I‘d wager a heresy by saying that the shortcomings might be easily EQ‘d as the they are mostly due to non-optimal crossover design. A prolific German speaker DIYer has even designed a corrected crossover at one point (proving the point with measurements).
I recall what happened to the sound of my Proac Ref 2.5 clones when I added a complicated XO with finely tuned "traps" which provided lovely measurements.
You are right, but he also evaluated the changes by measuring and listening; also, others implemented the changes and their verdicts were quite similar: the general character of the speaker did not change, but a perceived better treble and more details were reported.
There is a thread about this on the German Hifi-Forum:
http://www.hifi-forum.de/viewthread-104-26095.html
I have nicked a measurement of his version:
I quite the look of the LS50's and am considering them to go into my bedroom system. That's got a reasonably powerful amp (Primare i22) so the lack of sensitivity isn't a concern. I might just take a punt on a 2nd hand set as I can't imagine I'd lose much if I decided to sell them on.
I’m sure most reviewers may have this and do this. But it is also about the manufacturers. I remember Stereophile’s relentless promotion of MF products. I’m sure he only promotes stuff that he likes though. He loves the Yammy 202 amp at £120. I think he has a genuine approach and will likely take advantage if a product he loves encourages a manufacturer to reward him for his promotion. The Manufacturer is a much involved as he is. He’s got to make a living hasn’t he? It’s up to you to decide whether his reviews are valid. That’s what really matters.I’ve tried many of his promoted products and they are at least valid. Same for many reviewers, though WHF is somewhat variable.Guttenberg is a salesman. seems old habits die hard. I wonder if he has any deals going with manufacturers.
I've heard you mention this before in the past, and now I've built speakers with extremely simple to relatively complicated crossovers, I'd argue that it was the measurements that were misleading, and not the amount of components in the crossover that were causing the problem.
Do speaker FR plots take into account phase shifts between drivers, or do you measure with a tone sweep? My experience suggests that complex crossovers are more likely to screw up the phase relationships between different parts of the signal. This probably isn’t audible in the basic frequency response, but tends to manifest as a reduction in realism, or credibility - the recreation of a live-feeling event.I've heard you mention this before in the past, and now I've built speakers with extremely simple to relatively complicated crossovers, I'd argue that it was the measurements that were misleading, and not the amount of components in the crossover that were causing the problem.