Best Speaker for classical music

It really depends… for close miked solo piano, I would pick larger Magnepan. For a full symphonic orchestra, Wilson. I’ve had both and ultimately settled on W/P8. Great for all music, but simply amazing with a well recorded orchestra. The dynamic (macro AND micro) can take your breath away, just like a live orchestra can.

Most important, the speakers need to be carefully match to you room, listening habits, electronics, and of course lifestyle.

fair enough, they did though use elctric guitars and keyboards in the studio as far as I can tell. My point is actually about frequency band overlaps and phase shifts as a result of crossovers and electronic enhancements in the transmission chain,, both on recordings and playback. Most studios don’t even care about absolute polarity much, a significant number of recordings are out of polarity and you hear it on a good system.

Guitar amps don't have crossovers. Guitarists are incredibly picky about their 'sound' and go to great lengths to get exactly what they want- which is a combination of effect pedals, the amplifier and its volume and tone settings (and tubes), and finally a speaker deemed appropriate, not to mention the actual guitar and whatever pickup and other mods it might have.


Being a keyboard player, I know how important it is to have clean sound so my keys go directly into the mixer without any speakers involved- that's how most of them do it. The exception is something like a piano or Fender Rhodes that is either directly miked or has to be played through an amp to get the 'sound' at which point the mic is in front of the speaker.


You are correct about polarity, this is true of all recordings which is why a switch to invert polarity can be nice on the playback preamp, since 50% of recordings are inverted polarity. That's hard to hear if the recording is multi-miked though, which includes a fair amount of classical recordings (most of which I don't regard as 'reference'). 


@mozartfan I've been playing around a lot with 'full range' drivers over the last 20 years. If they do alright with classical they do alright with rock and anything else too. FWIW there's plenty of information coming from an orchestra below 60Hz!! I played string bass in orchestras for decades- low E is 41 Hz. Bass drums can be in the low 20s, organ pedal tones can go to 16 Hz (32 foot pipes). When I recorded Canto General I insisted to the producer that she arrange for the largest bass drum in the state, which was a good 5' in diameter. Its simply not something you can experience on a 'full range' driver :)  When played back properly on a good system, that drum shakes the walls, which is what its supposed to do.

Looking at when you first started this thread, what if anything have you tried since?

I love my ~ 97dB Emerald Physics 3.4s which is a 12" concentric driver with 1" polyester tweeter, but (small but) the OEM jumpers are pure CRAP, and the XOs need to be taken off the speaker bases. 

I saw several pair yesterday emerald physics speakers for sale - Bing

Note  upon closer look at the YT upload, do you  guys see a  speaker behind the front Arpeggio, and hasa  huge sub woofer,,and seems  the speaker cable is going to the rear set of speaker with the sub.
hummm, actually I hope that is the case. 
The bass in this demo is way more that I want/need. 

antigrunge2552 posts06-30-2021 5:28pm@atmasphere,

 My point is actually about frequency band overlaps and phase shifts as a result of crossovers

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes this is important/critical in a   a  plethora of mid fq;s comming out ofa  full symphony orchestra. 
Seas *dedicated midrange* althougha   great driver for all jazz, a  blast of a  orchestra will be a  symphonic overload. 

I'me guessing Vox has made extenive testing on how they want mids to come across.
My tech geek mention this same **over load** might be (= will be) heard in this wide band as well. *crack up/distortion*
He has been around countless FR/wide band speakers, horns primarily.
But has not heard these newer designs, 
This will be the ultimate test, full *grunge* symphonic orchestra passages. 

