What is the Best Sounding Stand Mount Speaker in the world?

@jeffseight  Good question. The Electa Amator 3's are a very nice speaker, certainly a lot more attainable and more modern looking. Having listened to them extensively, I think they would be a good choice IF one could not source the GH's, which is highly likely. The GH's are IMO a lot more transparent and dynamic than the EA3's, plus they seem to disappear into the soundstage better. Like i said, I have never heard a better stand mount than the GH's...and I have heard a lot of stand mounts, including the later G's, the Magico's and the Borresson, which is right up there with the GH's, albeit at a price that would most folks jaw drop! 

Does the Vivid Audio OVAL B1 Decade count as a standmount?

@eisen0169

Yamaha calls the NS-5000 a bookshelf speaker, but it has to be put on a stand so Absolute Sound classifies it as stand-mounted and the stands are included and integral to the design. It’s a shame AS did not give it its own review but included it in a review of the series, and Stereophile didn’t review it. There’s a bias in the USA against Japanese audiophile speakers although it’s true basically only Yamaha and Sony in that market and then only when they want to be. That said, name me another full-range (bass down to low 20’s) speaker with a 12" woofer, a dome midrange (hard to do) AND all three drivers made from the same high tech material and innovations inside, with Yamaha’s superb piano finish, AND at $14,995, Yamaha hasn’t even raised the price. With the Blade Runner 2049 soundtrack, the room will vibrate, but the speaker won’t. With piano music, well it’s Yamaha after all. Ask Sir Elton.

That’s a speaker I’d love to see and hear. And probably touch. 🤩

Of those mentioned here and fabulous, I’ve heard Focal Diablo recently enough to remember, it’s a nice one.

good Lord, some of you would screw up a wet dream.  he's asking for opinions on the best out there, of course its gear, room specific. state the best you have heard and stop lecturing. the wilson benesche is very nice as is the SF Guarni

Have you listened to the speakers yourself? 

BMR Philharmonitors 

Dynaudio Heritage Special 

Ascend Acoustics Sierra 2 EX

I have heard/liked:

MBL 120

SF electa amator 3

Borresen 01

Joseph Pulsars

Wilson Benesch curve

Dutch and Dutch

AudioNote Hemp

ATC

Altec A-7s

Fritz

Totem

 

Speakers that left me flat:

Magico

Wilson

Graham

 

 

 

Not heard:

GH

Vivid

Kii

Dynaudio

 

 

Price no object?  The most precious commodity is time.  So, build your own.  The materials can be exotic as you want, usually better than manufacturers use.  Thus, it is possible to build a speaker better than anything you have heard.  

I wonder about that. I don’t think the majority of people have those skills. The high dollar speakers are finely tuned and voiced. I wish it was that easy but I doubt it? 

kellyp,

 

Funny I was just thinking I would do that. 

I have a friend with a C&C machine.

Powered speakers, active XOs.

 SB Acoustics 29BE tweeter

Revelator 6.5" midwoofer.

Woofer???

Wilson Benesch builds very competent stand mounted loudspeakers.  I continue to enjoy my Vertex loudspeakers & added the W-B Torus System.  Hardly in the super east no object league, but always engaging.

Mine of course! But for reasons. Double wall sand filled cabinets on Stillpoints. Audiolund internal wiring. Powered woofer. Heil tweeter AND MIDRANGE so thin diaphrams handle sound above 800 Hz. RF blocker cladding. 

Adam Audio

Not made anymore.

Gotta bring beer to hear.

ACORA...the best go back to the "stone age".  Also the Fink Team KIM.....

I’m not going out on limb by nominating the The Borresen M1. However disclaimer.. have not actually heard them yet.. so skip to the last paragraph, but on the M1’s, I have read about the engineering and have heard other Borrensen and Raidho stand mounts so would be surprised if these aren’t at the top. I’ve also read great things about the Fleetwood DeVille, but haven’t heard them.

