What Are the Best Sounding Speakers You've Ever Heard.?

[sphinxsix]

First of all the subject of this thread isn't my idea. I borrowed it from another forum But I love it!

 

I'm a big fan of audio and maybe even bigger fan of speakers which IMO are the most important component of any audio system. I know this statement is debatable for some but for me speakers plus speakers-room interaction (room acoustics, matching speakers' bass performance with the room size etc) taken together are responsible in 85% for any audio system's sound. BTW I'm not an extremist here, a well known in my country ex-audio journalist and audio gear distributor claims for him it's 95%..

 

This absolutely doesn't mean that I don't care about DAC's, amp's, cables', power conditioner's etc. quality - I do 'cause obviously they all influence sound quality.

 

Yet, for me these are loudspeakers which are the 'royal' component of any audio system!

 

What are the best sounding speakers you've ever heard.? What sound qualities made you love them so much? What were the other components of the system? And least but not last what music was played by them?

 

Let's have fun!

[sphinxsix]

@ esldude

Never seen (heard) a cubic (all the same dimensions) room but my experience tells me that its sound must be horrifying (strong standing waves at room resonance frequency). At least some irregularities of the room's shape are very desirable.

I'm lucky enough to have the best acoustics room I ever had. The already good sound of my system improved beyond belief after moving to a new loft apartment 2,5 years ago. It's almost 40 sq.m, it's connected with a big kitchen via oversized door and with a hall. In addition the roof is diagonal (wooden panels) reaching 4m (BTW if you want you can see it in one of my photo albums on my profile). The building material are old bricks from the 50s and the floor is a thick wood. This room 'sounds' just great!

 

As for $260 speakers sounding better than Maxx III.. I absolutely believe you. Among the worst sounding systems I've heard quite a few were a multi $$$ ones! The usual reason for that was a room or a very unlucky (meaning in fact unskillful) choice of components which simply shouldn't be connected to each other (even each being good sonically in its own right). Quite often in such cases it is possible to create a better sounding system 10 or more times cheaper!

[sphinxsix]

I'm very glad some people have mentioned the Quad ESL63s - probably one of the most important louspeakers in audio history.

 

@ The Computer Audiophile I'm not that happy about your comment ;-) you voted for the Magico Q7 mk II which are probably the best speakers I have

heard yet.!

[sphinxsix]

The best speakers I have heard thus far were the Magico S7's but my wallet only allows me to settle on the S3. O'Well, maybe in the next life

But you are aware that they quite probably will be discontinued by then aren't you..

[sphinxsix]

I used to own a pair of Wilson Watt/Puppies and they were the best speakers I've ever heard, driven with a Jardis valve amp. But then they and the Jardis featured in a divorce settlement and I've "made do" with Focal JM Labs ever since (they share the same inverted dome tweeter).

 

If I can ever find the spare cash in the future, I'm going back to Wilson

 

Nikko.

You meant Jadis amp, I believe. The makers of great amps and these amazing horn speakers (if Salvador Dali were an audiophile he'd surely choose these):

 

Jadis Eurythmie

 

 

 

As for the inverted dome tweeter - I know it very well, in fact I listen to it everyday. It's Focal TC120 TDX Tioxid tweeter used by Wilson and JMLab in their top models. Also used by Manfred Zoller (maker of my speakers) in his top models. A fantastic tweeter if applied correctly! Lots of detail and very high sensitivity - a good match for a good tube amp although a good (smooth!) solid state one will also do well.

 

TC120 TDX

 

 

 

Earlier I used twice JMLab speakers with TC90 TDX which isn't bad either (slightly smaller magnet in comparison with the 120 model). One of them was Point Source (PS) 5.1 which IMO was one of the greatest bargains in audio history!

 

JMLab PS 5.1

 

[sphinxsix]

@ Priaptor

 

A great story of a personal audio journey. Thanks for sharing it! I smiled a couple of times while reading it cause I used to be an audio dealer myself in the 1990s/2000s. And a distributor of a certain British brand for a brief period of time too. I personally think of it as of my professional adventure of a lifetime (if someone has an interesting audio job to offer just about anywhere in the world I will be seriously tempted to consider it - just send me a private message ).

 

I regret I never had a chance to listen to Nola speakers - they are sold in only a handful of European countries and while I was living in the States I wasn't an audiophile yet. I listened to Technics which I lost due to a break-in after coming back to Europe. This was in fact the moment I discovered audiophile gear so I definitely should be thankful to the thieves!

 

I'm very interested in the custom built and the present rooms of yours. Could you give some more details on that subject.? BTW maybe room acoustics is a good idea for another thread on CA..

