The problem is, for the rest of us, who just want to
buy decent audio equipment and don't have lots of
disposable wealth, their hobby fills the space with
so much noise
Amen. Soooo much noise.
While not perfect, and while they don't provide as much objective data as I'd like, I have always sound Wirecutter's coverage of audio equipment to be of a very high caliber. No snake oil.
On the hobbyist side of things Erin's Audio Corner and Audio Science Review have some great data driven reviews.
I would say basically zero return in fact
between 500 and 10,000 dollars
Wow! That's a spicy take. Are we assuming that these theoretical speakers will be properly crossed over to a subwoofer or two, and properly EQ'd?
If so, then yeah, I think I'm almost on board with you. My main system is basically a pair of < $500 JBL studio monitors crossed over to a couple of subs.
If not, then bass and total output are definitely going to be lacking with that $500 system. Most $500 small, commercial speakers are going to struggle to hit 40hz with any kind of authority.
Another thing that a lot of speakers get wrong is off-axis performance. Most of the sound we hear is reflected so it helps if speakers are doing the right thing in as wide of a cone as possible. Paying more tends to get you better performance in this regard but it's a rather weak correlation.
Well, one can build damn good top tier quality speakers for $1500 per easily. It takes knowhow of course to design (but there's literature) and tune it, so feel free to charge double.
Anything beyond that is brand and greed with minimal returns, unless it's a truly exotic design which may not necessarily be better. (Ribbon speakers, electrostatic, isodynamic...)
>bass and total output are definitely going to be lacking with that $500 system
Definitely. OP was talking about bookshelves. Personally I'd definitely want a sub to go with any bookshelf speaker.
>Most of the sound we hear is reflected so it helps if speakers are doing the right thing in as wide of a cone as possible. Paying more tends to get you better performance in this regard but it's a rather weak correlation.
There's differing opinions/preferences on that, and what you might prefer will also depend on the room size.
What experts generally do agree on is that the dropoff should be smooth with no peaks or resonances off-axis.
The classic examples I'm aware of are Revel vs Kef.
Revel aims for wider dispersion than Kef but other than that, they're pretty similar in terms of specs, both are very linear on-axis with a smooth dropoff.
A lot of bookshelves get you meaningful response down to ~40hz or a little below with the help of some boundary reinforcement, which is enough for a lot of people and/or music.
The number of subwoofers I own has become a running joke between my brother and I, so I don't need to be sold on their value but they definitely add bulk, cost and complexity so I never want newcomers thinking they absolutely need them to have fun in this hobby.
I enjoy a lot of bass-heavy music so I do feel I need one, but if I only had the budget for average speakers and a sub, or great speakers without a sub, I'd go for the great speakers without a sub.
I'd probably go for good speakers with a cheap sub rather than great speakers without a sub though.
While not perfect, and while they don't provide as much objective data as I'd like, I have always sound Wirecutter's coverage of audio equipment to be of a very high caliber. No snake oil.
On the hobbyist side of things Erin's Audio Corner and Audio Science Review have some great data driven reviews.
Wow! That's a spicy take. Are we assuming that these theoretical speakers will be properly crossed over to a subwoofer or two, and properly EQ'd?If so, then yeah, I think I'm almost on board with you. My main system is basically a pair of < $500 JBL studio monitors crossed over to a couple of subs.
If not, then bass and total output are definitely going to be lacking with that $500 system. Most $500 small, commercial speakers are going to struggle to hit 40hz with any kind of authority.
Another thing that a lot of speakers get wrong is off-axis performance. Most of the sound we hear is reflected so it helps if speakers are doing the right thing in as wide of a cone as possible. Paying more tends to get you better performance in this regard but it's a rather weak correlation.