antigrunge2551 posts06-30-2021 2:55pmRalph,

while your argument is fundamentally sound, only Jazz and Classical are typically performed without electronic support. Rock, Pop, Reggae, and even ELP always went through large speaker arrays with multiple crossovers and other electronic aids in the transmission chain. For acoustical music, any break in the frequency responce or -horrible thought- phase shifts in the audible spectrum severely interfere with one‘s enjoyment. So: ideally horn or other single driver systems, if need be two-ways, anything more complex usually doesn‘t get there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OK now we are getting somewhere. 
One  of the things that perked my attention to these single wide band, was the higher senstivity.
Which factor may help allow some of the hidden subtle passges spread throughout Schnittke, Pettersson, Henze.
There is ~~alot~~~ more things going on in the redcording, which at times are getting crushed by blaring brass, massive cresendos, Like in Ravel Daphne and Chloe. 
Fora  year+ I racked my brains, as to how is it possible to give  more voice to these jems covered over in some, if m=not most, of my cd collection.

Stay on Seas web site daily, looking and looking. 
Then I recall seeing these odd things on Ebay called **Full range/wide band drivers***, maybe I should take  a  closer look,.
After choosing several,  witha  next day sale, 1/2 price on ebay,,I decided to go one step price wise up, $200 pair. 4 inch. 
Here is what I was looking for. Sure its not going to cut it, its onlya  temp til i get cash for a  real deal wide band. 
The ebay seller gave me a tip as to what his drivers are **clones* of.
That was the very 1st time I heard the name of the wide band which is on my wish list, september.

*Be all/end all* = represents all 100% fq's?? Not looking for this feat.
Classical music, full open orchestra is hardly below 60hz, not much above say, 10khz. 
Looking for something that can compete with Seas's very best 4 inch *Dedicated*  midranges. 
It was a  very long search, and had to think through this sort of *puzzle*, after I heard the word of the  lab, very next second research began. 
Here is something I  found, just now.
I've heard many YT uploads of wide bands, and each one has impressed me. But  this one goes further. 
I was convinced there isa  sub attached somehow to this speaker, and so looked into the specs 
Come to find out, no sub.
Looks like my plans to hold on to the dual Seas W19E001's as glorious bass, will not be needed. To my chargin, as i put alottt of cash intom the new Mundorf xovers and the bass is exceptional. 
Yet  if the bass is even close to what i think I'm hearing in this vid, the Excel mids will ,,sadly, have to go.
Another issue  here is **power source**, 
I got a  note from a  USA dealer, PP amps would work just fine with this driver. 
But a  100 watter??
Could be trouble ahead. 
I have no plans whatsoever to sell the Defy7. 
These mismatched components,will just have to learn to get along. 

They have been around alottt longer than I imagined

https://www.stereophile.com/content/voxativ-ampeggio-loudspeaker


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

My tech geek advised, cabinet construction might present some work/budget.
I'll get them up N running 1st, temp cabinet,  then he and I will figure out  a  design that I can follow. I am no cabinet maker, thats for sure. 

@atmasphere,

fair enough, they did though use elctric guitars and keyboards in the studio as far as I can tell. My point is actually about frequency band overlaps and phase shifts as a result of crossovers and electronic enhancements in the transmission chain,, both on recordings and playback. Most studios don’t even care about absolute polarity much, a significant number of recordings are out of polarity and you hear it on a good system.

Talk to James at Raven Audio. https://www.ravenaudio.com/

He designed and developed the CeLest and Corvus monitors and tower. He is a audio engineer and a classically trained musician.
He has worked the DSO and many many Grammy winning AE and Conductors.

You owe it to your self to hear these speakers.

while your argument is fundamentally sound, only Jazz and Classical are typically performed without electronic support. Rock, Pop, Reggae, and even ELP always went through large speaker arrays with multiple crossovers and other electronic aids in the transmission chain.

@antigrunge2

If the bands were performing live that's likely true. But when recorded, often not. The bands are keenly aware of how PAs wreck the sound! We don't use a PA when recording our band. When you listen to that King Crimson LP I just mentioned its obvious they used a minimal mic'ing technique. Pink Floyd recorded an album for the BBC that used only a Decca tree, same as they might have used for an orchestra. That album is arguably their best recorded but they've always had a good studio technique.


