Crazy rich audiophiles...

Yes, some of them are. But... do you really need to be a millionaire to have a system with amazing sound? Or what you need the most is information, knowledge and time? Audiophiles would tell you that spending 10s of thousands is no guarantee for a good sound. A lot of research, learning and listening is (and lucky always beats great). They would also tell you that the speakers are the most important component in a hifi system. While it looks like a simple device (a box, in most cases), a good speaker is an engineering and design feat, (and a piece of art): a reflection of its maker's history, geography, relationship to music, science, pop-culture, travels and other talents.

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There is also a saying: there has never been a better time than today to find great deals on cutting edge gear, new or used. The choices are overwhelming: there are 100s of brands and 1000s of models, the competition is fierce. Most manufacturers directly or via resellers offer risk-free 30-45-60 day trials for as little as the one-way shipping fee. Even from as far as Denmark.
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You may not be on the market today, just browsing? Ever wondered about the 0 to 60s of the hifi World?
What are the oldest speaker brands? The most expensive pair? The tallest? The tiniest yet still with a big sound? The most efficient? The best bang for size or weight? The most extravagant design? The region with the most brands? The most audiophile or boutique brands? With the best WAF?

You may find a wealth of useful of data or just fun facts on these pages but one thing you certainly won't: in-depth audiophile-level guidance. If you ask any two random experts about a speaker, they will likely agree on one thing only: it's all about YOU, your ears. No one can do the listening for you, only you can decide based on what YOU hear - if those pair of speakers belong to your living room. I asked many audiophiles: how would they infer the sound from data (size, sensitivity, impedance, design, etc. and yes: the price) and all I could conclude was that it's easier to find an algorithm for reaching peace in the Middle East. I admit: I didn’t understand a lot of it (not the Middle East peace, the speaker design stuff), and I still don’t. I didn't give up though and continued to focus on and collect data that made sense to me and looked comparable, measurable, verifiable, all that. I was hoping for learning through discovery and finding ways and algorithms to help the users in their journey – besides drowning them in numbers.
While it felt like forever to compile it, my list and the search tools are far from complete. I have so far focused on the most well-known North American and European brands that offer products for 2-channel, hifi enthusiasts. (Passive speakers only, no subs, no home theater, nooo soundbars). If you are a manufacturer and don't see yours on these pages, email me. I would be happy to add it. Just make sure I can find the data for your company and products without going down in rabbit holes like for many of these items.
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A few disclaimers:

It's not an expert’s but a beginner enthusiast’s interpretation of the data. The data was collected in the spring of 2023 and that’s when the prices were posted. Prices are ballpark. I first looked for the price by the manufacturer, rounded up the 999 to a 1000 and if they didn't publish it, I looked for multiple vendors and used the roundup of the lower price. Same for company revenue, number of employees – I spent many hours to find unreliable and vague data, but I never assumed, projected, extrapolated, just cut and pasted from linkedin, zoominfo and the like.
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My notes about design, style, aesthetics are my personal opinion. (So it's 100% correct, just like yours, but may be absolutely irrelevant to you.) Lastly, I chose one model each from each brand from the following categories: cheapest, most expensive, 2-5K, 6-10K, 16-20K, naturally whichever of those happened to exist. There may also be models that do exists and could be on my list for cheapest or expensive items, but if no one sells them in the US, I opted to exclude it. I focused on what's available without visiting the factory and taking it from the CEO's office.

Enjoy the music!

Speaker Manufacturing Companies

Speakers

Why does a tiny Harbeth cost more than a giant Polk?

I won't give you some watered down ChatGPT answer. I will tell you what I think, what I find the best bang for the buck... In fact, I will let the stubborn numbers say it for me.

In speakers - just like in everything, you are paying for four things: time (R&D and production), materials, marketing and delivery. And then some profits - but that's not going to amount to much, what may however be one more significant component is distribution.

Let’s start at the top: If you want a "Rolex" or "Ferrari", you will have to pay for those logos. You will also have to pay for where it's made. Southeast Asia is cheaper than Norway. Then, there are materials: diamond and titanium tweeters, walnut burl veneer, . R&D, old, tried technology vs. space age. So if you really want the best bang for the buck, look for "made in [cheaper labor country]. Look for economies of scale - volume sold/company revenue. Look for price per size, driver diameter. Because size matters in speakers, the bigger your room, the bigger sound you want. That's why I included those columns as well as the diagrams. Use the sort function - numbers don't lie. If your room is small, your best bet is smaller, "more musical" speakers, which roughly translates to better design, better materials. But, regardless of room size, you always want quality - you just don't want to pay for quality that you can't hear = the things that don't make a difference.
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There are some amazing newcomers with rave reviews and prices half their competitors – like Fyne, Arendal, Q, Revival – and I wonder how, what’s catch – if there is any. Where can you cut corners without trade-offs in the quality, longevity, frequency range and sensitivity?
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If you want really cheap, buy a DIY kit. You will save 50 to 80% and likely end up with great sound. You will pay with your time and you will compromise in aesthetics.

If you want to be safe, avoid the hype and the latest (strangely coordinated) reviews, check how old the company is, their revenue and return policy (KEF, B&W, Klipsch, KHL, Focal, Tannoy, Dali...) You may want to avoid the “where it’s made” trap - look for where it’s designed and assembled.

If you are curious and eager to explore, try the one-man and boutique brands: Fritz, Volti, Nola, Spatial Audio and any companies with fewer than 5 employees and models.

Besides all the data I collected, I added one more number, about the collection itself. My logic was this: how do you know your kid did something bad? They will avoid looking at you. They will be talking about their shoelace and show you pictures of a squirrel on a scooter. Anything to steer your attention away from what really went south. It's the same with speaker companies and their web sites. Look for the "picture of a squirrel”. The irrelevant stuff, in place of the relevant stuff. The founders climb to Mt Everest and his love for the ultimate sound.
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Most speaker companies publish the data that make their speakers comparable. The numbers that substantiate what their speakers do. They will also publish photos of the front, back and the side, description of the tweeter, and sometimes even prices! For small, boutique shops, the web site may look clumsy, the fonts and the pictures waiting from a call from the 90s. Still, they’ll be proud to publish their data: measurements, materials, specs and more impedance curves and frequency response charts than you’d want to see. They will call it the specs and they will list it.

And then there will be web sites where the data is nearly impossible to find. It may discuss the founder's vision, and the unique and revolutionary the design, it may have quotes and beautiful close-ups but not much substance. It will concern me for two reasons, one: it will take me a long time to find the data to populate the database and two: what's behind the missing or hidden data? That number is under the column “WIC”: website information clarity. I rated them from 1 to 4, 4 being worst.
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If it took me more than 3 minutes to find the data, if I had to scroll down 5 pages to find a link to a pdf that may have had the specs, or if I had no idea which way was up – which one was cheapest vs best on a long list, if I couldn't figure out the difference between model 72sG-a and 72sGe, then I would likely rate it 3. For some issues, I would give it a 2, and if it was easy to navigate, it would get a 1 - regardless of the clumsy design, done by the man's high school kid. When it was a joy: educational, fun, transparent, easy to read, I would highlight it in green.