Which speakers to be ''in'' the music?

Thanks everybody for all the the thoughtful responses! You definetly gave me a lot of options to audition and I can’t wait to discover all of those speakers.
And I want to reassure everyone that I know that speakers is just one of many aspects needed to make a coherent and musical system, but I know different speaker brands have different philosophy so I just want to make a foundation that goes in the right direction for me. I am moving in a new house in which I will be fortunate enough to treat a room dedicated for listening sessions. I know the next steps will be to find the right cables, amplification, dac, pre-amp and such!

It is a journey and I really like it so far, you guys are the best community, really helpful and kind. Thanks again!

Hi m-db!

I found the Vandersteen very different from the previous speakers I owned.

Monitor Audio rx6 were my first pair of speakers, as a newcomer I found their midrange intoxicating, beautifully voiced, they were very sweet and I still enjoy them in my kitchen listening to it while I cook. But their presentation quickly felt limited for me: I didn’t find them articulated, they didn’t breath that much, I’m a musician and I found the trumpets and sax were never realistically sounding, it’s like someone was putting make up on the sound, too glossy! And the mid bass and bass were poor...

So I updated them for a pair of paradigm studio60, they conveyed much more power, energy and dynamics, but I found them low in resolution, not transparent and while the mid bass and bass were way better than the Monitor Audio, the midrange was as never great.

Than I had the opportunity to test the Triangle Antal. They were a step up from the previous two speakers I owned as they had a more coherent presentation and suprisingly good bass, but I didn’t find them transparent enough, I always found something was lost in the music they made and I found it fatiguing to my ear.

To finally answer your question, I find the Vandersteen presentation different from all those speakers and quite unique. I do find the highs to be sizzling especially in some classical or electronic music with really bright sounds are harsh to listen too (if you have a suggestion to fix that problem please tell me!), but the way they present the music is so right. The sound is detailed, I love the timbre so much , saxophones and trumpets sound right, voices feel alive. Non fatiguing and really musical. The bass is precise and balanced. When I listen music on the Vandersteen I always feel connected to the music. One of my musician friend owns the top of the line Adam s5H monitors which cost many time more the Vandersteen and while they are very precise, I always wish I was listening to my system, they just don’t feel alive like the Vandersteen, they don’t reproduce the music they way the Steen does...

The only thing I whish they did better is their spatiality: I always feel like I am listening to a concert from the 15th row, but I want to be in the second row, I want to close my eyes and be in the middle of the music, I don’t want it to be just in front of me. So I guess I want a more 3d sound, more depth, more verticality, without losing the musicality of the Vandersteen of course.


I’m curious, what is your dedicated stereo system?


PS: I do commercial works and had the opportunity to shoot in a couple vineyards in Mariposa, they had some beautiful Cab Franc, cheers!

I am using an Hegel H190 for the time being, will give tube amplifiers a try!