Price only part of equation in picking right hi-fi speakers

By Andrej Sokolow Dec 4, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Berlin - Music might come primarily in MP3 format these days, but experts still say you ought to get a good pair of loudspeakers for listening to those songs.

The good news is twofold: hi-fi sets come in all sizes and price categories; and you don't have to spend a fortune to get a good pair. Many experts say there are a lot of good loudspeakers out there for less than 1,000 euros (1,333 dollars).

But there are still a lot of tough choices. For 500 euros, you can get an entire home movie set - or find you don't even have enough for a single speaker from a high-price manufacturer.

How to decide? Is bigger and more expensive always better? And how much do you really need to understand about things like watts and resistance?

'Just like always, more expensive means better,' says Jens Claassen, a hi-fi expert with German consumer goods website testberichte.de.

Matthias Boede, an editor with the German magazine Stereo agrees: 'It's always good to shell out a little more money. And that's despite the fact that today's materials and years of continual development mean just about any of today's housings are far better than those of yesteryear.

'You can very clearly hear the difference between a cheap and an expensive loudspeaker,' Boede says.

And there is really no ceiling on the upward march of prices. High-end speakers where the manufacturers have used all the tools at their disposal to craft the perfect sound can easily reach tens of thousands of euros - sometimes per speaker.

But how much does the average listener really need before costs spiral too high? It's hard to name an upper price limit, says Boede. For him, the limit lies between 700 and 1,000 euros for a pair of speakers, assuming they can be hooked up to a decent stereo.

But a higher investment can be worth it since the materials in today's loudspeakers age more slowly. 'Technical progress has been very good for the speakers,' he says. Even 500 euros will get you a set of very respectable speakers these days.

The size of the speakers mostly affects the bass. 'You need a big housing to get the lower sounds,' says Boede. And there's really nothing out there that can replace the big area needed by a bass membrane. 'The air has to move.'

That's why it's a good idea to back up smaller speakers with a subwoofer. 'The sound is more natural then and fills the space better,' says Boede. But even professionals run the risk of setting the subwoofer so it plays too loudly. 'It's installed properly when it blends seamlessly into the sound.'

But connoisseurs still look down on systems that leave the bass sound to a subwoofer, like many home theatre systems do.

'The worlds of sound for music and film remain very different,' says Boede. And quality speakers are important for all kinds of sound, even the compressed music of computer files like MP3s.

Consumers don't have to expend their energy on technical data like they once did. Though some rules abide. 'Output and impedance play a role in relation to the room's size and when it comes to picking an appropriate loudspeaker.'

But there is more room for play. Most amplifiers and speakers interact without problem in an impedance range of 4 to 8 ohms. 'Before, you could get a lot of this wrong. Today, there are hardly any incompatibilities,' says Boede.

Watt output also isn't as important as before. 'Even with one watt, a loudspeaker one metre away develops a volume of 85 decibels,' says Boede. The wattage can be felt, but it isn't the deciding factor.

It's also not that important if speakers have multiple outlets for various frequencies. 'Different manufacturers have different approaches, but what counts is an overall quality sound.'

Remember, even if your speakers will likely sound different at home, you can still get an idea of their sound in the showroom. Speaker cables also play an important role.