've heard performed live.
8. Avoid listening to speakers that are out of your price range.
9. Let speaker size or appearance be less important than quality.
10. Ask the salesperson to position the speakers optimally.
11. Listen to several songs on up to three different pairs of speakers.
12. If possible, make sure the salesperson is using electronic equipment that is comparable to what you own.
13. Make sure the salesperson demonstrates each pair of speakers at equal volumes.
14. If speakers sound good to you in the store, arrange to listen to them at home through your own system. Ask the dealer to provide appropriate cables if you don't already have some.

Tips & Warnings

• Trust your own ears, not the salesperson's or the reviewer's.
• Check to be sure your amplifier or receiver can handle the impedance of the speakers, and that they fall within the recommended power range specified by the speaker manufacturer. If you have low power, look for speakers with high sensitivity (spl greater than 90 db).

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