The best speaker you ever heard?

the martin logan clx with two martin logan descent i subwoofers is the finest speaker system ever designed for classical music . this speaker system when driven by very high powered tube amps ( like two vac 300.1a in monoblock mode ) reproduces the most revealing natural and convincing classical music regardless of price and design . the clx with descent i subs is the only speaker system that properly recreates the sound of a grand piano . no other speaker design yet attempted comes anywhere close to the clx with descent i subs when playing recorded classical grand piano music . ( caveat : i have not heard all speaker systems on earth but none of the super high priced designs that i have heard - except the clx / descent i - gets the grand piano right because they are simply too large ... while these overwrought overpriced behemoths would certainly best the clx / descent i subs when playing rock or jazz or other over driven drivel , why would anyone want to subject their ears to that kind of torture ? )

dear shakeydeal and mapman
yes i am guilty of the pompous statement " rock or jazz or other over driven drivel " but come on , let's have a sense of humor shall we ? the larger point i am trying to express ( however pompously ) has to do with speaker systems and their capabilities . over the last 75 years the rise to prominence of the electric base , the electric guitar , the rock drum set , and the synthesizer has also given rise to the design of speaker systems which have the capabilities to reproduce the ear splitting gut pounding hyper dynamics that these instruments require . all well and good if that is what you want to listen to . personally electric guitars , electric bases , rock drum sets , and synthesizers drive me out of the room or club or concert venue screaming in pain and holding my hands over my ears . i realize that i am the only person on earth that is critical of rock , jazz , rhythm and blues , country , etc . but i find all such banal cacophonous noise depressing . i am not under some illusion that because an individual studies bach fugues or beethoven sonatas that he is somehow more sophisticated or evolved in his musical preferences . there simply is more music to appreciate in one single line of chopin than the entire catalog of rock and roll recordings since the birth of elvis . i do not need or desire a speaker system that has the capability to reproduce the pounding beat of a rock drum set . most hifi consumers apparently want their speaker systems to have the dynamics necessary to recreate the raw power of over amplified entertainment . the very best speaker systems that can play rock and jazz convincingly contain dynamic cone drivers in their midrange and midbase . the martin logan clx with two martin logan descent i subwoofers is an electrostatic hybrid stereo system . this speaker is startling in its ability to recreate accurate timbre . the acoustic grand piano is notoriously difficult to record and play back on a stereo system with any hint of realism . without exception all conventional cone drivers no matter how complex portray the striking of a piano string with the sound quality of a bell . but full range electrostatics sound much more like a hammer striking a real string . the difference is in the details . my point is i believe not every great speaker system is suitable for every kind of sound and music by design . the unfortunate consequence of owning the martin logan clx with two martin logan descent i subwoofers is that this system may not be as capable as other similarly priced designs for the reproduction of megadeath and twisted sister albums . darn .

tvad your observation is correct on many levels . take for example the famous live recording of martha argerich and the berlin orchestra performing rachmaninof's third piano concerto . it is passionate bombastic and thrilling and contains within its score a wide range of soft and loud passages . yet when played on a very good speaker system with convention cone shaped drivers the detail and definition that makes a grand piano sound like a grand piano is ever so slightly obscured . that is not to say that it is not clearly rendered or distinct from the surrounding orchestra - it just sounds more like a bell . with a well designed full range electrostat the concert piano is much more realistic - its timbre is fully characteristic of the actual tone of a felt hammer striking a seven foot long metallic wire strung across a nine foot soundboard . the martin logan clx with two martin logan descent i subwoofers covers the full dynamic range of any acoustic instrument used in solo or orchestral recordings . the timbrel accuracy which only a full range electrostat can deliver produces a far greater sense of acoustic authenticity than is possible from even the finest speaker systems which are based on conventional cone drivers . though the dynamic range of some orchestral compositions may be far wider than many rock and roll recordings there is normally an emphasis on constant rhythm peaks throughout a rock tune that demands the room filling projection best handled by cone shaped transducers . so its a bit of a trade off . when playing a beethoven piano trio on a speaker system like the clx / descent i the realistic nature of a grand piano and violin and cello from the very softest passage to the loudest is rendered more authentically than can be displayed by any cone driver technology . but only a great cabinet design with multiple cones will project the relentless rhythm peaks contained on a majority of rock and jazz albums - though such systems ultimately lack delicate detail required for true acoustic timbrel authenticity .

fla -
at present the clx's are driven by a borrowed pair of jolida music envoys in black which are 200 watts per channel monoblocks . the jolidas are great tube amps for their modest price of $2690 a pair but large electrostats need more power and refinement . ( isn't that always the case ? ) i will hopefully soon replace the music envoys with with two vac phi 300.1a's operating as bridged monoblocks which are three hundred watts of tube power per channel . unfortunately two vac phi 300.1a's retail for thirteen times the price of the jolida black music envoys . this is surely a perfect example of the law of diminishing returns .

on the subject of stratospheric prices for high end speakers and amps -- i checked out the new stereo shelf at the dynamic contrasts site : http://www.dynamic-contrasts.com/
the manufacturer makes some of the most over the top claims about his component rack ( called the rts ) in the history of high end hype . has anyone here tried this product ? according to the designer the $12,000 ( !! ) rts stereo shelf will transform the sound of any component to ultra high performance . i do admire this guy's confidence . i sent him a quick email :
" twelve thousand bucks for a stereo shelf ? ! ! ! have you gone completely insane ? ! ! "
and he sends an email right back :
" Well, you can certainly purchase a pair of $100k speakers, a $60k cdp, a $50k amp, or a pair of $30k speaker cables, or all four items and still only obtain a mere fraction of the RTS' performance when coupled with perhaps any well-thought-out system.
I ask you, which is more insane? In fact, if per chance my performance claims were only half true or even just one-quarter true the RTS would still be insanely cheap in comparison, don't you think? Relatively speaking of course. "

you have to love the hutzpah .