Analytical or Musical Which way to go?


The debate rages on. What are we to do? Designing a spealer that measures wellin all areas shoulkd be the goal manufacturer.
As allways limtiations abound. Time and again I read designers yo say the design the speaker to measure as best they can. But it just does not sound like music.

The question is of course is: what happens when the speaker sounds dull and lifeless.

Then enters a second speaker that sounds like real music but does not have optimum mesurements?

Many of course would argue, stop right there. If it does not measure well it can't sound good.

I pose the question then how can a spekeer that sounds lifeless be acurrate?

Would that pose yhis question. Does live music sound dull and lifeless?
If not how can we ever be be satisified with such a spseker no matter how well it measures?
gregadd
Well stated Elizabeth.Who would really buy speakers or a componemt based purely on superior measurements and thus believe an audition to hear them is unncessary? Does anyone rely on measurements to that degree? On the other hand you can buy based soley on how it sounds(within your system) without any idea of how it measures.
I was about to say the same thing timtim, my pair of Vapor Audio Cirrus reveals more details then my Focal Utopia Be's did, and is more refined and musical than my Harbeth SHL5's were. Once you hear something like that it's the end of your search.

Yes I'm a Vapor fanboy, but they earned it ...
I agree with Philjolet, I'll take musical any day.I want to enjoy the music not have listening fatigue.
I'm having pair of speakers built using the same drivers as the first generation Usher 8571. The cross overs are of the same Usher design but use higher quality caps, resistors. I had several discussions regarding type of music, room dimensions and contents....., audio components - amps, preamp...
The builder then asked me if I was striving for ultimate detail versus a musical approach. I opted for musical.
He suggested using the older Usher silk dome which according to the builder is more musical versus the more current Diamond, Bery., Usher tweeters. There's no right or wrong here. It boils down to personal preference.
After owning speakers of many different designs and flavors, I'll take musical. The speakers I use don't look nearly as good on paper as some of the others but they sound much better to my ear. Actually, instead of the term musical, I describe them as more fun to listen to. I can totally relax into the music.