For what I’ve actually heard.. First consideration would be to Audio Note AN-E/SPx AlNiCo. Fritz’s stand mounts are really good for the money, as are Klaus Bunge’s Kismets, which I fondly remember. I also like the latest Vimbergs, and the latest big QLN’s. I’m not in the BBC LS3 5a or KEF LS50 camp. I’ve got an old pair of NEAR 10m’s in my bedroom which I prefer to those using the proper sources and cabling.

For all the stand mount speakers which I’ve actually heard.. which for my money, besides disappearing.. imaging, they must have weight, dynamics. I would choose (and did) the Ocean Way Audio Eurekas. The caveat being.. they’re driven by high powered high damping factor GaNFET amplification. Time alignment.. sweet, detailed, dimensional.. image like mad.. sound like big really well engineered 3-ways.

I guess many people have to consider what they have, or have had, is the best component be it speakers or any other, that's probably why they bought that component. Having listened to at least hundreds of speakers I am now truly happy with mine in my room in my system. They may not be the choice  for many other people. I was looking for a larger stand mount eventually settling on the PMC FACT 3, until I listened to them, no not for me, Dynaudio bookshelf, nice finish, sounded ordinary, I could go on and on but eventually settled on, a small floor stander by Audio Physic, probably because I was up grading an existing pair of Audio Physics. Its what suits you, no best just a lot of very good ones.

..really interested to hear the new Audio Physic speakers with their latest spider-less transducer technology. NEAR won me over long ago just because of this. Glad to see it coming back. Point source with the transparency of panels (without the back wave).

No one really knows the answer.

... that's because there is no one best sounding speaker, it's subjective and a matter of taste and system matching.

Stand Mounts act like an antenna and should be grounded.

No one has mentioned the Manger Audio c1 (or the passive z1). To my ears, they should be on the list!

MAGICO MINI 2s THE BEST.

Lawrence audio makes fantastic products. I had their mandolin speakers were were fabulous in my previous rig. Am using NSMT Jamaica 50 now but absolutely loved the mandolins. 

[please forgive my poor English]

- Stenheim Alumine Two, or Alumine Two SE
Fast, articulate. Highly revealing. Impressively realistic if the amp (preferably on the "rich-sounding" side) is very good.
- Harbeth Monitor 30.2 XD
Good clarity; amazingly natural midrange; gorgeous treble, seamlessly integrated with the mid; slightly rich upper bass (which makes this revealing ’monitor’ enjoyable to listen to). Amongst the best timbres with acoustic instruments.

@kellyp

agreed but it takes some skill, this is our Master Artist Signature Monitor on its optional matching bass module

 Wired with Kimber Kable 4tc wire. We used Mundorf binding post and Parts (Including Goertz Copper Foil 12awg inductors on the woofer, ClarityCap CSA cap and Mundorf Copper Foil 16 awg inductors on the mid, and Mundorf Supreme EVO-Oil/ClarityCap CSA combo caps on tweeter, Mundorf MREsist Supreme resistors in all critical tweeter and midrange circuits. Wrapped in porsche blue leather and has birdseye maple real wood veneer. raal 140 ribbon tweeter, accuton 7" cell mid bass and accuton 8" cell woofer

 

Honestly never heard a commercial speaker, 2-way I liked better than a Fritz.

I've found others I liked a lot like Monitor Audio Silvers and higher, but if I was going to buy a 2-way which has to stand alone, without a sub, Fritz without a doubt.

@jhw9

..really interested to hear the new Audio Physic speakers with their latest spider-less transducer technology. NEAR won me over long ago just because of this. Glad to see it coming back.

Yes, me too.

Also, their crazy snowflake/hybrid midrange. Assuming it makes its way down the range eventually (we can’t call Medeos a stand-mount :-)

I've been in this hobby for a long time (since 1979).Just remember it is a hobby not a life and death pursuit. My opinion and only my opinion is the Rogers LS3/5A. gold badge that I purchased in 1979 for $300.00 (used) but costed $400.00 new at the time.Sold them on this site in 1979 for $1,70.00.!!  I almost blew them up but Regnar in New York saved them. They are all the things the top reviewers say they are and why reviewers like Holt, Kessler, and Reichert keep them around regardless of all the new contestants they reviewed.

