What you should know before choosing a music system? - Choosing the best speakers

Music must be pleasing to our ear. If a music cause hearing fatigue, either the system is playing at higher spl (sound pressure level) or it is tuned improperly (toward higher frequency response). 

This article is about choosing different types of speakers for quality sound. DIY ers can also make use of these tips.

Some basics first:

Woofers - speakers that produce bass. Their cones usually are heavy and can move front and back to a large extent (larger Xmax).

Speakers -  Usually a midrange or a full range speakers with high Q (One of the T/S parameter). Their bass response depends on the technical parameters of the driver (say fs - driver resonance).

Tweeter - high frequency speakers

The various categories of speakers are

1. midrange speakers
2. full range speakers
3. subwoofer speakers

1. How to choose a midrange speaker?

Midrange speakers are a best buy for those who are in budget. Most people develop a tendency to go for compact speakers, when choosing a midrange (for casual music listening). The problem with compact speakers, is that they suffer from poor transient response.

It is good to look for the following factors while choosing a midrange.

1. It is better, to have the back side of the midrange enclosure, get filled with damping material like cotton, foam etc to minimize the effect of sound coloration due to standing waves.
2. Or the compact midrange must have a open back enclosure
3. Or the compact midrange must be a open baffle (speaker with no backside enclosure)
4. Or, the enclosure must be large and tuned to a lower frequency. The inside may be lined with damping material. (This is why even smaller speakers inside CRT television systems sound good)
5. It is better to have enclosures with no ports.

The above five are the main points to consider while buying or DIYing a midrange speaker.

2. How to choose a full range speaker?

Most full range speakers are produced by popular brands in the market.  Fullrange speakers are mostly used in multichannel home theatre systems.

Fullrange speakers with small enclosure, usually do not sound good.(except for some specially designed speakers that are acoustically suspended). So, it is better to choose a fullrange system with big enclosures. (See what are good enclosure dimensions)

Ports and bass reflex may sometimes work. But, sealed enclosures deliver a punchy and clean mid bass.

3.  How to choose a good multichannel system?

A multichannel system usually have a subwoofer. But the quality depends on certain factors.

1. A Subwoofer crossover below 120hz has more weight and rattle than the one at 150 hz. Subwoofers crossed above 120 hz may suffer from boomy mid bass.
2. Fourth order crossover and a lower cutoff, atleast below 40hz, delivers clean and deep bass response.
3. Subwoofers can have ports when crossed below 120 hz. Else, the mid bass will not be clean. Sealed enclosures sound good for higher crossover frequencies.
4. Larger the diameter of the subwoofer, more is the deep bass extension.
5. Compact subwoofers may not sound good(unless specially designed)
6. A two way, threeway or a full range satellite may be used for main speakers, but not a compact satellite.
7. Sealed main speakers sounds good than ported ones.

Some commonly accepted facts 
Mass compliance drivers with lower fs (resonant frequency) produce a punchy midbass when placed in a sealed enclosure. They are best suited for main speakers. They blend perfectly with the subwoofer too.

Subwoofer systems that are crossed at higher frequencies above 120 hz, do not blend well with the main speakers. They do have a nonlinear transient response, making bass boomy, even when sealed enclosure is used. They may be good for games and movies, but not for lively music.

As far as dipoles and bipoles are concerned, they are surround speakers and loaded using the phase responses. It is not much of a concern, because main speakers are the one, that does the job.

Compact speakers sometime sound good, but not always. Only, specially designed speakers (acoustic suspension speakers) perform well in compact enclosures. But are rare. So, donot get attracted towards compact speakers.

Finally, i believe that you know something about choosing speakers, after reading this post.

Thanks for reading.. Have a wise buy....