Best Holographic Speakers ~$7k per pair

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/

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. 

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.

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?

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. 

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 !

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

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

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 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.

@roxy54 

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

Thanks for letting me clarify!

@blackbag20 

Why would you rule those speakers out?

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.

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/ 

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.

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. 

@julesg13th. Remember: JBL 4435's see here

Mike

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.

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.

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

@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. 

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. 

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

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.

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 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.

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. 

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

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

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

@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.  

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?     

You demoed the speaker, presumably at the dealer in a treated room? I just want to put this out there as a consideration if your room can support what you are looking for. Otherwise, you will be disappointed when you hear it in your room.

The Monitor Audio Platinum series has some floor standers that IMO are aligned to what you have described.  😎

I would shop for 2-way stand mount speakers with a 1-order crossover. This is a design that is most likely to cause the speaker to "disappear" in the room and provide an accurate "holographic" (audiographic?) soundstage. In that range I would look at the Dynaudio Confidence 20 and the Børessen X1.

Sonic holography is a trait of object based/multichannel audio (Sony's 360 reality, auro 3d, dts x, atmos, some of Yamaha's stuff, etc).

Channel based purist stereo (or even legacy channel based multichannel) doesn't fall in that category. You might be thinking that some forward prominence in presence region/vocals or even some odd phasey things going in some stereo mixes is holographic.

When you hear real holographic sound, you'll know it...it could be like being on drugs perhaps.

Nevertheless, a concentric driver design like the Fyne could be a conducive speaker when you get to the holography ecosystem someday or not.

OP, Are you determined to buy a pair of new speakers? It sounds like it. Your choices would be ten times greater if you decide to buy used. There are great speakers out there that don't get a lot of respect. If Escondido isn't too far, go listen to Acoustic Zen speakers. Well above your price range unless you buy used. I've never been burned doing so. Good luck. Joe

Are oxymoron and stupid words that are necessary in response to an OP?

Somehow I knew what julesg13th was trying to communicate, and didn't feel the need to insult his use of a word.

Why are there so many imperious jerks on this forum? That is a better question.

@julessg13th

the best speakers for well defined 3d sound stage are the ones that really know what they are doing with respect to crossovers and driver to driver coherency.  among the best i have heard or owned

KEF ls50, R series, reference series. 

Joseph Audio Pulsars

Harbeth any model

Spendor A series, D series, classics

Bowers and Wilkins Diamond series monitors

@mike4597 thanks for your input. I'm glad the Fyne have made you a happy customer. Yes I demoed them with a solid state amp. It really opened up both them and the Cornwall's compared to the tube amp I also demoed. Solid state is what I will be buying with them if I do buy them. What did you pay for the 702's if you don't mind me asking? I believe the 502SP's have the same drivers as the 702's just in the 500 series tower.

@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