- The type of speaker it is does not determine how it will sound
There are three main types of speakers out there: Planar magnetic, electrostatic, and dynamic. Each technology has pros and cons. It is the job of the speaker designer to understand these pros and cons and engineer around the issues to maximize the benefits. With these three fundamental technologies there are thousands of different implementations. Thus, it is the implementation of the technology that determines the sound, not the technology itself. This means that you cannot say that speaker X will sound a certain way because it is a planar, while speaker Y will sound a certain way because it is a dynamic.
There are so many surprising and impressive examples of each technology that you can never assume what something will sound like. Keep your mind open to each one and learn the limitations of each speaker you look at.
As an example, electrostatic speakers overall tend to have a very narrow sweet spot for listening, meaning that the best sound can only be heard in a small area in the room. Understand this limitation, and when shopping, see: how did the designer attempt to mitigate this issue? Do the pros outweigh the cons? Only you know what is important to you in a sound system.
- Nothing is a substitute for listening
This is something I struggle with myself since the number of audio dealers has shrunk to a fraction of what it was. With dealers carrying such a limited selection of brands, it is all but impossible unless you have unlimited time and money to hear everything that is out there. Why not just trust reviews?
Reviews can be helpful as a starting point for what to look for, but there have been numerous highly rated speakers that I hated either because it did not fit my tastes, the accessory equipment used was not high quality or a good match, or the room sounded awful. A reviewer’s opinion is exactly that: an opinion. Each reviewer has different reference gear that they use to test, different rooms, different music, and different tastes. Therefore, trusting reviews to make a purchase is a terrible idea if you really want to feel good about your purchase.
I would never buy anything I haven’t heard, simply because it is too risky. You could buy a bunch of speakers online, try them out, then return the others, but return shipping is expensive, and you would abuse the return policy long before you got to hear all the “great” options out there. Find products that come up in multiple reviewer’s shortlists and see if there are any trends. Those speakers are more likely to be good. If you see a common item on multiple lists, it probably is a top performer. Your ears are the best judge, so whenever possible go to a dealer, go to shows, or take the plunge and buy a bunch of items online across different retailers, returning the ones you don’t like.
- Know your budget
If you set a budget, it will eliminate many products that are out of it. However, it is important to remember that unless you are buying integrated components (multiple components in one product), you need to allot a certain amount of money to each component. This means that if your budget is $1000 dollars, you might only have $500 to spend on speakers. The other $500 dollars goes towards the amp, DAC, etc.
I’ll always remember my first hi-fi purchase, where I budgeted $500 dollars towards a new pair of headphones. I bought the headphones…And an amp…And a DAC…And cables. When everything was said and done it came out to around $1500 dollars. That’s 3x my budget! I didn’t plan on the extra cost of additional components. Avoid this mistake and you’ll stay within your budget.
- When you listen to speakers, listen under different conditions
A speaker will sound different in different rooms and with different components connected to it. If possible, demo the speaker at multiple locations, move it to different rooms at the dealer, and try it with different components. This way, you can determine what the speaker sounds like, rather than the room or the accessory gear.
I recently bought a pair of Focal speakers that sounded awful at one dealer, and fantastic at the other. I bought them from the latter. How can this be? I realized that the speakers were fantastic, but the room I was listening in, and the gear it was connected to at the place where I hated them, was the real issue. I would never have found this out had I not tried the speakers at multiple locations.
Many dealers will not allow you to try speakers in different rooms or with a variety of amplifiers. Unfortunately, customer service has disappeared. Be courteous when asking. If they cannot accommodate you, move on to another location and try more combinations with the speaker of interest if possible. It is unfortunately up to the customer to deduce what is what nowadays since most dealers cannot be bothered. Use your ears and listen to as much as you can, then conclude.
- Understand your goals
This is perhaps the most important part of building an audio system. If you don’t understand what you are trying to achieve, you will be disappointed with the end result. Do you want to experience concert levels of volume? How big of a room do you have? Do you want the flattest in-room response? Do you want the speaker to be aesthetically pleasing in your home? If you can answer these kinds of questions, you’ll have a better idea of what to prioritize when shopping.
Note: these tips largely apply to headphone shopping as well.