The best speaker you ever heard?

Lab, I think most of us realize how important everything is. I have disliked Vandy's in the past and went with Proac. It was totall about set up and gear. That's how owners can sell gear. I've had a few threads going or posting about the room and system approach. Going through that on the SKY cable thread. I think this thread is all about the best you've heard, not the best speaker. Two different things. What's wrong with folks adding their Twitter-level two cents? It's an opinion board right? Audio is only about opinion. Any of us who are serious about this and have been in it for over 40 years fully get that the best we've heard has also sounded like crap too. I personally dislike all Wilson speakers I've heard. I've heard them with Spectral, Krell, Levinson, Jadis, Ayre, Quicks and plenty of other electronics, front ends and if so many rooms that were 'set up' to be great rooms. They just don't do it for me and never have. That said, there are thousands of audiophile who have heard them and loved them. Marketing plays a huge role in things too as we are often told what to and not to listen for. Room power is also important right? yes, we all are having fun sharing and that's why this thread is so old.

Shahinian Obelisk driven by Plinius, SW Maestro cables.
Wow!!!!!!!

I can't say I've ever heard any super-duper expensive speakers, but the most beautiful sound I've ever heard in an audio shop was a pair of Proac D15 connected to a tube amp that I don't even remember...that was heaven. The room was treated, placement was flawless, and I've sort of chased that magic ever since. Those aren't the best speakers I've ever seen sitting in a shop, but the Proac D15 made the most beautiful music I've ever heard.

Went to listen in DC this week to a bunch of new stuff for me. Some I've heard in the past and others....not at all. Quick hits:
Proac D30R is one of the first ribbons I've heard done correctly. What a sweet sounding and dynamic speaker. It is a really nice sounding speakers and for my ear was much nicer than the Harbeths that many are touting on the boards and in reviews. I also liked the Audio Note speakers a ton. As basic as you can get, but wow were they good. They were being run by an AN single ended amp and AN preamp. It was digital too, but it did everything right. First time I've heard single ended done that well and I was shocked. Very dynamic and musical. The detail was there too and it was against the more expensive Harbeths and it wasn't a race. The Proacs were run by tube gear too and on the imported Ayre turntable, new Ortifon arm/MC cart.
Heard the Quattro CT's in a different room and system than I usually hear them in and they shined too. They really are that special. I heard them with a Rega 6/Rega upgraded cart as well as the Linn TT. The Linn was better for pace and rhythm, but it's a bitch to set up and keep set up. most of the TT guys I speak with don't like the suspended tables much. They feel they are a pain. The digital stuff I've been hearing is good, but the second you put the TT in the systems you just relax and listen. Strange, but so true. I do like the music server idea though as it's just a one box easy solution, but right now digital is the last thing on my mind as they need to refine it and figure out what direction they will go for the next 10 years. Hi rez does sound awfully good in a great system, but I'm hoping that soon there will be a simple streaming site where you pay your 10 a month and have nearly any song you want in hi res.

Sorry to go on about the components, but they make as big a difference in what the speakers sound like. So far I feel that the best speakers I'm hearing these days are all different sounding and need different systems. Most folks aren't able to go more than say 15k for speakers so I'll twist the subject of best to best for the money:
Vandersteen Treo's
Vandersteen Quatro's
Proac D series are all great speakers, but the D 30R is their best under 8k I think it is
Audio Note (must match with other AN components like the Otto integrated with phono)

The Spendor, Harbeths and many others that folks are raving about are excellent speakers also. Everyone's ear is so different, but for a cottage industry there are so many wonderful choices out there. I've run into many speakers that I couldn't listen to for more than a song without my ears hurting. Too many of the speakers that are touted as detailed and revealing, just sound horrid to my and that's even with great tube gear with analog. JMHO

Sonus Faber Aida

Amphion Krypton 3

Koss model 1A electrostatic speakers, tri-amped with all tube electronics was very spiffy. Heard them at paragon of sound way back when.

I know it's completely unrealistic for me to ever own but it was the best pair of speakers I've ever heard.

