[Big Bad Bob]

On 12/14/16 11:23, Andre Jute so wittily quipped:
The best sound is mainly a matter of what you're used to hearing

With all of the speaker systems I've built over the years [or installed
in cars], the BEST overall seems to be like this:

a) decent quality car stereo 'coaxial' speakers with built-in
crossovers, etc. [currently using tri-axials]

b) infinite baffle enclosure (3 cubic feet for 6x9) with 3x4x5 ratio,
lined with acoustic absorbing material and built of something that
generally doesn't have resonance [presswood sides, plywood front for
example].

c) a decent quality tube or solid state amplifier with good headroom and
low distortion driving it.


the speaker system I have right now is just like that. It has good low
end, good high end, and collectively sounds like the Sennheiser
headphones I use for recording [though the headphones do have slightly
better bass response, it's not that different].

It's easy to find CRAP speakers that pretend to have a reasonably flat
response. So you have to listen to every one of them in a 'demo wall'
someplace to make sure it has a flat response. It also means you need
to know what a flat response SOUNDS like.

Fortunately, THAT is what I'm "used to hearing".

The 'coaxial' speakers aren't the most efficient, but they're already
balanced and you will have only limited phasing problems throughout the
entire listening range. Usually they have heavy cone woofers with large
magnets, so their resonance is reasonably low in frequency. So you
don't need bass reflex, which has other problems. Just put it into
'infinite baffle' and it should work well. Also whateve grill cloth you
use should not affect the sound. I use 'Peavey' (aftermarket) grill
cloth, available from most musician supply places online.