If you get a nice import copy of the Beatles stuff, even though its not real stereo its obvious they cared a lot about the sound. I've used Porcupine Tree as demos at shows for years. I also use the first Its a Beautiful Day LP because everyone seems to have heard White Bird- and its nice to demo what it really sounds like.


Some years back on this thread I mentioned Black Sabbath- their LP is a solid demo of how you don't have to have acoustic instruments to nevertheless get a good recording. What is important in recording regardless of the genre is **intention**. 

Ralph,

while your argument is fundamentally sound, only Jazz and Classical are typically performed without electronic support. Rock, Pop, Reggae, and even ELP always went through large speaker arrays with multiple crossovers and other electronic aids in the transmission chain. For acoustical music, any break in the frequency responce or -horrible thought- phase shifts in the audible spectrum severely interfere with one‘s enjoyment. So: ideally horn or other single driver systems, if need be two-ways, anything more complex usually doesn‘t get there.
I guess I am preaching to the choir given your OTL design philosophy…

Any speaker can play R&R, blues, grundge, hiphop, reggie
Jazz requires a bit more finesse.
CM (at least full blown symphony orchestra) requires even more finesse/nuances/fidelity vs all other musical genres.
Full symphony orchestra requires a ~~special speaker~~Midrange demanding.

@mozartfan Any speaker can play classical too. The more finesse the speaker has, the better it plays all genres. Seriously- if you could find a way to make a speaker genre specific you'd be a millionaire overnight. The reason it can't be done is musicians all use the same set of frequencies and all humans have the same set of hearing perceptual rules.


Its simply a mistake to lump all 'R&R, blues, grundge, hiphop, reggie' into the same spot when there is so much variety and nuance in modern music- and so much variance in recording quality, just as we've seen in classical music since the dawn of hifi. You want a nice rock recording- side one of King Crimson's Islands- you'll hear nuance, detail (if you have a good pressing) - it sounds like they are in the room. Or try a Pink Island edition of ELP's first album... Keith Emerson BTW was a master at the keyboard and integrated a variety of classical pieces into his compositions. And not surprisingly, if you want to hear these recordings at their best a speaker that does classical very well is going to do it, simply because the speaker does not care what music you play- and neither do the amps or preamps!

I agree with Dkarmeli (Audio Dealer). If you want a large scale audio display in front of you, seek out a horn based system.

I'm trying to find the best speaker between $25000 and $40000 for symphonic music. I listen to other things too but that's my reference.. Interested in Wilson, B & W, Rockport, Cantonkeithjacksontucson01-04-2014 11:35a~~~~~~
See you figured, if I spend big, this will leave  behind speakers which are not up to class to play CM with pure musical fidelity.
Sure there are  horns systems at that time, 2014, which are quite good at voicing full symphony orchestra. 
But again, price, size/weight/wife friendly,,, all these factors work agaisnt going massive horn systems. 
The alternative and alot less money involved is going for the new high tech wide baads,  most latest developments came out just after you posted 2015 
Or was AER making wide bands in 2014???
I am not sure.
If they were, there is hardlya mention here on audiogon 2014, So you would have never come across AER at that time. 
These drivers are too new in 2014.
maybe in europe they had attention, but certainly not here in the states. 
Again Voxtaiv in 2014 had not really been revognized here in the states. 
Unless someone can show me a  wide band topic mentioning these 2 drivers back in 2014, with more than say 20 posts. 
Why these wide band are not more  popular here in the states is somewhat of a  mystery to me. 

cd3181,719 posts10-27-2020 2:22pmClassical music is a far more demanding genre - from my point of view.

My desire that a system can reproduce accurate timbre ( not washed out as is all too common) far outweighs its other qualities, such as imaging, or collosal dynamics etc.

This possibly exaggerated desire for tonal colour leads me to believe I might have some form of chromesthesia (sound-color synesthesia).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromesthesia#:~:text=Chromesthesia%20or%20sound-to-color,associatio....

