Dear Alan,

I did not mean to suggest that speaker designers should create different models for the infinite "whims" of home furnishing and decor. My main concern was whether or not it makes sense to choose a less bright speaker for a relatively bright room—e.g., choosing the M40 over the M60. I'm still curious if you think that makes any sense.

I did pose the question of whether speaker designers could help match their creations to the real-world homes in which they will perform their duties—homes which will not always match the "typically domestic" specifications of a reference listening room. I submit that perhaps you are doing that already, at a very simple level, by offering resistors to change your speakers' characteristics to better match their owners' living spaces and preferences. I wonder if there will be more sophisticated ways to approach this problem in the future.

The nature of the "average" listening environment varies across cultures and history. I predict that the more "spartan" choices of mine and Chessaroo's will become more prevalent as awareness increases of indoor air quality problems associated with carpeting, heavy dust-collecting drapes, and the like. I don't think I am at an extreme of the bell curve in preferring hardwood floors and blinds. I would expect that as interior design choices evolve, so will loudspeaker design, and much else as well.

I do appreciate your point that taken to an extreme, hard-surfaced living environments may be virtually incompatible with enjoyable music—whether recorded or live. As I mentioned above, I was struck by the harsh, reverberant sound qualities of my own home when I emptied it for the floor refinishers; no speaker could sound pleasing in there!

I don't think my living space—filled with plants, books, soft furniture and animal beds, etc.—is incompatible with nice sound. If it is, I'm certainly not above hanging some curtains (though I doubt I'll ever match the absorbent qualities of your carpeted, drape-equipped reference room). At the moment, I'm just trying to figure out which Axiom speakers to buy.

Thanks for any thoughts.