The Best Speakers you've ever heard

[walter duque]

I haven't auditioned to many center speakers, but this line source was very impressive.

 

[ppontiac]

Klipschorns, 1983 models, with one Cerwin-Vega! JE-36C “Junior Earthquake” 18" folded horn subwoofer. The beauty about this system is that 200 watts is all you'll ever need for the sub but will take much more. High quality amps only.

 

[greggp2]

In terms of bookshelf speakers, I have to say that the best I've heard are the Sonus Faber Cremona Auditors. I have a pair hooked up in my house right now and I simply can't believe the sound stage these things create. They put out a larger, clearer and center focused sound stage that bests my B&W 802 Nautilus speakers. Matched with a good musical sub, these Sonus Fabers are great speakers....

 

[murthyvs]

Bose, when they are turned off.

hahhahahah .... very nice ...

 

[murthyvs]

What's the best set of speakers that you ever heard...regardless of price! If you want, you can break it down by:
The best bookshelves
The best towers
The best center
The best surround/rear
ETC...

or

you can just say the overall best speaker you have heard

I personally own Aperion towers (6T), center (6C) and surrounds (5DB) and they sound great to me in that price range. However, I like ESL speakers and Martin Logan's Vantage are my favorites if money is no constraint. There is something magical in electrostatic speakers.

 

[Patrukas777]

Some of these speakers are very interesting... I definitely want to check some of these out.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Magnepan MG 20.1's One of my absolute favorites of all time.

Quad ESL's not sure what model# they were though.

Bookshelf is hard. The Paradigm Mini Monitors come to mind as one of the best I have heard regardless of price. But I have heard some JM labs and Dynaudio's that were amazing too.

Honorable mention are the Maggies MMG's. In fact I am going to get a pair for a dedicated two channel setup when we buy a house. Paired with a good sub it does not get much better to my ears.

 

[Patrukas777]

1. WmAx's omni polar rig
2. B&W 804 (very distant second at that)

I would love to hear Wmax's speakers. I ordered the SVS M-series, and I'm interested in seeing if Wmax could modify them. I really like the M-series tweeter. I wonder what the MTS would sound with a Wmax Mod.

 

[silversurfer011]

Cerious Technology Reference speakers can't be beat

A friend of mine owns a pair of very unique Cerious Technology Reference speakers and subwoofers that are hooked up to a pair of nice Meitner monoblocks with CTR cables (also quite unique). I've listened to them quite a bit recently and I still can't get over how accurate they sound. The recordings I've listened to sound as good as and quite possibly better than they would in a live take at the studio. Yeah, the best I've ever heard and I've heard Wilsons, Maggies, B&W, and few other "best" speakers. I think they are special order only and cost a lot of bank. At least that is what I've been told.

 

[njedpx3]

In terms of bookshelf speakers, I have to say that the best I've heard are the Sonus Faber Cremona Auditors. I have a pair hooked up in my house right now and I simply can't believe the sound stage these things create. They put out a larger, clearer and center focused sound stage that bests my B&W 802 Nautilus speakers. Matched with a good musical sub, these Sonus Fabers are great speakers....

I was curious so I looked these up and read the reviews .. AWESOME speakers ..but I guess they should be at $3,995 MSRP /pair.

I still might have some tweeking to at the cabin .. I need small speakers ..but these are way out of my price range

Peace and Good Sound,

Forest Man

 

[FirstReflection]

So much has to do with the room, the setup, the listening position. Just saying that "such-and-such-a-speaker" is the best I've ever heard really doesn't convey the full context within which the speakers were heard.

That said, certain listening experiences really stand out.

For me, hearing a 5.1 Focal Professional Solo6Be/Twin6Be in a professional recording studio still stands out as an experience that I will never forget. The level of detail and resolution in the sound was something that I haven't experienced before or since. It was truly on the level of excellent headphones, but with the full soundstage and presence that headphones really cannot replicate.

Other favorites of mine have been Paradigm's Signature series, RBH SE/R speakers, Magnepan and some of Lynn's upper-range speakers.

 

[woofersus]

Tough to pick favorites, but I'll try:

Favorite Monitors:
1. Focal SM11 L-R (big freaking monitor I know, but still not for putting on the floor, soo...)
2. Usher BE-718

Favorite Floorstanders:
1. Acoustic Zen Crescendo
2 AV123/GR-Research LS9

In reality there are a bunch of speakers just below these so bunched up it's hard to say, but these are the speakers that impressed me most so far, regardless of pricing.

 

[Patrukas777]

So much has to do with the room, the setup, the listening position. Just saying that "such-and-such-a-speaker" is the best I've ever heard really doesn't convey the full context within which the speakers were heard.

Of course it has to with the above mentioned...Most people who have heard some really expensive speakers heard them in a room that was treated...and that definitely makes for better sound. If you want....we could also ask in what environment was best speaker located its all for fun bro, and its interesting to see some of the speakers that people mentioned. Some of which Ive never heard. Just like the 5.1 Focal Professional Solo6Be/Twin6Be...makes me want to get out there and hear them.

