The ones in my living room, heavly moddified Klipsch K-Horns with fc260 tratrix horn and a BMS 4592 2in driver. |
Best speaker I have ever heard? There are tons out there that I haven't heard but two that I have heard; the pair that I now own, the VSA VR5 Anniversaries and the Magico V3s...I can speak to how they compare. I have heard both driven by MAC electronics and what I ended up owning pretty much speaks to my preference. The V3s are very good speakers...great fit and finish and attractive, the M/T was very good, in some ways more like the Von Schweikerts than different, but the big difference was the soundstage and bass extension. The Anniversaries go lower, throw a much wider and deeper soundstage and frankly, sound more alive. The price of the Anniversaries and the V3s is comparable but in my humble opinion, the Anniversaries are the much better speaker. |
question, why do we always buy a pair of the same speakers? unless they are mirror imaged,i think it better to pick two speakers closely matched in power handling and sesitivity.ist pair you consider might have better bass response.2nd choice might have better high end.?.so why not get one of each, and obtain both your desired bass and your prefered highs.we are conditioned by marketing skills to buy two of the same. WHEN YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR YOUR SWEET SPOT CONSIDER ALTRNATIVES.TRY THE SPEAKERS HOROZONTALLY-UPSIDE DOWN ONE UP ONE DOWN ECT.you might be surprised at what you hear. |
Energizer,how about shareing some of that stuff you're smokin'!!!!!! |
to Tpreves dont knock it till you have tried it. |
No holds barred, Krell Modulari Duo are probably the best speakers I have ever heard. At $65,000 a pair they should be.
Back down on earth, my heart belongs to the Dunlavy SC-IV/A. They're big and ugly, despite the beautiful cherry wood finish, and they deliver more sound/$ than any other speaker I have heard. Even with their amazingly fast and powerful bass, I still supplement them with a JL Audio f112 to bolster the bottom end. Total MSRP for the set is about $12,000. That's hard to beat. |
MBL 101 Extreme powered by all McIntosh Gear. If only I had the money and space... |
There are two or three that I've heard that would qualify however if I would have to choose one it would be the Focal JM Labs Grande Utopia. The Utopia's makes the music sound so real and natural, it literally makes you feel that you're at a live performance. |
Salk HT3 is the best speaker I have ever heard or owned. Granted I have not heard a whole lot. |
In the 80's a pair of Infinity IRS playing a recording of Holst's Planets. I was astounded and instantly hooked into this addiction!! |
It think it was June 1990 in Norfolk Virginia. I walked into my then fav audio dealer and I heard Ray Charles playing Georgia.
I did not right away notice the multi speaker array that was the Infinity IRS system. I was too busy looking for "Ray" who according to my ears was somewhere in the shop playing and singing.
Outside of live music, I had never before or since heard a stereo system produce anything that sounded like that. I will never forget it. And yes it was an LP playing on a Thornes TT/Arm combo using a Shure V15 Micro Ridge. |
I posted in this thread about six years ago. Many good choices. I just wanted to add the speaker that really got me started in the pursuit, the Stacked Advent. A friend in college had these in his dorm room with a Citation 16 and 17. Unbelieveable!!! He became my friend because I sought him out by following the music to his door. I haven't seen him in 30 years. Thanks Bob.. |
KEF 104.2..... love it :) |
The best sounds I've heard recently have come from Magico Minis, the latest and greatest large Maggies (20.?), PSB Synchrony, MBL 111s and my own OHM Walshes.
Not to say these are categorically the "best", only the best sounding I have heard recently. Much of that is likely due to proper setup and matching to room and other components. |
Tonian Labs TL-Ml MKII.
The most natural sounding speaker I've ever heard. |
The most impressive speaker I've heard was Isaac Asimov at Rutgers in the early seventies. I loved the Foundation Trilogy. |
2008 CES- Venetian. MBL 101 powered by MBL Amps.
Incredible display of brute power. You never heard Pink Floyd like this. |
Magneplaner 20.1...A very difficult and subjective question...my experience was when I was in an adjacent room when I thought there was a piano player at the keyboard....what I was hearing was a pair of Magneplaner 20.1s biamped with a pair of ARC Ref 300 and a VT100MK III. The source was an LP on a Clearaudio Turntable ?? ..can't tell you the cartridge or arm or cables....but when I thought there was an actual piano playing instead of recorded music, that was the critical mass info I needed.
The LP was a Mercury Living Presence solo pianist recording of Pictures at an Exhibition |
MBL, with MBL's best electronics driving them. It was a hypnotic moment in audio, defying all preconceptions of 'recorded music'.
The old addage, that, "Nothing is live music, but live music" is correct--but that ineffable illusion of 3 dimensional, holographic recreation that I experienced, was not to be believed or understood--at least not by me.
My congratulations and ultimate respect to MBL. At this moment in time they are the "Masters of the Audio Universe."
