the paradox of accurate speakers

Listening to music is a subjective experience, like drinking wine or eating ice cream. There is no 'accurate' in wine tasting or ice cream eating, why would you look for it in music?

It's not the drinking of wine that is subjective, it's the enjoyment of the wine. And it's not music that is or is not accurate, it's music reproduction.

Jmcgrogan, what you say is simply wrong, but such a hard held belief for subjective audiophiles like you that, at this point, in this deconstructionist phase of the history of hi-fi, there is nothing anyone can do or say to convince you or yours that without an objective measure the design and construction of any component, including speakers, would be akin to a blind man with a cane walking in downtown traffic.

Accuracy does exist. Wine and cheese have nothing to do with it.

PBB, what's wrong with blind men -- and women let's not forget -- walking with a cane in downtown traffic. . I do it even in New York [chuckles!]? . . . and how does the admittedly quaint imagery relate to speaker design?

Cheese, who said anything about cheese?

Please enlighten me than Pbb. What is accuracy? Are you talking about speaker laboratory measurements? You can measure a wine's viscosity and pH levels, but that tells you nothing about the taste.

I'm from the school that if two 'accurate' (meaning they measure the same) speakers sound different, then we are measuring the wrong thing. I believe the most accurate measuring devices are located on the side of the human head.

You can call perceived accuracy (laboratory measurements) accuracy if you wish, that is your perogative. If the laboratory measurements represented 'real accuracy', than two speakers that measure the same would sound the same, yet this is not the case. So if you objectivist insist that measurements equal accuracy, then I would suggest that you find the right thing to measure, because you haven't yet.

Cheers,
John

If you've ever done recording, you'll notice how each mic sounds different. Even the same mic will differ if you move it around.

Most of us latch onto a area of the frequency spectrum that we value above all others. For me, it's the upper mids, where soprano and trumpets reside. I play trumpet and love female singers. I'll notice an inaccuracy in that range immeditately. OTOH, I've lived for decades without true bass extension. I love good bass, but until recently I didn't care enough to pay for it. Also, many of the speakers that had the bass I liked sacrificed the mids that I value more. (The Vienna Acoustic Beethovan Baby Grands satisfy me totally, in my relatively small listening room).

Anyway, most people, including audiophiles, don't really like "accurate" speakers and will adjust their room to bring into balance the things that they prefer to hear, not to extend the "accurate" sound.

Dave