Best speaker brands for transient response

I am assuming that on average a sealed design at any given price point will outperform a ported speaker in this area of performance, but 

Not necessarily true, (many variables, probable confusion on what ties in with transient response).

Try a Borresen speaker if it is workable for your wallet.

Thank you for your response, I'll research that brand.

They wouldn't have cones.

If anyone knows the answer please explain why.  Thanks.

Sounds like Magico would be brand to investigate with traditional design or some of the all ribbon or electrostatic panel speakers. 

The Spendor D series are extremely fast speakers.  I had the D7 and now the D7.2 and am amazed at the transient quickness.  Read the Stereophile review of the D7.  A jack of all trades speaker that has the quikness of horn speakers with the refinement and transparency of quality box speakers.  

Recently demoed some Klipsch Heritage and thought they were slow by comparison.  

Electrostatics are the best transducers for revealing inner detail and transients beyond any others,

key reasons being dictated by the laws of physics,

• lowest mass and hence the lowest inertia
• stable and uniform push pull forces across the lightest and thinnest diaphragm 

Let your ears be the judge when you audition your reference tracks in a back to back comparison!

Happy auditions!

If you want dynamic drivers and looking to take it to a higher level, consider designs that leverage field coils, like some Classic Audio Design models.

The Spendor D series are extremely fast speakers.

Thank you @avanti1960 that is a great suggestion and just under my target budget. Much appreciated!

If you want dynamic drivers and looking to take it to a higher level, consider designs that leverage field coils, like some Classic Audio Design models.

Thank you -- I did a quick peruse of their website and I'm betting they cost more than my son's Volvo ;)

Electrostatics are the best transducers for revealing inner detail and transients beyond any others,

Thank you for your response. I have a ML dealer close to my house and I'm going to go do a serious audition of their electrostatics. They have the Neolith in their showroom, too.

@ghdprentice thank you for the suggestion, was not aware of that brand and will look for dealers in Chicago.

maybe this would help:

https://speakerchoices.com/

Just my personal opinion but entire KEF meta line with proper amplification might fit your bill. Just choose the model that fits your budget and good quality gear upstream to match.

Another suggestion would be to just try adding room correction to your setup. I find most any good quality speaker these days does very well once you remove the  artifacts of room acoustics that often tend to muddy the waters.

Sunmoon hardly accurate a planer has physics going against them equal and opposite reactions cancel each other out hence any box-less loudspeaker will have limited transient response a high efficiency dynamic loudspeaker will have far greater dynamic response.

look at Wilson audio with a suitable amplifier

or for less money an alta audio loudspeaker.

at axponna their Adam sounded as good as the 40k Wilson Daw just extraordinary.

Dave and Troy

Audio Intellect NJ

Alta Audio dealers

@mapman it is true that the KLH 3s are in by far my best room. But in AB testing in my previous home the 3s did better than the 590s. But that may not be true for my 4305Ps. I should AB test them. Thank you for that suggestion..

Paradigms  older Signature line are FAST!

KEFs older Reference line are also.

Tektons are super fast but without the snap impact of those 2. 
 

I have Paradigm Founder 120Hs now and they are close to the fastness of the Signatures and the KEFs but with better tonality IMO. 

@mofojo thank you I'll look into Paradigms -- appreciate the suggestion.

@audiotroy

It seems that you think that cone speakers play louder. OK, we can agree on that.

But the OP is talking about transient response. @sunmoon explains why ESL’s do that better than others, excepting plasma. I don’t understand how your statement "equal and opposite reactions cancel each other out," relates to ESL’s.

If you're willing to buy used, the VMPS RM30, VMPS RM40 with most of the upgrades are extremely dynamic, transparent, and electrostatic like in their sound, with their ribbon mids and tweeters.  They also have multiple cone woofers with passive radiators to handle the bass and mid bass.  Used price for these are between $1800 up to $3500 depending on model and upgrades.  They are adjustable so they can sound great in most rooms and systems.   They are no longer being made as the maker, Brian Cheney, passed away 12 years ago.  Much info on VMPS speakers--Audio Circle.  I've compared them to several highly rated speakers and always preferred them.  I live in the Chicago area if you'd like to hear an awesome pair of RM40 BCSE w/MLS cabinets.  These were the actual reference speakers of Marty DeWulf of Bound For Sound publications.  I bought his pair about 10 years ago.  Every little or big upgrade is easily detected and I've done many.  These are big heavy speakers--66" H and 260 lbs each.

Bob

Magnepans if you have a powerful l, high current amp. (Unless you go to their smaller designs - which are great but still need a fair amount of power). I have 1.7is

Any of the newer Quads!

