Speakers

Types

The following information is a rough guide only, those musicphiles amongst you may disagree with some of the following but it's meant as a primer for the average person who would like to get a broader knowledge of the subject. There's always Google for those who would like to refine and get a more detailed overview.

Speakers are the primary source of what you hear as they convert the electronic impulses into sound waves. Most speakers can be roughly classified as Floorstanding (from 600mm high up to 1.5 metres high), Bookshelf (350mm to 600mm) and satellites (under 350mm). In general, the bigger the speaker, the more bass. The largest speakers can go as low as 27Hz (-3dB). The lowest note in music - apart from a couple of big organs - is 27.5Hz (A0) which is the lowest note on the Piano. There are lower notes (subsubcontra) which can go as low as 13.75Hz but you can't actually hear them and you need a Midi Synthesizer or 64' Organ Pipe to produce them. Most Floorstanding speakers however have an actual lower limit of around 40Hz. Bookshelf speakers can go as low as 55Hz and those tiny satellite speakers generally don't get below 120Hz (the very small satellites only go down to around 250Hz).

What this means is that there are very few speakers that can produce a full frequency range across the whole musical spectrum. The high frequencies aren't really a problem as the high frequency drivers (tweeters) can be made very small but I find most speakers need a "subwoofer" to augment the lower end. More about those under the "subwoofer" heading.

I've split the speaker listings into the three categories and will treat them as musical devices rather than Home Theatre noise makers (just about any speaker system can sound good playing the right movie). When choosing your speakers, you need to keep that in mind as, even in movies, there's always some music. Let the salesman know the size of the room in which you intend the speakers to be used, the type of music you typically listen to (even if the majority of time, it'll be for movies) and the volume level you will be listening at.

Main Speakers
We call these "main" speakers as they refer to either the two primary speakers in a stereo system or the Left and Right speakers in a Home Theatre system. Either way, when playing music they are the numero uno interface between the listener and the source.
There are around 170 brands of speaker on the Australian market and it can be a real minefield.

There are no good or bad speakers, only the best value for money at any particular time. For us to recommend a speaker we need to know a rough budget, size of room, type of furnishings (soft or hard), type of music generally listened to and size (smaller speakers in a stereo system often need a subwoofer to help them along - some purists disagree and think a subwoofer can't be incorporated into a stereo system but they also think the earth is flat). All speakers sound different in varying environments so listening in a store as an absolute can be not only misleading but counterproductive. Comparative listening however can be useful.

Some speaker manufacturers specialise in specific types of designs - Martin Logan for instance are famous for their Electrostatic Designs and, after using a pair at home for some time, can vouch for their accuracy and intimacy in the correct environment.
http://www.martinlogan.com/

There are some companies who make terrific stereo speakers for serious listening, one of our favourites is Triangle from France
http://www.triangle-fr.com/en/
Amazing sound staging and reproduction for the conscientious listener, We've had their $40,000 speakers in store and were just blown away! Good floorstanding speakers from Triangle however start from under $2000 pair.

Then there are companies who make speakers for all types of listening. Our choice is Paradigm, a Canadian company with such a broad range of speakers that they have a solution for just about every potential customer.
http://www.paradigm.com
For the last 21 years, they've won the award for the best value for money Speaker in the USA and with the new importer dropping the Australian prices, they're now the leader in just about every catagory up to $10,000 pair over here.

Believe it or not, Yamaha make some very good speakeres for the domestic market as well
http://au.yamaha.com/en/products/audio-visual/speaker-systems/
I've been using Yamaha speakers in recording studio's since 1969 (NS-1000's and NS10's) - most receording studio's still use Yamaha studio monitors for near and mid field monitoring. They make some pretty crappy low end stuff but their EF and 9900 series are particularly good value for money, musical and very dynamic when used in a Home Theatre environment.

Richter Speakers
RICHTER SPEAKERS ARE AWESOME
There are many, many more brands and as time permits I'll add more with my thoughts on them.