What are your picks on best loudspeakers ever made?

[3db]

Any spectral decay measurement for these?

I think the best cabinet resonance/spectral decay measurement I've seen are for the B&W 800D & 802D.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/bampw-800-diamond-loudspeaker-measurements

I'm dieing for a real review on these guys. Based on their weight alone, I would say they equal the B&Ws

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I'm dieing for a real review on these guys. Based on their weight alone, I would say they equal the B&Ws

780lbs $289K speaker to MAYBE equal 160lbs $15K speaker on spectral decay?

 

[GranteedEV]

780lbs $289K speaker to MAYBE equal 160lbs $15K speaker on spectral decay?

I'm sure the Canadian company is "similarily good".

 

[3db]

780lbs $289K speaker to MAYBE equal 160lbs $15K speaker on spectral decay?

IHO, they would also out perform the B&Ws as well.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

IHO, they would also out perform the B&Ws as well.

I'm sure the Canadian company is "similarily good".

Oh, you guys are just blatantly prejudiced against B&W speakers. That's all there is to it.

That and the little difference in money part. Sure, whoever thinks $200K speakers are better than $15K speakers.

 

[3db]

That and the little difference in money part. Sure, whoever thinks $200K speakers are better than $15K speakers.

Do I have to remind you what the title of this thread is? . Money isn't even a factor when one is dreaming...

I think these would give the RBH's a good run for their money as well....

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Do I have to remind you what the title of this thread is? . Money isn't even a factor when one is dreaming...

I think these would give the RBH's a good run for their money as well....

Oh, you had to go there.

I'm not going to there. But I would take the Focal Grand Utopia III any day over the Hanson Grand Master. The reason is simple. The Focal Utopia 16" woofer can be ACTIVELY bi-amped, but the Hanson is 100% PASSIVE. For over $200K, I would expect the speaker to offer that bit of option (what a shame ) since some nice guys like to actively control the bass.

You see, some music and movies have too little bass, while some have too much bass. And I can easily control the bass level with my iPad if the tower allows active amp control.

 

[3db]

Oh, you had to go there.

I'm not going to there. But I would take the Focal Grand Utopia III any day over the Hanson Grand Master. The reason is simple. The Focal Utopia 16" woofer can be ACTIVELY bi-amped, but the Hanson is 100% PASSIVE. For over $200K, I would expect the speaker to offer that bit of option (what a shame ) since some nice guys like to actively control the bass.

You see, some music and movies have too little bass, while some have too much bass. And I can easily control the bass level with my iPad if the tower allows active amp control.

off course I had to go there.. keeps everyone interested. I'm of the mindset that once my calibration is done, that its. I don't adjust on a per movie basis. Besides, what movies do you own that have too much bass? I do understand too little bass

 

[3db]

I'm sure the Canadian company is "similarily good".

Have you heard them play? I wish stereophile would run a detailed test on these..

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

off course I had to go there.. keeps everyone interested. I'm of the mindset that once my calibration is done, that its. I don't adjust on a per movie basis. Besides, what movies do you own that have too much bass? I do understand too little bass

Well, besides the first 30 seconds of "Edge of Tomorrow", most movies don't have too much bass. But plenty of movies and music have too LITTLE bass.

I'm betting that "Interstellar" BD will have A LOT of bass. Yes.

I think the variation in music is a lot more significant than movies. Some music definitely don't have enough bass for me, while some have a lot of bass.

 

[zieglj01]

Well for the fun of it - there is an interesting list of expensive speakers here
http://www.higherfi.com/spkrlist/speakerlist.php?category=speakers&pagenum=1

One speaker that I wish I could have listened to is, Platinum Audio Air Pulse 3.1
designed by Phil Jones.
http://www.audioresource.net/News/Platinum_Airpulse.html

 

[emmaco]

Make your best guess....

Then the music started and I was again startled by the clearest, most life-like reproduction of recorded music I’d ever heard. The recording being demoed was a solo A Capella contra-basso male voice. The image produced could have fooled me into believing the invisible man was singing in the room. When they functioned, they played better than anything I’ve ever heard.” Steven Kastner

“We suspect, though, that most audiophiles will find these speakers to provide the most mind-blowing listening experience they have ever known.” J. Gordon Holt, Stereophile

“The Single Best System Commercially Available.” J. Peter Moncrieff, International Audio Review

“We just stood there, dumbfounded, with our jaw hanging open.”

“So much closer to live music than anything else.”

“Our standards for being able to tell live from reproduced music have been forever changed. ”

 

[zieglj01]

4 more posts

Hill Plasmatronics 1A

 

[emmaco]

Anybody want to compare?

www.hillplasmatronics.com

 

[j_garcia]

That I've heard? Aerial 20Ts would be mine. I don't recall the amps they were driven by, but I was impressed by the lack of anything besides wow for me.

