Do Physicists Or Musicians Design Better Speakers?

I would opt for someone well schooled in electronics and its application to audio, who just happens to have 'good ears'.

IMHO musicians rarely have clue about what makes an audio system sound good to an audiophile, they are much more interested in the music itself and their instruments. My daughter is one, has perfect pitch, plays several instruments quite well, and wouldn't know what a 'soundstage' was if it bit her in the ass, let alone some of the other hallmarks of a great audio system (and couldn't care).

Think for a moment from the prospective of a musician - where is that person when playing. When are they ever in a position to judge what the music they are making sounds like to others who are not part of their group. A dubious credential for making electronis IMHO.

I agree with Newbee. Best is probably an engineer who loves music and pays attention to what it sounds like.

Scientists can design things that will work, but eventually you want to choose among things that all work well, you want the one that "sound best". That is a problem of human brain, how it hears and interprets signals, and so far scientific instruments are helpless there, they can't make those fine and final calls.

Musicians are like diners who know good food but can't cook themselves. May not even recognize the ingredients let alone cook with them. So, a pianist can certainly tell when a speaker is doing it right and when nott, but he wouldn't know what to change where to tweak the sound in the desired direction.

And as Newbee said above, a musician who "merely" plays one instrument in a 100+ orchestra may not even have the basic judgment about how the whole thing sounds in the hall.

So, we need scientist types, and a listening panel with a few soloists and a few expereinced concertgoers. :-)