"I know it's completely unrealistic for me to ever own but it was the best pair of speakers I've ever heard."
Sjc1204

What speakers are you talking about?

I have finally heard a ribbon that I liked. Proac D30's got it right and for the price are on the must audition list. Tubes did them right ;)...Ayre TT, Ortofon arm and cart too. Any vinyl will do most systems right ;).

I heard top Audio Note speakers that I loved also. I didn't like the Spendor, Harbeth or Maggies (just for my ear) on this past trip and the Focals were missing something and I don't know what it is. I think the mids just didn't do it for me and all the ones I heard were driven with top gear and set up their best. Magico blew me out of the water, but I'd like to hear them vs the Vandy's. For the cost, I think the Vandy's will win out, but Magico's really were special.

I heard the Proacs sound different in different rooms. Very different. Does that mean they are going to show up anything in the system? I kind of think that's the case, but they are room dependent. Every speaker I've heard has sounded different in different rooms with the same components. I've been able to hear this a few times. I find it interesting that I've yet to find a speaker that is worth 50k vs one half that price. Yes the sound is better, but I can't afford the 25k speakers, so for me there is fulcrum point if you would.

Ctsooner,

I heard the D40 and I agree that Proac does a very good job with a ribbon tweeter where other manufacturers haven't quite pulled it off. I suppose it is mostly a matter of voicing than any particular technology. I say this because Proac seems to do a good job of getting the sound of its speakers fundamentally "right" across their entire lineup.

Maybe IMF SACM. Anybody else ever hear these?

Larry, I think you are right. I was blown away by the Proacs and I've been a Proac guy for years and years, but they haven't sounded like that. With the right components, I think they can bloom, but they do need some power. I heard them with 50watt tube stuff and they were plenty loud, but I could tell there was more to them than that.

Devore 0/96....superb tonal density and still resolved, accurate, and balanced. Listen to mostly strings and voice and they're the best I've had overall including speakers costing 5-10x the price...

I'm still a Vandersteen fan after hearing so many different speakers over the last couple of weeks. Honesty, up and down the line their dynamics are very real as is their staging and imaging. I just don't fully get that response from any of the other speakers I've heard. I think that most folks just love that 'open, detailed, wide staging' etc...but even the Proacs are not emotional like I want at this point. The Audio Note stuff is great and very dynamic, but in the end there was just a little something missing. I don't even know what it is, but when I first started to listen years ago, single ended didn't do it for me either. At first they were so impressive, but on every day music they didn't fully do it. I think it would cost a ton more than other systems I'm looking at to get the best sound from them.

My Jm Reynaud Orfeo Supremes.

I just found a new audio store that carries those along with Audio Note stuff that's near my house. I had never heard of them. I may check them out as I always like to hear what's out there even though I love what I have coming my way this next week. Thanks for sharing. I've heard great things about the Orfeo Supremes and look forward to hearing them.

I am 68 years old and the best speaker i have ever heard ( dollar for dollar ) is a pair of DIY Acoustat Spectra 8800s rebuilt by my friend Jocelyn from Quebec Canada at about the cost of 15k i have not heard ANYTHING come close at three or four times the price you may see some of his work in my Flickr photo galery - - - - - https://www.flickr.com/photos/mracoustat/ - - - - - i own the modified pair of 1+1s they are the baby of the 8 foot tall family (14x94x3 inches 200 pounds ) Jocelyn's Spectra 8800s are ( 41x102x12 inches 800 pounds ) almost theft proof Jocelyn as been rebuilding Acoustats for a very long time and like me LOVES his Acoustats.

I always liked stats and even purchased Stax Lambda's that I'm selling, however recently I've heard a ton of stats as I am getting a new system and for me, I've yet to hear one I like. No matter the amp, they just don't do it for me. They seems to float the images and have a bit of overhang (every company I've heard). On most occasions, I have to stop listening after only a few songs as the highs are just too much for me.

I understand why folks love these speakers though. It's just not MY type of sound. That's the neat thing about high end audio. there are a ton of choices as we all hear differently and our rooms are all different etc...

What do you like best about the stats? Do you need or use subs with them to get fuller range?

JBL Everest DD67000.