Another vote for ESL. It's (transients) what made me fall in love with the technology. Super fast. The only catch is a narrow sweet spot. "Head in a vice" is a bit hyperbolic, but they do sound best when in a 2-3 foot sweet spot.  The store in Glenview has a pair of Neoliths, but they aren't on display right now (remodeling the showroom).

I can probably answer your question directly as I own the JBL 590 and JBL 4367. I have played them back to back in the same room.

I agree with Phusis and would add it is all about “power to weight” of the system. Speakers are a mechanical system and it is all about power transfer… nothing more. There are a number of things that affect it.

big drivers that don’t move much or lots of smaller drivers that work together to not move much (line source, live venues). then there are horn and driver shading (line sources) that increase directivity which also can make things more dynamic.

It is important to talk about the same thing. What are dynamics to you? Is there a specific frequency you listen for? For me it is most notable in the drums. Does the leading edge “hit”, does the snare snap? Also low bass can greatly affect our perception of dynamics. That 50hz bass drum is critical. Maybe the seal speaker loads your room in the bass better/different.

anyway the 4367 is the most dynamic speaker I have ever heard/owned. I am often shocked at older music of my youth (Grunge/80s metal) which seemed totally dull from a recording standpoint now has some punch/snap to it. Audiophile stuff is easy and sound great as expected. I am not sure how much of that is found in the 4349 as I have not heard them. There is a bit of magic to getting the compression driver crossed over as low as possible and the 4349 is still pretty high as 1500hz. Where the 4367 is at 700ish. That to me is the biggest difference between the two speakers.

I need to listen to the 590s again to comment on them directly regarding dynamics. I was more interested in comparing detail and frequency response. If you want my opinion on the 590 vs 4367 for dynamics just let me know and I can listen again. The 590s are my rear speakers so not a big deal to move them.

@phusis +1 @james633 +1

LANSCHE is the speaker company with the "Corona plasma tweeter." A friend of mine has heard them and said that they are very good.

All speakers sound sluggish/lazzy/slow/fat to me. And a boomer bass. Yes, some sound “nice” but fake. Only Tocaro speakers fit the bill and the only speaker I’m willing to pay more than $100. I have the 50F which is the top model and costs ~35k. 103dB sensitivity, 100% in-house production. Two 15” woofers, no electronic crossover. Truly unique and unreal results.

@james633 thank you for your response. The first target speaker I had in mind was the 4349 (I LOVE my 4035Ps). The 4367 is not in my budget.

The target effects I use to test transiency are the crash-to-ring transient of a cymbal, fingers going across guitar strings, snare drum tightness, the added nasal ring of an out-of-phase Fender strat, the breaths a singer takes, etc. I have a few songs that I use for test purposes.

I've AB tested the KLH 3s and the 590s at my old house in a well-treated room and for my ears the 3s bested the 590s in transiency. The 3s are in a equally good room in my new house and I'm going to AB test them with the 4305s. I've been reluctant to do it because of the size difference and active vs passive, and I've only used the 4305s in near field, but it's worth seeing what I learn.

And thank you for your offer to AB your 590s and your 4367s but I'll save you from back strain ;) I know my 590s very well and my listening experience with my 4305s have already made clear to me that those best the 590s in a lot of ways.

The ASR review of the 4349 identified the crossover on the compression driver as a potential concern (the commentors, not Amir). But I have no doubt based on the price points of my current gear that I will be blown away by them. 

Thanks to all the ESL recommendations -- I clearly need to take a close look at them and they were not on my radar at all.

@jkf011 thanks I will be buying Parasound (either the Hint 6 or separates) so I should be able to handle maggies. I need to see where their Chicago dealers are. I've never heard them.

@mitchagain thank you, those speakers are stunning. Need to find pricing info on them.

@jasonbourne71 thank you the Revelas look great and are in budget.

+1 to @james633 ’s post.

I have JBL 4349’s and enjoy them. Most audiophiles will dismiss these cabinets, but I have found they are very smooth, able to play at very low volume with accuracy and detail, but still able to play at full tilt and fill a room with that same accuracy and detail; a very enjoyable experience. The compression driver and waveguide are (only in my opinion) a home run by JBL for this price point in their lineup.

To your question about if a more expensive ported cabinet will sound better than a lesser sealed cabinet, many times the rule "you get what you pay for" will apply (not always, but typically it does). From my experience, an inexpensively designed sealed cabinet with cheaper components will be outperformed by a ported cabinet with great components (drivers, crossover design/components, cabinet material, etc.).

I would not dismiss a speaker just because it’s ported. If the designer has done the work, porting will not ruin the experience even if one favors sealed designs.

Feel free to see my 4349's on my system page.

How about Klipschorn AK6 speakers? Amazing dynamic range and transient response. Not neutral (musical) by a long way, but, very exciting to listen to.

