A Practical Guide to Choosing Stereo Speakers

We’re often asked: “What speakers should I get?”

That’s a bit like asking someone what their favorite color is. Only you can ultimately decide what sounds best to you.

That said, we strongly believe these fundamental principles can help anyone make a better decision when choosing speakers for stereo music listening.

1. Choose Full-Range Speakers When Possible

For most stereo systems, we recommend full-range speakers rather than bookshelf speakers paired with a subwoofer.

Why?

A well-designed full-range speaker integrates its bass, midrange, and treble through a carefully engineered system of drivers and crossovers. Achieving the same seamless integration with separate bookshelf speakers and subwoofers can be considerably more difficult, even with careful placement, measurement, time alignment, and EQ.

Subwoofers are particularly useful in home theater, where very deep bass and high output are priorities, and the bass is often handled by dedicated channels and bass management.

That does not mean a bookshelf and subwoofer system cannot sound fantastic. It absolutely can, but it requires more work to get right. If you choose that route, take advantage of measurement tools, proper bass management, time alignment, and EQ. And be patient. You are essentially designing and integrating a speaker system in your own room, and unless you happen to be a speaker designer, it will likely take considerable time, experimentation, and patience to get everything working together seamlessly.

Rule of thumb: If your bookshelf speakers are sitting on stands, you probably have room for floor standing speakers. For many listeners, a well-designed full-range speaker is the simpler and more reliable path to excellent stereo reproduction.

2. Listen to Different Speakers and Learn What You Prefer

Different speaker manufacturers often have different approaches to voicing, dispersion, tonal balance, and overall presentation.

Listen to speakers owned by friends and family, and visit local retailers when possible. Bring music you know extremely well and listen carefully to how different speakers reproduce:

• Cymbals and upper harmonics
• Vocals and midrange instruments
• Bass guitar and kick drums
• Imaging and soundstage
• Dynamics at both low and high listening levels

Think of sound reproduction as falling into three broad ranges: bass, midrange, and high frequencies. Evaluate and grade each speaker on how well it performs in each of those areas.

Decide what sounds natural and enjoyable to you, and do not let anyone tell you what you should prefer.

Keep in mind that speakers with a brighter or more forward presentation often stand out during a short demonstration, much like a television with exaggerated brightness can look impressive on a showroom floor. But that same presentation can become fatiguing after hours of listening at home.

Conversely, a smoother or more laid-back speaker may seem less exciting during a five-minute comparison but prove far more satisfying over months or years of listening.

Rule of thumb: Learning whether you generally prefer a more energetic presentation, such as many Klipsch designs, or a smoother and more neutral presentation, such as many KEF designs, can dramatically narrow your search.

3. Use Objective Measurements Before You Buy

This is one of the most important pieces of advice we can offer:

Use the enormous amount of high-quality objective speaker data now available before spending your money.

Three of the best resources are:

• Spinorama.org
• ErinsAudioCorner.com
• AudioScienceReview.com

These resources provide high-quality independent measurements that allow you to see how a speaker actually behaves rather than relying exclusively on advertising, reviews, or showroom impressions.

In particular, we strongly recommend looking for speakers with smooth, consistent radiation patterns.

This is extremely important.

A speaker does not radiate sound only straight ahead. A substantial percentage of what reaches your ears in a normal room arrives after reflecting from the sidewalls, floor, ceiling, furniture, and other surfaces. Ideally, the sound radiated off-axis should maintain a similar tonal character to the sound traveling directly toward you.

This is where Spinorama data becomes incredibly valuable.

A well-engineered speaker will generally show:

• A smooth on-axis response
• A wide listening window
• Smooth early reflections
• A smooth predicted in-room response
• Gradual and consistent changes in directivity
• Few abrupt discontinuities through the crossover regions

When the on-axis and off-axis curves change smoothly and consistently, the reflected sound arriving at your ears tends to resemble the direct sound. That usually produces a more natural tonal balance in a real room and makes the speaker easier to position.

Conversely, large irregularities in the off-axis response or abrupt changes in directivity can cause the reflected sound to have a very different tonal balance from the direct sound. Those problems cannot be fully corrected with EQ because equalization changes both the direct and reflected sound at the same time. In that case, the loudspeaker itself is fundamentally compromised, and the best long-term solution is to replace it with a design that has a much smoother and more consistent on- and off-axis response.

If you learn to read only one set of loudspeaker measurements, learn to read Spinorama data.

