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My current and last set up, Shelby+Kroll Nano Monitors and 2 Woofer Monitors. These give me exactly what I want in music. All of what is described in the opening question and always a huge grin everytime I listen.
Rodge |
My best is my Soundlab m2's followed by my Dunlavy scIII's. |
The best speaker that I have had is my current Salk SoundScape 10s. They have a holographic soundstage of unbelievable depth. They have incredible smooth horizontal dispersion so have the same tone throughout the room. The RAAL is possibly the best tweeter available. Maybe the tightest bass I have heard and it is flat down to 22Hz. They are also the most transparent speaker that I have had. With my Aesthetix Calypso preamp and McCormak amp the speakers can even make the Lawrence Welk show sound fantastically real, even in mono. The price is also very low for what you get. One problem is that they are only of average efficiency. The only other problem is that they are dampable open baffle midrange so they needed proper room treatment for the ambiance wave.
Bob |
Artemis EOS and now Wilson Sophia IIIs. |
Rockadanny, sure.... if people would do that. But they aren't so it's just another -list your favorite- thread. |
Audio Physic Virgo IIs... with a pair of Rel Storm III subs. Match this combo up with much more expensive full range speakers. |
Apogee Studio Grands...... Never heard a better sound since - anywhere... They were powered by a pair of Krell 300S stereo amps and a Audio Research LS5 pre-amp. Wish I never sold them. |
No harm, no foul.
Nice impersonation of Homer though.
:-) |
Audiofeil - Doh! Sorry, my bad. My post was actually meant for Cdc. Sorry for the error. |
Danny, I was responding to CDC, not the OP.
What I wrote about building a system around speakers is valid.
Whether you agree with me is really not important. |
Audiofeil - Had the OP stated only, "List your favorite", I'd agree with you. But s/he didn't. S/He also stated, "what characteristics made it better than anything else?". This encourages folks into a discussion about their fav owned speaker, exchanging experiences, and also provides information to readers about actual, in-home, assumedly long-term experiences. (Or at least in theory, if folks would bother to include these remarks.) |
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Audiofeil, I agree. Just feeling cynical today (I wonder if there is a speaker for that). |
>>07-29-11: Cdc
What does this thread accomplish?<<
It illustrates how subjective speaker selection is and why it should be the first component chosen when assembling a system.
IMO |
So, basically every speaker made is going to be someones favorite. What does this thread accomplish? |
My Eggy "Almost Andras", the Fontaines. Same construction as the Andras, sans 12" woofs. But I do have a pair of 12" self-powered woofs in the room, so I like to think of them as disembodied Andras. I would really like to get an Andra owner's perspective of my system. Any Andra owners near Atlanta able to come over for a listen to do a comparative analysis? It has been far too long since I've heard the Andras and have made too many system changes since. I am very curious to know if my current setup sounds similar to a pair of Andras, which was my ultimate goal, speaker-wise. I think the one attribute which I like best about my speakers is the Esotar tweet. Any time I compare my speakers to others with different tweets, I always seem to prefer the Esotar sound. |
My custom horn speakers using fostex t500amk2 JBL 2440 with mods custom KCS mid bass horn with dual 12in and giant KCS bass horn equal to 8-18in woofers in ported cabinet. |
the New Salk Audio Soundscape 3 way monitor is a thing of beauty to look at as well as hear . The Raal Amorphous core tweeter is the Best tweeter on the planet ,in fact it is not a ribbon in the traditional sence of the word go to Raal s home page, also the Accuton 5" ceramic midrange cone is one of the best out there without question.The 7" custom Aluminum driver has excellent weight and speed
they do need a little power to drive them but an easy load .at 56 lbs and response 42hz-60k one serious monitor and will compete with no problems with anything up to $10k.
p.s I am running a sub from 50hz just for fll into the 20s
This speaker is under $5k if it were sold at a dealer it would have to go for 2x this ,Salk makes suberb speakers at more than fair market cost !! |
The best would be my current pair of original Martin Logan CLS (with brand new panels as of this month). Limited sweetspot but once you are in it there is nothing, absolutely nothing (and I've owned 100s of pairs of high end speakers) that can touch it in the magical midrange nor float an image quite as real. It's also a plus they are (in my opinion) the nicest looking speaker ever made. |
Shoe,
As a jazz lover the Mirage OMD-28's just make instruments sound more real. I'm not in love with using the descriptive term "musical" since it is so vague, but that's what these speakers are with my gear. They have a good bass foundation and are fairly transparent too. PSB Sychrony were high on my list as a possible purchase, but the price for the Mirage was too attractive. |
Nola Boxer's. The closest thing I've ever heard to live music in a bookshelf speaker. |
My Lansche No. 5 speakers with their plasma tweeter are by far the best speakers I have ever owned. The tweeter is unbelievably great and incredibly fast. Lansche has somehow managed to fuse their midrange and woofers to the tweeter with little to no difference in performance. It's just a great speaker that makes me want to listen for hours.
Greg |
My Dali Helicon 400's, which had something of a bad rep. for boomy bass, but run by my CJ that's not even an issue. They sound VERY VERY good. |
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Hands down Nola Viper 1AX. Bottom line, these baby's reproduce MUSIC way above and beyond most any speaker in their price class and above all the speakers I've owned or still own including several Alon's, Cabasse, NHT, Fried and MartinLogan.