 

[cujobob]

I haven't been in a lot of treated rooms with the more expensive speakers out there...my favorites thus far have been the pair of Gedlee Abbeys that I currently own (not truly a bookshelf speaker, but not a floorstander either). The Salk HT4 prototypes at AKfest were quite good, though not perfect. Since that time, they've changed midrange drivers from the FAL to an Accuton.

Many/most high-end speakers (and super high end speakers especially) require giant rooms or often-times gobs of power. That is bad engineering IMHO...we don't all have that. At shows, the rooms are not treated very often, so what you hear is really not impressive for the most part.

For bookshelf speakers, I've not heard everything out there...but I haven't heard a small bookshelf better than the GR-Research N2X just yet. Perhaps one day I'll get a chance to hear one with that RAAL tweet...

 

[woofersus]

I haven't been in a lot of treated rooms with the more expensive speakers out there...my favorites thus far have been the pair of Gedlee Abbeys that I currently own (not truly a bookshelf speaker, but not a floorstander either). The Salk HT4 prototypes at AKfest were quite good, though not perfect. Since that time, they've changed midrange drivers from the FAL to an Accuton.

Many/most high-end speakers (and super high end speakers especially) require giant rooms or often-times gobs of power. That is bad engineering IMHO...we don't all have that. At shows, the rooms are not treated very often, so what you hear is really not impressive for the most part.

For bookshelf speakers, I've not heard everything out there...but I haven't heard a small bookshelf better than the GR-Research N2X just yet. Perhaps one day I'll get a chance to hear one with that RAAL tweet...

The GR-Research N2X is definitely great sounding. It would probably be 3rd on my list above, and it's several times cheaper than the others above it. (not even in the same ballpark as the Focal, price-wise)

I wasn't a fan of the Salk HT4 when I heard it at RMAF last year, but I'm not sure how much to blame on the room. Some rooms were obviously causing certain problems, and other times it was a little tough to tell. If found the mids a bit uneven (especially at the crossover to the tweeter) and the bass to be bloated and boomy, with a significant dip in the upper midbass region leaving male vocals without any weight. Were any of these issues present at AKfest? Maybe it was just that bad a room at RMAF.

Speaking of high end audio shows, aside from the rooms not being well treated (most amusing are the rooms with expensive, esoteric acoustic treatments that look like some sort of spacecraft and the room is obviously still very bad) some of the designs are just not very good. It seems some designers will cram as many expensive drivers and components into their speakers as they can, but they aren't well integrated or just plain ignore physics. I was sorely disappointed the first time I went to RMAF, as even my novice understanding of design and acoustics made it obvious what some of the design mistakes were.

 

[tesseract]

I have found that speakers should be matched to the rest of the system and the room. It doesn't take a lot of dough to do this, but you have to consider ancillaries.

Best I have ever heard? That is tough really, because I have heard so many that I enjoy in different ways. Might as well ask my who my favorite female is.

Aerial Acoustics 20T for accuracy.
Magnepan 3.6 w/ Velodyne 18" for fun.

 

[mtrycrafts]

... They were like butter....

Cold or hot butter?

 

[cujobob]

The GR-Research N2X is definitely great sounding. It would probably be 3rd on my list above, and it's several times cheaper than the others above it. (not even in the same ballpark as the Focal, price-wise)

I wasn't a fan of the Salk HT4 when I heard it at RMAF last year, but I'm not sure how much to blame on the room. Some rooms were obviously causing certain problems, and other times it was a little tough to tell. If found the mids a bit uneven (especially at the crossover to the tweeter) and the bass to be bloated and boomy, with a significant dip in the upper midbass region leaving male vocals without any weight. Were any of these issues present at AKfest? Maybe it was just that bad a room at RMAF.

Speaking of high end audio shows, aside from the rooms not being well treated (most amusing are the rooms with expensive, esoteric acoustic treatments that look like some sort of spacecraft and the room is obviously still very bad) some of the designs are just not very good. It seems some designers will cram as many expensive drivers and components into their speakers as they can, but they aren't well integrated or just plain ignore physics. I was sorely disappointed the first time I went to RMAF, as even my novice understanding of design and acoustics made it obvious what some of the design mistakes were.

Yeah I haven't heard a lot of expensive bookshelves, never seem to run into them. I'd agree with the poor engineering...and many companies rely on looks or marketing gimmicks to sell speakers instead of just being a good design that is made to look good. Very few true, cost-no-object speakers with sound quality being the most important factor. Many of them that exist take pretty poor angles IMHO, too.

 

[j_garcia]

I am still waiting to get my hands on the demo pair of N2Xs that are supposed to be making their rounds on the west coast. Always been a fan of Danny's speakers.

The best I've heard so far I'd say are the Aerial 20Ts. Very nice.

 

[Shock]

How would I go about filling in Bose wave radio for them all?