A consistent comment I read in reviews of Sonus Faber loudspeakers is that they convey detail well, yet the music almost always manages to sound beautiful. I've auditioned a few models over the years and I'd have to agree. If you have the space, the Elipsa should be a good choice. |
I think relatively "frequency flat" speakers are the way to go, and among most good speakers one should appreciate accurate treble as an important part of the musical experience (tonal "cues"), and only bothersome if your system has something wrong with it. If you try to use a speaker as a harshness filter everything cool suffers. Try tubes (love 'em)...or let your ear hair grow out...but keep the crisp! Everything from rustling leaves to a mandolin needs it. Don't put gauze over your earglasses to mute the tawdry aural wrinkles or you'll miss all of grandma's character. |
Dali speakers are "forgiving" or "easy to listen to." TAS calls them speakers you can marry for life, and Michael Fremer gave them a good review in Stereophile. You can find the review on their website.
There are a couple pair of their "Euphonia" line MS5 for sale for $7,500 and $8,200 right now. This is their top of the line normal floorstander type. They could be what you're looking for.
I own their Helicon 400s, which is one step down from the Euphonia line and they do sound good. |
I recommend these a lot, but it's because they fit the bill yet again. The Legacy Focus 20/20's. They make bad recordings sound awesome(they are a warm relaxed speaker, yet deliver dynamics to be exciting)and make great recordings sound amazing. I've had them in 3 rooms. 1 large, 1 medium, 1 pretty small. They sounded great in each one. If you can listen to some Focus, I would bet you would enjoy them. The new models are around 7k
Also the 20/20's were amazing with any types of music (jazz, rock, classical, rap, etc) |
I second the silver line Bolero speaker. Simply perfect for you based on your comments. I owned them for some 2 years and loved them.
I would also suggest Nola Viper Reference speakers. |
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Look into speakers by Sonus Faber (Cremona M), Vandersteen 5 or 5A or Quatro Wood, Silverline (as Newbee offered),many of the British made speakers are "kinder and gentler". Also, you can get some of what youre after by careful component choice-my TW AKustic Raven One turntable tends to soften the music very slightly to the forgiving side and thats what I like. Stay away from cables and interconnects like Nordost which tend to make things a little hard or steely (less forgiving). A forgiving cartridge like the Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood can get you there too. I realize some prefer to have their system speak only the unvarnished truth and thats just fine. |
Ditto HArbeth M-40.1's. Retail @ $13K. Great speaker IME. |
I'm surprised Zu Definition Mk 4 ($12500) hasn't been noted yet. I have the Mk2, and have not yet heard the Mk4, but this was the speaker that got me off the audio merry-go-round several years ago.
With other systems/speakers I TRIED to listen to ALL the music I love, but mostly would gravitate to only the music that sounded good (best recordings). With the Zu's that tendency has been dramatically lessened. Good recordings sound great. Bad recordings are clearly not as good, but I don't end up focusing on the recording, just tapping my foot. This is a HUGE difference, IMO.
For reference, previous speakers: Ridgestreet Audio Sason's, Magnepan MG3.6R, Avalon Eclipse, Kharma Ceramique 1.0, Martin Logan ReQuest, Mirage M3Si. Variety of amps and sources used with above, both SS, tube and OTL, where appropriate for the speaker load. |
I use the words warm and/or musical in place of more forgiving, but I think the Verity Audio Parsifal Ovations would fit the bill here. They certainly aren't the last word in transparency, but as you have noted, sometimes that can be a blessing. Combine the Verity's with a nice tube amp and I don't think any recording could sound bad. |
Based on owners comments through the years, and reputation, Harbeth M40 would likely fit the bill - the house sound is known to be forgiving. Of course you could achieve a similar result following Onhwy61 advice (admonition). |
Music lies in the midrange and achieving purity there goes a long way to making a speaker listenable and forgiving. When a speaker becomes less forgiving, it is usually due to problems in the treble, which can cause that grating, hard sound that annoys after a short time. For me, a speaker that is tubby in the bass, with one note flatulence is also fatiguing. I also prefer warmth over a clinical presentation. I want to feel the music, not disect it. So, the speakers I think do that best in your price range are:
Sonus Faber Cremona M or Elipsa
Aerial 7 |
Investigate the Silverline Bolero speakers. They are a (very) high resolution speakers but their tonal balance can really get you were you want to go. They are high resolution speakers with no artificially pumped up upper frequencies to help create a 'sense of resolution' and imaging. What they have is a mild frequency dip between 1500 and 3000 hz. This dip is right in the range where you hear most of the objectionable (harsh/fatiguing) information referred to as 'upper mid-range brightness'. You give up nothing in resolution or imaging from the best box speakers to get this tonal balance. The speaker are good with tube amps - they are easy to drive, but you can sure tell the difference in components and ancillaries with out difficulty. I use them in a 13.5' x 19.5'x 9' room with great success (I've had them 4.5 years and they aren't going anywhere). They were very easy to set up in a traditional placement in a dedicated room and the fit, finish, and overall appearance is outstanding.
These speakers were preceded (over 30 years) by quite a few high end boxes, and panel speakers including Quad 63's, and have been driven by some fairly high end electronics (all tubes), none of which have approached my content with them.
Highly recommended! There are a number of reviews on line which will give you an idea of what they might sound like to you.
