rlw@wxlvax.UUCP (07/06/83)
(Apologies to those who saw this a year ago. Since KLH is in the news, I'm repeating it for general amusement.) Many years ago (1962+-2) I was consultant to the U.of.Pa.-Columbia Electronic Music Lab. We were setting up a listening room at the U.of.Pa. and I took a group of musicians and engineers down to Danby Electronics for a blind listening test of a dozen or so speakers. The results are amusing (but probably not statistically significant): all of the 6 musicians chose the KLH-6 as their favorite... all of the three engineers chose the AR-2 (I think it was the -2). In consequence I bought two KLH-6 speakers for myself -- only to see them remain behind in a divorce settlement. Plaintive cry: Does anyone have any KLH-6s for sale? Is there anything available today (for not outrageous cost) that can amtch their sound. I don't think it was pure "fidelity" that is the answer. KLH deliberately shaded the sound for room listening and I think it sounded good to the musicians who were used to being in the sound. The ARs sounded too remote to them. --Dick Wexelblat (...decvax!ittvax!wxlvax!rlw)
rgh@inmet.UUCP (07/10/83)
#R:ittvax:-82700:inmet:2600001:000:833
inmet!rgh Jul 9 14:41:00 1983
Re A/B tests to determine the louder/better speaker:
This is where speaker efficiency enters into the picture. The more
efficient speaker (by definition) will be louder at the same setting of
the amplifier volume control. Just switching the amp from one pair of
speakers to another is not a valid comparison unless the two speakers
are equally efficient.
Efficiency has little correlation with quality: there are excellent
speakers of all different efficiencies (and lousy ones, too). The better
speaker is the one which sounds better. To determine this you have to
listen to them at the same volume, which means twiddling volume controls
if they're of different efficiency. The practical difference is that you
may need a more powerful amp with less efficient speakers.
Randy Hudson
{harpo,ima}!inmet!rghlarson@sri-unix.UUCP (07/19/83)
#R:ittvax:-82700:sri-unix:15900005:000:242 sri-unix!larson Jul 10 12:12:00 1983 Hopefully when you set the volume at the same level you used attenuator pads on the more efficient pair of speakers to get the same sound level. If you did not do this, you may have created the condition you were trying to avoid. Alan