AudioBanter.com - View Single Post - I just want accurate-sounding music!

In article . com,
wrote:

Hi Stephen, thank you. I guess you answered my most pressing question
-- is it possible to reproduce live music accurately for $500-$750 --
and the answer seems to be "no."

So, that being said, I suppose I am now asking for a specific
recommendation. Or is sound reproduction so subjective that anyone's
recommendation outside my own experience is irrelevant? Maybe I need
to find someone with similar musical tastes (live jazz, classical,
acapella vocals, theater) on a similar budget.

Sure, especially if you can find someone with a room similar to yours.
Read some online reviews to see if there's a common thread in the
descriptions. One place to start could be Robert Reina's budget speaker
reviews at stereophile.com.

I've seen positive mention of PSB, Epos, and Magnepan, but there are
many mo Energy, Paradigm, NHT, etc.

I guess a good followup question would be -- can you buy sound
reproduction components based on specs alone and expect the result to
match the specs?

The published specs are the best you can expect, but do you know what
the specs mean for the subjective experience? OTOH, I bought my main
speakers without audition and they do have okay numbers.

To mention the room again, if you are going to put your speakers close
to the wall, you would need to be careful with rear-ported speakers.

I'm thinking that if that's true, then Consumer
Reports recommendations are as good as any, and better than a
salesman's.

Not necessarily. Specs will so similar as to be meaningless, and the
recommendations are not necessarily based on your criteria (does CR
still mark down for not having tone controls?). You also may not share
CR's biases for speakers (flattest might not sound the best and you
might not care about sound away from the listening position).

If I might offer my example, for my main system, I bought a second-hand
NAD integrated for about the price of a CR-approved commodity receiver.
Since my listening room sounds pretty good, I had the luxury of knowing
that most any speaker would work well, except corner speakers, that is.

So, cheap out on electronics, and hedge your bets on speakers.

Stephen