The best speaker you ever heard?

For 'just the right music', Quad ESL-57's still seem to represent the bar for me. The most impressive speaker(s) I ever SAW (never heard - boo-hoo) were probably a setup which saw a pair of 57's in monstrous oak stands (marked Mark Levinson). Each channel was a pair (ie. 4 Quads total) and could be tilted on an axis. They were floor to ceiling, stored at the edge of a room featuring Magnepan Tympani TI-Ds and enough Audio Research gear to sink a ship. Ahhh, memories....

I heard the big JBL $100,000 speakers playing with Viva electronics.To say it was great would be an understatement

Bravo Arthur!!

I don't think you can ever hear a speaker. You can only hear a system, which includes the room it is in, as well as the listener's tastes and biases.

Arthur

Jamo Digital 130.(1), Norh 6.9(2),JBL 4430(3),Magnepan 1.5qr(4),Magnepan 2.7qr(5).

harbeth SHL5

Aerial 8Bs on a Theta system.

"'The people making comments including myself, no matter how experienced have limited comparisons. There would be other loudspeaker design we would consider if we heard them irregardless of taste.'
--Armyscout41

"Excellent point, Armyscout41. I would bet that few of us have heard more than a handful of speakers in which all other conditions are constant. And I'm certain that many among us would change our response 2 or 3 times in the 5 years that this thread has been running."
Evita

I agree with Evita and Armyscout41. It's essentially impossible to do TRUE A/B comparisons with a significant number of speakers because of their size, etc. This point became immediately obvious to me at the 2007 RMAF. I do NOT claim to have heard every speaker (well, DUH!), although I have heard quite a few. With that in mind, I will state that I think the best I've ever heard are the

Denalis by Intuitive Design.

The Surrountec - Germany !!!

This may be a studio monitor, however, it is not 'dry' & 'lifeless'
Rather 'fast' + 'precise' yet reasonably musical.

Please do take a look.

Try and audition if possible.

It is one of the best [well implemented] T & P Diamond & Ceramic Drivers design. Well implemented.

http://www.surrountec.de/public/indexEn.php

Soundlab A-3 was the best speaker I ever heard. They belonged to a late friend of mine in CA. He had them paired with a pair of awesome subs and twin BEL 2002's.

The Linn Komri is the best speaker I have ever heard. Compared to Acapella Audio's giant horns and McIntosh's humongous line arrays, it is the Komri that stole my heart. Only the Vandersteen 5a powered by Ayre's AX-R monoblocks comes close. I have never heard a system of such resolution and naturalness working in perfect symbiosis as the Komri.

Revelatory.

The tweeter's exquisite attack releases high frequencies into the room from the ether and not from any particular driver. The crash and sizzle of symbols decaying eminates from a general direction, but sources from no absolute location. This attack and decay behavior can be followed through the frequency range to the lowest octaves. This is a revelation for me and I have not before or since heard anything like it.

picture

Some great answers. I love the guy with the optimus preference! This quote makes me wonder ""nearly 100% of all professional recording studios use the B&W Nautilus 801 as their reference for the best quality sound". Can't say I'd ever want to work at a place where that was the reference monitor. Yes studio's have different needs, kleenex taped to Yamaha NSM-10 tweets and all, but when it comes time to go home, have a drink, and just listen, my fantasy would still be a pair of Westlake Audio Tower SM-1's. A "real world" second choice is a used pair of Tannoy Churchills. Somebody ealier lamented the evolution towards "monitor" speakers instead of the big old boxes we used to have. I couldn't agree more. from pipe organs to modern techno there is a need for stuff around 20hz that a beautiful little box just can't do quite right.

I second Gary (Grr6001), after 4 years of listening to high-end speakers in Europe and the USA ranging from $10,000-100,000+ I too thought the Evolution Acoustics MM3 speakers are the absolute greatest speakers for the money out there. I only wonder if the Rockport Arrakis at $165,000 could be better sounding or not...

Gerry

Not sure if it was a typo BUT there never was a Wilson Grand Slamm (proper spelling) VII. Prior to my X-2's I owned the latest version of the Slamm which was X-1 Series III which was pretty spectacular but not in the league of the X-2. Once the X-2 came into production the X-1 was discontinued because for the money the MAXX series II was just such a better speaker for 1/2 the price. For those who kept their X-1's Wilson did make available a Series V upgrade (no Series IV because of Asian belief that number 4 is an unlucky number). Gerry you have stood me up several times for a listening audition. I still want to meet you

I can still remember the first time I heard Quad ESL-57's, wow.

