In search for speakers of "natural" sound

Hi everyone,
Just an update.
As mentioned, I tried look for Audio Note AN/E but couldn’t find a good used pair. I accidentally stumble upon Devore O/93. Which share very similar design with AN/E and was chosen to be the speakers of the year in Japan (don’t remember which year).

So I switched to look for Devore O/93s and again, an ex-owner of O/93s (currently the owner of Nines) shared that he prefers his Devore Nines, because as he said: " O/93s have too much sound going on, not as articulate and refined as the Nines (in my opinion). "
Luckily for me, there is a guy who wanted to sell his Devore Nines since he said his Shindo 12W couldn’t drive the Nines to their best. He is about 2 hours away from my place. I decided to give them an audition.

In his big living room, he played Norah Jones then some other vocals, at the beginning, I found that the sound is as much organic and smooth as my Harbeth 30.1. The bass is better (but not considerably better). However, since I believe in the comments of the ex-owner of O/93s, I pulled the trigger without after only about 15 mins and brought them home.

Another 2 hours of driving back home, I hooked them to Quad 909 power and Quad preamp 99, play my favorite songs to test. The mid was quite harsh in high notes. I tried to position the speakers further away from corners and played the songs again.

I played from vocals to classicals and here is my experience. In general, the sound of Devore Nines is not as warm as Harbeth 30.1. 30.1 tends to make the sound round and smooth so there is no hint of grain in it. I guess this is a reason why it’s very relaxing and zero-fatiguing when listening to 30.1.

However, in my opinion, because 30.1 ’softens’ spikes and edges in the sound which could be due to bad recording, noise,etc. but also could be the character of the voice of the singer or the sound of the music instrument. That’s why all singers voice are so smooth and this makes various singers have a kind of ’uniform’ sound, which leads to boring listening session.

On the contrary, on Nines, some singers sound silky smooth ( like Ayako Hosokawa, Lara Fabian) but some other singers sound quite edgy (like Adele). The voice is less warm and very much similar to what you hear when someone talking in a room with you. I hope I could call this "neutral" and "natural".

In addition, what makes a significant contribution to this "natural-ness" character of Nines is the ability to create the *dead* silent background. I hope you can believe me that this is true since I think only who has experienced this can understand, I’m sorry that my words are limited, I don’t know how to explain further.

As for the bass of Nines, according to specs, they can reach 32Hz (some other reviewers said they can measure Nines can reach 25Hz at some volume). This ability makes Nines a clear winner over 30.1 in bass area. When listening to Je t’aime by Lara Fabian (live version), everytime the pianist hit the notes in the last octave of the piano, I feel extremely satisfied - "YES, this is how it should be". The bass is tight and round (not as round as 30.1) and absolutely not boxy or boom.

Another strength that Nines possess over 30.1 is the speed, like in the "Keith don’t go", the guitar is much less confusing on ’strumming parts’ ( I don’t know if it’s the term). Nines give me a different (positive) ’image’ of the record compared to 30.1.

Yet another strength is that Nines throw out a bigger sound stage than 30.1, not much bigger but I think about 70% bigger.
In general, Nines are more accurate, natural, dynamics, emotional, open and faster than 30.1. However, Nines are a little more fatiguing than 30.1 in my small room due to the fact that more bass and edges in some voices/instruments are not ’softened’ as in case of 30.1. As a result, Harbeth 30.1 can be a great choice for those who don’t care much about accuracy and bass but just need beautiful and relaxing sound.

For now, I am satisfied. I will listen for a while until my ears get used to what Nines offer and demand more. When the time comes, I will find a high quality tube amp for them.

Regarding the search for natural sounding speakers, I believe Nines are not the destination, they are just a  'somewhere' near the destination and they are also not the ONLY. But I think I will stay for a very long time in this ’resting area’.

Best,
Huy.

Hi everyone,
I have searched quite extensively recently, some names that come up are:- Josheph Audio Pulsars
- JMR Offrande Suppreme V2- Spendor SP100 or SP100R2
The seller are not in my area so I can’t demo them.

I haven’t heard the R2 version, but I do think the SP100s would fit the bill. They might not play as loud as Klispch Chorus’, but they’re certainly better in every other regard. Their Scanspeak tweeter is exceptional - very detailed with zero harshness or grain. Their imaging is such that most modern designs pale in comparison. Every bit of their bandwidth is coherent, with nothing that stands out in contrast. They are a no -compromise type of speaker, one’s for which no excuses need be made. When fed through high quality gear, it’s hard to imagine someone needing anything more. That’s just my honest opinion.