(R.I.P. Holt) Now the polar opposite would be the Usher BE718 DMD now discontinued but sometimes available on the used market. They are big and bold, sounding like a floor stander and easily able to fill a large room with sound. Needs a good stand like the Skylan two pillar stands filled with epoxy aquarium gravel. In my opinion everything out there are also-rans. NOTE: read the review in 6moons on the Ushers, but read it carefully about his thoughts on standpoint speakers in general. An eyeopener!

David

2nd the MBL's, phenomenal

.. 3rd on the MBL’s, which I’ve heard. Phenomenal imaging, tonal coherance/realism, albeit at a somewhat miniaturized scale. One caveat.. at the show the demonstrators treated the room quite extensively.

JEFFSEIGHT,

Are you now glad you asked that question ???

"In the land of the blind, The one eyed man is king"

aplogies if i have missed the jist,

is this thread a promo for a specific company/model?

 

 

 

The Wilson-Benesch Endeavors are sublime. Why you might ask. Well they combine rich midrange, excellent tonality, ie voices sound exactly like they should, the bass is very accurate without being heavy and over compensating. Many stand mounts in an effort to sound impressive force the mid drive to perform like a bass unit. 

 

Klinger Favre D56

Meyer Sound Bluehorn

Borresen

Those MB Endeavors look delicious as well.

Oops - *W-B Endeavors 😏

I would also like to hear some Viking Acoustics standmounts (Berlin Evo), Trenner Friedl Ra, and the Wilson Tune Tots are nice, though these may not be current SOTA. Much depends on amps and cable, room, and preferences, of course.

 

Borressen 01

@orfeo_monteverdi +1 on the Stenheim Alumine 2 standmount. Wonderful speaker with purity, speed and naturalness. Easy to set up, drive and unusually sensitive for a standmount as well.

I also see Wilson Benesch shout outs here. I've enjoyed their stand mount as well, though not in my own system.

All new QLN Signature Monitors at $18K a pair 

 Part Time Audiophile will be reviewing these speakers soon

 

Here's the review on QLN Signature Monitors

 https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2022/10/30/qln-signature-monitors-review/

Love my Sonner Legato Unum.

 

The all new Avid EVO 4 Monitors ?

All new Jern 35 Monitors are out now !

Harbeth P3ESR

Not Uber high end but everyone that owns them covets them, including me. 

"Price no object?  The most precious commodity is time.  So, build your own.  The materials can be exotic as you want, usually better than manufacturers use.  Thus, it is possible to build a speaker better than anything you have heard."

I bought some Closer Acoustic Ogy speakers. They're far from the most expensive at around 1500€~2000€ (depending on finish). The build is as good as it gets really:

- hand-built fullrange driver from a small mom & pop company (EMS)

- Laser-cut plywood sandwich transmission line enclosure. Somebody designed that and it's intricate AF. There are only curves in the transmission line, no edges. It shows that a lot of time was spent on the build.  

- Corian finish with a smiley face port in front

- It's the size of a cereal box. 

Does it sound the best? Probably not. But I enjoy them immensely. I love the minimalist and counter-intuitive concept. I mean we'll probably see more active speakers with mutliple amplifiers for each driver and active DSPs/crossovers. These speakers will get the highest regards from the "I listen to speakers with my eyes looking at a chart" community. And I have nothing against that, because the end-result is rather enjoyable regardless. 

 

Are the new CREDO AUDIO EV-350 MK2 REFERENCE the best on the planet period ?! $$$7K

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZLL1aCu07Y

  

WOW look at the crossover parts that Credo Audio use 😃 🤩

https://www.facebook.com/credoaudio/

www.stereophile.com/content/credo-audio-audio-shield-emm-van-den-hul-vpi-wolf

I own the Dynaudio Heritage Specials.  I am not claiming that these are the best but they are extremely transparent and enjoyable to listen to.  With the supporting cast I have they sure sound fabulous in my room.

Hanima is the best