The range of
human hearing is 20
Hz to 20
KHz - any
speakers that cannot reproduce this entire
spectrum are depriving you of your listening experience. Ironically, most speakers that people listen to their
CD-quality audio on are of the very cheap persuasion. This leads them to believe things like
Xing-encoded and
soundcard sampled MP3s sound good. Here's how you can tell you have cheap speakers:
Your speaker system does not employ separate
tweeter and
woofer (some high-end speakers have a
woofer,
midrange and
tweeter) drivers in its enclosure, and instead has a single "full range" driver.
The speakers should come with a
spec sheet. Look at the
frequency responce - if it doesn't cover nearly 20Hz to 20KHz, they're cheap.
Another way to tell they're cheap is by the
wattage rating. Don't be fooled by manufacturers that call their speakers "model 250w", that does not mean they can handle 250
watts of
power, it means they named the model to mislead
customers. Also look for the true
RMS rating, not MAX power ratings. In the case of
amplified speakers, be sure to look at the
OUTPUT power, not the amount of
wattage the system draws from the
120v wall socket.
The easiest way to tell your speakers are cheap: you've spent more on a
combo meal at a
fast food joint than you did for your speakers.
If you can't afford good speakers but still want a full listening experience, buy a good set of
headphones instead.
Radio Shack Titanium Pro 35's are very good and they're frequently on
sale.