Great thread and discussion!
I've been lucky to hear some outstanding speaker set-ups over the years. Two stick out in my mind as the ultimate experience: a set of Magnepan 20.1 driven by Mcintosh monoblocks, and B&W Nautilus driven by Krell. Man, those stick out in my mind as epic systems. Until I moved two inches to the left or right, and the image collapsed. Or I stood up, and the treble dropped. As long as I stayed within a very narrow sweet-spot, it was amazing.
My humble set-up of Schiit Bifrost Uber, Burson Soloist, and Mr. Speakers Alpha Dogs certainly do not replicate the experience, but it is darn close. And I can move my head, and the image does not collapse. Perhaps one day I will add the Smyth Realizer and get a more 'speaker-like' performance.
But it's a lot more expensive and time consuming to get a speaker system to sound anywhere near as well as a good headfi rig.
I've been lucky to hear some outstanding speaker set-ups over the years. Two stick out in my mind as the ultimate experience: a set of Magnepan 20.1 driven by Mcintosh monoblocks, and B&W Nautilus driven by Krell. Man, those stick out in my mind as epic systems. Until I moved two inches to the left or right, and the image collapsed. Or I stood up, and the treble dropped. As long as I stayed within a very narrow sweet-spot, it was amazing.
My humble set-up of Schiit Bifrost Uber, Burson Soloist, and Mr. Speakers Alpha Dogs certainly do not replicate the experience, but it is darn close. And I can move my head, and the image does not collapse. Perhaps one day I will add the Smyth Realizer and get a more 'speaker-like' performance.
But it's a lot more expensive and time consuming to get a speaker system to sound anywhere near as well as a good headfi rig.