[sphinxsix]

I suggest to Chris Connaker that he open a separate subforum called "System Showcase" where members can talk about their systems and show pictures. He thanked me for my suggestion, but I don't think he is going to do it.

I'm interested in everything that influences sound of the system. Including room acoustics. But you don't have to be obviously!

[sphinxsix]

As for McIntosh MA8000 - its looks are as classy as the amp itself ..but how much cheaper could it be without the prehistoric equalizer (and its 8 knobs).?

[sphinxsix]

Who cares?

I do. Just like most people who don't like to spend their money on stuff they won't use. How about a device with digital tone controls (no knobs ).?

 

 

 

With this one the process of aging may be even more graceful - they upgrade it via new software versions downloads..

[sphinxsix]

 

I would need to hear them all in the same room/system to pick a favorite..

Such an attitude makes a deep sense!

 

It's interesting to see that we have different needs and expectations depending on which side of the Atlantic we live.

I agree that (on average) bigger American rooms demand more low end while the Europeans don't need it so badly. The overall systems dynamics is I believe also more important for Americans than for some other nations. I would describe my personal sound preferences as quite 'American' on one hand - I love huge dynamics and low end being really low (now that my room allows it), a bit 'French' on the other - I like 'finesse', detail and bass speed and precision is for me more important than its groundshaking power and in addition I expect the sound to be smoooth as silk and timbrally 'true' (ok, let's say believable..) which I believe can be called quite 'British' attitude.. Of course I simplify things a little bit but my purpose is to show that IMO the 'regional' audio characteristics are not caused by the room sizes alone but by some national qualities - I mean if you look at the English, French, German or Americans and qualities traditionally attributed to these nations and think about the 'traditional' characteristics of audio gear coming from these countries you can quite often (but not all audio brands confirm it obviously) find interesting parallels.! Simplifying things slightly again - our audio gear mirrors ourselves! I believe - on a personal level too..

[sphinxsix]

On THE personal level would be proper English, I think but no more editing..

 

If in your opinion I have gone too far (after one beer too much:)) - let me know but I believe the sentence 'Show me your gear and I will tell you who you are' is true in a way. And this thread and the diversity of opinions (frankly quite unexpected for me) on its subject proves it.

[sphinxsix]

The Zu Druid Mk 5s I have now...

Yet another person owning his 'dream' speakers Nice..

[sphinxsix]

Great thread, but worthless, each speaker in each room will be: a. the best, b. ok, c. suck.

 

I would be willing to state that a 500$ speaker in room A could sound better than a 5000$ speaker. Then move to room B, and, hey presto, you would get the opposite result.

But will a good $500 speaker in a right room sound better than a good $5000 one in a right room (I mean rooms just right for each speaker).?

 

I'm not mentioning the fact that it is usually quite easy to find a $5000 speakers that will sound better than a $500 ones in the same room.

 

 

BTW it's my 500th post. A coincidence.?

[sphinxsix]

I'm not a fan of horn speakers but in my personal ranking many of them are among the best looking loudspeakers. These ones look impressive too!

 

BTW I've heard about a Japanese audiophile whose listening room ceiling was horn shaped and served as a subwoofer for a SET system. Would like to hear it if the story was true!

[sphinxsix]

@semente

 

Sorry for derailling the thread for a moment but somehow I find audio extremes attractive..

 

 

 

[sphinxsix]

On 11/30/2016 at 7:27 AM, Carzee45 said:

Martin Logan CLX metal framed.Astonishingly transparent.

 

 

Haven't heard the CLX Art but similarly priced ($25k) ML Renaissance ESL 15A (dynamic bass drivers) were IMO the best sounding speakers in a small local audio show in the Netherlands I attended recently (but not the best ones I've ever heard ).

BTW as for more budget friendly speakers, Monitor Audio transducers showed lots of class in two rooms (connected to Yamaha and Roksan/Transrotor gear). 

[sphinxsix]

9 hours ago, gmgraves said:

Then your idea of accurate and mine are totally different. I don’t know anything about you, but I hear a lot of live, acoustic music played in real space (not in a studio) and when I compare live classical music and acoustic jazz with Martin Logan electrostatic speakers, I hear a connection with that live music that tells me that while no speaker is totally accurate, Martin Logan ESLs are closer than most.

OTOH heavy metal isn't their favorite genre.. 

[sphinxsix]

1 hour ago, firedog said:

Infinity IRS

 

Frankly, I think that in case of speakers that tall one should either have a really high ceiling or take care of its reflective qualities..