Best sounding speakers you have ever listen to..

[DS-21]

I don't know if the following speakers are the "best" I've ever heard, but they fundamentally changed the way I thought about speakers. They were DIY units with a BMS 4590 dual concentric compression driver loaded in a 90x40 horn that was huge (I think over 20" wide) over a 15" woofer from Beyma. Active DSP crossovers (don't remember what, but this was the fin de siecle so we're talking fairly primitive stuff), probably expensive amps but who cares. Overpriced CD player (Burmeister, I think). I have no space in my brain for irrelevancies, so I don't know what brand the wires were. They combined the best I'd heard from really great conventional speakers (e.g. NHT 3.3, KEF Reference Model Four) with the dynamics one gets from real music.

I had always thought that horns were bad-sounding until then. I hadn't liked the few (Klipsch, C-V, DCM) that I had heard, at all. Those were the speakers that made me realize the value of controlled directivity and high efficiency.

Best commercial setup at any price from a hi-fi dealer: Tannoy D700's, driven b who cares what, it's the speakers and the room that determine the sound.

Best value for money speakers that I've heard: JBL LSR6332 midfield monitors.

Biggest surprise (positive): the imaging from KEF's little KHT3005SE eggs, that the plasma-ion tweeter in the Acapella Violon 2000 is not hype but pure glory.

Biggest surprises (negative): the bass from the Acapella Violon 2000 (because the rest of the speaker was sooo good), the way in which Wilson speakers consistently mangle music.

Speakers I haven't heard but would like to:
-Keele/Audio Artistry/PE CBT36,
-McIntosh XRT-2k (even though I don't generally like line arrays, I'd love to hear what can be done with 12 of the best 12" woofers in the world - Aura NS12-794-4a - 128 of the best 2" drivers in the world - Aura Whisper - and two lines of tweeters. And really, when you consider that they have over $6500 in woofers alone, the price isn't too unreasonable)

 

[Impelled]

These are the best I have heard, I built a surround set from this guy.
IPL S5TL GOLD TRANSMISSION LINE

8 Ohm
200W, 91dB
22 to 30KHz, +/- 1dB 250 to 20KHz
About £800 !

They are stunning with a Minimax Tube DAC Plus (tube removed for huge detail increase) and Onkyo 875 amp Bi-amped.
(will be getting an Emotiva XPA-2 soon and some home made silver interconnects )
The sound is truly 3D, you can pinpoint anything, they are so sweet and clear.
Its not like the singer is in your room, its like you're in the singers room!
Bass is gorgeous.

Some user reviews from the site

After spending a great deal of time building and finishing the cabs the S5tls were tried out today for the first time with the Glow-Master using the Vandamme cable (bi-wired). My first impressions are that they to me at least are easily as good as the B&W 805s (£10k) if not better.. The bass is firm and expansive- without being overblown. (The Glow-Master controls them tightly). Midrange as ever is superb, and the ribbon tweeter produces effortless high notes, for me the complete package and for me the ultimate amp/speaker combination.. Female voices are projected with unbelievable clarity and naturalness. As they bed down- I expect them to improve further- but my expectations have already been more than met, and almost certainly exceeded. Another stunning speaker- in my opinion virtually without competition in the 5k-10k price bracket. I hope to compare them to the Revolver Cygnis soon- but I think I know which pair I will put my money on!


The superb S5tl speakers I have just completed are indeed something out of the ordinary. .The level of transparency, imaging, and depth is quite extraordinary. The flexibility and simplicity of tuning the frequency response and damping for any particular room condition is a breath of fresh air for any enthusiast of pure sound. Being a Video Installation engineer by trade, I get the opportunity to see many audio set-ups on my travels and this speaker is in my opinion, up there with the very best and very expensive. After the SW2 and now the S5tls I am now saving for one of your centre speakers. I could recommend your kits to anyone who likes to get "hands on" and craves an absolute bargain

I havent put the veneer on yet, I cant bear to take them out of service


Forgot to say:
In the first review, the guy must mean the 800D (over £10K) speaker not the 850s (less than £3K).
He later draws a comparison with the Revolver Cygnis (over £10K).

The site has a mistake.
These S5TL speakers come with a flat MDF spiked base, they're not sand filled.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

He is a wholesaler to installers. Mostly inwalls. I only listened to them in my cousins house and even at 75% off retail I wouldn't waste my time with them. Maybe they are installed them wrong, they just don't sound good at all to me.

