aj523, you’re welcome. It’s fun to help earnest persons who are itching to learn. Most people here are kind and have experiences to share.
There are a LOT of variables, as many are pointing out, including the important amp/speaker pairing. Do research on which amps work best with various genres of speakers. Look for compatibility and performance, and don’t presume that because someone likes a combination that 1. they have it anywhere near optimized, and 2. that you will like it.
Generally, my take on various speakers:
1. Dynamic: powerful, more compact and focused imaging, and potential boxy coloration (in some design VERY boxy colorations). Soundstage pretty well limited to he size of speaker and drivers. Variations include putting drivers on bottom, sides, back, etc. Amplification preferences vary from lower power and tube through higher power and SS.
2. Panel: "Wall of sound"; typically more diffuse and larger imaging, typically requires more robust amp to get better macrodynamics (i.e. more bass presence). Sensed by many to be "faster", however, I disagree, and state that they are simply different. There are ardent enthusiasts of both magnetic planar and electrostatic. Hybrid dynamic/panel speakers are available. Usually recommended to use higher power/current amps. Others use tube amps with lower power to get tone and large soundstage.
3. Horn, very easy to drive, so many use small Watt tube amps. Delicate and potentially extremely revealing, however some are sensitive to the compression driver/horn sound. Often is smallish sounding source compared to larger dynamic and panels. Can have terrific imaging. Can be in cabinet or Open Baffle. Hybrid horn/dynamic is often seen as a particular genre.
4. Line source, and quasi-line source: Big sound like a panel, with better dynamics. More convoluted in imaging than horn or dynamic, but with a fullness difficult for other genres to produce. Can be in cabinet or Open Baffle, or hybrid. Amplification can vary.
5. Open Baffle: Cleaner, i.e. no cabinet coloration, with a room filling back wave similar to panel. Can have larger full range driver with supplemental bass, which allows coherence of a horn with a bit more generous midrange. Can suffer from anemic bass if utilizing only 1 smaller full range driver, but various methods have been employed to address that. Often tube amps, sometimes very low Watt, are preferred. I usually enjoy higher power regardless of speaker.
6. Omni: Extremely diffuse sound, which I call the "Mushroom Cloud" soundstage. Not good imaging, but very enveloping and highly listenable without strain. May or may not have good low end. Amplification can vary.
There are variants and hybrids of all these genres. BTW, fans of all these types of speakers insist they are the most natural, accurate, beautiful sounding, the only "proper" performers, etc. They all have something to offer.
To the community; please, I’m well aware your descriptions may differ, some significantly, and that there are speakers of each genre that depart significantly from my description. My descriptions are quite generalized and if you want to discuss your favorite, feel free, but I’m not arguing my points. I have used all these types of speakers and this is my take on them from experience.