Classical music especially, without good instrument timbres, is difficult for me to enjoy, whereas with rock I'd be looking for great dynamics or for pop it might be a great midrange.

Classical music with good timbral expression on the other hand becomes a joy. Especially piano and strings.

So I think it's a question of finding a speaker that excels at that quality that's most important to you.

All loudspeakers are not created equal, and few, if any, can do everything right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes a  speaker that is all in all perfection, is not a  reality. 
Unless you want to go 3 way horn witha  15 inch woofer, Price? Weigyht/size? wife friendly? = not a option, Oh yeah it has every fq range you could ever want/ wish for. 
But these masssive horns present road blocks.

**CM ~~Timbral expression ~~tonal colors~~~
Yes This is all midrange.
Here is where we ought to focus and forget about bass/highs. 
Super highs are more for ambience than actually in the music. 
That isa  super tweeter perhaps falsifies the actual highs within the music, ie classical composition. 
Do we want these shimmers, and sparkles? Yes we do. 
But lets forget the sparkles and concentrate  exclusively on midrange
Here is where the heart and soul of CM lies. 
I can find bass and high add on speakers, thats no big issue. 
its the massive amount of midrange fq's where we need to stay focused. 
Perahps there are a  few single drivers that have capability to voice these wide band midrange with some degree of success. 
As box/xover  speakers have failed in presenting  symphony orchestra as it will be required. That is, nothing hidden, nunaces  heard in flutes, soft cellos,  hidden harp passages, 
This is the midrange we will need to make classical music come to life.

johnnyb533,510 posts01-07-2014 9:53am

01-05-14: Wolf_garcia
The distinction between types of music relative to speaker design is silly. A well recorded jazz piano trio has every bit as complex and demanding a tonal pallette as symphonic music, and is only constrained or affected by level and room acoustics.

I disagree based on experience to the contrary. It's relatively easy to find speakers that sound compelling with an acoustic jazz trio or quartet. Feed them a 100-piece orchestra and listen to them serve up inarticulate mush. Throw in a pipe organ and 8-part choir and it's just sonic wallpaper.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey Jonny
~~sonic walpaper~~~, 
Full orchestra had me thinking the other day, , well as of 2019/late.
That there seems to be some subtle passages with flutes, harps, percussion, which is not being voiced properly so i can hear it, I had to strain my ears. 
Sure recording engineers are partly to blame. 
Of course its in the score, as a  lightly played passge, amongst a  roaring orchestra. 

My guess is if I ever find this magical speaker than can detect, voice these tinest notations from winds, percussion, any other lightly touched passage. it will be something.
So my search went on and on,,,
Midrange, here is where i need to concentrate. 
Lets take  bass/highs off the table for a   moment.

