I have had one or two people tear up hearing the systems I build. However, I do not tend to get weepy when I hear something fabulous. If there are lyrics I tend to sing along. I can tell when I'm enthralled when I sing with my favorite artists. :)
Speakers that will bring me down to me knees crying with joy
Ok, so I had to write something ordinary in the title, but it´s really what I want. I live in Sweden and here we have a few really good Hi-Fi dealers which can offer great brands, but not everything is available. I´ve taken a break from this hobby the last 2-3years so I´m not up to speed on every new set of speakers.
What I have listened to in the past:
TAD Reference One - Really awesome speaker, it was paired up with TAD´s electronic and I found the sound a bit cold, just a bit.
Giya G1 - I can´t get past the design 100% but the sound was good, but the setup might not have been the best or optimal for me. However I could see wanting to listen to them again in a different setup if possible.
Raidho D3 and D5 - Now this is the speakerbrand is, together with Sonus Faber Cremona M, that made the best emotionally connection with me. I was actually visiting Raidhos factory in Denmark with a dealer who brought me there. The sound from the D5 were super awesome, but they are very hard to get by used, but they could be the best speakers I´ve heard.
Focal diablo - Really awesome little speaker; sounded really good, I would like to hear the new speakers from Focal.
B&W 800D - Paired up with classe electronics; I found them pretty good, but it was too long ago when I heard them.
Magico S5 - I really really wanted to love this speaker, it looked so perfect 2x10" etc. it was paired up with electronics from Devialet. I experienced the sound to be too cold for me, could have been the room which was very small and weird.
## So what is important for me; well emotions emotions emotions; I want to feel something when listen to music; if we´re talking about chosing a "colorless" speaker and pair it up with tubes" or chose a speaker like Sonus Faber use to be, made everything sound lush, then the first option might suite me the best. I don´t want a ruthless system that make 65% of CD´s sound like shit because they are extremely analyzing. This is what I find the hardest to balance. But I like my music loud and I´m mostly looking a bigger speakers because I want that BIG sound which can bring me to my knees I want to be overwhelmed and washed with sounds. I have all my music in FLAC / WAV.
Any suggestions?
What I have listened to in the past:
TAD Reference One - Really awesome speaker, it was paired up with TAD´s electronic and I found the sound a bit cold, just a bit.
Giya G1 - I can´t get past the design 100% but the sound was good, but the setup might not have been the best or optimal for me. However I could see wanting to listen to them again in a different setup if possible.
Raidho D3 and D5 - Now this is the speakerbrand is, together with Sonus Faber Cremona M, that made the best emotionally connection with me. I was actually visiting Raidhos factory in Denmark with a dealer who brought me there. The sound from the D5 were super awesome, but they are very hard to get by used, but they could be the best speakers I´ve heard.
Focal diablo - Really awesome little speaker; sounded really good, I would like to hear the new speakers from Focal.
B&W 800D - Paired up with classe electronics; I found them pretty good, but it was too long ago when I heard them.
Magico S5 - I really really wanted to love this speaker, it looked so perfect 2x10" etc. it was paired up with electronics from Devialet. I experienced the sound to be too cold for me, could have been the room which was very small and weird.
## So what is important for me; well emotions emotions emotions; I want to feel something when listen to music; if we´re talking about chosing a "colorless" speaker and pair it up with tubes" or chose a speaker like Sonus Faber use to be, made everything sound lush, then the first option might suite me the best. I don´t want a ruthless system that make 65% of CD´s sound like shit because they are extremely analyzing. This is what I find the hardest to balance. But I like my music loud and I´m mostly looking a bigger speakers because I want that BIG sound which can bring me to my knees I want to be overwhelmed and washed with sounds. I have all my music in FLAC / WAV.
Any suggestions?
67 responses Add your response
I don't EVER expect a system, much less any specific component, to be so radically special that I would have such a reaction. Also, when one has heard a lot of different systems, it is particularly rare that any one system would be that dramatically different. But, I have been, on a few occasions, astonished by how good certain systems sound. I heard a giant, horn-based system that cost well north of $1 million in a home system that was really quite special; the dedicated room was quite large (I would guess at least 25 by 60 ft). Another great system I heard at a show featured three Wilson (Alexandria?) speakers as front channels and two MAXX speakers as back channels playing in a large conference room. I have also been quite surprised by something new that I did not expect to hear and like so much. One that comes to mind is an open baffle system using a full-range Jensen M-10 fieldcoil driver (13") as a mid/bass driver and a tweeter that covered only the very highest frequencies. I had never heard what is essentially a full-range driver that sounded so good (no rough or peaky sound like Lowthers). I am also amazed by the tiny (and expensive) Raidho speakers--they sound very good at modest volume levels. |
We, as "audiophiles" know better than others perhaps, that there are two things at work here. One: The Music Two: The Gear For me, it's primarily about the music, although I've gotten enormous enjoyment from fiddling with my "high-end" components over the years. I appreciate the improvements or at least the changes, that I can make in my system, especially those of the DIY nature. Tube rolling is fun. I appreciate that I can still hear differences now that I'm far from being a kid. But I don't think I could ever attribute being moved emotionally to any single piece or combination of components. My Sonus Faber Monitors sound different than my Magnepan MMGs. I'm also curious about how other speakers would sound in my home. BUT: The emotional aspect has everything to do with my mood and what's playing, and very little with my gear. |
Try old school speakers pulp paper and fabric drivers. You seem too focused on technologically advanced speakers that perform well on paper using rigid drivers. rigid drivers have great performance on frequency response bandwidth (technical) but they lack internal inherent damping in the transducers themselves which leads to resonances that affect timbre and artifacts that are often clearly visible on a waterfall plot. The pursuit of frequency response alone has resulted in a bunch of technically excellent but emotionally uninvolving speakers. Half of the emotional connection in music is what you don't hear - the subtleties. |
For something completely different, breaking the rules. For something that brings back liveliness to music, Visit http://www.edenacoustics.com. |
Hi the_spaniard, What is your price range? Just off the cuff based on the speakers you listed above, the speakers that I find come closest to meeting your stated goal of "emotions emotions emotions" plus "BIG sound which can bring me to my knees I want to be overwhelmed and washed with sounds" (without going into the true megabuck realm) are the Tidal Audio Agoria or Contriva Diacera G2. Given your stated preferences, I would also check out the Evolution Acoustics MM3. Finally, while I do not have much direct experience with these, I have heard from others that the Rockport Aviors can be emotionally involving, yet provide a big sound as well. I am certainly not a cheerleader for Magico, but am a little surprised by your experience with the S5's (as I agree with your comments on, e.g., the TAD). Maybe the Devialet is not a great pairing, or the room made a difference as you suspect - the Magico S series can sound quite warm with the right amplifier pairing. |