FWIBT, there are only 2 pairs of 1AX's on the planet and I'm lucky enough to have one of them :-) |
PSB Synchrony Ones, I still have fond memories of my Klipsch Fortes that I owned in the 80's!
I'd love to audition KEF 207/2's,but thats probably not going to happen living in Ft.Worth. |
Foster_9
Can you tell us what you like about the Mirage OMD's
Courious as I have never had the chance to listen..to them. |
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Wolf_garcia,
Thanks for making me laugh first thing this morning. |
The Sound Lab A-1 was easily the best, AND most musical speaker I've owned.
They are everything that the 'glowing reviews' claim them to be.
The latest blurb on Sound Labs' site says that oftentimes, they're called the 'storm speaker' as they can reproduce everything from the sound of raindrops to thunder. I can unhesitatingly agree with this.
But, what can't be overlooked, is their nuance within the harmonic structure of music. That lilting quality of a female voice, the air around the mouthpiece of an alto sax player like Desmond and his #4 1/2 reed that's been clipped. (Making it a virtual popcicle stick in thickness, OMG how'd he do that?)
The snap of a snare with the springs losened, the impact of the bass drum, tympani, triangle--Lucia Micarelli's full bodied violin in it's lower register.
The magic that is music resides within these speakers.
My personal favorite that I've ever owned...
Larry |
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My speakers ONLY play below 40z...so I merely imagine all the rest. |
Tonian Labs TL-D1s. They are the most natural I've heard and still own. Effortless and yet dynamic when needed. Not much bass below 40Hz but what they do, they do so well. Tons of tone, body, air, you name it. I always run out of superlatives and ways to say it. |
15" custom sub... Seas mid... aurum ribbon |
I realize how many speakers I have not heard. I now own the best speakers I've ever had, Wilson Maxx IIs. Truly full range (with a couple of bumps in my room), wonderful detail, pace, et al. This thread makes me want to own a lot of other speakers so I can experience their qualities. |
Mechans; are you kidding me? You obviously haven't heard the Revised Screamingloudbigbottoms Mark IIIa Reference Platinum Statements with outboard crossovers. Now those babies move straight into the realms of the objective...at least for anyone with two working ears. I think they were actually made from Adam's other ribs by The Creator and multiplied like the fabled fish to feed the many hungry ears who can actually afford them.
Actually, I think the point that Mceljo might have been emphasizing (and they can correct me if I'm wrong as can the OP they're referring to), is that in the course of many years and many speakers, a personal best may be somewhat relative to the system and room it was installed in at the time, while some that were not favored may have been far better under different circumstances. At least that's what I was taking as being "relative". Otherwise, you are quite right that the question is asking for a personal experience and opinion and is pretty obvious that it's entirely subjective. Except, of course, for the RSLB Mk. IIIa RP! |
@ Mceljo
The question was stated as anything but a subjective experience.
Lets say the answer is "Screamingloudbigbottoms Mark III Reference fullrange monitors" can only be stated as in your experience (relative circumstances implied). In no way does anyone see it a question askong for an objective, best speaker, you could possibly own. |
>>02-01-11: Hifisoundguy
Improved BOSE series 6 mk2's... CD's sound like Analog<<
If cd's sound like analog, I'd say that speaker sucks.
Big time. |
Improved BOSE series 6 mk2's... CD's sound like Analog ! |
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first is defintiely my current Magnepan 3.6R's, next would be Klipschorns. I'm actually building a new house, and the Maggies will make the trip and take up residence in a media room with a new external crossover, biamped finally in much the same system I now have.
For the main family/great room, I had it designed with 2 enclosed corners for a reason the wife did not figure out! Klipschorns will go there, along with a Cary SLI80 F-1 Signature I procured. So I will own both my favorites again. Very different sounds, but I like them both. Now I just need to find another very good B & O Beogram 8002 for the family room system. |
My current speakers built by Rich Murry of Truesoundworks. Rich built me a set of Apogees Duetta Signatures Ultimates and they just sound spectacular. They completely disappear. Best speaker I have owned. |
K-Horns, Paul was best speaker designer in the world. |
Von Schweikert Audio VR-4Jrs. Very musical, good with tubes or solid state. Wide sweet spot. Highs sparkle and lows are solid. Worth more than speakers that cost less, and sounds better than speakers that cost more. In my experience. But to each his own. |
Not much concensus, but some darn good speakers in the list. Inevitably, for most people, it is going to be the speaker you have at the moment, otherwise, why did you change it.
I have enjoyed a number of speakers listed above, Harbeth, Proac, Devore fidelity, less so some of the others. For my current set up, with a relatively low powered, Class A hybrid amp, the Daedalus Da-RMa monitors, tick all the boxes. Very fast neutral good imaging, look great etc |
Merlin VSM MX. Wonderful imaging,easy to drive,extended highs, surprisingly full bass, and very musical sounding. |
Not much of a consensus here?
Just goes to show how different we all are in our tastes and preferences......and also why there are so many different speakers on the market? |
