The TAD-M1
unique looks paired with a strong attempt at sonic accuracy.
unique looks paired with a strong attempt at sonic accuracy.
What speaker do you passionately want to demo?
Beyond the slight curiosity of what speaker you'd "like" to demo (example: every Klipsch horn speaker), what speaker(s) would you "passionately" love to demo? A brief explanation of "why" you like these speakers would be beneficial.
I'll start:
MBL 101 X-treme - almost a decade and reviewers still say it's amongst the best they'd ever heard. Probably should be matched to the MBL Electronics
Living Voice Vox Olympian Horn - it's wood (maybe sounds more warm/organic), it's a horn, and it consistently gets good reviews at the Munich High End audio shows.
Muraudio SP1 - Electrostatic + cone hybrid speaker that received many rave reviews. It's not an easy task successfully marrying the fast electrostatic to the slower cone to sound seamless. This speaker was on my short list to purchase.
Voxativ AC-XP field coil driver - both Voxative and Pure Audio Project speaker offer the Voxativ AC-XP field coil driver as an optional upgrade, but it's an additional ~$7k (yow). The reviews leads me to believe that this field core driver is sonically "significantly" superior above other choices.
Mike Lavigne's Evolution Acoustics MM7 in his dedicated sound room. The sonics of demoing speakers at storefronts or audio shows can be problematic depending on the audio chain and the room setup. MikeL has a matured optimized setup that is sonically recognized as excellent by other serious audiophiles.
I'll start:
MBL 101 X-treme - almost a decade and reviewers still say it's amongst the best they'd ever heard. Probably should be matched to the MBL Electronics
Living Voice Vox Olympian Horn - it's wood (maybe sounds more warm/organic), it's a horn, and it consistently gets good reviews at the Munich High End audio shows.
Muraudio SP1 - Electrostatic + cone hybrid speaker that received many rave reviews. It's not an easy task successfully marrying the fast electrostatic to the slower cone to sound seamless. This speaker was on my short list to purchase.
Voxativ AC-XP field coil driver - both Voxative and Pure Audio Project speaker offer the Voxativ AC-XP field coil driver as an optional upgrade, but it's an additional ~$7k (yow). The reviews leads me to believe that this field core driver is sonically "significantly" superior above other choices.
Mike Lavigne's Evolution Acoustics MM7 in his dedicated sound room. The sonics of demoing speakers at storefronts or audio shows can be problematic depending on the audio chain and the room setup. MikeL has a matured optimized setup that is sonically recognized as excellent by other serious audiophiles.
132 responses Add your response
I’m going to keep mine to what I’m likely going to upgrade to and not go into dreamland as I have a wife. My current speakers are Aerial Acoustics 7B’s and I lust to hear a pair of 7T’s. Probably have to buy them from that dealer who loves them but loves to mention they unfortunately make the cabinets in China. Michael Kelly should do what JBL did with the L100 and bring back a special, revamped version of the 10T but keep the cabinet appearance the same. Also maybe make them a little easier to drive would be nice too. |
I wasn't bashing magico or the A5. When I read stereophile writers i try to read between the lines as their listening impressions more and more stray from what measurements suggest they should be hearing. I'm NOT an asr guy, and usually trust my own ears first, but the more measurements deviate from listening impressions the more I remind myself these reviewers are writers by trade. My reservation with the magico a5 is how early the treble rolls off and my aging ears might not make a great combo. I just bought the Kef Blades so probably game over for me. |
I see what you mean. In the JA measurements they roll off after 5khz. https://www.stereophile.com/content/magico-a5-loudspeaker-measurements I'd love to hear your blades. Cingratulations. I just looked at the MUON price, $224,999. Wow. |
Kennyc - I heard the Pure Audio Project speakers with the Voxativ AC-XP field coil driver at the NY Audio Show a few years back and was mightily impressed. Subsequent auditions of other Pure Audio Project speakers without the field coil drivers were not as satisfying, although granted those were at different shows with different ancillary equipment. Based on my admittedly limited listening experience I would heartily agree with your assumption that those are sonically significantly superior, albeit at an also significant price increase. |