Still Vandy 7. I have listened to some fun speakers over the last month. Many are over 20k, but few did more than move more air in the room.

The ones that you continue to go back to and listen to for hours on end and hate to quit.

Mapman, so true. There are a few I've heard recently that I could listen to for hours on end and they aren't always theMOST revealing or the best bass or the best staging, imaging etc... If you hear live music you really don't hear imaging per say. I had this conversation two days ago with a distributor of a speaker line and he said it best....the 3D staging and imaging that we talk about and want isn't real sound. It's not what you year live, but live, you SEE in 3D and it takes it's place. That's kind of the way I'm starting to think of high end audio.

Now I am using Acapella companille drive with JL3 signature,
sounds 3D holograme , very wide and details .
But I am stil impress my old speaker B&W 801 s3 with Krell MDA300, the bass and mid verry good tonal balance.

The Kabuki Ohaku powered by Audio Tekna tube monoblocks with 35 watts pc at the last Newport audio show.

I heard a drum solo that was "as real" kick drum, cymbals, wow the best I have ever heard. vocals, strings, and big classical were absolutely flawless! I guess having $200K amplifiers and a 50K pre-amp does not hurt! Also, I've never seen a raal ribbon tweeter loaded in a bass horn before but it really worked.

The room seemed to have zero room treatment!

I thought the sound was really open with tons of air, natural tone, and very, very dynamic with huge natural bass!

Lots of other great gear at the show but this was the best to me by good margin.

For a lot less money the Grimm room was really good as was the Vapor audio room and MBL always good!

For me, the best speaker depends on the date.

1967 - Altec Valencias driven by Fisher tube power amp and preamp.

1968 - Bozak Concert Grands driven by McIntosh MC-2505 and C-26 preamp.

1969 - Rectilinear III's driven by Marantz 16 amp and 7T preamp.

1972 - Dahlquist DQ-10 driven by Audio Research D-75 amp and SP-2 preamp. Shook hands with Saul Marantz and Jon Dahlquist at the DQ-10's premier.

1988 - Apogee Diva driven by Krell monoblocks and Krell preamp.

1996 - Avalon Osiris driven by Spectral monoblocks and Spectral preamp.

More recently, Wilson MAXX 3's driven by Dan D'Agostino Momentum amp and Ayre preamp.

Well, Opus_two, I can agree about the Rectilinear IIIs and the Dahlquists DQ-10, modified. I also owned the original Apogees.

Early on I would agree with your speakers are getting better idea, but I think now I would argue that every speaker is a compromise somewhere. I also suspect that few speaker designers ever had any idea about how much vibrations were drowning their innovations.

Norm

I think Jon Dahlquist was a mechanical engineer and may have been aware of the swamp of vibrations you refer to. The fact that part of his crossover though mounted on the top of the cabinet was a step ahead by not being hammered inside of the main cabinet. The fact that 4 of the 5 drivers were mounted on their own baffle boards would effectively reduce noise and clutter and cross pollination of resonance.

Jon once sent me a box speaker to audition and called me for an opinion. It was just okay. Months later I received the same oak speaker now finished in Nextel and with some flocking material on the front baffle..they sounded like a totally different design. He said everything was the same except for the 2 features I just wrote of. I think Jon was way out ahead of this peers. Tom

Tom, as I recall, the Dahlquists just had wooden feet. I don't recall any effort to control vibrations, but that was a long time ago. Were you a dealer back then?

I have enjoyed many of these speakers folks are talking about. I heard the Vandersteen 7's again yesterday driven by Audio Research 10k stereo amp and their matching preamp. Nothing special for that price range. It was through the Romulus CD players (best digital I've ever heard) and I was in shock as to how good it was again. I've heard it with the Ayre monos as well as AR ref in the past and each time it just sounded perfect. Lacked nothing. I would love to hear it with the producers of some of the music I was listening to.I'd love to know how close to their original it is because it takes on the sound of everything upstream. I"m pretty familiar with the products I heard and the Vandys were just right scale, pace, tonally etc... They just sounded the way music sounds when you are there.

