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?
Hi. Lots of good stuff here for sure. Best speaker, dont think there is one. I have read much on this site and others, and still think my system, and speakers can rock with the other so-called best. To go down low you need to a point, big speakers to move lots of air, and big clean power to push them there. My listening room is 18x24. I use a marantz 33 pre, sony disc player, 2(yes 2) BGW 750 amps, and a pair of original unmolested ( new in 1970 )Patrician 800's that I listend to as a kid. These were my dad's speakers. I have retired the marantz 15 amp, as it does not really have the power to wake up the 30w's. To really get into the 30-35hz range with real authority, I have found a lot of head room is the trick. Now I would never use all that my amps can deliver, but low bass eats power fast. The speakers are in each corner about 3 inches fron the solid block walls. The sound, well you would have to hear it to belive it. Yes I could change cross overs, buy a eq, or even new equipment altogether, but they just dont make them like they used to. I have heard lots about the patricians over the years, good and bad, but most have never really heard them preform. At least not with nearly 1300watts per side. I got a CD from a friend to try after listing to some of it on his rig. It is from sublime. Man the low notes are crazy. I listend to the whole CD and just laughed the whole way through. I did use enough power to turn just about anything else inside out. What can I say, They ROCK.
Boy OH!!! Boy!!!! lots of speakers mentioned here most of them very very good others only good in the minds of the people commenting here, who's to judge them I certainly can't, Especially the guy who liked the sound of inferior electronics with the Monitor Audio versus his Sonus Faber!!! . . Go figure . . . I think the speaker will faithfully reflect the upstream chain of equipment you are listenning to even the microphones used in the recording, the most important about the speakrs I think is to mate the amplifier well with them.
Example a pair of NHT SB-s'3 and also Classic 3's that I had in my office a while back if you use Aragon 4004-MK-II's there was one typ of sound bell balanced transparent, very well controlled, etc. the Threshold S5000e produced a more lively sound more musical more dynamic, then there is a big surprise I have and old Sunfire Cinema Grand that I no longer use in my HT rig so, I decided to try it as a 2 channel option with the setup and OH MY!!!! it made the speakers sing with joy, I never heard that amplifier sound so good, granted I was using hi calibre power condiitioned from Running Springs Audio and from Exact Power, granted more money from power conditioning than in amplifier I reaquanted myself with this amp that mnade the speakers really sing. As you see the synergy between component smust be there or you're wasting your valuable Re$$ources . . .
I will be listening to an fairly Uncknown manufacturer of speakers from Australia called Wide Horn Technologies claimed an efficiency of 95 dB/W/m you can probably make this speaker sing with 10 to 15 watts of good power. If so then any well built A/AB class amplifier will always drive them on class-A and make them rock, wee shall see is a few weeks,
Something else, speaker cables are essential component a speaker that will sound not very interesting with one type of spealer wire will sound just right with a different cables.
I don't think there is an absolute best speaker out there they all more or less better in differecnt areas. I still love a pair of NHT 3.3's I own in my HT rig however I relize there are far better speakers now. Again depending on amplifiers used, speakers can sing or sing, and tap dance, and show you their spirit, and . . ..
Hope this helps a little;
Take care; enjoy the music and try to go to a live concert once in a while so you keep your point of view original not comparing against this system against that system, etc.
I know this is an old thread, and I have placed my vote before I think, but I discovered a new (discontinued) gem that now ranks as the very best speaker I have ever heard or owned. The Silverline Panatella III's...OMG they are unreal! Why they were discontinued, I will never know!?!?
I may have answered this before but only a few ever really caught my attention: (call it a tie as I can't choose just one set) 1)Beveridge SW2 2)Magnepan typani Id 3)Hill Plamatronic 4)Apogee duetta signature 5)Dayton Wright XG-8 (with leaf tweeter and upgraded step up transformer)
55dok, I may be mistaken but only some of the Dayton Wright XG-10 Mk IIs have leaf tweeters. That's what mine are. They have the XIM-11 interface module which I think is what you are referring to as well - it puts out 15 kV bias voltage instead of the XIM-10's 9 kV, raising sensitivity by 4 to 5 dB.
Sunlight engineering SE 308, 2 way 18in concentric drivers.In my large BR cabinets they fill large rooms with even SPL. Image stays centered even when far off axis. Midrange is so detailed, I hear things in music I know well that I have not before. They have a musical connection that seems to go beyound fidelity into musicality, touch your soul, bring out the emotion in music. Built to last a lifetime, magnets are 50lbs ea of alnico.Cones are easy to repair. They do need help with sub bass and ultrasonic trebile after all at 103db for a 18in something has to be given up ;) but adding a fostex t90aex tweeter and designing a sub wasent so hard. This system is design for use with a powered subwoofer I use a aura 18in monster fills in below 50hz. Together this near 800lbs Sat sub system can fill very large spaces on lower power ampliiers , se308 mains are 103db 8ohm drivers are costly near $10000 pair just for se308,one would still need cabinets crossovers etc. Still one of the best I have heard owned.