…..with the Voxativ AC-XP field coil driver …mightily impressed…are sonically significantly superiorNow you really have me curious for a listen The A5 are incredible loudspeakers and, at their price point, the best I have auditioned.The $25k Magico A5 I consider a bargain - sonic performance surpasses Magico $30k S3 and competes with Magico $42k S5. It’s my next purchase when funds allow hopefully within the next few months. I heard the Magico A3, S3, S5, M3, M6 (at Magico’s showroom) so am buying the A5 without hearing first because I’m assuming it’s voiced similar- hope this is not a dumb idea. When I started speaker shopping, I tried to listen to the best I could find at stores and shows, then try to duplicate the sound as cheaply as possible while maintaining sonic quality. Although many speakers like Wilson, Kef, Viva, etc sounded great, only Magico and YG consistently resonated with me emotionally. Speaker design encompasses compromises- no speaker is perfect- it’s a facsimile of reality. I’m of the opinion that most speaker bashing is due to a subjective preference rather than any gross deficiencies in the speaker design which would likely make them unsellable. |
I really want to hear ProAc K6's but I think there might be only one shop in the country that has them. Next week I'm going to the local shop to hear Magico A5's and Rockport Atria II. And I should have a demo pair of Kudos 808's arriving before too long for an in-home audition. I have a Naim 500-level system, currently with A3's. |
My list would consist of speakers that could be attainable in the next 5 years or so. Focal-Scala Evo Franco Serbin-Ktema JBL-K2 S9900 Leonardo-8 Magico-M2 Rockport-Avior 2 The JBL and Leonardo are out of the box(pun intended) choices. The K2 is such a polarizing speaker it would be out of curiosity to demo it. Could the Leonardo be the best Planar speaker with bass and dynamics equal to a competitive box speaker? IMO the Ktema, Scala, M2 and Avior 2 could be the sweet spot in there product line. |
Top of the line: - Von Schweikert - Rockport - Magico - Martin Logan - Raidho - Nola - YG Acoustics - Evolution Acoustics Already listened to the Wilson Chronosonic XVX at Innovative Audio. Effortless. Everything was reproduced so easily / cleanly - the total absence of strain. Scaled like nothing I've ever heard! I'd like to get a pair of Alexia II's - college tuitions, not my wife - is the challenge at this moment. |
About 10 posts up I mentioned how I would love to hear and almost certainly by a set of KEF Reference 201/2 speakers but I've given up on ever finding a set. Now I see that less than 2 months ago a pair that looked like new in Cherry finish including stands sold online for $2,000. I would have pounced on them had I known |
I’ve been to many audio shows over the last few years. One stand out for me was the Nola reference line. In particular the Nola Metro Reference Gold. It was cheap, just the one I liked the best. Years past I listened to all kind of speakers, my ear came back to the Nolas. I had a chance to heat Nolas latest Metro Gold3. The opportunity was right I bought them. I couldn’t be happier. Im still amazed every night when they play. Cheap? No, he’ll I’ve worked 2-3 jobs my whole life. My present to my self. Earlier on the Thread someone brought up Living Voice speakers. I heard them years ago IBX-RW3 I was impressed. Someday I’ll pick up a pair of them. |
I'd had the Janszen Valentina P8s on my list for a long time and this spring David shipped me a pair to demo. A few days later I sent him a check for the full price and kept them. Amazing speakers for their size, don't need to be out in the middle of the room, but can work well within a foot of the front wall, and their stereo imaging and quality of sound is far better than anything I'd ever owned or heard including Thiels, Marting Logans, Bowers and Wilkins, and many others. A fantastic speaker, worth a listen. |
Add Viva Audio Master Horn System to my list- seems like one the best complete coherent horn systems: https://www.monoandstereo.com/2015/10/viva-audio-master-horn-system-review.html?m=1 |