Walter, you are just brand loyal like me. Plain and simple.

It doesn't matter if you don't even own a single speaker of that brand. You are brand loyal.

So is GranteedEV. He is brand loyal. He only likes one brand. He never recommends any other brand of speakers to anyone.

DenPureSound is also brand loyal. He only likes Salk, Ascend, & Aperion.

 

[LAB3]

Walter, you are just brand loyal like me. Plain and simple.

It doesn't matter if you don't even own a single speaker of that brand. You are brand loyal.

So is GranteedEV. He is brand loyal. He only likes one brand. He never recommends any other brand of speakers to anyone.

I think most everyone has a brand they tend to like more then others....
I like the Klipsch Heritage Series... Klipschorns, Cornwalls, LaScala or the Belle. They do not require huge powerfull amps to drive them. It's the same thing on the auto forums, Chevy VS Ford etc. Or my motorcycle forums, Kawasaki ZX-14R VS Suzuki Hayabusa etc. Everyone "Thinks" they have purchased the "Best" product and spent their hard earned money wisely for "The Best One" let the debate continue.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

We do recommend to others what we have personally heard and liked.

We do so because we truly feel they sound good to us, not because we are just brand loyal, right?

We are not lying and saying they sound good when they actually sound bad.

IOW if you bought another pair of Klipsch and they disappointed you, you would not recommend them.

 

[Nuance AH]

We do recommend to others what we have personally heard and liked.

We do so because we truly feel they sound good to us, not because we are just brand loyal, right?

We are not lying and saying they sound good when they actually sound bad.

IOW if you bought another pair of Klipsch and they disappointed you, you would not recommend them.

I think this says it best. Well state, ADTG. Everyone knows I am a Salk fan, and if you don't...well, now you do. That doesn't mean I won't become a fan of something else if I find a manufacturer that offers a better product for the money, though. But it also doesn't mean I'll no longer be a Salk fan. We recommend what we truly like; it's simple really. If the manufacturers we truly like continue to put out amazing products it's hard not to stay a fan, even if we find something that's a little better. History is hard to ignore.

 

[MidnightSensi2]

Bag End PM6.

Holy imaging batman. Not enough headroom for home theater in a big room though (although they do go damn loud). But these are the 'best sounding' I've heard.

 

[LAB3]

We do recommend to others what we have personally heard and liked.

We do so because we truly feel they sound good to us, not because we are just brand loyal, right?

We are not lying and saying they sound good when they actually sound bad.

IOW if you bought another pair of Klipsch and they disappointed you, you would not recommend them.

Good point. There are some of the newer Klipsch speakers that need a Eq on them(that I would NOT purchase)........ as they are a bit harsh for music,( but great for HT use) and not the same Bass Tone as the Heritage Line even with a sub. Everyone hears music different and the rooms we put them in sometime does not do the speakers justice if they are not placed correctly.

 

[DS-21]

Bag End PM6.

Holy imaging batman. Not enough headroom for home theater in a big room though (although they do go damn loud). But these are the 'best sounding' I've heard.

Interesting speaker.

It looks like a powered monitor using Seas' licensed copy of the 4th generation KEF Uni-Q. Previous Bag End monitors used Radian coaxes, I think. (The Audio Critic reviewed a previous model, the MM-8B, in Issue 25, at 20. It is available for download on their site, though I found the cite by pulling up a local copy.) I suspect the Seas driver (also used, inter alia, in the Gradient Revolution) will be smoother than the Radian.

If you like those, though, IMO you should listen to some modern KEFs. They've improved the Uni-Q quite a bit, and haven't shared those advancements (such as the "tangerine" phase plug) with licensees such as Seas.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I think KEF Reference sound every bit as good as Salon & Orion.

I don't know if they sound as good as Vandersteen or Salk since I've never heard these 2.

 

[GranteedEV]

So is GranteedEV. He is brand loyal. He only likes one brand. He never recommends any other brand of speakers to anyone.

Wait


... I don't even know what brand I'm loyal to... ...Help......

 

[cpp]

Originally Posted by AcuDefTechGuy View Post

So is GranteedEV. He is brand loyal. He only likes one brand. He never recommends any other brand of speakers to anyone.
Wait


GranteedEV.... I don't even know what brand I'm loyal to... ...Help......

