Best Holographic Speakers ~$7k per pair

I never ask for such advise on these forums as this type of issue requires my own personal research and leg work to figure it out.  All the suggestions and recommendations by others won't do you much good if you can't audition the speakers for yourself and make your choice base on your own personal auditions.  That's the only way to know for certain what speakers are right for you.  There's no other way.  I could recommend 20 different speakers to you, but how many of them would you have access to audition?  Go out and audition as many speakers as you can, or, take the risk of buying speakers unheard and having to sell them at a loss if you find that don't like them.  What else can you do?     

@julesg13th those are sold direct not via dealer.  Last I checked there is a return policy designed to allow in home audition, which is the best kind to know for sure.  

Based upon what you listen to, your room and budget, I would strongly suggest Volti Razz. I’m absolutely smitten with mine. IMO for the money there’s nothing I heard when looking to buy 2 years ago that even came close to the power, dynamics, imaging and tonal correctness. Owned. Pair of Klipsch Heresy 4 and they were very good, but at times fatigue set in. Lifelong fan of British brands like TDL, Mission, Tannoy. I was in the fence for a bit, Volti Razz or Tannoy Cheviots. The customer service, the overall sound and the fit and finish of the Volti won me over. 
when I attended Axpona 2025 I walked away from most rooms feeling my set up sounded better to me. (Compromised hotel room listening and all the challenges aside). I did really like the DeVore towers a lot, all the Fyne’s I heard were great, and the PS audio Aspen 5s were wonderful stand mounts. 
But for me there’s nothing better than my Volti Razz. They sound equally great at high or low volume. You might have guessed, I’m a fanboy. So what

T.H.E. Show is coming to Costa Mesa in June.  There will be lots of offerings, though not cheap.

You want to hear soundstage/imaging?  Come on by for a listen.  I'm in Orange County 10 miles north of the John Wayne Airport.

You can hear the Mermans that I've put together (JBL 18"/JBL 9.7"/Modified AMT), or my one-off Super Big Reds, or...

Last year at THE Show, I didn't hear anything that imaged any better than the Mermans, and most nowhere near as well.

https://youtu.be/axP5o643kfI

https://youtu.be/iGa9259pz-I

Goldenear T66’s. Should be right in your wheelhouse.

I think the Martin Logan electrostatics are tough to beat for a real 3D sort of sound field.  At your price point you could get Classic 9’s new or 11A’s used…..I’ve a set of classic 9’s in a smaller but highly treated space and I think the experience is quite amazing. 

I demoed most of the speakers you mention and bought a pair of Charney Companions. They were the most realistic in terms of three dimensional imagery. These speakers are out of your price range unless you can find a used pair but Brian makes a smaller speaker that sells around your price.

So the guy at Upscale told you Sopra No.1s don’t image?  Did they have a pair for you to judge for yourself?  They may not be the right speakers for you, but the reason would not be that they don’t image!  I think your room may be too large for them to deliver the bass you want. You should still give them a try. Philharmonic and Ohm both are Direct To Consumer. Ohm has a generous return policy, but if they what you’re looking for, you won’t be shipping them back. Semi-omnidirectional with directional cues from a DR tweeter, room-filling and well balanced are how they roll. 

I would move upscale with KEF and try the stunning Reference 1 speakers (not sure how much they cost where you live!). 

There are scientific reasons why speakers that try to emulate a point source of sound have the 'holographic' qualities you are looking for.  I would add that they reduce the need for room treatment and have very large sweet spots.  To get a handle on why, have a look at KEF's 40+ page whitepaper on the Reference series.

If you get the Klipsch you won't have to be worried about tariffs.

The most holographic speakers i have heard in my life are the Omega SAM's they put a huge sound scape that envelopes you in the listening space. I've yet to find a speaker that can do what they did for sound staging. They have other issues though and do need subs to flesh out the bottom end and in the wrong set up can sound a bit shouty. but properly set up they win the holographic sound stage award.   

second would be the smaller stand mount BBC monitor types like the Proac Tablets, LS's etc. again need bass reinforcement.  and wont rock out well. 

@fatdaddy2 i listened to Klipsch Cornwalls, they weren’t very holographic. I still liked them but the Fyne’s blew them out of the water. 

 Bache Audio. My Tribeca’s are very holographic. They replaced my rebuilt Quad 57s. 

Los Angeles has a lot of great stores.

A friend of mine in the audio business is coming out with a new open baffle speaker. That thing sounded great when I heard his working prototype. He is in Ventura. I am going see if I can hear maybe the final version the following week once I quit my current job. Send me a DM if you want address.

My friend was blown away by my Yamaha NS5000 speakers that you can get open box for $9k. The comments I heard from him on this speaker have a lot of relevance to me since he is known for the great gear he makes (and his hearing).

The NS5000 does everything with a high degree of sophistication (including soundstage).

The biggest soundstage I have heard are the Maggies and the KEF Blade. Though the driver on the NS5000 is better than anything else I have heard. It has details like Beryllium drivers but also an analog sound.

