1. Look at the appearance
Looking at major well-known audio brands around the world, with thousands of unique appearances, how can we distinguish between good and bad? It's simple, but also complex. Premium speakers are first and foremost handled very well in terms of details, with no visible rough burrs, adhesive edges or corners, etc. The paint surface is processed very smoothly, with a mirror like finish and clear reflection images without deformation
There are many problems with low-quality speakers, and the details are not handled very well. In some cases, more tricks can be seen in the inverted holes
In addition, there are two lessons learned. One is that low-quality speakers or miscellaneous brand speakers do not have their own design style and concept. When you look at them, you will feel the shadow of many brands. For example, some speakers on Taobao are obviously imitations of Tianlang, Dana, Noble, B&W, and so on; Another issue is that "junk" speakers often look exaggerated and glamorous on the surface (this is not a compliment), while good speakers have their own "low-key luxury". Although this term may seem absurd, you will naturally understand it after seeing it more often.
2. Touch the texture
After a brief review, we are about to move our hands up and down... First, weigh the weight (don't let go of a large floor standing speaker, move it around and feel the weight). Heavy speakers may not be good, but good speakers are usually very heavy. Why is it heavy? It is mainly due to the weight of the speaker unit and the weight of the box. High quality speakers generally use thick fiber-reinforced panels with uniform density and good acoustic characteristics. A certain thickness can avoid unnecessary sound distortion caused by box resonance, and large magnetic steel speaker units are also the basic guarantee for high-quality sound.
Of course, it cannot be ruled out that some speakers may be heavy but have poor sound. There may be unscrupulous merchants adding materials to the speakers, while some conscientious speakers may be piling up materials. Although the sound may not be very pleasant, the quality is still acceptable.
The weight is not enough, we also need to verify the first level by touching the surface of the box, whether the paint is smooth and round, whether the veneer is simple, neat and flawless, especially paying attention to the details of the corners and other positions, touching whether the terminal posts are thick and stable, whether the threads are smooth, and so on.
Next, remove the dust cover and check if the hanging edge is elastic and if the diaphragm is thin, light, and highly rigid. The hanging edges of inferior speakers often feel thin, lack elasticity, or are too hard to handle, all of which are manifestations of inferior materials and workmanship.
3. Listen to the sound
After enduring the tests of the first two levels, I believe you have basically found the speaker you like. However, the speaker is used for listening, and having no problems in the front does not necessarily mean that the sound is good. The last part still needs to be tested to see if the sound meets your listening preferences.
The basic requirement for a good sound in a general sense is tri frequency balance, with dynamics, depth, and detail. Of course, everyone has a different definition of good sound, and each audio company's tuning style is also different. Some people always ask which speaker is better than another speaker, or which speaker is the best. My answer is that what is suitable is the best.