Spinorama.org makes it particularly easy to compare speakers, while Erin’s Audio Corner and Audio Science Review provide excellent measurements, analysis, and explanations of what those measurements mean.

Other Measurements Worth Examining

Frequency Response:
This shows the speaker’s basic low-frequency extension and tonal balance. A broad, smooth, even response generally indicates a well-behaved design. Look for significant peaks, dips, or other irregularities. If they are pronounced, we would suggest removing those speakers from consideration.

Directivity:
Look at how smoothly the speaker’s radiation pattern changes as you move away from the listening axis. Smooth, consistent directivity is one of the strongest indicators of thoughtful loudspeaker engineering and is particularly important in normal rooms, where early reflections make up a significant portion of what you hear. Avoid speakers whose off-axis response differs substantially from their on-axis response, as this can cause the reflected sound in the room to have a noticeably different tonal balance from the direct sound.

Distortion and Compression:
These measurements help show how loudly a speaker can play while remaining clean and composed. If you have a large room or enjoy high playback levels, this becomes increasingly important.

Sensitivity, Impedance, and Electrical Phase:
These measurements tell you how difficult the speaker may be for an amplifier to drive. Do not rely solely on the impedance number printed in the brochure. Many speakers marketed as 6- or 8-ohm designs spend significant portions of their operating range much closer to 4 ohms.

Rule of thumb: Before buying a speaker, look it up on Spinorama.org, Erin’s Audio Corner, and Audio Science Review. Favor designs with smooth frequency response and, especially, smooth and consistent radiation patterns. This can eliminate a tremendous amount of guesswork. Avoid designs with inherent flaws revealed by poor on- and/or off-axis response. These designs will always present greater challenges in normal listening rooms.

4. Consider Your Room, Listening Distance, and Volume

A speaker that performs beautifully in a small room at moderate levels may not be the right choice for a large room where you regularly listen loudly.

If you have a large listening space or enjoy realistic playback levels, pay attention to:

• Woofer size and quantity
• Maximum output capability
• Sensitivity
• Distortion at higher SPL
• Bass extension
• Amplifier requirements

Speakers with dedicated bass drivers generally have an advantage when substantial output and low-frequency capability are required.

A small two-way bookshelf speaker may measure beautifully at moderate levels but simply run out of physical capability when asked to reproduce deep bass loudly in a large room. There is no substitute for sufficient driver area and displacement. On the flip side, you can also buy a speaker that overwhelms your room with low-frequency output.

Rule of thumb: The larger the room and the louder you listen, the more important bass driver area, displacement, power handling, and low distortion become. But don’t go overboard in smaller rooms.

5. Understand How Your Musical Preferences May Influence Your Choice

The music you listen to can influence which speaker characteristics you value most.

For example:

• EDM and hip-hop listeners may place greater value on deep bass, dynamics, and high output capability.
• Rock listeners may prioritize dynamics, punch, and the ability to remain composed with dense recordings.
• Classical and jazz listeners may place greater emphasis on tonal accuracy, natural timbre, imaging, and low-level detail.
• Acoustic and vocal music listeners may be particularly sensitive to midrange neutrality and smoothness.

There are no wrong answers here. The goal is not to find the speaker someone else thinks is best. The goal is to find the speaker that consistently makes you want to keep listening.

And remember that tastes evolve. It is not uncommon to prefer one type of presentation when you are younger and something different years later as your hearing changes.

That is perfectly normal and part of the process.

Final Thoughts

Speaker selection is arguably the most important purchasing decision you will make when building a sound system.

Get the speakers wrong, and no amplifier, preamp, DAC, cable, or accessory is going to completely fix the problem.

Get them right, and you can enjoy years, even decades, of deeply satisfying listening.

So take your time.

Listen with your own ears.

Learn what type of presentation you prefer.

Study the measurements.

And, especially, use the Spinorama data available through Spinorama.org, Erin’s Audio Corner, and Audio Science Review to identify speakers with smooth frequency response and smooth, consistent radiation patterns. We have better independent loudspeaker data available today than at any point in the history of this hobby. Take advantage of it.

Finally, make sure you purchase from a company with a supportive return or exchange policy. A speaker can measure beautifully and receive glowing reviews but still not be the right match for your room, system, or personal preferences.

Everyone makes a few system mistakes along the way. The important thing is to recognize them, learn from them, and move on without unnecessary financial pain.

Most of all, enjoy the journey.