What are the best speakers in the world?

[rsaavedra]

Just thinking here... replacing the speakers with a different model (but placing them basically in the same locations of the first ones) in a given room shouldn't alter significantly the characteristics of existing room-speaker interactions. At least that should be the case provided the drivers remain more or less in the same position with respect to each other within one speaker, and with respect to the room. The new speakers will have their own sound signature, but the interaction and transformation of that signature out in that room should be similar to the transformation introduced when having the first speakers in that room.

Taking that into consideration, a neutral room-setup would be such that a measured frequency response at the sweet spot would be similar enough to the freq. response of the speaker in an anechoic chamber, regardless of the speaker. With that criteria, the ultimate neutral room will be, of course, another anechoic chamber though

But I digress...

I'm just thinking maybe some time in the future people will start to shop around for "best room-setups" instead of just shopping around for "best speakers".

 

[Roam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsaavedra /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just thinking here... replacing the speakers with a different model (but placing them basically in the same locations of the first ones) in a given room shouldn't alter significantly the characteristics of existing room-speaker interactions. At least that should be the case provided the drivers remain more or less in the same position with respect to each other within one speaker, and with respect to the room. The new speakers will have their own sound signature, but the interaction and transformation of that signature out in that room should be similar to the transformation introduced when having the first speakers in that room.

I can see why people would think this, but it doesn't work that way for a couple main reasons; dispersion, and polar response. In layman's terms, the "cone of sound" from every speaker is going to be different, some are wider, some are narrower, and the frequency response doesn't change the same way when you move off-axis with respect to the front of the speaker. This means the "soundfield" produced by each speaker is going to be different, and it's not going to interact with the room in the same way, in other words, different speakers will cause different kinds of colourations in the same room even if placed in the exact same position.

Even if you had the exact same drivers with the exact same cabinet in the exact same location, with the only difference being the crossover, the colouration caused by the room will be slightly different. Near the crossover frequencies, the "cone of sound" gets steered up & down by phase & path length differences, which also widens & narrows the "cone". Results? The reflection points in the room will change, as will the energy distribution, this of course will slightly alter the colouration caused by the room.


However, you are on the right track, the most important aspect of a loudspeaker system is the room. If the room is no good, nothing will ever sound good in there. Use the best room in your dwelling, then fix any minor trouble spots with the appropriate room treatments, then worry about spending money on hi-fi doodads.

 

[rsaavedra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roam /img/forum/go_quote.gif This means the "soundfield" produced by each speaker is going to be different, and it's not going to interact with the room in the same way, in other words, different speakers will cause different kinds of colourations in the same room even if placed in the exact same position.

Good point yes. So the actual thing people should shop around for is the dual system "room-speakers"

People will post things in forums with thread titles of that sort: "What is the best room-speaker combo out there in the world nowadays?"

 

[Dr.Love]

One speaker to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.....

Hows that for a mono commercial?

 

[sghound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pearljam5000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif there are so many speakers and speaker companies out there,it's damn confuisng. what are the best speakers currently available?i ofcourse will not be able to afford them...but it's nice to dream.

no such thing.

 

[tourmaline]

I thought bill gates has a 250.000 dollar pair of speakers cooled with freon?! I red it somewhere on this forum. very special design and suppose to sound exuisite.

I dunno if there's a universal best speaker. it's only as good as the next best thing. However, there are some legends and are hard to be beaten! So, new doesn't always mean better. It can mean different in some ways.

I've heard alot of speakers and some really sound superb, especially with high end gear but you gotta have the room for it.

 

[orkney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacemanspliff /img/forum/go_quote.gif Highly subjective INDEED! duggeh is right on that note. there was some million dollar setup designed by engineers complete with a concrete tunnel system for bass! I mean 5' wide and 6' deep ****ing bass tunnels lol. I believe it was Brits who did it but am uncertain.