No one mentions acoustic room treatments?  Slushy or boomy bass is often the result of a need for some level of room treatment.  That's also likely a lot cheaper than replacing any high end speaker.  

Also, strongly disagree with audiotroy regarding Magnepans.  They're very fast but do require a lot of power. 

@jji666 thank you, yes I've got a pretty good room that I've further treated at its weak spot (an exposed beam basement ceiling).

@mgattmch I heard the La Scala at a dealer that no longer has any heritage line products in their showroom. I plan on demo'ing the Forte IVs at a dealer in the city. The La Scalas sounded surreal but I didn't get enough time with them to get a more critical listen (some guy kept fiddling with the McIntosh integrated they were connected to).

@jheppe815 thank you, I will do that. I definitely did not want to make the mistake of telling myself only sealed speakers would achieve my goals. That was the biggest driver of starting this thread, as there are few sealed options out there and I don't have nearly enough experience with more expensive speakers to just rule out ported designs. My 4305Ps are ported and have a ton of snap and speed to them.

The 4349s are what I "want" to buy, and I'm just making sure I look at every feasible option before dropping that kind of money.

I am very grateful to everyone taking the time to provide feedback. Greatly appreciated.

Sweetwater has the 4349 on sale if you call. Might be worth checking the sale price. I also think they have a trial period and liberal return policy but I would check. 
 

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/4349Wal--jbl-lifestyle-4349-12-inch-2-way-passive-loudspeaker-walnut-wood-veneer-with-black-grille

Borresen X-3's   or X-2's ....Very quick.

@mbmi that's the second recommendation for Borresen and the 2s are within budget. Gorgeous design, too. Thank you for the recommendation.

@james633 thank you for the heads up, I'll see if I can get a sale price out of them. I've heard from other chatter on forums that they can be purchased for around $7,500/pr if you shop around.

Hello tommyuchicago!  For Maximum detail at lowest price: Magnepan LRS+, ADD THE CROSSOVER MOD from GRS, use the TV stands from Amazon to raise them off the ground, add a subwoofer (or two), use an electronc crossover and a four channel power amp (Starke Sound often on sale under $1200). An Upgrade?  Magnepan 1.7i or higher. Even with the LRS+, stunning detail! The crossover mod is important. I replaced the Linkwitz LX520-4, a superb speaker package, with the LRS+ sitting on dual subwoofers, much nore "naturalness" and detail in my room.  Happy Listening!

Life is a compromise. Don’t make the mistake of giving up one desireable parameter for another.

For example, while electrostatic panels may provide the the desired transient response, you could easily give up soundstage and imaging because sound coming from their rears is bouncing all around the room creating all manner of reflection and phasing.

I made my own speakers using JBL 2241H (18"), JBL 2251J (9.75"), and modified ESS Great Heils and the transient response, as well as the soundstage and imaging, are among the best I've heard.  Of couse it's taken years of experimentation and tweaking to get to where I'm satisfied.

Here's something... This cut should have quick transients that, at volume, slap you in the chest.

https://youtu.be/aLEhh_XpJ-0

That chiming strat guitar line is exactly what I'm talking about. Great song, great suggestion.

Life is a compromise. Don’t make the mistake of giving up one desireable parameter for another.

My goal here is to nail transients first, then on to some mix of soundstage, dynamics, and imaging. I don't want to spend serious $ on speakers and find that it can't do what the KLH 3s do in transients, even if it outperforms in other areas (which the 590s do in dynamics, for example). That will just bug me.

@boomerbillone thanks for the maggie recommendation, I need to go here them. They have an enthusiastic following which to me is no better endorsement of a product.

Well I played that on my setup that is BelCanto c5i to Sonus Faber Concerto Domus.  Veeeery nice!   So there’s one option. 

What is a transient response?  I have not heard of that term before.

I’ve heard or owned many of the aforementioned speakers and most of them don’t remotely match the Borresen X series for what you seek, be it treble, midrange, or bass. They are the closest to “perfection” I’ve encountered from any somewhat affordable speaker line. 

And don’t be put off by the “4.5 inch” woofers. Any other manufacturer would refer to them as a 6” woofer. At the very least they are as large as any other manufacturer’s “5.5 inch” woofers.

What is a transient response? I have not heard of that term before.

It’s really just a synonym for low distortion. The reason people conflate these notions is that many speakers are equipped with low distortion midrange or treble drivers, but nearly all <$10K dealer-sold speakers produce high distortion in the bass freqs. At best this can cause a speaker to sound somewhat “muddy” or “slow.” At worst, it has “slow” sounding bass coupled with a “fast” sounding tweeter, which then results in a perceived lack of coherency.