Norm

The Nextel paint finish and the flocking material on the entire front speaker baffle are control materials. Both materials seal a bad sounding mdf cabinet from venting its form of bad sound into a listening room. These 2 materials sonically made these same speakers disappear. I thought highly of Jon looking for something different than the standard solution. This was circa 1984. Tom

Tom, my experience was between 1976 and 1978 so I guess we are talking about different speakers.

I have it now and doubt if I'll ever change it. I already replaced woofers once(loved to crank'em hard when I was a-bit younger:-)).

OP-

to date- my reference loudspeaker is the current THIEL line-up. The CS 3.7, CS-2.7 or CS 1.7 is working well.
A shout-out goes to the older CS 2.4 additionally.
These are outstanding speakers and one would be hard-pressed to do better. Solid state ot tubed gear, they all sing!

Not sure which is "best" but my all time favorites I have heard are my current OHM F5 series 3, mbl 111e, and Magico Mini II, Totem Mani 2, or most any model Dynaudio for smaller monitors, if not smaller OHM Microwalsh as an option to those.

Norm

In my first post about this subject the first paragraph referred to the DQ10's which were a break thru in in time aligned and phase aligned speakers. When Jon used separate baffles he may have only by chance hit upon a way to reduce unwanted vibration "drowning" the music. He partially achieved this again by taking the crossover out board. The DQ10's had wooden feet or an optional wooden stand.

The second reference speaker was the DQ9 when Jon applied the Nextel to block the bad sound of MDF and then putting a flocking material on the front baffle he succeeded in remaking this speaker. Maybe these were all accidental and with no clear cut understanding of why but the outcome of vibration reduction was made more apparent by Jon Dahlquist. I can write about these speakers and materials because they made an impression upon me and gave me direction to pursue and better understand resonance control methods. Tom

It's funny to me. I've never liked the Thiel's. Too hot on the top end for me and I've tried all kinds of amps, cables, cords etc... My local dealer sells them and personally he loves them. That's just my ears and I respect all who swear by them, but I can't listen to em. I don't love the Focals that much either anymore. I did when they were JM Lab and I even had a pair. They do a lot right, but for their price points, I've heard a few others (for my ear) that I like better. For me most every phase coherent speaker that is first order crossed sounds natural and still detailed. The biggest problem I have with most speakers is that they cross things in the most important part of the mids and you lose that magic that music has. I have begun looking for designers who make their own mids that are fast fast fast and are crossed over in a 1st order so that you don't' lose that magic. It's a learned thing I think. You hear it sounding 'right' and don't' even know why. It just sounds 'un hifi' like and very natural like live music does. To me, even most of the esoteric speakers don't' get the mids correct. I"ve now heard so many of these top of the line, 100k plus speakers and they don't sound as good as some of these others speakers that I've fallen for. They do some other things better. They may be much dynamic, however in the end, they don't' get the micro or macro dynamics right and they really aren't so dynamic. As a reference though, I don't like panels of any kind really and I've only heard a ribbon tweeter sound good in a couple of speakers I've heard recently. Most are way too hot on the top end and even to the point of being distorted to me.

Again, nothing against my of these great speakers our there that you all love. It just reinforces that there are different makes for all our ears.

The best speaker I have ever heard? The ones in my system of course!

Which is what speaker? Do you really think that's the best one you've ever heard? Most of us can't afford the BEST we've ever heard.

But the question wasn't whether you own them or not. The question was what is the best speaker you ever heard.

The best speakers i've ever heard are still the awesome Infinity IRS-V's. I heard them back in 1991 with a pair of massive Electrocompaniet mono blocks & a reference tt and was blown away. Thunderous concert level bass, ethereal "reach out and touch it" imaging & incredible detail. They are also the most beautiful speakers i've ever seen.

I got to hear those a bunch with all different electronics. The top end for me was hot compared to most of the newer speakers, but in it's day it was very special. Man could those things rock. HUGE and needed a large large space to really open up. Pretty amazing for it's time.

Agree!!! I have a good friend with 3 awesome systems...Genesis 1.1s (basically the next generation of Infinity IRS Vs) are one of his flagship speakers (Tidal Sunrays and Marten Coltrane Supremes are his other 2!!).