Good listening,
Larry Staples |
If ever there was question with no potential for agreement, this thread's question is it. I was about to add a speaker but realize it is useless. |
Wilson watt Puppy 7. I like to listen louder than most people and many speakers start to show weaknesses as you wind them up. The dynamic capability of this speaker is great. Even at "normal" listening levels, it's hardly trying and the result is an effortless super clear sound. |
I'd have to say Barack Obama.. |
Quad ESL 2905. A year before they were publicly released, I was invited to a private audition at CES as I used to manage the Canadian distributor for Quad. They were running off a 909 amp. After 1 hour of the private audition, Quad had to ask me to leave so others could audition them. I went back the next day and could not get enough of these!
PEZ |
MAGICO M5 MAGICO MINI 2 MAGICO V3 THEY ARE THE BEST IN CLASS!! |
Do not complicate too much...the Logitech Z-2300 is a good set of 2.1 speakers. They sound great |
I have to say the Totem Winds I recently purchased are an amazing speaker for the money. I have spent may hours recently listening to Sonus Faber's and Wilson Maxx 3's they are tremendous speakers but for so much less money these Winds are outstanding. I found them to be superior to the Watt puppy's and Sophia's and many other high end speakers I have heard.
I am sure there are many better speakers out there but I can't find anything to fault the Totem's. Everything sounds good on the winds. Even my worst recordings come to life in a way i have never heard them before. All around IMO it is the best value speaker out there. |
Real landmark speakers I heard
The Apogee Diva and Full Range
The KEF Reference 205 and later 207 models (sought them out after hearing the 104.2)
The giant Sound Labs
The Vandersteen 5
The Klipschorn and in a different way the Voice of the Theater.
The Megalithic Nudel designs like the IRS series
Magnepan Tympani IV with Bohlender Graebener Radia for the midrange. |
Symposium Reflections driven by 150wpc Wavacs.It was like seeing a UFO.No one could ever understand who wasn't there,dispite any description I give. |
I second the symposium's. I'ld get them in a heart beat!! |
First Hi-Fi I ever heard:LaScalas with old Mac Gear playing Roundabout on a Thorens table/V15 in the early 70's in a dorm room.
I will never forget it and nothing will ever really match it.
ADS 710 and 810 were great and like another post said,Double Advents were great especially the powered model.
Now 40 yrs later with 30 in the business of Audio I always go back to a Utopia of some variety.
I lived with Roy Allisons 1 &3 for a long time but who knew at the time that the foam would self-destruct?
I love my Thiels but if money were not the limiting factor I would have the big JM's
Ed |
Our best systems are inextricably linked to an emotionaly formative time/experience. If time travel existed and we were able to go back and listen with our present day ears, we would no doubt be less than thrilled. Bozak sounded better than most to me growing up in the 60's thru the 80's. |
Hey Es347,I disagree.
There is so much distortion in that "speaker" that it breaks all records. It can sound very good at first but then listener fatigue sets in. The wood is highly resonant oak (actually acorn) which can add to the distortion. It uses the Spector crossover which you certainly can't trust and for the tweeter it uses the Pelosi speaker which is extremely shrill and irritating. All in all the "speaker" will probably only lasts 4 years. And I guarantee it won't be good for your health(care). |
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Nice one Bbro! Not sure about the 4 years, bad ones have lasted 8 years too, recently! |
Bbro,
Couldn't have said it better myelf. Bravo man!
Shakey |
Since 2008...YG Acoustics Anat Reference II/FM Acoustics combo, Classic Audio T-1/Atma-Sphere combo - all experienced at RMAF '09.
DALI MegaLine III/VTL combo heard at Albert Porter's house. |
Tidal Contriva Diacera driven by Concert Fidelity electronics. Now, comes the hard part. |
Vintage Altec Vott A7's driven by a decware amp. Pure, unrivaled, unaltered music. |
Tidal Sunray. This is live music everything else is just hifi.... |
Geopolitis, I hope you are wrong. I have Contrivas coming in Jan. |
Can I have 4?
In no particular order, the most amazing and emotionally invoking speakers I have heard are :
B&W Silver Signature
Martin Logan Prodigy
Wilson Maxx 2
Zu Druid MKIV
Quite a wide variety of sounds there. If I had to choose one pair, I think would pick the Druids. |
Vandersteen 5, in a well treated room behind Shunyata power, Audio Research ref pre/amp, dCS stack. Niiiice. |
With no doubt, the Kharma Exquisite Midi, amplified by tubes. These beauties are very expensive, about 80k$, but if you can invest this huge amount of money, do it... |
Noncondition, don't listen to the Tidals. |
Tbg, why not ? although it will be difficult, cause no Tidal dealer in Spain, I'll try to listen. |
The KEF Concept Blade speakers I heard at the 09 Munich high end show. People were in the KEF booth for hours after the show closed still listening. |
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32 years ago, I heard the best, and they are still the best today-MBL. No other speaker has the spatial quality that those NBL drivers have. I was a hi-end audio dealer through from 78-98. wish I had bought me a pair the first time I heard them. |
Ozarktom, I too heard the first prototypes of the MBL in Chicago long ago. They were very strident but had great promise if they could be mated with other drivers to get some bass. I still think that is true, but they are less strident now. |