I remember those. I have a feeling they were Yamamoto Churchill (sic) designs and were part of a series of enormously expensive installs done by that company whose name I may or may not have recalled correctly. I have actually heard a pair of speakers that reportedly cost close to a million in their maxed-out guise (Pipedreams?) and the experience was bizarre -- images that were 15 feet high, each bass note foundation-shaking, and so forth. My sense is that this kind of speaker may be impressive but ultimately neither practical, enjoyable nor necessarily musical. That said, I spent a few hours last year listening to the MaXX with a friend and they are extraordinary, massive and fast and articulate and shifting all kinds of air. Again, I think it's a particular KIND of listening experience, and not one I'd be likely to go for even if I did have the cash, but it was memorable and I see why Wilson has its folllowing. But best speaker -- impossible to say. I'd certainly add a few ESLs (MartinLogan, SoundLab) and planars (Maggie) to your list though.

best,

o

 

[robster]

Check out www.thehornshoppe.com

 

[johna]

I think no one could tell witch loudspeaker is the best.
That person must have heard them all, have a memory beyond all sense and at the same time be very, very objective.
(And no one could be that 100 %...)

This, like all other things in our hobby, is a personal taste.
And this is what I love.

I myself love my ATC SCM35.
They have been in my music room for 4 years now, and together with the Bryston 4B SST they have survived longest.
If I should compare ATC SCM35 with headphones, it would be AKG K701, but with a bit more punch in the bass area

So many times a smile comes through my face when I’m shifting between them.

 

[dr.morton]

I heard a lot of different speakers recently. Some of them very high end and expansive.
Having an ultra expansive set of speakers means you will also need the expansive ****ing rest. And most of them are ugly as hell.
I was overwhelmed when I heard my first AMT speaker. Even most of the old ESS speakers are much better then a lot of expansive high end crap sold these days IMO.

 

[J-Pak]

I haven't heard any of the "worlds best" but from what I heard (lengthy listen) from an Avantgarde Duo I think I would fall head over heels for a Trio with Basshorns.

 

[tbonner1]

Years ago I met Mark Levinson near Yale. I was stunned when he asked me to come to his "listening room".

He had an array of Class A monoblock amps, each the size of 32 in tube TV and an array of other Levinson gear.

He had two sets of speakers:

1-A set of Klipschorns.

2-The HQD system that was the reference. It had two pairs of Quad electrostatics for L and R channels, stacked and suspended in the air at an angle, Decca Ribbon tweeters, and 2 24 inch Hartly woofers.

Rumor was he would have a curtain drawn, and have a live quartet play, then play recorded music. The invited audio critic would have to discern which was live.

 

[tbonner1]

Link for Levinson HQD speakers discussed above:

http://www.marklev.com/systems/index.html

 

[imported_Matt_Carter]

I <3 Meridian DSP8000

 

[DavidNY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbonner1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Years ago I met Mark Levinson near Yale. I was stunned when he asked me to come to his "listening room". He had an array of Class A monoblock amps, each the size of 32 in tube TV and an array of other Levinson gear. He had two sets of speakers: 1-A set of Klipschorns. 2-The HQD system that was the reference. It had two pairs of Quad electrostatics for L and R channels, stacked and suspended in the air at an angle, Decca Ribbon tweeters, and 2 24 inch Hartly woofers. Rumor was he would have a curtain drawn, and have a live quartet play, then play recorded music. The invited audio critic would have to discern which was live.

I met Mark Levinson (the person, not the brand name now owned by Harman International) in 1995 in NYC. At the time he ran a company called Cello Music & Film that specialized in manufacturing their own high end audio system (speakers, amps, preamp, analog equalizer and cables). My first listening experience in the Cello show room was very memorable. I never before had heard any sound reproduction system that was so lifelike. Mark even recorded himself on a reel to reeel tape deck playing on his circa 1700's Italian made bass violin, and hen replayed the recording on his Cello system. Again, quite an amazing and convincing demo that I have never seen another audio equipment manufacturer perform.

Here is a link to a pretty good picture of his show room at the time and the system I heard.
http://matthew-james.net/reflections_17.cfm

I must confess that I was so taken that I eventually bought a Cello system.

Now I am not saying the Cello was the best at the time, and technology has advanced in the past 10+ years so that Cello is no longer the best available. But for those of you who have never experienced a well designed and installed music system or think the price of such a system is outrageous, welll too bad you have never experienced the transcendant experience one can get from such as system.