Knotscott:
I don’t think specs make manufacturers honest in any way shape or form. I think they are viewed as a marketing tool by most. Manufacturers cheat and manipulate specs as a specific effort because they know if a spec is "bad", it affects sales. They know specs are perceived as a value of product performance, not this impartial number that helps you evaluate it. Frequency response for example, a total free for all: some don’t even list the plus or minus so you can say anything you want. Efficiency, you can write this spec in many different ways, this 1W/1M spec can be found with different methods of measurement (what frequency its taken at etc). The more you know about specs, the easier they are to manipulate.
Those with a lot of experience in audio know that a few specs rarely relate to actual real world sonic performance. What good is a wide frequency response and high efficiency if distortion is extremely high? There are so many factors (such as room or source or?) that affect the sound quality that trying to assess a speaker or a amp based on specs is like deciding what car is safe based on its skid pad numbers or its braking distance. It MAY be important but there’s a lot to consider beyond those specs.
Brad
