We can get a better picture of which speaker is truly better if those contributing their favorites have heard a good number of the top speakers. Include in your response the speakers that didn't take the gold.
You mention Boston. I suggest you put Goodwins High End in Waltham on your list of places to visit. They have a few of the brands you mention and are a very accommodating dealership. Enjoy the search.
Thank you all that were able to answer the op, to those that like to complain, my apologies that this thread resembles others. What prompted this thread was; upon reading another thread on similiar lines (best speaker ever) a speaker was mentioned in which I never heard before: Tidal. I was just wondering, those privileged enough to have heard many of the great speakers what were their favs and if Tidal would be mentioned in this thread, which it was. I have heard too few great speakers to really say confidently that any particular speaker that is best for me would mean much, but from those I have heard the Wilson Alexandria's-x2 and MBL X101 are the finest. Those that I heard and liked very much: Verity Audio, Magico mini's, Vienna Acoustics, Avantgarde, Magnaplan. It's not an extensive list of the top players but nonetheless really good speakers. Some audiophiles are privileged to hear many of the finest speakers out there, I was wondering those that have heard more than most of us ever can get the opportunity to hear what was their favorite. I find it fascinating to read their responses. A friend of mine who works in an audio shop just heard the latest B&W home theater, he said he never heard anything like it. This let's me know what to check out when in Boston. Tidal too will be on my short list of must-hear speakers. The best speaker threads of the past mention many speakers by listeners that have never heard Avantgardes or Wilson x2's or Magico or other world class designs.
For me its compression driven front horns. The better designs are the best performing loudspeakers made. They have the lowest distortion, highest sensitivity, least thermo compression, of any loudspeaker design today. Cones domes estats ribbons plasma planars nothing else measures as well or sounds as good.
This can only be a copy of the "Best Speaker YOU Ever Heard" thread, really, with one major difference: asking what speakers people did not like is a sure recipe for major conflict. Avguy, you spoke wise words!
So, before fists fly, MY personal best is and comfortably remains Tidal Sunray.
And no, I will not just list any good, very good or downright excellent other speakers that were just not THAT good (on a scale of 100 or something equally meaningless).
The most advanced efforts by the designers are not successfully pointing the write target (of a care-free, less concious way of listening) but on the contrary their products are forcing the consummers to serve their demands in order to perform a barely acceptable hi-fi sound that does not matches with what our brain has loaded in our mind. The quality of our lives as audiophiles depends strictly by: A speaker that makes his owner happy!!! Shindo LATOUR Not impressive like the latest Grande Utopia, neither as sweet & addictive as the earlier Proac Response 4. (when these two were matched with 600W amp) Just my favourite over the AvantGarde TRIO. Mostly because it has the write balance of everything & delivers an unmistakable sense of liveness without any special demands. George
At the recent Munich High End Show I was impressed with the TAD Reference 1 and the Tidal Sunray. There were many great speakers on display, but those two made the most impression.
I was also very pleased with the Focal Grande Utopia - for unknown reasons I had wrongly prejudged these.
There are many great speakers, but the best ones are the speakers that sound spectacular because they have a synergy with the electronics and just as important the space where they reproduce their sounds.
I'm factoring in utility as well as sound quality meaning they not only compete with the best but also can be run optimally by many in less than grand environments and are also within the reach of many in terms of cost. So more really top notch systems are within reach for more with these than anything else I have heard.
If price is no object, and you have the room to set them up optimally, I would expect one of these to be THE best on a grand scale:
[url=http://www.higherfi.com/spkrlist/speakerlist.htm]World's Best Speakers[/url]
After all this site comes up in a Google search for "worlds best speakers", so hard to argue that!
Unfortunately I haven't been to the shows, and have only owned one pair of what others would probably conclude were high end speakers. (The Talon Raven C) Through lack of knowledge and experience, I sold them and wish I had them today. But the op's post was misunderstood and misread by some of the posters and is actually not a rehash of other "best speaker" threads. This actually could be a very good to excellent thread with plenty of anecdotes from audiophiles who've had some of the better speakers out there.
I think you guys are missing the point. The OP is not asking me what speakers didn't make YOUR cut. He is asking what MY opinion is (and YOURS too, but you understand). It is entirely subjective, but so what? I don't think it is making a blanket statement to say that speaker X,Y, and Z did not make the cut in YOUR room, but speaker A is the best that YOU have heard in YOUR system.
Your question is impossible to answer because..."One man's trash is another man's treasure!!!!!" Or it's like when men try to compare wives, or when women try to compare husbands....on what attributes do you make the comparision across wives, husbands, or speakers for that matter!
OK, here is a stab at the question. One of the best I have heard recently is the Sonus Faber Cremona M driven with MAC gear, 2300 preamp, etc. Just a delicious speaker. Only average in the bass, but good for the woof size, but the musicality of the midrange only begs for long listens. Nothing spectacular, just musical, musical. The richness is lifelike, organic, and just plays music. Is there a speaker called the best????...what really is the best is and always will be a mystery. Even live music is not the best as some live music is very bad. Bad mics, poor acoustics, etc. No, I don't own Cremonas, but I would like a pair. I have heard a lot of speakers, currently just sold my beloved 1.6 maggies, have the 3.6 which are fabulous for different reasons, love my Aerial 10T's, and have the Nestorovic 5AS MkIV, each one spectacular in a given setting and the right gear with them. One of the best has been the Legacy Whisper HD, just grand, spectacular, and so panel like, but with efficency. And the maggie 20.1, given enough power, is so inviting as well. All speakers I could and do live with, at least some of. The rest are owned by friends. Did I hear better systems at the CES show????...No. Jallen
It seems to me the OP was looking for people to compare loudspeakers they have heard. Or at a minimum, the OP asked for people to list the speakers that "did not take the gold."
Perhaps that's a question that yields a less than interesting outcome. So far no one has answered the question. An answer might look like:
"I was amazed when I listened to the Wilson Sophia at a dealer and I thought I heard the woofer cone strike the back of the assembly when a loud drum thwack was played back on Reference recordings' 'Pomp & Pipes'. If it was not that, then all I could figure was the small tube amp they had connected to it could not deliver the required power." or... "I owned the PSB stratus Gold i's with McIntosh MC300 and C15 preamp, and could never get them to sound good in two different rooms, whereas the B&W M802's with the same electronics were fantastic in every room."
Those are two of my experiences. (btw, I also heard the Sophias at another dealer with Ayre electronics and they were quite fantastic, though I did not hear the same CD).
Such testimonials also offer the potential buyer/researcher a direct lead to contact the poster by personal email on the sidelines, as to not get into a "my brand is better than your brand" dispute, though of course that discourse is perhaps the oft consequence of any useful comparisons people present from experience.
Any kind of direct reference and comparision is the most meaningful data that people can share on a forum like this in my opinion (especially on "what's the best" threads). Answers like "B&W 800D's are the best" or "Harbeth M40's are the best" are those that have had members chastising "what's the best" threads for years. Without frame of reference of what you have owned/heard and did not like, the rest is meaningless.
Perhaps the OP can tell us if that is what they were asking.
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