Rockport Altairs are the total experience nothing else comes close for me. If I only could afford them.
Wilson Grand Slam VII's
Magnepan 20.1's best $/Music
Wilson W/P 8's in my environment

Speakers I have auditioned in the last 3 years trying to decide what to upgrade to & Feel rate a best speaker I've heard tag.
MBL 111 & 116
JM labs Grand Utopia
Dynaudio Evidence Master & Temptation
Revel Ultma Salon 2
Evolution Acoustics MM2 & 3
Wilson Watt Puppy 8 , Grand Slam
Green Mountian Calypso
Aerial 20T
Martin Logans , B&W'S, Tyler, Salks, Sonas Faber & ECT.ECT.
To many to lists.
While all these speakers were quite good ,some better than others ,& some just plain outstanding. I tried to judge them
at their different price points too.
For me , the very best I've heard were the Evolution Acoustics MM3's , they seem to just do everything right & BETTER.
After Driving & Flying to many a store & homes auditioning. I'm glad my search is over & I'm awaiting delivery of the MM'3 Evolution Acoustics. They can't come soon enough.
They belong in the class of the best I've ever heard.
Thanks to Cincy Bob & Jonathan for allowing me to experience these awsome speakers.

Davidbigeye, they excite my passion for the music every time I fire up my system. What does the rest of your system consist of?

Yes Dave_b, they surely are balanced and musical. Also powerful and yet dainty when called upon to be such. I havn't heard the Resolution 2, but I have heard the Resolution 1 and they were teriffic too, so I don't doubt that yours are wonderfully musical. The cloth sure is good, isn't it?

The LAT-1000's are precisely what I'm talking about...they are balanced and musical! My Resolution 2's are cut from the same cloth.

Krell LAT-1000. I'm still breaking mine in and they are wonderful in every sense!

Pretty much every speaker anyones owned or heard is on the list! Balance is the key to musicality...not any one or two aspects of a design.

No paticular order,

Apogee Scintilla
Ridge Street Audio Sasons
Avalon Ascent Mk2s

Pjl2122, the MBL is incredible in the bass? If I win one in a contest, I will give it to you. I have been interested in the basic idea since I heard a prototype in the 1970s, but I have heard little improvement.

the Best loudspeaker in the World for sure I would pick the MBL-111 Incredible in every respect if you have $50k to spend a no brainer -But requires a superb 300wpc + amplifier to make it live up to it's praise.

Modified DCM TFE200's.......cut the whole side walls out of the midrange chamber...much better, sound so real now!

i was asking the Pjl guy!

Fla, as I said I know nothing about the L'Integrals speakers.

Pjl2122:
How does the Grand Veena compare to the older L'Integral Nouveau, if you've compared them? Please be specific.

Pjl2122, thanks for the information. I own a pair of the Muratas and have used them with my old Beauhorns and present Acapellas. They do lend a realism to speakers that I recognized in the Grand Veenas. I also liked the simplicity of the crossovers in the GVs and expect that this is part of their success. In my opinion the Grand Veenas were one of three best speakers at the RMAF.

I thought the Feastrex 9 inchers ($30k +)in a temporary cabinet were more integrated and clean but did not have the bass of the GVs. I thought the LSA1s ($2500) imaged better, although this may have been their electronics and fell between the GVs and Feastrex 9" in integration.