atmasphere9,559 posts10-27-2020 11:36amYour taste in music will have nothing to do with the speaker, since what makes it good for classical will also make it good for rock, metal, jazz, folk and so on. This is because its impossible to make a speaker favor a certain genre; if someone is able to do so they would be a millionaire overnight!!


~~~~~~~~~~~~
Humbly disagree, 
Any speaker can play R&R, blues, grundge, hiphop, reggie
Jazz requires a bit more finesse.
CM (at least full blown symphony orchestra) requires  even more finesse/nuances/fidelity vs all other  musical genres. 
Full symphony orchestra requires a  ~~special speaker~~Midrange demanding.

If price is no object:

dc10audio L'instrument Grand Voix

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh yeah, these may do the trick, 
But price???
weight/size??
wife friendly??  
These and other considerations may be a  road block.

dkarmeli334 posts01-05-2014 11:07amYou're right if the system can play classical music well then it can easily play everything else!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, any speaker can perform light jazz/medium orchestra jazz.
Full jazz orchestra, not just any old speaker will do. 
CM requires ~~finesse/delicacy in  full midranfe fq's.
I  May have found one. 
Not sure, but I think so.

How about the following?

The widest variety of instrumental textures and vocal ranges?
String, woodwind, brass and percussion.
Soprano and alto, baritone and tenor.
Often all of them at once!

That is why I mentioned the Soria series recording in my last post.

The greatest dynamic range?
Classical (along with jazz) has probably fared best throughout the loudness wars.

That Taiko recording I mentioned has similar dynamic range (that is why audiophiles play it), and that Black Sabbath recording can shut most systems down regardless if you try to play it at a lifelike level. OTOH a lot of Deutsche Grammaphon recordings from the 1960s and early 70s seemed to have hardly any dynamic range at all.

The most meticulous recording quality?
For years and years classical was the ONLY genre that many engineers and producers paid careful attention to.

The Beatles got a lot of attention too- which is why its so worth it to find the UK pressings of their material. There are many other good examples of care and attention in recording. It is true that the hifi era was ushered in with classical music. But if found its way to other genres soon enough!

Even today it’s the classical fans that tend to complain the most about the reduction of digital radio bitrates.

I know plenty of people that complain about that! But it would be interesting to find out who the listeners of what genre are that actually complain the most. I didn't know there was any polling about that.


Anecdotally speaking, a friend of mine founded the metal scene here in the Twin Cites (Earl Root, RIP). He was also **way** into vinyl. He told me that when metal heads came into his record store (that's how he actually made his living) they really loved the fact that he had vinyl because it could get the cymbals right that the digital stuff just didn't.

Cerwin Vegas were built to be loud and durable. They are just as bad for rock as they are for classical. They are not genre specific any more than the JBL L-100.

@atmasphere ,

’Again, what makes a speaker good for one genre makes it good for another.’


If only all loudspeakers were created equal.

Then we could buy the delicate Cerwin Vega CL -15 for those Ashkenazy piano concertos and the bombproof Harbeth SLH5s for those full blast Motorhead live concerts and simply not notice any difference.



’You can’t point to anything about classical music that makes it particularly harder to reproduce.’


How about the following?

The widest variety of instrumental textures and vocal ranges?
String, woodwind, brass and percussion.
Soprano and alto, baritone and tenor.
Often all of them at once!

The greatest dynamic range?
Classical (along with jazz) has probably fared best throughout the loudness wars.

The most meticulous recording quality?
For years and years classical was the ONLY genre that many engineers and producers paid careful attention to.

Even today it’s the classical fans that tend to complain the most about the reduction of digital radio bitrates.

I suspect it’s also the classical fans that are the happiest with their lot musically.

So much choice and variety and a history that goes back centuries.

Classical music is a far more demanding genre

It isn't. It is just as demanding as any other genre though. One recording that can bring most systems to their knees is the Soria series RCA recording of Verdi's Requiem (2nd track first side). But another recording that can do that with ease is the Vertigo white label pressing of Black Sabbath's Paranoid (first cut side one). Taiko drumming on Sheffield is certainly not western classical music either, but you need everything right in the speaker to play it.


