Why do speaker manufacturers not have sound samples?

  • Thread starter Thread starter MadAsAHatter
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MadAsAHatter

MadAsAHatter

Well-known member
Seriously...
Celestion, Eminence, etc. post all kinds of speaker specs, but not a single sound clip. Now I have to figure out what this thing might sound like form a Nokia 3310 recording done in 2002. Dammit all to hell !!!! You would think they'd want a well done accurate representation of their products than some shit compressed youtube video by a hack.

Mini rant over.
 
MadAsAHatter said:
Seriously...
Celestion, Eminence, etc. post all kinds of speaker specs, but not a single sound clip. Now I have to figure out what this thing might sound like form a Nokia 3310 recording done in 2002. Dammit all to hell !!!! You would think they'd want a well done accurate representation of their products than some shit compressed youtube video by a hack.

Mini rant over.
Click to expand...
Celestion used to have clips up on their site. Did they take them down?
 
Sound clips vary too much by mic technique/etc, would be a hard way to compare easily. I find I have to consume like 5+ samples from different people of a single speaker to really understand its characteristics in comparison to ones I already know.

As long as they post frequency response curves I can usually manage, though it usually means having to A/B a graph between a speaker I know and the new one I'm looking into.
 
MadAsAHatter said:
Seriously...
Celestion, Eminence, etc. post all kinds of speaker specs, but not a single sound clip. Now I have to figure out what this thing might sound like form a Nokia 3310 recording done in 2002. Dammit all to hell !!!! You would think they'd want a well done accurate representation of their products than some shit compressed youtube video by a hack.

Mini rant over.
Click to expand...

it would help, but not as accurate as @ners described.

They, at least Celestion, provide frequency response graphs, frequency range, resonance frequency, sensitivity,... that should give you an idea for comparison.

For example, if your favorite speaker is a V30, get it's info and use it to compare to other speakers, to find something similar, different or complimentary.
 
Two reasons:

1) Tone is subjective. High gain tone vs clean tone vs rock tone vs metal tone... you'll never nail them all. How it sounds in a clip won't tell you how it will sound after you dial your amp in with those speakers specifically, which brings up the second part...

2) Variables. The speaker(s) is just one piece of a long chain parts that make up a signal chain. Different amps are designed for different speakers, and their characteristics may or may not jive with certain speakers. Then you add in the cables, jacks, cab (dimensions, construction, etc...) pedals, mics, amps, settings, guitar, pickups, pick, and player.

I'll just get an idea from frequency charts and go from there.
 
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In reality I can see the disincentive behind not posting clips. There are so many vastly different set ups and targeted tones by guitarists that a generic sample of clean and dirty clips might not really help many, and depending on the gear used could turn off some buyers if they don't hear something close to what they're looking for.

Then there is the fact that most people who spend a lot of time chasing down that rabbit hole tend to go on youtube, and click on a review or play through of the speaker that is coming from a content creator who is playing music much closer to what they are trying to create to see how that speaker works for their style.

Also, most manufacturers also have their own youtube channels and social media profiles and post vids of their own featuring their products.
 
I thought Eminence did. Maybe they took them down.
 
I get all the stuff about variables and everything. Even that recording setups would vary between manufacturers where you couldn't really compare 2 brands. But in my mind if say Celestion had a standard way they recorded a couple of clips (clean/crunch/high gain) you could at least get a better idea of the differences between their speakers. Yeah, you can look at the frequency graphs, but those can also be pretty deceiving. Just looking at a graph won't necessarily reveal fizz or mud or give the best idea of differences between speakers. A short standardized clip in conjunction with the graph would give a better picture.
 
From Celestion's youtube channel.

Screenshot_20250822_123335_YouTube.jpg
 


You can lead a horse to the internet but you can't make him use it.
 
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