 

[Randall Scott]

New to this forum, but have followed for sometime. I prefer speakers that present me with a very open sound. Was originally drawn to Magnepans back in the late 70's for my first decent stereo system but later switched to Martin Logan's to address "design" issues with spouse. Vandersteen's also provided a pleasurable listening experience for my initial home theater applications. My applications are for total system packages that have to remain in the $5k and less range.

 

[SMU1976]

I often get the question “What are the best speakers in the World?” from fellow Audioholics and/or from family or friends. I typically tell them that it really depends on the situation. Of course, people that don’t know audio are often surprised when I DON’T tell them Bose is the best. I usually retort that “best” and “most popular” are often not synonymous, and a few analogies outside of audio often help them to understand the lack of relation such as: Beer:Budweiser, Pizza: Dominos and Burgers:McDonalds, etc.

I don’t like to be boxed into a corner of declaring an absolute best, even when the type of speaker and the application are known. That said, I’ve come up with a list of very notable designs for each category type.

Best Loudspeakers Ever Made

How do you like our selections? Do you have alternatives? Please list them and show pics!

First, have to disagree with your comparison's of other products, Budweiser does not happen to be a commodity product or an inexpensive beer, in fact you may read on any label and this will never be legally challenged, "There is no brand produced by any other brewer which costs so much to brew and age". "Our exclusive beechwood aging produces a taste, a smoothness, and a drinkability you will find in no other beer at any price". No where near McDonalds, or Dominos. A visit to one of their breweries will enlighten you on a process that has made this the number one brand in the world for over the last thirty years in a row. Their quality control, cleanliness of their plants and manufacturing process, is beyond any hipster craft brews in light years. Budweiser has over 2000 recipes that are very similar to many craft brews in taste, body, color and finish. One often ask why they don't make some of these, the answer, it does not sell, and very few people stay loyal. So keep the King of Beers in high regard please. Living and working in St. Louis, The King of Beers has let me afford my audiophile hobby.

Now back to the subject at hand, like beer, speakers are very subjective to one's individual taste and ears (versus taste buds), at the peak age of 25 our hearing starts to decrease every year so slightly, one can download many apps to see where their hearing loss is, and though reviewers always have perfect hearing (into their 70's it seems which is crazy) many people will shift to brighter sounding speakers, they then drift to brighter speakers. Often you will see people tilt their head when listening (like a dog does), this is because we have a dominate ear, just as we have a dominate eye (if you are a shooter you know this).
The best speakers in the world? Not sure I could ever narrow it down to this small of a list. Anything over 10 Grand better be good, but since this is a technology based business, putting that amount of money into electronics is not a wise investment, for you can pick up 5-7 year old state of the art speakers for a fraction of their original cost. There has been many speakers over my 50 years of having audio as a hobby that I would place on this list, some are not manufactured any more, and many speakers lend themselves to different types of music. I have some custom Martin Logan's subwoofers made by an engineer at the Kansas plant, 5 12 inch subs in two cabinets, with some Klipsch Corner Horns, Klipsch LasScala's in the rear, and Klipsch Heresey's for the centers driven by four Accuphase Amps. Yes, it's old school, and I bought every piece for this home theatre including the Marantz projector used, but the size of the room they are in leeds to some beautiful music for my old ears. I have several other systems in other rooms of the house that I enjoy also, but a different sound. In other words, the best may be what one enjoys, not what one tells you to enjoy, just as the music we listen to. I will agree NHT gives you some good bang for the buck though, run them in my home office.

 

[InsertSomethingCleverHere]

Who came up with these recommendations but not include Focal Grand Utopia's? They are, without a doubt, the finest loudspeakers currently available. And, I put my money where my opinions are because I own a pair (in red). I also run a JL Audio F113 sub to help with bass management in my listening room.

 

[es347]

Von Schweikert Audio (VSA) VR11SE MKII

 

[es347]

Yeah, I only believe in "best FIT" for the individual.

In terms of overall pure sound quality, the possibilities are endless because you could always add subwoofers to any speaker and because everyone simply has different preferences.

Some people must have that Martin Logan or Magnepan sound, while others hate it.

Some people prefer traditional direct radiating box speakers, while others hate it.

Asking for the absolute best speaker is almost like asking for the absolute best food.

So "best" needs to be qualified by certain parameters.

I mean honestly, even if I were a millionaire, I would still buy the RBH SX-8300 (MSRP $5K) over the Revel Salon2, KEF 207/2, B&W 800D2, etc.

However, if money is no object, I think the best speaker in the world is the Focal Grand Utopia III EM because I can actively bi-amp the built-in 16" subwoofer with external amps like I can do with the RBH towers.

Nice speaker for sure but I've yet to hear a Beryllium tweeter that I liked..