Again, what makes a speaker good for one genre makes it good for another. You can't point to anything about classical music that makes it particularly harder to reproduce.

Fully restored Apogee Diva or Full range if your room is big enough.
Its sound stage and imaging is remarkable, very suitable for full orchestration music. 

Hmmm, I would lean to the Rockports, Vienna Acoustics, Magnepan 30, or Joseph Audio.  I have an admitted bias against Wilson and have listened to them many times.  I have only heard one system with Wilsons that I liked.  Similar issues with B&W.  The only advise I can give is to listen to some violin music to determine if you can live with the upper frequencies. 
  

I've heard some Sonus Faber Amati Futura with expensive Accuphase and Luxman gear and they were excellent for orchestral music. The midrange in particular was stupendous in terms of natural timbres and realism.

Classical music is a far more demanding genre - from my point of view.

My desire that a system can reproduce accurate timbre ( not washed out as is all too common) far outweighs its other qualities, such as imaging, or collosal dynamics etc.

This possibly exaggerated desire for tonal colour leads me to believe I might have some form of chromesthesia (sound-color synesthesia). 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromesthesia#:~:text=Chromesthesia%20or%20sound-to-color,associatio....

Classical music especially, without good instrument timbres, is difficult for me to enjoy, whereas with rock I'd be looking for great dynamics or for pop it might be a great midrange.

Classical music with good timbral expression on the other hand becomes a joy. Especially piano and strings.

So I think it's a question of finding a speaker that excels at that quality that's most important to you.

All loudspeakers are not created equal, and few, if any, can do everything right.

Having said that, you wouldn't go far wrong with any of the BBC inspired designs out there. They're not always the first recommendation for rock (JBL/ Cerwin Vega?), but might fit the bill if strict neutrality in the vocal range is especially important.

If it's imagery and hall acoustics that you primarily want, then as was said previously, omni-directional designs might suit better.

So maybe even the distinction between classical and the rest might not be precise enough. It may depend upon just which aspect of classical you enjoy the most.

+ 1 for omni directional with classical music.  Duevel Sirius, German Physiks Borderline, MBL.

For classical music the exact imaging of the soundstage and Hall acoustics are crucial. In my book that means omnidirectionals and simple cross overs: Shahinian, Duevel or open baffle Shindo, Ophelia, Auditorium23

Your taste in music will have nothing to do with the speaker, since what makes it good for classical will also make it good for rock, metal, jazz, folk and so on. This is because its impossible to make a speaker favor a certain genre; if someone is able to do so they would be a millionaire overnight!!

The ability to play loudly without effort and full range is not a particular qualification. All forms of music sooner or later will be loud and have deep bass.


If you want good bass without breaking the bank, a set of Swarm subwoofers from Audiokinesis are very nice for the task. What’s nice about this is the main speakers are then freed from having to go deep in the bass but otherwise don’t have to take a back seat for either resolution or efficiency. This is because below 80Hz bass is omnidirectional due to the physical length of the bass notes in the room. Using the Swarms (which are a Distributed Bass Array system) the bass will be correct to 20Hz everywhere in the room and no one sub has to work all that hard. So you can set up a state of the art system without state of the art pricing.

Your subject intro should include room size as well as equipment owned or planning to buy

Kaiser Kawero are awsome for classical music.

KLH Nine full-range electrostats! Still decades later a "Holy Grail" speaker system. Designed by Arthur Janzen and Roger West (Sound Lab). I have had a pair since 1991 in use! Too bad most audiophiles have never heard them!

What about b&w 602 s3's? They shoot way above their price point!? They are so....(add superlatives here)

I had a pair of Apogee Divas coupled with a pair of Vandy subs. That combo could do large scale classical! Something about dipole panels, they make it feel like you are sitting in front of a 50' wide stage filled with musicians, more so than any cone and dome has done for me.
If you could get a pair of those and rebuild them they would top most anything out there.

Big speaker systems usually have a couple of drivers and one tweeter, almost without exception (Magnapans and other planars are an exception...but still)...exactly like smaller systems, so the only qualitative difference is relative to listening space size and what it takes to get the mojo in that space. A smaller full range system will work in a smaller space, etc., or one simply asks the nurse to roll you closer...a large system in a small space sounds great from across the street.