I feel GranteedEV is loyal to any brand that has exceptional and proven measurements

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Wait


... I don't even know what brand I'm loyal to... ...Help......

You are loyal to B&W & Paradigm.

R-----------------------i------------------------------g------------------------h-----------------------------t

 

[DS-21]

I think KEF Reference sound every bit as good as Salon & Orion.

I don't know if they sound as good as Vandersteen or Salk since I've never heard these 2.

FWIW, several years ago I heard the then-flagship Vandy Model Fives in the same room as Tannoy's D700 - first time I heard a Dual Concentric driver, actually. And for my tastes the Tannoys were clearly superior speakers. (And much less expensive, too.)

I was honestly surprised at how much better the Tannoys were, considering that the room was clearly geared to selling the more expensive Vandies, and giving them every advantage. Also, like the Dunlavys and earlier Thiels that I've heard, they were extreme sweet spot speakers only. Very poor coverage.

I've subsequently heard other Vandersteen speakers, and, like B&W they seem to be targeting a distinctive house sound rather than neutrality. Some will love them. Others will prefer more objectively accurate speakers.

 

[Nuance AH]

FWIW, several years ago I heard the then-flagship Vandy Model Fives in the same room as Tannoy's D700 - first time I heard a Dual Concentric driver, actually. And for my tastes the Tannoys were clearly superior speakers. (And much less expensive, too.)

I was honestly surprised at how much better the Tannoys were, considering that the room was clearly geared to selling the more expensive Vandies, and giving them every advantage. Also, like the Dunlavys and earlier Thiels that I've heard, they were extreme sweet spot speakers only. Very poor coverage.

I've subsequently heard other Vandersteen speakers, and, like B&W they seem to be targeting a distinctive house sound rather than neutrality. Some will love them. Others will prefer more objectively accurate speakers.

I cannot find any objective measurements on the Tannoy's. Do you have a link? Also, I'd love to see objective measurements of your speakers. Otherwise there's nothing objectively accurate here, just opinions (which is subjective).

 

[Nuance AH]

You are loyal to B&W & Paradigm.

R-----------------------i------------------------------g------------------------h-----------------------------t

B&W speakers (notice speakers is plural) measure accurately? Waaa?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

...flagship Vandy Model Fives in the same room as Tannoy's D700...the Tannoys were clearly superior speakers. (

I've heard a few similar reactions regarding Vandersteen.

Comes to prove time and time again that we can have different experiences with the same speakers.

Some think the Vandersteen Five are the best they've heard, and some think they are inferior.

Some think B&W 800D are best, some think not.

Some think DefTech BP7000SC are very good speakers (but not as good as KEF Reference, Salon2, Orion), some think they are crap.

Some think Salk speakers are among best out there, some disagree.

And so on and so forth.

I think this is the point of this thread.

 

[Nuance AH]

Is this the point of this thread?

Nope. DS-21 is just doing what he does best: trying to push his opinions as facts. I'm finally starting to get used to it.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Here is the Vandy 7 from Stereophile: FR +/- 4dB 200Hz-10kHz, terrible vertical and horizontal off-axis.

Vandersteen Model Seven loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com

But regardless, it's OK if you think they are the best. Just like it's OK if anyone thinks B&W, Tannoy, Paradigm, and many others are best.

 

[Nuance AH]

Here is the Vandy 7 from Stereophile: FR +/- 4dB 200Hz-10kHz, terrible vertical and horizontal off-axis.

Vandersteen Model Seven loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com

But regardless, it's OK if you think they are the best. Just like it's OK if anyone thinks B&W, Tannoy, Paradigm, and many others are best.

The measurements have already been discussed, here on this forum actually. Have you already forgotten? Atkinson measured them incorrectly. No one has ever complained about the anomoloes found in Stereophile's measurements, which aren't true anechoic anyway. They aren't my favorite speaker anymore, though, as I'll never be able to afford them and wouldn't want to deal with placement, setup and off-axis issues. They had to be de-throned...

All first order crossover speakers are poor of-axis, and are generally not worth it because of how finicky setup and placement is. But, the Model 7's sound amazing on-axis, which I where I sit when I listen. Regardless, I don't care if someone disagrees, but DS-21's rudeness got on my nerves, especially since he has nothing to back it up. I'm over it.