Hope that helps a bit. |
As a long time fan of music that's poorly recorded (Todd Rundgren, anyone?), I've faced this question, too, and I think that this animal exists.
I'd look for a gentle mid bass elevation and slowly, smoothly falling FR thru to the highest frequencies. As noted above, it's hard to predict exactly which speaker might do that in your particular room, but IME it's a fair bet that Verity's Parsifal series will do a pretty good job of it. It's also remarkably resolving thru the mid-band. Unless the gentle 40hz -60hz (ish) bump gets goosed by the room, the P/E will generally sound very good with mediocre source material and wonderful when a good recording allows.
Strictly speaking, it's not the last word in neutrality, but it might be just what you're looking for.
Good Luck,
Marty |
I like Onhwy61's advice!
Speakers that are designed explicitly to be highly coherent through the mid range (where most of music occurs) and fit into the room well without overpowering it should work best. Find that first, get them tuned into the room optimally, run them off a well matched amp and tweak the sound from there if/when needed with the rest. There are many less expensive speakers that can fit the bill.
Also you have to manage your expectations when it comes to recordings. They are what they are, not what the listener wants them to be. IF you want to enjoy music on a good system, you have to keep this in mind. No good system will make a lesser recording sound like the best, so do not expect to throw money at the problem with that as your goal.
Having taken this approach, I find 85-90% or more of most anything I listen to on my rig, vinyl or digital, to be enjoyable and involving these days. I have two separate systems running speakers in 5 different rooms (and a deck over the summer). It's all good, but it took a lot of thought and time even more so than funds to get there sooner rather than later. |
Well chosen system and proper set up go a long way toward getting the best out of ALL kinds of recordings. Onhwy61's advice is good as a starting point for building a system. The speaker, and its interaction with the room, is the biggest factor in determining how any system will sound, so one should start with finding the best speaker--even if that means stretching the budget there and waiting to upgrade anything else.
There are lots of candidates out there that are not overly analytical, lean and bright, so I hope some of my suggestions, and those of others, will work out for you. But, I hope that you keep in mind that we all have different systems and different ideas of what are more forgiving speakers and I have often been pleasantly surprised by hearing stuff that I did not like in several settings sound wonderful in another, so listen to as much as you can and keep and open mind.
In various settings I have liked the following:
Gradient Revolution --very flexible in terms of placement options, I've heard them sound good in small rooms and up against a wall.
Gershman GAP 828--warm and musical sounding with just about any kind of music.
Audionote speakers (various models)--plain looking (okay, perhaps ugly), but, they work well in corner locations and are never harsh or dry sounding. They work well with low powered tube gear which also helps in making bad recordings sound decent.
Magnepan 3.7--these require space around the speaker, particularly behind the speaker. In a good setup, these manage to be detailed and reasonably fast and dynamic without being harsh sounding. The tweeter on these speakers is amazingly good.
Vandersteen Quattro and 5A--I have not heard a Vandersteen that did not sound fundamentally musical and enjoyable with a wide range of recordings and accompanying equipment.
I have not heard they current lineup of JM Reynaud speakers, but in the past, I have found the whole lineup to be warm and musical. |
Interesting question, and one I think is appropriate. What may sound spectacular in a demonstration may also wear on one's nerves over the long haul, for the reasons you mention. Onhwy raises good points also. I find Tyler Woodmere speakers extremely 'listenable' over a broad range of recording qualities. They are also very pleasing for long periods of listening. Even though they are "as good as what you feed into them," they have a way of remaining pleasing to the ears and emotions. |
To answer your question more directly, I'd suggest Vandersteen models 2 or 3, both are under $4k. I've auditioned dozens of speakers and out of all of them they were by far the easiest to listen to, pleasant, smooth, no hard edges.
Onhwy61 made many good points. |
Personally I find the source and amp to be more of a factor regarding good/bad recordings. My local dealer used to sell Sim Audio and to me it sounded extremely detailed. With great recordings it is fantastic but with poor recordings it brought out all recording flaws. I found myself listening to the equipment more than the music. Naim on the other hand had a better and more musical balance.
That being said my local dealer had these set up with a variety of Dynaudio speakers up to the C4's. It has to do with total system synergy. I believe you need to find the speakers you like the most and find the right electronics to match because in my opinion the speakers make for the greatest difference in sound characteristics. |
A good question, but I think it's the wrong question. Rather than focus on specific speakers at an arbitrary price level, you should look at your entire system (including room and setup) for a solution.
I suggest you start with a loudspeaker that doesn't have to fight against your listening room and placement options. Ignore your lower dollar limit. The right speaker could be well below $10k. You can then match the speakers to appropriate electronics.
So many people focus the high frequencies when dealing with loudspeakers/systems being forgiving. I think getting the lower midrange and bass right, which are primarily room interaction related, are more important in addressing the issue, particularly if don't have the audiophile aversion to tone controls/EQ. |
Zu Definition 4. Despite having even higher resolution than Definition 2, it makes even 1980s CDs more listenable than any speaker I've listened to so far. Yet exceptional recordings will be revealed for all they are worth. I didn't expect the boost in listenability of CD. $12,995/pr. now, direct, 60 days mbg. 101db/w/m efficiency but high power handling too. Usable with a very wide range of amplification.
Phil |
OHM Walsh fit the bill except cost is $1000 to $7000 or so depending on room size and options. |
