Best Holographic Speakers ~$7k per pair

@hifikenobi Tad's look sweet. It doesn't look like there is a dealer in So Cal unfortunately...

@jeffbij thanks for you input. those are some beautiful speakers you recommended, I'll look at the used market.

I'm trying to demo as much as I can my fear is if I wait too long tariffs are going to drive the price up on everything. I'm already seeing companies list their prices as TBD because they don't know what the cost is going to be.

@ditusa both of those are sweet. I'll have to look in my area to see if any are for sale. I was looking to demo some Tannoy Arden's that Upscale has on clearance. They look like they might fit the bill but I couldn't find much information or reviews about them online. 

@mapman Those look like great speakers. I didn't see a dealer near me though so I wouldn't be able to demo them I don't think...

Unless you’re doing a demo of different speakers in the same system you are hearing the system not just the speakers. Might sound totally different with your equipment, particularly speaker cables.

just a thought 

+1 on the Fynes.  I have the F702–which I purchased before a sharp price increase, and I believe the 502 SP is somewhat similar and the SP line is made in Scotland.  I am extremely pleased with the Fynes, as they give me an incredible sound stage, excellent tonal qualities of instruments, and real punch when it is in the music.  I will say that I have done three things that improved the Fynes even more: at first I had a tube preamp and a stereo tube amplifier (100 wpc), both Rogue Audio.  I felt the music was lacking in detail, so I switched to Odyssey solid state monobloc power amplifiers (200 wpc), and the improvement was significant in every regard. Then I purchased Silversmith Fidelium speaker cables (5 ft) to replace some very good Mogami cables, and there was an even more dramatic improvement in sound stage, instrument placement, and tonal qualities— it was dramatic.  Finally, I added two Rythmic 12” sub-woofers (very reasonably priced), and the sound stage expanded further, laterally, in depth and height.  So much so that when my Shetland Sheepdog barks at music he does not like, he never barks near the speaker, always between them or off to the side.

So, in my view, the Fynes are superb, but choose your amplification and speaker cables carefully, for there are products that can make a MAJOR difference.  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. I suspect, however, that a comparable quality stereo amplifier in place of the monobloc would yield very good results. I had actually thought of replacing the F702s, but with these changes, they are speakers I can greatly enjoy for a very long time because they, in combination with the other elements of my system, reproduce the music so superbly.

My experience fwiw:

Fyne Audio was on my shortlist after having heard them at the Accuphase official demo room in Yokohama. I was looking at the flagship Fyne at the time. Then TAD came along and completely blew all my preconceptions over what a speaker could do in terms of imaging. I was coming from many years and models of Dynaudio at that point. 

So you’re on the right path :)

My TADs are at a different price point, but there are also more affordable models with the exact same point-source coherent transducer technology. I would definitely listen to this family before you decide. Who knows, you might have a similar eye opening as I did.

Also, as others have said, the room is very important. 

@julesg13th 

”Holographic” is often associated with tube warmth, rather “3d soundstage” is what is what you are referring to. 

For great 3d soundstage and top to deep bottom musicality, I suggest GoldenEar Triton.  Plenty of positive reviews, especially noteworthy is it’s 3d soundstage

@julesg13th Wrote:

Best Holographic Speakers ~$7k per pair

Look for a used pair of JBL 4435's or Tannoy DMT 215 II see here and here. 

Mike

@julesg13th -  460 sqft, that is a BIG room, guessing around 20'x23', and with those high ceilings...   Without actually seeing the room with all it's furnishings, etc., I think the size is going to limit you somewhat on speaker choices.  Something like the Totem Forest's are going to get swallowed up real quick.  And if you want/like off axis performance, then electrostatics (i.e. Martin Logan) is going to be off the table as well.  Magnepan 3.7i's would still be possible.

You are going to get a lot of great suggestions from the group and there are a lot of great speakers in this price range, especially if you are willing to go to the used market.  Key is to take your time and demo, demo, demo.  And before you purchase, I'd try real hard to get a listen in your room first, especially with those 17' ceilings.

I would also budget in a good sub (or two) for the room.  

Some other great imaging/soundstage speakers (used) I have heard that could work:  Sonus Faber Olympica II's or III's, B&W 804's, Monitor Audio PL200 or PL300.

just my 2 cents....

- Jeff

Ohm Walsh Speakers

@dweller Upscale is where i went. They are awesome! They are actually located east of Pasadena in La Verne. I didn't meet Kevin but his sales associates were great. 