The Orion loudspeaker from linkwitz labs has to be one of the greatest speakers ever made.I have heard many many of the highly regarded speakers. I have heard most of the top and current models( Merlin,B+W,Focal,Martin logan,Totem,Gallo etc etc) but the orion is the finest I know of.No speaker is perfect but man this one puts you substantially closer to live music than any other I have heard.
Loki1957 - I also have the Hales C-5. I will never sell them! One of these days I'm going to give them the power they deserve... I'm sure it will be a whole new experience.
I haven't been exposed to much, but the best system I've heard was 3 channel set-up using Dahlquist DQ-20s in 1990 or so. The guy had put together a comparator that took the information that was common to both channels and put that in a center channel. It wasn't a "surround sound" processor, either. Around that time I also heard some Acoustats that sent me down the path of ESLs, I'd say those were the most dramatic speakers I've heard with regard to the life-changing impact they had on me.
The best speakers I've ever heard are the Sequels I get to listen to every day! :)
Must give a solid plug here for the Acoustic Zen Adigio as it is solid all around and outstanding value. I've listened to speakers throughout the $5,000-$22,000 range and the Adagio by Acoustic Zen is simply spot on and good at everything. Lot of the supposed big name/big ticket speakers I heard were also good but there were clear faults on most while I could not discern any faults from the Acoustic Zen so I bought them and am now listening and enjoying my music much more than ever expected.
My system consists of the Musical Fidelity KW250S, JPS Kaptavator power cord, and Crystal cable speaker wires.
I just heard the custom monitoring system at Focus Recordings in Denmark designed by Ole Lund Christensen, and came to the conclusion that all other hi-fi stuff I have experienced earlier, were mere toys compared to this setup.
Sphere, I can believe your experience. It suggests that even expensive speakers are substantial compromises. This certainly goes along with my experiences.
I certainly cannot agree that the MBL 101s are even very good speakers, much less "live music." On occasion I have heard them sound okay at shows, never any better than that.
Not that I want to upset anyone, but I just heard the top of the line MBL setup(with the new 4 tower reference speaker) at the Munich show a couple days ago, forget live music , it was ordinary hifi at best, and was beaten by several systems costing 1/4th the price.After hearing several top systems at the show,and being extremely impressed by some of them, I went to Denmark and heard the Focus setup; end of the audio game for me. I realised the importance of room-speaker interaction like never before, and knew that to equal this, it would mean having this setup at your disposal, as conventional audio is only a game compared to this.
Krell resolution 2 speakers. These are musical instruments of the highest order. I bought these speakers as temporary stand-ins until I could go for a true high end design. My respect for them took a major leap forward after I brought home my Ref3 and HD 220 amp from ARC! The organic, huge, detailed, transparent and tonaly gorgeous soundscape they deliver is stunning..thunderous controlled bass with bloom, sweet strings and delicate extended highs. With these speakers I have a symphony in my room...no limitations and nothing to distract one from the music. This is a perfect product for the music lover!!
Krell speakers Jc51373...not electronics my uninformed friend. The Ref3 and HD 220 are from Audio Research..tube stuff! I owned wilson system 6 speakers...even the 8's are flawed due to monitor heritage. Any speaker you must aim at your head will limit dynamics and decrease soundstaging! Wilsons are also less than completely coherent.
"Funny..I just demo'd the ARC ref 3 vs the Krell Evo 202 driving the Evo 402 into dynaudio C4's...the tube haze and overall distortion of the signal sold me on Krell...Krell is not like any bother solid state gear..it is music!! I do like my MF A5 tube output CD player so far..it has no tube problems or haze at all!!"
What do you own now for amp and preamp? I thought you were sold on Krell?
JC51373, I am very critical of my own equipment and that of which I demo. That being said, often times it takes time to fully get to know a product and determine what works best with each piece i.e..power cords, interconnects etc... I have sold my C4's, Evo 402 and 202. At the end of the day, the C4's had a homogenous nature to their presentation..slightly blended and softened up a bit much for my taste..high frequencies were too soft and imaging was a tad left/right sounding. The 402 was brittle and flat albeit with a big bottom end...the class A sound is gone and the music suffers greatly from a lack of tonal color and liquidity. The 202 was OK but not killer dynamic and explosive with great tonal accuracy like the ref 3...the soundstage is expansive and deep with a truth of timbre and contrast not heard from any other preamp! My initial demo of the ref 3 was with a unit using a shunyata anaconda helix PC....Shunyata deadens anything I've ever heard them used on and it was no exception in this case...it made the ref 3 sound hazy! My instincts and more demo's lead me to my current rig which consists of the following:
ARC Ref 3 ARC HD220 Krell SACD Standard V5.1 Krell Resolution 2 speakers MIT Oracle V2.1 cabling Transparent MM Ref PC's Wattgate Recepticles
The system has 400 hours on it and I just want to keep listening every time I fire it up...big, bold, expansive, dynamic, tonal truth, extensive, explosive yet nuanced and full of life. The best sound I have ever heard anywhere! The ref 3 and HD220 hybrid amp gives me the closest approach to re-creating the elusive sound of live music without the normal drawbacks of SS or tubes...it just presents the music sans distracting artifacts!
