ako din sir interested to any response as i am getting into the audio hobby. ang alam ko lang kasi branded audiophile quality speakers are expensive or really really expensive but dont really know what features, build and criteria to look for.
tia 
I too was a newbie in this hobby (habit? - he he) some 10 years ago, so didn't know much and initially went for the safety and assurance of famous brands as defined by professional press in their hi-fi publications. Nothing wrong with it, and a natural recourse which paid well in terms of confidence (in following what the experts said - like going for award winners) and also sonic satisfaction (my listening confirming what the experts described what they heard).
As I went up the curve (having experienced speakers like Mission 731i, Tannoy Mercury, B&W DM 601 S3/685/CM1/CDM1/805, Proac Response 1SC, Hyperion, Quad), I have developed my own set of "criteria" that I use:
* Sonic Quality - the overall sound performance, which, the finer nuances could be subjective (according to personal preferences - like what combination of bass, midrange and top notes one finds pleasing) but the general rules will apply (e.g., everyone knows and hates "bright" sounding, boomy bass and sreechy highs) and versus the type of music genre one listens to (although this might straddle the range of rock, vocals, classical, etc.), and can be broken down into:
** Midrange - since most music will dwell in this range, this for me is the most important, which should be expansive/broad and smooth.
** Bass - for me should be tight and not boomy/wooly or lingering too much (i.e., also the timing: "bang" and it should be gone), not too overpowering/weighty that it drowns out the rest of the sound
** Highs/Top notes - should be pleasant, punctuating the music for those "emphasis notes" in either vocals or instrumentation
** Overall Clarity/Transparency/Coloration-free - does not add any weight or "extra sound" to the music, as close or realistic to the live performance. This, for me, is the defining characteristic of the high end. When I started out, I enjoyed the extra weight that my entry levels provided, but as I experienced high end, my preference shifted to that of transparency and clarity and appreciated/recognized this as what the high end can provide additionally.
* Soundstage and Imaging - it is not only important that the speakers sound good, equally vital that it "images" well - meaning that it can project and one can "see" some image of where each sound (instrument or vocal) is positioned in the performance "soundstage" - some reviewers who have seen the actual performance will even check whether in fact the singer/instrument was in what position and whether the system (because this is not just a function of the speakers but also the source and the amplification) reproduced it well.
Hope these help, we're all on a journey!