@jeffbij 

I am buying all the equipment with the speakers. So far my favorite amp I have demoed is the Music Fidelity M6si. I also demoed the Bluenote Node Icon streamer which sounded great to my ears.

I listen to a wide variety of music including electronic, classic rock, indy rock,  hip-hop, orchestral music etc... 

Room is 460 sqft with 17ft ceilings. 

I am willing to buy used. 

I listened to some Planar Magnetics but the ones I listened to were way out of my budget, ~30k Martin Logans.  I was attracted to the 502SP's because of the dual concentric driver and their downward-firing bass port. From what I read they have a wide sweet spot with great offf axis listening. I confirmed this when I demoed them.

Take a drive up Pasadena way and visit Upscale audio. Uncle Kevin will help you find your dream speaker (He's also a Fyne dealer). The most Holographic speakers I've heard were Dunlavy SC-4As. Mr. Dunlavy would hand-tune every crossover for a +/- 1.5 db response tolerance. And Gano is correct, holographic sound is a lot like "seeing" the sound. 

@dynacohum yes i was also interested in Focal's but Upscale told me they wouldn't image as well as the Fyne's so I skipped them. I saw the Phlharmaonic BMR's but I'm not sure if you're able to demo those since they are direct to consumer. If I can find them I would love to hear them.

@buellrider I actually went to Upscale Audio to do my demo. They are great and have lots of awesome stuff. They told me they can't demo the Tannoy's (might be because I am interested in blemished units). I'm going to try the MoFi888's next. The Cornwall originally sold me but then I heard the Fyne's and they stole my heart. I'll let you know what I end up with.

Carefully set up, many speakers can sound holographic. It helps if they are well positioned and have well controlled off axis and overall even power distribution. If you can hear Focal Sopra No.1s they are exemplary and might hit your range used. 
Much lower in price, Philharmonic BMR towers should be considered. Then there are Ohm Walsh towers…famous for expansive imaging. 

If you have the space magnepan 3.7i and a sub or two would work magic. You should be able to find gently used Maggie’s well within your price range, I have that setup myself, when I was out listening to demos and heard Maggie sound that was it.

Hi , I’m looking for similar type sound. I have 180 wpc tubes and 17’x27’ room, with 17’x17’ listing area. I’m in central California and noticed Upscale has Klipsch, Fyne, Tannoy, MoFi 888’s. Before I buy I’ll probably take a road trip there. Also talked to Terry London on this site and he highly recommends the Tekton Moab’s ( yes they’re big and ugly ). My listening criteria is mostly classic rock and some newer stuff ( Tool ). Please let me know what you decide. Regards , Mike B. 

I think it's a cool mission for you @julesg13th to find the best imaging speaker and I am here to learn.

Stereophonic balloon is the function of how matched your left and Right speakers are, the recording trickery and how well controlled your room RT60 is.

@kofibaffour  That’s an oversimplification and there’s much more to it than how matched the L/R speakers are.  There are several aspects of speaker design that can contribute to the ability of a speaker to image/soundstage better than another including time and phase coherence among others.  The OP’s experience is a good case in point where the Fyne speakers with their concentric midrange/tweeter design and first-order crossover between the midrange and tweeter are purported to be time and phase coherent where the Klipsch are most definitely not (and there are undoubtedly other reasons why they didn’t image/soundstage as well), and the OP was clearly able to hear the superior 3D imaging of the former in the same room with the same equipment and music.  That pretty much says it all right there.  But there are plenty of non time/phase coherent speakers that also can produce an impressive 3D soundstage if it’s in the recording so there’s more than one way to skin a cat.  But regardless of how it’s achieved some speakers clearly have a better ability to do this than others, and while obviously you want L/R speakers to be matched it’s not the only thing involved in creating a voluminous 3D soundstage as there’s much more to it than that.

@gano I didn't take offence. I was just making sure I was describing the sensation I experienced correctly. Thank you for your input.

@audiojan Those look intruiging. I don't know much about open baffel speakers. I've heard open-baffle speakers don't work well in large rooms. I'm also secondarily interested in off-access listening in the room for social gatherings. Do you have any experience with open-baffle in large rooms and off-access? 

@julesg13th that can be attributed to the Klipsch having uneven dispersion. It balloons in and out and instruments can sometimes be out of place in the sound field thrown in front of you.

Coaxials don't suffer from that (well good coaxials) and it seems the Fyne speaker is a good coaxial. Haven't heard that one specifically.

