sarah and bob a 4 way active speaker system from sound projects is for me the very best ,
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?
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?
2,090 responses Add your response
AG Unos beat Duos; Trios? The best sounding speakers I have ever heard were a pair of Avantgarde Unos at the opening of Rhapsody Music & Cinema in Midtown Manhattan, known at the time as Avantgarde Music and Cinema. Their Trio setup was not even close to this, and I have heard that placement is critical for Trios. Has anyone heard both Unos and Trios in properly set up systems? I am interested to learn how they compare. |
Full range electrostatics like the Quad 988 and Russ Knotts Signature Model 2 (custom) are my top choices. The magic of single driver coherence with distortion-free evenness is unbeatable. Magneplanars have consistently been near the top of my list too (MG 20, and MG 3.6) The best dynamic speakers I have heard are B&W (800 and 801) and Tyler Acoustics. Even thoug these dynamic designs are great, they don't invoke the emotional response of planars/electrostatics. |
The best speakers I ever heard are my custom 4-way horns : Two 1954 Klipschorns with JBL 1504C's below 100 Hz ; short, straight 1:1 compression ratio exponential-curve horns with 50's vintage JBL 130A's between 100 Hz and 500 Hz ; round tractrix horns machined from laminated MDF blocks with 60's-vintage JBL 375's between 500 Hz and 10 kHz ; and 077 ( or 2405 ) supertweeters ( 10 kHz+ ). The filters are 3-way 4th-order active s.s.. except for the supertweeters', which are 1st order passive - just single Hovland caps. The amps all use 2A3 triodes : custom ( UTC LS-58's on Webster Electric Hammond organ amps ) ppp x 4 on the Klipschorns ; Brook 12A's on the upper bass, and an A.E.S ( Cary ) SE1 on the mids + tweets. You can see pics ( plus lots of vintage gear ) at my webpage Vintage Audio Trader's - http://homepage.mac.com/Ikecarumba Kerry Brown aka KerrB Vintage Audio Trader |
In 1977 I met Mark Levinson and he invited me up to his loft to listen to what appeared to be his reference system. It was: 2 24 inch Hartley woofers "H" 2 pairs of stack Quads "Q" 2 Decca Ribbons on top of the Quads "D" Big soundstage and sublime sounding. I think he also had a pair of modified K-horns for comparison. |
Two years ago I saw a pair of Soundlab A1's here at A'gon for a great price and bank wired the money. I hitched a ride with a friend going from Cincy to Ocala. I vacationed with my sister for 3 weeks in Jacksonville, rented a U-Haul truck to get the A1's home unblemished, and have been in bliss ever since. I hope the A1's will keep me happy for the rest of my days. Darn this addiction...I may have to consider some factory upgrades someday to satisfy my unceasing craving for perfection. |
Avantgarde Duo's - I've heard a lot of speakers, but nothing has made me "Enjoy" listening to music like these horns with a great SET amp. Set-up is critical (heard good and bad ones), but when done right, these are absolutely magical - foot couldn't stop tapping. I can't wait to hear Trios, although I might sell my car to buy them if I heard them. |
Nautilus 800 and 801. There are always trade-offs in any speakers that I listened to. Some have 99% imaging but 85% in freq range Some have 99% transparency (like logan) but lacking in dynamic, some has good low level details but sound compress when played loud. I like the Nautilus 800 and 801 because they score 95+ across all spectrums (excellent dynamic, imaging, details, frequency range and transparent). |
For me, the dynamic and slam is the taste. Thus the Montana KAS tower speakers by PBN(Peter Noerbeck). Boasting 7 way system per side - twin 12" woofer, dual 9" mid's, dual 5" upper mids, and a tweeter in vertical array(dapolito). All scan speak components. Weighs in at 300 lbs per side. 4 monoblocks of 500 watts amps will produce bigger and better than live event. |
What is your definition of a "best" loudspeaker. How about the loudspeaker that makes you think you are listening to live music. The Cain & Cain single horns or the Zingali Overture 4's or the Wilson Benesch Curves. To name a few. Unless you have spent over $15000 you better say that you have a tube amplifier. I haven't heard any solid state amps that sound like live music. How come all those really good microphones are tubed? |
There is no question that the Overkill Audio Ovation is the best in the world at ANY price. Between the well-documented and grounded acoustical theory behind it, the execution is phenomenal!(plus 20+ years of psycho-acoustic research by Dr. Josef Manger) The hardest part is auditioning them in the States. Try their website for more information: http://www.overkillaudio.com |
The only ones I have not heard would be the speaker city componant rigs or some store in Pheonix that threw together a pair. If I had to pick second place it would be greeen mountain or genesis but unless you have heard the Whispers it is hard to describe the emotional connection. Reimers for the money are good too. If you get out there and experience some of these you will find that a good portion of speakers are a rip off of another in many ways but it is always a matter of opinion. |
I have heard 99% of all mentioned speakers here. It is always a matter of opinion, electonics and recording but in terms of emotional involvment and pure stunning jaw dropping sound quality nothing comes close to the Legacy Whispers. I must mention that The whisper I listened to extensively were powered by the Coda 11.5 2 cahnnel amp with a wright sound tube pre. |
Technical Audio Device Model-1. I heard this system at CES 04 with Pass labs amps. The room was crowded so I did not get a great seat but I could tell there was something I had never heard before. The dynamics throughout were amazing. Well I wished I had listened more after the show. Then I read this month’s Absolute Sound review and it seemed to match my impression of these newbies exactly. It seems as that they have put two designers from KEF and INFINITY who were showing the system at the show. I could tell that they knew what they were doing and it is shown in the construction and design on this system. The design of the drivers was very impressive including a Beryllium concentric tweeter / midrange point source. The cabinet is amazing construction also - very dead. Most of all they actually look very good. But still way out of my price range :( Checkout what they look like on the site www.tadaudio.com |
I would have to say that the JM Lab Grande Utopia Beryllium were the best speaker I have ever listened to. I have been an audio phile for more than 15 years and have listened to The best Dynaudio, B&W, Revel Salon, Linn and many other brands. I had the opportunity to listem to the JM Labs the other day and was blown away. Most speakers have their own look and their own sound. Some are more forward, some focos on base ar mid-range. The JM Labs were extremely well rounded and in a very well designed cosmedicaly pleasing cabinet. They had a tremendace sound stage with very accurate depth. The imaging was incredible, at one point I closed my eyes with a nice live jazz disk and though I was at the venue. I took some time to listen to the rest of the line since they were $85,000.00 pair and was blown away withe entire line. The Electra's are there step down for $8,000 pair and they were steller. Take the time to check this one out. |
