I am not a loudspeaker expert but from my practical experience I can tell you for sure that the journey is very different from that of indulging in components like turntables, amplifiers, cd players, tape decks, etc. If you make online references for loudspeaker reviews, you will generally come across 2 broad perspectives - (1) notes from reviewers who audition or own various loudspeakers and write about them based on what their personal definition of what good sound is all about and (2) the more technical folks who enjoy graphs and patterns, debate about conventions and theories, love lab tests, etc.
What I've come to understand is to first ascertain a few aspects - what kind of music do you listen to (single genre or listening dominated by a genre or on the other hand multiple genres), the size and shape of your listening space, the type of amplification that you use. Then there are the aesthetic factors and the budget factors as well. Then there is the factory-manufactured vs DIY (not home brewed but professionally built speakers) debate. One aspect considered by a few is the concert experience vs the arm-chair experience.
Once you have these identified, then set out to listen to a few speakers and ascertain if your preferred attributes are met. Listen first, then read the theory and reviews. Not the other way round (unlike with other components where it makes sense to read up reviews, ownership experiences, etc first and then indulge)
You will never know where your journey ends but may be pleasantly surprised at the end of it. Personally, I tried many brands like B&W, JBL, Technics, Klipsch, KEF, Polk Audio, JAMO, Onkyo, etc and ended up with a pair of humble BPL 700TM floor standers which sounded good to my ears. I am absolutely sure that irrespective of the brand or choice of implementation, your speakers of choice will sound good to you as well
. All the very best!
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