I thnk of frequency response sort of like color in displays. We tend to accommodate variances quite well over time. This is why I believe that there is much more to the sound of a speaker than just frequency response. Low distortion allows us to hear detail, clean impulse response lets us hear is without ringing or overdamping. Of course these interact so frequency response is important, but relative levels are just like a gray scale shift. We adjust for it to hear the music. Other characteristics like consistency of character between drivers and channel balance contribute to the character of a speaker as well.
Certainly, frequency response anomolies can attract one's attention and make a speaker sound more attractive or not. And over time, even though we can accomodate variance, some speakers will fit the preference of certain listeners better than others. Sonnie clearly prefers a balance to more bass than I do. Put it all together and my conclusion is that we really don't have good objective ways of describing the experience. I think we could do better in terms of what and how we measure speakers, but it would be a very complex problem.
That is why I try to listen to reference tracks for a range of characteristics that identify problems or give a speaker a chance to excel, then rely on my gut reaction, my overall sense of how well I can get lost in the music and forget that I am listening to speakers (much different perhaps than reproducing a live sound) and how much I experience the emotion and facination with the performance. That is certainly not a reliable measure, nor objective in any way, but it seems to be the best I can do to communicate the experience at this point. After all, it is that magic, the connection with the music that calls me to listen to my system. I am not one that likes to listen to pick out the intricacies of the sound of the system itself. Getting to do so with the team once in a while is fun, but when it comes down to what makes me want to listen at home, it is my interest in the music.
I conclude from these trials that any of the speakers in the last round would be great for someone. That is probably true for all of the speakers we have tested, but more so for these. There were certainly a few in the earlier rounds that I know I would have become tired of quickly. I really think that any of these are speakers I could live with for a long time. The Polks did not create the magic for me that certain others did, but they were still very very good and I heard everything that I listen for in them.
This is tricky business, evaluating speakers. I just hope that I communicate something of value in the reviews. If there is something more that I might say to give better context to the sound of each, please tell me.