You have gotten a lot of genuinely terrible advice from people that I'm guessing have never heard a truly high end system.  Assuming you can pull the speakers at least 60" from the back wall almost any panel speaker will be much more holographic than box speakers at an equivalent price point.  In particular, a used pair of Magnepan 3.7s, or even better the 20.7s are inexpensive and simply terrific.  Electrostatics also have some real virtues when it comes to soundstage, holographic imaging and transparency.  Downside is you do need very good high powered amplification.  Panel speakers also have relatively narrow sweet spots so not the best if you are planning on listening with friends or family.  Open baffle speakers have never had any depth in my room so missing that 3D holographic quality but otherwise are also quite good.  Kef Blades have great imaging but I dislike the way they sound.  If all you care about is imaging you can pick up a used pair of Klipsch RP 600M IIs for $300 that will blow you away with the level of detail and imaging but they aren't that involving in my opinion.  The Klipsch Forte's, Heresy's and Cornwall's I've heard don't have what you are looking for despite their other merits.  And do keep in mind your room is almost as important as the speakers when it comes to how the system sounds and images.  At the end of the day it is all about your ears and your room.  You should definitely go to T.H.E. show in June.  Go to the Final Audio room.  I get you will be amazed at the sound vs price point.

@julesg13th. Remember: JBL 4435's see here

Mike

Of the speakers you suggested, the Ascends will be best because they employ higher quality drivers in a small and braced cabinet. Their drivers are far better quality than you’ll find in most <$6K/pair speakers, aside from DIY. Otherwise, consider a speaker like the SB Acoustics Rinjani Textreme kit, which will blow most of the aforementioned suggestions out of the water. 

Keep in mind that most commercially available $5K/pair speakers are equipped with tweeters and woofers that would retail for somewhere between $50 and $100 each if they were sold piecemeal by Seas, SB or Scanspeak. Typically, less than 25% of the street price is what went into building those $5K speakers. And don’t be fooled by those who claim their in-house built drivers are superior. They are often inferior to off-shelf drivers if anything. 

You should listen to some ATC speakers if you can. They are exceptionally accurate. I have them as part of a combo HiFi/Home theater system.. Sometimes they have made me think the surround channels are running, when in fact they are not.

Great suggestions here, definitely check out Volti and Ascend.  

I would also rule out:

Revel https://www.revelspeakers.com/

Tyler Acoustics https://tyleracoustics.com/collections/highland

Totem https://totemacoustic.com/

Buchardt https://buchardtaudio.com/ 

BTW - for Maggies (huge soundstage) you can get them to sound good with a used Sanders Magtech amp for $4k. I had one and sold it. I currently use a Schitt Wotan at $2k to drive my Magnepan Mini. It has stronger bass than the Magtech. This amp is comparable to many $8k amps I have owned and will drive Maggies as good or better than those more expensive amps.

@blackbag20 

Why would you rule those speakers out?

@roxy54 

Poorly written.  I would love any of them; Those were suggestions for the OP to rule-out.

Thanks for letting me clarify!

I wonder if your idea of holographic has some relation to refinement. I owned the SP501's and say they were more refined and can get you deeper into the music (YMMV) than the Cornwalls (owned those too).

Another thing to maybe consider is- I prefer a narrow baffle speaker to wider baffle typically. I've always thought the narrow gave a more layered stage than the more powerful and maybe dynamic throw of wide baffle.

Finally, also take a look at Devore Super Nines (can be a bit too lively for some) and something from Verity (more of that laid back refinement that I could relate to with the Fyne's

Finally, finally the Fynes don't seem to hold redale as well as some other brands, so if you are going to bounce around a bit consider that too.

julesg13th-

Your thread has gone the predictable route

recommendations of mostly speakers you'll NEVER be a able to hear.

Your 2 realistic choices:

Get out there and listen to stuff or blind faith reading reviews/forums.

I love my Closer Acoustics OGY/BOB set up. Three BOBs have been recommended for larger spaces; I am in an irregular sized listening space that is open to a larger space to one side (a pretty open floor plan home) and use two BOBs on the left and right.  I think they are spectacular. 
 

But as a colleague once told me, the plural of anecdote is anecdotes, not “randomized double blinded study”.  So as they say, your mileage may vary. 
 

Regarding the tariffs, some things I bought recently had no change in price as it had already come to the US and was in a warehouse here. I ordered these speakers sight unseen, without auditioning, so it was definitely a gamble that paid off for me. Coming from Europe I suspect there will now be that added charge, sadly. 
 

Tim

OP   Best Holographic Speakers

I don't know if Wavetouch audio Antero is the best holo. But I think Antero is the most accurate and cleanest sound speaker in audio history.

https://youtu.be/FfPwc7q3n_A?si=H3QBLOpdDjmbj5FY&t=145

Used V2s are well under your budget. Alex/Wavetouch

The suggestion on TAD is spot on but I think they will be above your price range.  I went from  Fyne 501SPs to TAD ME1s and it was multiple levels better.  I would look at Marten Oscar Trios that are sometimes available around the price and Acoustic Energy Continuum speakers.  Good luck !

Depends...if you get something like a Andrew Jones Mofi 888 for 5k,  you may get some drivers that are superior to off-shelf anything...and you won’t be able to make them for $50 or $100 if you have to do the r&d from scratch.

