generic sound=XO point(s)

[prickears]

Simple question,

I find, If I take a trip down to the local Hi-Fi store and sample a few different speakers, I hear a 'generic sound', if you know what i mean. Hardly

I'm not 100% sure, but I attribute this to, 'Crossing in the mid', (among many other things), However, I feel this may be the main offender.

What are your thoughts here?

Thanx, Mick.

[gainphile]

The main offender is polar response. Especially for generic box speakers the transition from mid to tweeter may well be dictated by xo point.

If the polar response is maintained, then the sound should be similar regardless to xo point, and the only differentiation would be distortion profile of each drivers.

polar response interacts with the room differently and that is why different speaker topology sounds very differently e.g. box speaker vs. planar or horn.

[Loren42]

Originally Posted by prickears

Simple question,

I find, If I take a trip down to the local Hi-Fi store and sample a few different speakers, I hear a 'generic sound', if you know what i mean. Hardly

I'm not 100% sure, but I attribute this to, 'Crossing in the mid', (among many other things), However, I feel this may be the main offender.

What are your thoughts here?

Thanx, Mick.

Generic sound might just be building to suit the market. Many mainstream loudspeakers are designed to have a signature to their sound that people like and want to hear.

That signature changes over time as the market changes. I would expect the "pack" of manufactures to attempt to follow that market trend as it changes.

Do you hear that same "generic sound" when listening to higher quality speakers?

[StigErik]

Higher quality / more expensive speakers have their own signature sound as well, although less annyoing than many cheap speakers. Its not too hard to recognize that speakers from B&W, Sonus Faber, Quad and others have their own type of sound, all different from each other.

[MaVo]

Indeed, the on axis response is only part of what we hear, as there are alot of reflections in every listening room, which stem from every possible angle in the speakers polar response. If the response isnt flat at other angles than zero, you will hear it in the reverb. A change of directivity between tweeter/mid/woofer at crossover frequencies leads to uneven off-axis response. Thats probably what leads to this generic sound you mentioned, as most normal speakers have the same layout of woofer/mid/tweeter and the smallest part of them is concerned with off axis response.

[prickears]

It would be fair to say that, the only brand to buck the trend (IMHO), is Krix. They are in the same price range as many others inc, Tannoy, B&W, etc. The Krix, for some reason or another, don't seem to walk the same line.

I have taken mates speaker shopping several times in the past, It has always been the Krix that stopped them in their tracks, and only the pendulum like swinging of their jaws that hints to me, they too, have just 'heared' music for the first time.

Why? The damn things are just a box speaker.

[Shaun]

Agree with all above, especially Answer 1.

"Crossing in the mid" is an old-school excuse for less than optimised loudspeaker design. Dispersion characteristics and distortion profiles must match at the crossover point for the crossover to be seemingly seamless (see what I did there?).

[prickears]

LOL,^

I understand the off axis response/room response thing, and don't get me wrong, I hear the differences between models and brands (can't we all), thats the easy part to understand.

But how can one brand in particular hit the spot so consistently?

They too 'cross the mid', but they don't smudge and smear it. I don't rep their gear, the question was asked of me above, and thats my answer, but, I don't know what makes this particular brand, hit the spot for so many people. I know it's not coincidence, so it must be something they do better than most.

[Loren42]

Originally Posted by Shaun

Agree with all above, especially Answer 1.

"Crossing in the mid" is an old-school excuse for less than optimised loudspeaker design. Dispersion characteristics and distortion profiles must match at the crossover point for the crossover to be seemingly seamless (see what I did there?).

I think you could add the transition of phase response to that as well, no?

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by Loren42

I think you could add the transition of phase response to that as well, no?

That gets addressed in the crossover. I must admit, though, that I have never done measurements to view overall phase response of the system; when it sounds good enough, I stop. I never suspected that phase response would matter once smooth frequency response is achieved.