Truth, Class A, Dynamic, bass, blah, blah, blah...Someday you will stop listening to the vast amounts of equipment you have already owned in such an incredibly short time, and actually start listening to the music. Until then good luck.
I'm sorry if my journey for the best reproduced sound I can obtain distasteful for you Jc. I am curious however why you are upset? Most of my audio journeys have been an attempt to fuse tube dynamics and 3 dimensionality with the transient accuracy of solid state. Technology has caught up with me...simple as that! I was spoiled at an early age with exposure to great sound from the likes of the BSO.
Dave, I'm curious about your impressions of the HD220. I have a 300.2,and I'm thinking of upgrading.I've been unable to audition the HD220.The rest of my system consist of a ARC CD3MK2,a ARC LS26 and proac 1sc speakers.
Check out my review of the HD220 on A'gon! It has turned into one of the finest amplifiers ever to grace any of my systems. Words can hardly describe how happy I am with my purchase..it is reference caliber sound for sure!! The HD220 controls my Res 2's with great finesse....kick ass dynamic, full of life and detail with no grain or strain. It re-creates the event of a live performance like few other amps can...phenomenal with my Ref 3. For power cable specifics see the review or call Dave @ 610-399-1398.
i haven't heard a lot of the contenders, and my own exp with the below was extremely limited but my god the Magic Model 6s were phenomenal when I had spent an hr with them: driven by all Audio Rsch Ref gear set up. Needs a big room though. But holy cow.
Since this thread is still going strong, will chime in from my recent discovery.
Usher BE10/20, incredible reproduction of minute details and leading edge dynamic that are hidden in most speakers. Superb integration of tweeter and midrange due to similar material used (Beryllium) and close proximity physically. Able to play loud despite only having one tweeter and one midrange per speaker, this has the advantage of reproducing more focus sound unlike those multi tweeter/midrange speakers. Excellent bass, beautiful craftsmanship, and sexy real wood cabinet.
I also like Analysis Omega (superb transparency and coherence like Apogee), Elac top of the line model (excellent top to bottom, though a little soft), and MBL101E but not with MBL amps which produce too much bass output.
Semi, have you heard the Pioneer SX speakers? They use the midrange and tweeter drivers from TAD, owned by Pioneer. I heard them at last year's RMAF and have thought seriously about buying a pair. They cost $9500 per pair!
Tvad, you may be right. Long ago when John was still just redoing existing Hartsfields, I gave serious attention to them. I guess I just like Altecs more and don't like the lens concept. A friend has always insisted that the Paragons if raised 18" off the floor on a solid platform are the best speakers, but to my listening they sound too diffused almost like Boze speakers.
Tbg, Usher is the only speaker I heard with Be tweeter + midrange, never heard the Pioneer nor TAD and I am sure they are exceptional as well. I like Usher for its look, sound, and price. TAD is weird looking while Pioneer doesn't nearly go as deep as Usher. Usher BE-20 uses 2 Eton woofers per side, they produce serious bass that is tuneful and musical.
Semi, sorry I haven't been following this thread. Lloyd Walker certainly thinks highly of the Ushers, with his mods of course. I was taken aback by the Pioneers at the RMAF last year, sending many friends to hear them. I do suspect that their bottom end is not a low as the TAD Model 2s or the big Ushers.
I may have finally heard a good speaker at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, but only after the driving electronics had been on for two days. The speaker boxes for it are still a work in progress, but already its strengths are evident. Also already evident is that it is quite expensive. It is the 9" full-range, a believe it, field coil driver from Feastrex.
I have own several versions of the Lowthers and heard more. I know what their limitation are as well as the fact that they are not full-range drivers. They also shout at you unless the horn designer is exceptional, such as Beauhorn.
The Feastrex have none of these problem, and what I heard will get substantially better once they have five or six hundred hours on them.
Their less expensive 5" driver with the Monster Alnico magnet where also quite good, but do need help in the bottom end.
I attended a show more for integration less for sound; but came across a German company named ADAM (www.adam-audio.com )I set down only since my legs hurt from walking in the show all day. sudenly I hear these little odd speakers making musice so real I thought it is an illusion the model is Alpha; now I am considering to import them to my country. these speakers ROCK no bull no nonsence they are as real as I have ever heard an I ownd atleast 40 pairs of high end speakers through the years; one last thing : THEY R VERY EXPENSIVE ; although they have "samll Brothers" costing less.
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