01-07-14: Wolf_garcia
I listen to 100 piece orchestras frequently, always have, and have a well rounded
background decades long in myth-free audio as a professional
musician/recording engineer and hifi fan. I stick by what I say...for example, my
current somewhat modest rig, using small driver coherant floorstanders and a
great sub, can reproduce orchestras in my room with every single recorded note
and tonal dynamic preserved and delivered to my ears with stunning fidelity and
soundstaging, and at levels approaching ear damage.

Wolf, you're also right, and I should have further qualified my statements to the
contrary. In the context of the original post, there are a lot of speakers in the
$25-40K price range that can do orchestral. In the cones'n'domes category I'd
add a vote for whatever Sonus Faber offers in the OP's price range. However,
although the range of overtones coming from a jazz trio--grand piano, drum kit,
and acoustic bass--are complex, they still don't require the sorting out on
playback of "The Planets" or "Elijah." My experiences with
the Totem Arros (no WAY can those do large ensembles unless it's in a closet :))
and GoldenEar Triton Sevens vs. the Magnepans illustrate what I'm talking about.

If a jazz trio (grand piano, 4 drums, 4 cymbals, and a bass viol played pizzicato)
creates a complex set of overtones, how much more so when you add in 50
massed bowed strings, woodwinds, brass, and a full percussion section? Add in a
pipe organ and cantata-sized chorus and there's a lot of sorting out to do with
incalculable overtones. There are a lot of speakers that can't track all that but
still realistically reproduce all the nuances of a jazz trio. However, anything in the
OP's price range should be able to do credibly play back large scale orchestral
music, and some better than others.

There is still an economical aspect of planars. Magnepan's top line 20.7 costs less than the Wilson Sophia. Add in a pair of JL Fathom F212s and the combo still costs less than a pair of Sasha W/Ps, while being able to fill a room better than Alexias and more like Maxx's, with bass extension to below 20 Hz.

Maybe this pair of speakers could tackle the task.
70,000 Genesis 200 / 201 4-Tower Reference Speaker System in Rosewood

They look like if you have the room and proper power amps I would think they could play the music you requested quite well.

I listen to 100 piece orchestras frequently, always have, and have a well rounded background decades long in myth-free audio as a professional musician/recording engineer and hifi fan. I stick by what I say...for example, my current somewhat modest rig, using small driver coherant floorstanders and a great sub, can reproduce orchestras in my room with every single recorded note and tonal dynamic preserved and delivered to my ears with stunning fidelity and soundstaging, and at levels approaching ear damage. Again, obviously larger systems in larger rooms sound larger, but ask anybody who used LS3/5A based systems or lots of other small monitor speakers (or good headphones) and, although they obviously lack the slam and volume of largeness, to say that inherent orchestral dynamic nuance somehow can't make it from the amp to these speaker systems and out to your head is nonesense. Also, an acoustic piano, drum kit, and acoustic bass have together many thousands of tiny aural cues and overtone subtleties that easily rival any orchestra, if you care to notice.

That's what I use. They are simply wonderful for large scale orchestral music. My other speakers are rebuilt Quad 57s and I prefer the Shahinian's with orchestral music.

01-05-14: Wolf_garcia
The distinction between types of music relative to speaker design is silly. A well recorded jazz piano trio has every bit as complex and demanding a tonal pallette as symphonic music, and is only constrained or affected by level and room acoustics.

I disagree based on experience to the contrary. It's relatively easy to find speakers that sound compelling with an acoustic jazz trio or quartet. Feed them a 100-piece orchestra and listen to them serve up inarticulate mush. Throw in a pipe organ and 8-part choir and it's just sonic wallpaper.

I have just come off a fairly extensive speaker search. The Totem Arro's were compellingly alive, fast and transparent with small group acoustic and jazz. Throw them an orchestra and they sound just like what they are--small speakers struggling to resolve all the complexity, never mind the dynamics. The soundstage disappeared with the change of scale.

I chose Magnepans. They were the only ones in my price range that could keep Mendelssohn's "Elijah" cantata sorted out, what with full size orchestra, four vocal soloists, and a chorus singing eight distinct parts. Before I got these Maggies it had gotten to where all I was listening to was Holly Cole Trio, Diana Krall, James Taylor, Miles Davis, Gary Burton, Brubeck, etc. After I got the Maggies I was rediscovering my classical library, pulling out Beethoven's Eroica and other symphonies, Respighi's Pines of Rome, lots of Big Band (Buddy Rich, Stan Kenton, Count Basie, etc.) Bizet opera suites and Carmen itself.

