what to look for when buying speakers?

[Erman_94]

looking to purchase some speakers (i own a pioneer 1018 receiver)

i see that more expensive speakers have a higher power capability (obviously) but would that make a difference even if im not cranking up the volume full blast?

for example if one speaker is capable of 200W and another of 250W would i notice the difference at a mid-volume level?


also, how can you tell the ohms of the speaker? is this an important factor? what ohm impedence would be considered "good"?

what about tweeter size and woofer size?

im very novice with this stuff and dont know what to look for.

or should i base my decision SOLELY on listening to them (ignoring the specs?)

any help is appreciated guys, thanks

[Driver_King]

Buy what you think sounds good or have a listen to what we tell you to.

[olds403]

You should definitely listen to speakers to find the ones you like. The power handling ratings are only a rough guide so that you will not mismatch the amp/receiver and speakers, it will have no bearing on listening or sound quality.

Sensitivity ratings will have a bearing on listening. Higher numbers for sensitivity will play louder with less power. My NHT speakers are not extremely sensitive being rated at 87db(decibels), my friends Infinity speakers are much more sensitive(93db) and will play much louder with the same amount of power.

You should go to an audio store that is set up to do A-B comparisons with the same source material. This way you can instantly switch between 2 speakers during the same song and tell which one you like better. Always take your own cd/music that you are familiar with to the demo.

When I was around 15 or so, I went looking for my first set of stereo speakers. I must have spent 3 or 4 hours in Tech Hifi(long time ago) comparing speakers before I decided which ones I wanted.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by olds403

You should definitely listen to speakers to find the ones you like. The power handling ratings are only a rough guide so that you will not mismatch the amp/receiver and speakers, it will have no bearing on listening or sound quality.

Sensitivity ratings will have a bearing on listening. Higher numbers for sensitivity will play louder with less power. My NHT speakers are not extremely sensitive being rated at 87db(decibels), my friends Infinity speakers are much more sensitive(93db) and will play much louder with the same amount of power.

You should go to an audio store that is set up to do A-B comparisons with the same source material. This way you can instantly switch between 2 speakers during the same song and tell which one you like better. Always take your own cd/music that you are familiar with to the demo.

When I was around 15 or so, I went looking for my first set of stereo speakers. I must have spent 3 or 4 hours in Tech Hifi(long time ago) comparing speakers before I decided which ones I wanted.

Gee that is a long time ago. Tech Hifi has been out of business for maybe 30??? years?

Anyway, find what sounds the best to your ears. Also listen for speakers that sound natural and cd, dvd, blu-ray source material should sound as close as possible to the instruments and voices that also fits your budget.

Rich