Those Genesis 1.1s are a-w-e-s-o-m-e. He drives them with the best of the best that he has found...and it is a truly remarkable system.

Until today, best speakers I've heard are Vivid Audio Giya G3. Unbelievably hollographic scene and amazingly detailed sound. Out of this world.

Those are on my short list of speakers to listen to.. I dont' go off of reviews as my ears must be totally different as I don't often hear what the reviewer hears. I've been around audio long enough to know the dark secrets of the print/electronic media and how reviews are handled. That said, I've heard about Vivid from a friend who heard them at a show in Newport I think it was and he said they were really good and even has some legit bass. When talking about BEST speakers heard there is just so much that goes into it. The most I hear of the esoteric level of speakers, the more I appreciate first order, phase coherent speakers. All too often I hear 'detail' 'sparkle' huge soundstage' 'deep bass', but the problem is ....what did the producer put down on the tracks? Accuracy is only so good. Too many high end speakers go crazy with parts and they don't always fit together as well as some of the lower priced speakers in their lines. They are often times fatiguing or the bass isn't realistic.

I was at a John Legend concert the other night with my daughter. The first thing we both noticed during the warm up act was that the bass was distorted and turned up WAYYYY too much. It was brutal and it sucked. We heard him at the Hollywood Bowl last summer on a college visit and the sound was superb. The LA Philharmonic helped, but even Aerosmith sounded great, but still loud. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but for my money, Richard Vandersteen is still the one to beat. I get to listen to the 7's and 5's at a store in Verona, NJ whenever I'm down there and they just sound 'right'...every time regardless of what front end gear or amps he's using. I've heard the Rockports, top of the line Utopias, Magico's and many of the really smaller companies out there. When you listen live at various venues, the music really isn't quite holographic is it? You SEE where the instruments are and you can hear where they come from, but maybe not as much as we want in our systems. I think we want to HEAR holographic to make up for what we SEE when we are there live....Im not sure, but this thread has made me think about that. There was a person at Goodwin Audio who made that statement to me a while ago and it's stuck with me. Just thought I'd share...

The D7-Extreme by E.C.Speakers. A 3-way Tower Speaker. Built here in the United States.

Probably the most startlingly realistic sound I've ever encountered was the Overkill loudspeaker at T.H.E a few years back. I've heard tremendous horn systems (in homes) tweaked to the hilt, effortless, clear, powerful etc but never in 30 years have I heard what felt and sounded like a live event like this. Even at great volumes the smoothness, coherence, and sound-staging were locked and breathtakingly free of cabinets AND THE ROOM. Not even MBL on their best day or the likes Wilsons or the big glass 8's were even close. Don't mean to bash but what that Manger driver and awesome bass cabinet were doing with DEQX was a game changer for me.

08-10-14: After_hrs
Probably the most startlingly realistic sound I've ever encountered was the Overkill loudspeaker at T.H.E a few years back. I've heard tremendous horn systems (in homes) tweaked to the hilt, effortless, clear, powerful etc but never in 30 years have I heard what felt and sounded like a live event like this.

Its a shame they appear to have gone out of business. After reading through the reviews, it was indeed a balls-to-the-wall design.

As an addition to my last post the associated amplifier being used to drive the Overkill loudspeakers was also by Overkill.

Reading through a few posts on this thread I noticed very few respondents mention the associated amplifier being used to drive the speakers that left such an impression. Perhaps, to the best of their recollection, past and subsequent posters can include this very valuable association to the experience. The reason being several of the loudspeakers mentioned I have also heard and, at the time sounded not so special. I heard the Focal Grand Utopia's powered with class A rated Spectral mono's at a dealership in Santa Barbara that sounded (for me) awful; shrill and painful. Yet with the right amp and associated gear the FGU's can sound exceptional. Electrical synergy that translates to emotional and component harmony is key. As we all know a speaker is only as good as what the amplifier is doing for it primarily and what the room is doing additionally.

After hrs,
You make a good point. Of course source, pre and cables are important variables as well, along with room acoustics.