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General speaker questions for audio and home theater.

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Original Message

If you can't audition

Posted by DrChaos on January 9, 2017 at 16:47:13:
Go by measurements, at least for the first three non-panel speakers. Panel speakers really can't be measured reliably with common techniques in this way (or the results don't correlate with the sound the way the others do). You'd probably need an enormous true physical anechoic chamber which would be very expensive. I don't trust the quasi-anechoic computations in this situation.
It is more likely (though not certain) you would have a preference which is most consistent with what is generally preferred as shown by empirical human testing.
In this regard, the Focal is clearly the best of the 1st three. The B&W and especially the Marten have some frequency response anomalies in the midrange and up which would be audible.
As far as large panels---either you would find them utterly intoxicating or you wouldn't get it at all. The two magnepans would sound mostly similar except the 20.7 does everything more, in particular in bass. If you haven't heard anything like this you don't have a point of reference.
You would certainly need 4 feet minimum in free space behind their panels to have a chance of sounding good, and probably subwoofers with the 3.7i.