Hi quanghuy147

I came across your post about how you’re looking for “natural” sound speakers, and I just had to share this with you and any other forum participants sharing the same concerns. I believe I’ve just found the closest “natural” sound you can get to coming from a pair of speakers in a small local shop in Northern Spain, in the form of a pair of legendary speakers which where only sold locally in the seventies, in very limited numbers. They were the result of years of research and experimenting from a local engineer, who explored the application of tubes (as in organ tubes) technology to reproduce musical frequencies in a natural sounding way. He passed away in the eighties, and his heirs kept the family business running. In their shop there is one pair of each of these strange speakers (three or four different models were produced altogether) in display.

These speakers are nothing like the conventional floor standing speakers I was used to. They have a medium sized boxed lower base, from which up to 30 vertical tubes rise up. The tubes vary in length, and are disposed in a very particular way. The longest tubes from the largest model can measure up to two meters. The other two models are significantly smaller, and suitable for medium sized rooms, looking slightly larger than a good high quality floor standing speaker.

 I do not have any technological details about these speakers, but I heard about their existence and their amazing sound. Well, this week I visited this shop, looking for a stylus for an old turntable, and I mentioned my curiosity about these legendary speakers to the owner, who was very friendly and offered to give me a demonstration on the spot of two of their models.

We tried a very eclectic mix of tracks, from Pink Floyd to jazz and classical instrumental and choral works. To tell you the truth, I simply could not believe my ears! Every little musical detail and every single instrument and vocals became alive – literally - has if the music was being performed in front of me.

 I walked around the room, and the staging of the sound was perfect from any angle. Piano tracks sounded so natural you could close your eyes and feel the presence of the instrument. I can only say I never heard anything like it. There was no distortion and no loss of details at very low and very high volumes. The sound of bass and drums flowed freely and uncompressed (hard to get used to, if you’re accustomed to the somewhat restrained sound of conventional speakers). When I approached the speakers, it seemed the sound was being produced in the room itself, and not coming from the actual speakers, as it does with conventional floor standing models!

I was also told they perform well with any kind of source and amplifier. The heirs of the inventor are now restoring some old speakers pairs they managed to recover, and are considering producing them in limited numbers. After this amazing listening experience, music will never sound the same again for me coming from any standard speakers, regardless of their size, or price! This was truly a revelation, and I just wanted to share it with you and all the other participants with the same concerns!

Hope you end up finding the sound you’re looking for. As for me, I truly believe my search is over. Now all I have to do is to find a way of becoming the proud owner of one of these rare and exclusive beauties.

There is no such thing as natural sound.  I'm a pro musician...every venue sounds different with the same instruments. 

@mafra...Now, that seems interesting, a box with pipes....that, in itself, likely doomed it from the start.  Regards of how well it performed, a 'not normal' appearance would make WAF likely nil....even in the pre-EU era...pity, that....
It would be interesting if you ever remember the name of those units; please PM me if you do....*S*

@stringreen , agreed...and holds true for speakers as well.  It's music Reproduction at the end of the day...
Even if the tech extends itself to a VR version of 'audio only', it'll still get sieved through instrumentation.  Nothing will replace a pair of organic ears affixed to the sides of one's head...despite the clutter betwixt them.  It's that wetware in there that has to determine if it's Real...or 'Real Enough'.

'Ambiance', 'air', 'dimension', 'depth', and all the other descriptive terms we apply to our listening environments and the devices we employ to recreate the music we enjoy...are still artificial.  They depend on the 'suspension of disbelief', the same as a 3D movie, a VR program, or any other means to the desired end.

Spend 1K$ or 1M$...

You're still 'not there'.

@audiokinesis  is right...Even with 'ancient ears', used/abused over my lifespan....even I can discern a 'live instrument'....or voice....over reproduction.

Nirvana is still a mental construct....that we take to our graves....*shrug*

(Yes, I know that you know all of the above 'MHO'....preaching to the choir, that's already shuffling out the door, those who haven't died of boredom or worse (put that gun Down).....all we can do is play 'musical equipment' (literally) in search of the artifacts that resolve the illusion to our satisfaction....)