in the their respective price ranges Reference 3A and here is why -
Please also remember when reading opinions online a lot of guys use a so so amplifier and this speakers are so reveiling to the source, garbage in garbage out, as well as setup
straight on that is the proper setup for this is a time and phase accurate loudspeaker,most people don't realize that the midwoofer is totally made by hand in house and the Tweeter is totally custom made and has tighter specifications than any of the ring radiators
out there as well as using solid Copper in the Faraday ring used in the motors structure in the tweeter,all very expensive that is why most companys donot do it.please also remember if a speaker is a 1st order design the tweeter has to work harder and have far better band width.This tweeters resonance point is at 590hz where most other Tweeters are well over 1000. Being time aligned the Tweeter and Woofer are arriving at the Ear at the same time and that is why it is much more precise and natural and the most critcal driver in any loudspeaker is the Midrange driver and in all Reference 3A loudspeakers the Amplifier power is fed directly into the Mid driver, also for example a B&W 802 for instance it's phase many vary over 30- 40degrees, with the Reference 3A loudspeakers under 10 degrees maximum for all drivers also all drivers are Matched paired only after 100 hours of breakin, at under .5 % for the Tweeter and under 1% for the Midwoofer. The drivers themselves are all underhung meaning much lower distortion than the average by as much as 5x .By Having a wider Magnetic gap and a shorter underhung voice coil, under extreme driver excursion the coil does not stray into the magnetic field ,also using Neodymium magnets which are 10x smaller and powerfull than the standard Iron core type.
Read the writeup on on the Decapp-I since the review 3 years ago showing a peak here or there in a graph can be deceiving, for the reviewer gave the loudspeaker a rave and a Best Buy.Not being satisfied with very good they redesigned the midwoofer and it is now even better ! Internally all silver carbon Van Dan Hull wiring is used as well as a solid Aluminum backing plate also Cardas binding posts and jumpers
and only 1 custom oil Capacitor to the Tweeter used as a high pass filter with no other power robbing distortion elements in the signal path , also the dynamic range spl is around 107db for the Decappo or Veena which is super loud without cone breakup driven with quality electronics.The cabinet is solidly braced with various thicknesses and the rear bass port is of a folded type for proper loading and no Bass overhang .
1.5" of Wool Felt is also used for internal cabinet vibration absorbtion, the Middriver is Carbon fiber and runs directly from the amplifier output that is why it sounds so electrostatic fast and clear. In business for 48 years and well known through Europe, they are making a Big comback in North America from their Swiss beginnings with many Patented technologies being used by other companys, to the cutting edge methods
such as liquid coatings that damp and absorb vibration to The Very expensive Murata Super tweeter used in the Grand Veena this is why Reference loudspeakers sound so natural, taking the time to do it properly
using the highest parts quality and methods, that is why Reference 3A loudspeakers and a best buy in every respective catagory.

ESL 57. I recently got them (piquet modified) and they transformed my system from good to sublime.

Fla, all that I know is that HP of TAS mentioned it in very positive tones, and I heard it at the RMAF. For the first two days of the show, it was, IMO, the best sounding. It was a little bright but that may be the associated electronics. I know only the Veena and the Grand Veena.

Ref 3A Grand Veena?? I thought their best was the L'Integral Nouveau, no? Anyone?

I was over at my friends (dealers) place and helped him set up his Evolution Acoustics MM2 speakers. They are georgeous and build quality is incredible. I came back 1 month later after they were pretty much broken in and I must say that it was the Absolute FINEST system I ever heard.

Pjl2122, until I heard the Feastrex 9 inchers on Sunday, I would have to say that the Grand Veena had my vote for the best speaker at the RMAF. Of course, the Feastrexs are far more expensive. I very close rival for the Grand Veena, however, was the $2500 LSA1s.

for sure the best speaker out there at under $10,000
and will beat any20k loudspeaker is the New Reference 3A Grand Veena loudspeaker,Harry Pearson
of T.A.S not only gave it a golden ear award ,but also an editors choice .Reference uses their patented custom made in house midrange and -No crossover ever in the midrange
and a $1000 Murata supertweeter, you will see a lot of companys following suit.At under $8,500 an absolute gem!

I heard the flagship OSS system.Klaus Heinz the owner gave a demo to a select few. Sitting in the sweet spot, you would be hard pressed to think that such a big speaker could become so correctly proportioned on solo violin and still blow the rafters on large drum solo tracks.A masterpiece of speaker design.

Thesound, the ADAMs seem the philosophical opposites of the Feastrex. They do look like they use folded ribbon tweeters, which seems like a great chose.

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.

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.

Duevel Bella Lunas in a 14x14 room powered by TacT 2150.

Best I ever heard have been the open baffle speakers I made for myself - they replaced my Verity Parsifals without any qualms.

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.

Ridge Street Audio Sason's.

Quad ESL 63 and the 989's...but you need a large room to fully enjoy these magical 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.

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.