Reference

What we ask you to rate

Every attribute in the catalogue, grouped by what it measures. Some are character rather than quality — no better or worse end. Rate only the ones you can actually hear; a blank is worth more than a guess.

Sound
Bass Extension
⚠ Definition needed — flagged for editorial to write.Current short text: How low the speaker usefully reaches in-room.
Bass Texture

Whether low notes have pitch and shape, not just weight. High means you can follow a bassline rather than feel it. Not the same as how much bass there is — that's Bass Quantity, in Character.

Detail Retrieval

How much quiet information survives — reverb tails, breath, the sound of the room it was recorded in. High is hearing it without listening for it.

Drive Authority
⚠ Definition needed — flagged for editorial to write.Current short text: Grip and headroom into real loads — composure when the music demands.
Dynamics

How the jump from quiet to loud lands. High means it arrives whole, without hardening or flattening as it goes.

Imaging

How precisely instruments sit in space, and whether the picture holds when you move your head. High is pinpoint and stable.

Noise Floor
⚠ Definition needed — flagged for editorial to write.Current short text: Absence of hiss and hum, especially with sensitive transducers.
Soundstage Depth

Front-to-back layering. High means instruments sit at different distances rather than on one line.

Soundstage Width

How far sound extends past the cabinets. High is wider than the speakers, without the middle thinning out.

Speed Stability
⚠ Definition needed — flagged for editorial to write.Current short text: How steadily the platter holds pitch. Instability is heard before it is measured — sustained piano and solo voice expose it first, as a faint waver.
Transparency
⚠ Definition needed — flagged for editorial to write.Current short text: How little the component imposes between source and output.
Vibration Isolation
⚠ Definition needed — flagged for editorial to write.Current short text: How well the deck ignores the room it sits in: footfalls on a suspended floor, and its own speakers feeding back into the platter. Distinct from Isolation on headphones, which is about keeping the outside world out of your ears.
Ownership
Build Quality

The object, not the sound: fit of joints, weight, terminals, whether anything buzzes when it shouldn't.

Comfort
⚠ Definition needed — flagged for editorial to write.Current short text: Long-session wearability — weight, clamp, pad or tip feel.
Ease of Setup
⚠ Definition needed — flagged for editorial to write.Current short text: How much work it takes to get right and keep right — tracking force, alignment, belt and suspension. A turntable is the one source you have to keep adjusting, so this is an ownership cost, not a sonic one.
Ergonomics
⚠ Definition needed — flagged for editorial to write.Current short text: Flexibility, weight, memory, and microphonics in daily use.
Isolation
⚠ Definition needed — flagged for editorial to write.Current short text: Passive blocking of outside noise.
Placement ToleranceDerived

How forgiving it is about placement — close to walls, off-axis, in a small room. High means it works where you can actually put it. Computed from our Room Fit model — nobody votes on this one.

Value

What you got for what you paid, at the price you paid. High means you would pay it again today.

Character
Bass QuantityLean — Full

How much bass there is. Quality goes in Bass Texture — a speaker can be lean and excellent.

CharacterNeutral — Colored
⚠ Definition needed — flagged for editorial to write.Current short text: Does it disappear, or does it have a voice? Descriptive — both are valid designs.
DrivabilityEasy — Demanding
⚠ Definition needed — flagged for editorial to write.Current short text: How much amplification is needed to reach potential. Descriptive, not a fault.
PaceRelaxed — Driving
⚠ Definition needed — flagged for editorial to write.Current short text: How the deck carries rhythm — unhurried and settled, or forward and propulsive. Neither end is better; it is the difference between a turntable you sink into and one that pushes you along.
Room Size FitSmall Rooms — Large RoomsDerived
⚠ Definition needed — flagged for editorial to write.Current short text: Room Fit–derived: the room volume range where this speaker performs best.
Tonal BalanceWarm — Bright

Where the emphasis sits overall. Neither end is a fault; it's how you tell whether a speaker suits your room and your records.

Treble EnergySmooth — Energetic

How forward the top end is. Smooth is not dull and energetic is not harsh — both are choices some records reward.

14 attributes below are flagged for editorial copy — see the highlighted rows.