The best speaker you ever heard?


In my opinion, the speaker is by far the most important part of the audio system. After all, it is the only part you hear. OK, the other stuff really matters a lot, but without a great speaker... No go.

I am a bit 'speaker-obsessed' I guess, and now I am wondering: What are the best speakers you have ever heard, and what made them the best?
njonker

Showing 2 responses by french_fries

the best "where's the system? moment" i can recall-
music- jennifer warnes- the hunter.
speakers- magnaplanar 3.6

another time- rickie lee jones singing thru' maggies.
or was she actually standing there ?
VON SCHWEIKERT VR-9 SE'S- you can (almost) squeeze a symphony orchestra into your living room with these puppies; my beloved eggleston andras, one of the most musical and balanced speakers from 20 to 20 i had ever heard, could never really convince me i was hearing large-scale ensembles- they lacked that last chunk of scale and authority.
plus, as good as they were at resolving detail WITHOUT sounding analytical, the VSA's are in another league altogether- the midrange, a lone 7 inch driver, is so transparent it reminds me of maggies and quads. btw, can you hear the tiny sound string musicians make as they position their bows a second before the music starts? in 40+ years in the hobby this is the 1st time and one more thing- the vr-9's come with adjustments for the three tweeters as well as the built-in activer subwooofer (they go flat to 16Hz if you like bass). the sound can be taylored to your room acoustics and your personal tastes. once upon a time i thought the wilson WAMM's were, given their size and complexity, the best speakers i'd ever witnessed- they reproduced live concert sound as well as classical orchestra music with equal authority. but they have more than met their match, and for almost 1/4th the cost. only the vr-9's
can reproduce a solo guitar with uncanny delicacy while the WAMM's might blow out of proportion.