Line arrays of all sorts (whether cones'n'domes, ribbons, planar magnetic or electrostatic) have certain advantages for large scale orchestral music relating to radiating surface and how it affects low level detail, control over inertial effects (ringing, overshoot), dynamic range, radiating pattern, and room interaction.

I've heard the Vandy 7s and 4s, Wilson Sophia 3s, Sasha W/P's, Alexia, Maxx, Alexandria X-2 and Alexandria XLF, plus B&W 800 and 802 Diamond. The Wilsons can do it, especially the big ones, but for a lot less money, so will Magneplanar 20.7s flanked by a pair of JL Fathom F212s. This is a room-filling full-range system for about $26,000, with phase coherence and a very low noise, highly dynamic presentation.

Soundqcar
What's even more funny is audioorical
came by and heard the older Wood Quattro's and asked
(( are these the Sevens)) Perhaps he has a case of VanderPhobia
Cheers JohnnyR Vandy dealer

I own a pair of Vienna Acoustics The Music who are great for orchestral music. They are musical with excellent transient and decay,they can go low with a reported 20 hz response. Sound staging is more than adequate.

Good luck with your search

Audiooracle....do the honorable thing and divulge that you sell Scaena's. It's bush league to do otherwise.

My system does struggle with Death Folk and Mumblecore.

MAGICO speakers are wonderful for all music.

In addition to the others mentioned (particularly Shahinian and Wilson), I'd add the larger Duntech and Dunlavy speakers, depending on the size of your room. Nearfield Acoustics Pipedreams also sound great with classical music. These latter three will give you a big sound that helps the power of large orchestral music, like the Sceanas do. I'll also put in a plug for the Nola Reference speakers (as you go up the line, the bigger the room they can fill); as a former Duntech owner, I find them to be very satisfying.

A lot of this does depend on your electronics and the size of your room. I would never suggest Duntech Sovereigns in a 15 by 12 foot room, for example, or an inefficient speaker if you use SETs. Can you give us some guidance?

I own a pair of Vienna Acoustics The Music who are great for orchestral music. They are musical with excellent transient and decay,they can go low with a reported 20 hz response. Sound staging is more than adequate.

Good luck with your search

Dkarmeli,

Personally, I usually try to avoid commenting on audio components I have never heard, let alone (probably) never heard of. But I understand your hesitation - I had similar doubts and questions for the designer, Mikael Richel, when I first heard these speakers at the Newport Show in 2011. And as good as they sounded to me, I was convinced that they would sound better with Class A SS or maybe SET amplification. I was wrong.

Mike is a very talented and knowledgeable audio designer, and who has worked with some companies in Europe who are on the cutting edge of audio technology. He has designed the speakers and selected the components to produce the best possible sound.

I know, talk is cheap. It is not my place or my intention to get into a lengthy technical discussion and further hijack this thread. You can go here if you want to read more about the technical details regarding the EARO speakers and their design philosophy: EARO Technical Information.

I still remember the old commercial that proclaimed "I used to hate it, till I ate it!"

Br3098 , I like horns and horn loaded speakers but active speakers with class D amps? That's a complete turnoff for me. I simply have never heard a class D amp that I could even accept as midifi, and I've heard a lot of them at many different price points. There are many suitable applications but imo its not for high end audio.

If you are open to something completely different, I suggest that you check out the EARO Eight speakers. These are an active speaker, manufactured in Sweden. I own, have owned and have had the opportunity to hear a number of (what I consider to be) wonderful speakers in my career. But I think the EARO speakers are very special in their ability to accurately reproduce sound, especially large instrumented pieces, without congestion or "lumping" of the individual notes.

Frankly, this line is under-represented in the U.S. and while they have been demo'd at several shows, they are still pretty much unknown. There have been a couple of very positive reviews, including this one: Positve Feedback Review of the EARO Eight

Disclaimer - I have done some consulting work in the past for EARO and their U.S. distributor. I have no financial interest in the line, but I am very familiar with these speakers can recommend them without hesitation or exception.