Do Physicists Or Musicians Design Better Speakers?

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

The same could be said of non-musicians listening to music. Their preferences are unquestionably valid, but they are not going to have experienced listening to the music as a nuanced interplay in the same way that a musician does. First-hand experience changes one's perspective, so in the end the question becomes are you listening for fulfillment upon the design, musicality, or some combination of the two?

I would bet that no musician going into speaker building does so without scientific training as part of the process. So we're really only speaking here in theoretical absolutes.

A good topic.
Has anyone noticed that a lot of musicians have a real thing for old Luxman amplifiers.Most of the musicians I know own these.These certainly have a very sweet sound but I can't really hear anything unique or special about them.But maybe I am missing something that they are hearing.
There is also a rumour that a lot of musicians own Linn turntables and Naim amplifiers because of their emphasis on timing and rhythm.

JT

Evita,

I would agree that we're only speaking in theoretical absolutes, and would also say that the question itself begs an intelligent answer, but what the hell, its a slow day! :-)

"...fulfillment upon the design, musicality, or some combination of the two." I'm not sure what this means.

IMHO audio(philedom) is all about making equipment that succeeds at being able to replicate the sound of a 'live event' as determined by the recording engineer, in ones home.

The 'live event' is always determined by the recording engineer. For example, in the case of large orchestral programs, will it sound as if it were heard from row A, or Row H (etc) in the center (natural sound as it represents what you would hear as an audience member such as more hall resonance, deeper bass perhaps, more blending of instruments, flatter soundstage; or, will sound as if you were on it be the podium (great soundstaging effect); or, god forbid, there will be so much multimiking that it sounds like its coming from everywhere with each instrumented spotlighted. Ugh! He will also determine how much compression is needed because the dynamic's might well exceed the users equipment, and the list goes on.

The point is that none of the considerations of the recording engineer have anything to do with experience gained by virtue of being a musician, with the exception of his experience listening to live instruments gives him a leg up on being able to more closely replicate the sound of a live instrument, or performing group, in a recording.

None of the experience of a recording engineer, nor experience as a musician, is necessary for one to construct the equipment necessary to play recordings in the home. All one needs is the technical electrical expertise and craftsmanship necessary to make the devises and the 'good ears' to recognize when they have reached their goals. If they have reached their goals and you have the ability to set up the equipment to operate at its optimum, the only 'musicality' involved is in the pits or grooves. JMHO.

The 'live event' is always determined by the recording engineer.

With the input of the musicians, and this person is usually a musician him/herself. My husband played professionally for over ten years. I've seen the process at work.

It depends on what one considers "better".

From one group's perspective, the purpose of a speaker is to reproduce the signal it receives as accurately as possible. I would think that a physicist would be better qualified than a musician to take on this task.

The there is the group who believe that a speaker must be "voiced" in order to sound "good". A musician might be more likely to design a speaker that suits this group's needs.