Keep in mind that most commercially available $5K/pair speakers are equipped with tweeters and woofers that would retail for somewhere between $50 and $100 each if they were sold piecemeal by Seas, SB or Scanspeak. Typically, less than 25% of the street price is what went into building those $5K speakers. And don’t be fooled by those who claim their in-house built drivers are superior. They are often inferior to off-shelf drivers if anything. 

Of the three changes I made, the cables made the biggest difference—which I did not expect, the switch from a tube amp to solid state monobloc came next, and then the subwoofers.

@mike4597 

You have that in reverse order, right?

Whatever you do, it need work in your listening space.  I took my VTL mono blocks to a dealer and ran some ML electrostatics hard and well.  Wow!

Took the MLs home for demo and they sucked in my space.  Wrong transducer in that space.  I don’t know why.

Sometimes I read this advice forum and it’s like others picking out mail order brides for you.  It has to work for you and you only.

If you want a holographic image, nothing beats a good full range driver. Omega's High Output Alnico Monitors are great. Pair them with one of their subs and the sound leaves nothing to be desired. 

I have had the excellent Studio Electric M4 in my second system for a few months.   They are so good i am thinking about these for my main room.  

https://www.studio-electric.com/FS1%20Loudspeaker.html

https://pt.audio/2025/03/01/studio-electric-m5-loudspeakers-review/

Maggie 3.7. The end.

@oddiofyl  Im sure they sound wonderful but those Grill covers are really hard to look at.

From my experience open baffles are king, but you do need room to set them up properly. Then again for good imaging and soundstage you need proper setup regardless of speaker type. Also the room is a MAJOR factor. I’ve found you can get a very good soundstage with most speakers if setup properly and the room is treated well. I’ve also found without proper setup and treatments no speaker I’ve tried can do soundstage well.  I think if that’s what you’re really after the room is the place to start, but as far as speakers go I’d say open baffle.  

Depends...if you get something like a Andrew Jones Mofi 888 for 5k,  you may get some drivers that are superior to off-shelf anything...and you won’t be able to make them for $50 or $100 if you have to do the r&d from scratch.

 I am highly doubtful that the drivers in any MoFi speaker are “superior to off-shelf anything.” Have you ever built a speaker with Satori drivers, especially the Textreme? They are built to an entirely different quality level than what you’ll pull out of any $5K non-factory-direct speaker like a MoFi, Wharfedale or Monitor Audio etc.

I don’t doubt that the 888s compete well against other $5K commercial options, if not wholly surpassing many of them, but hard to believe they will compete with >$12K speakers the way a Helios or Rinjani kit will. DIY really does yield twice the performance for about half the money IME. In other words, $3K worth of parts/materials + your labor can get you speakers that compete all day with $12K/pair commercial stuff. One of those truths the industry hates, but people are in the bizz to make money and labor is expensive. For many, the labor investment is not worth the savings, thus, I don’t fault anyone for choosing a complete product with a warranty over the DIY route, but the latter is the best bang-for-buck by far. 

@oddiofyl Studio Electric M4 and 5 are outstanding speakers. Just leave the grills off unless the Grandkids or the cleaning lady is coming over. 

@texasblues1959 You forgot about the Chef who will think they are an oversized Cheese Grater. 

Well, that’s a matter of person taste I guess.   Either way they are phenomenal speakers.   The grills are super high quality and truly transparent.    Never letting go of these speakers.  They are that good. 

@oddiofyl They are at that…

@riaa_award_collectors_on_facebook not a problem here as cheese is so fattening and my chef Andrew would never make that mistake. 

@julesg13th 

I haven't heard the box speakers others have mentioned.

I have long been a fan of panel speakers, however.  I owned Magneplanar 3.xs and upgraded to the Apogee Duetta IIs that I still use.  A consideration that none have mentioned is soundstage height.  A tall speaker like a planar magnetic or electrostat can convey (artificially) soundstage height.  For example, the high frequencies of the cymbals of a drum kit will be at a realistic height, while the bass drum will come from lower in the speaker.  You could get this with a bookshelf speaker on a tall stand, coupled with subwoofers.  I suspect that panel speakers can more easily throw a deep soundstage, however. 

I think the less-pinpoint imaging of panel speakers is more like live music than the imaging of conventional drivers.

I would suggest you do your listening tests with well-recorded orchestral music, preferably recordings like the 2 or 3 microphone recordings done in the late 1950s or more recently by labels such as Telarc.  This will reveal authentic soundstaging as well as natural timbre better than electronic music genres.  You could include those other genres for judging other sonic aspects, though.

After listening at showrooms, if you can get speakers that you can return if they don't work in your room, that would be helpful.  That's one of the best reasons to buy new--a dealer is more likely to allow that than someone selling their used speakers, but I guess you never know.

"A consideration that none have mentioned is soundstage height.  A tall speaker like a planar magnetic or electrostat can convey (artificially) soundstage height.  For example, the high frequencies of the cymbals of a drum kit will be at a realistic height, while the bass drum will come from lower in the speaker."

Nothing else like quite it! 

https://youtu.be/iGa9259pz-I