Glad to help.

I think Erin has a video on how wrong the stereophonic balloon of the Klipsch is. I have to find the video and send it to you 

Edit: Found it - https://youtu.be/Rtum62LsvDQ?si=1hl3L3auVM40cx3M

@soix Thank you for the recs. I have never heard of any of these speakers before. I'll try and find where in LA I can demo them.

@kofibaffour the video's you sent are great. I do plan on getting the system before doing room treatment. I appreciate your help.

@kofibaffour thank you for your input. I listened to the same songs on the Cornwall's and the 502SP's and the 502SP's had a way better stereophonic balloon.  

@julesg13th I didn’t mean bad with my comment and I hope you take time to watch the video. But yes I’d say go demo the speakers or if you can get the speakers in your space even for a fee to demo, that is the ideal thing.

Also get the speakers in your space before doing any treatment. Treatment needs to be targeted and to be targeted a speaker must couple with your room first

Regardless I'm happy you're going about this the correct way making sure you getting the room to fit the speaker as those the biggest factors as to how you're hearing them.

Amp, DAC and every other tinkering that will be done won't come close to the effect of good speaker/room coupling and placement correctness

If you want holographic, there's none better than PureAudioProject. Connect them to a decent power tube amp (I'm using MasterSound Compact 845 with Trio15Classic)

And holographic in a 2 channel system is an oxymoron.

Well that’s just simply not true as you’ve obviously already found — some speakers absolutely produce an effortless, expansive 3D or “holographic” soundstage better than others.  Some I’ve found in your price range new that excel at this are the Joseph Audio Profile, ProAc D20, Totem Tribe or Forest, and Usher Dancer Mini-Two.  If you’re open to used I’d add the Vandersteen Treo CT as well.  I’d think you’d be able to demo several of these in the LA area and highly encourage you to go hear as many of them as possible.  Hope this helps, and best of luck. 

@julesg13th 

For what it's worth, I have experienced three dimensional "holography only twice myself, and both times it was with ProAc speakers. Once was the stand mounted Response 2 and the other time was (I think) the Response 3.5. It was in two different showrooms. It's not a high priority for me, but it was very impressive.

@julesg13th well you didn't invent the word and I didn't mean it in an offensive way. 

3D, Imaging and soundstage makes more sense to me.

Holographic implies visual and we won't see the drummer and singers. But we can hear where they are - kind of

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA5jcGFw6Z8

That was my own word. Not sure what word to use to describe what I experienced. The 3D nature of the music that came out of the 502SP's is what I am trying to describe. Is there a better word?

@kofibaffour holographic is a stupid word, in the audio buzzword vocabulary which is full of BS anyway

@julesg13th yum I'd say go demo. Do not take any anecdote here as gospel. Go demo with your music. And holographic in a 2 channel system is an oxymoron.

These videos explain why:

Video 1 - https://youtu.be/FHjy0ZV0V7U?si=8X34gUvLvy_GfQ9t

Video 2 - https://youtu.be/8qihRNB660M?si=J9xn2oo9qDv-fk9U

Watch these so you temper expectations. Go demo the 888

The best imaging I have ever heard were Celestions. But you would need a time machine

@julesg13th 

A few things that would help for recommendations.  

• What equipment are you running?
• How big is your room?
• What types of music do you like?
• Are you willing to buy used?

Also, are you open to planar speakers like Magnepans or electrostatics (i.e. Martin Logan).

If you have a "smaller" size room, you might want to check out Totem Hawks or  Forest, and the Wind model for larger rooms.  

- Jeff

Yes, I have a dedicated room I am treating. Yes i am trying to demo as much as I can. I feel I need to buy sooner than later because it won't be long until the tariff's are going to affect the pricing of everything. I was really hoping to demo the Ascend Acoustic ELX towers but they don't have any availible to demo at the moment. 

Are there any speakers in my price point you might steer me towards? I forgot to mention i've also demoed Kef R11's.

You're about to drop $7k, I would spend the  traffic time and gas to visit all the LA/Orange Co. spaces possible and just listen to decide.

You're also aware they won't  sound  as holographic unless you have a dedicated/ treated room?

One person's "holographic" won't be to another.

There are MANY candidates in your price point. You just have to find the dealer willing to give you the time to listen.

The video on the Fyne makes them out to be spectacular. There are videos that present to 888's to be equally spectacular. 

The new 10's must be on a unheard of level 😂

Good to know, thank you.

The MoFi 888's are not holographic in my experience.