[Thelonious Monk]

aside from many mentioned already, i believe that sonicweld and marten deserve note. sonicweld for making a badass megabucks line array, and marten for making a speaker driver out of diamonds.

i'm not ******** you. diamonds.

...diamonds.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dimitris /img/forum/go_quote.gif Megnapan

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif [*]Magneplan[/list]

crap... how could i forget megnaplan??

 

[Thelonious Monk]

sorry forgot sonicweld pictures.

they're active too.

 

[terrymx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pne /img/forum/go_quote.gif NAD

i second that for being the most peformance for price. these are the stuff that i actaully care for more then the 'high end' stuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thelonious Monk /img/forum/go_quote.gif sorry forgot sonicweld pictures. http://www.sonicweld.com/gallery/31.jpg http://www.sonicweld.com/gallery/29.jpg http://www.sonicweld.com/gallery/37.jpg they're active too.

sorry but that only cost 1/10th of the german physiks, being $250k.

there are the Acapella horn speakers which is almost up there too.

 

[MASTERTECH]

Passlabs ---> www.passlabs.com

 

[tom hankins]

Krell
Mark Levinson
BAT
VTL
Audio Research
Mcintosh
Audio Aero
Thiel
Wilson
Pass Labs
Ayre
Halcro
etc. etc. etc.

 

[Thelonious Monk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by terrymx /img/forum/go_quote.gif i second that for being the most peformance for price. these are the stuff that i actaully care for more then the 'high end' stuff. sorry but that only cost 1/10th of the german physiks, being $250k. http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...kstiebreak.jpg there are the Acapella horn speakers which is almost up there too.

martens were the ones i mentioned purely because they cost so much. german physik doesn't use diamonds.

they are still more expensive though, the coltrane supreme "only" costs $200,000.

 

[Teh Interweb]

cary krell nordost

 

[drizek]

OK, so how do these cost-as-much-as-a-lamborghini speakers compare to the cost-as-much-as-a-kia headphones?

 

[milkpowder]

Completely IMHO, but these systems will demolish headphone systems in almost everything but micro-details. No, I haven't listened to a high-end headphone system such as Neil's and Nik's or a pair of ridiculously pricey Coltrane Supremes so take my opinion with a huge pinch of salt. That said, I have had good listens to a couple $100K+ speaker systems and goodness-knows-how-many $50k+ systems. The soundstage is just incredibly realistic. Reproduced music becomes live music. It's a very awe-inspiring experience.

There are a few on this forum who actually own such systems. I think they'll be most qualified to comment on the relative merits of high-end headphone systems vs high-end stereo.

 

[Wodgy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by drizek /img/forum/go_quote.gif OK, so how do these cost-as-much-as-a-lamborghini speakers compare to the cost-as-much-as-a-kia headphones?

Not very well, generally. The majority of speakers in the $10,000 and up category don't measure well. They're designed for looks and luxury, not performance. There are exceptions, of course.

 

[Duggeh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif Very British Add Naim to that list too. The make terrific products.

Interesting that you should spot that. I deliberately excluded NAIM from my Brit-Fi. My (admittedly limited) experience with NAIM systems has never been favourable to my ears. I've always found their sound to be so aggressive. Although this may have been a speaker issue. As I say. I haven't the luxury of extensive experience. I really should start going to hi-fi shows.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wodgy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not very well, generally. The majority of speakers in the $10,000 and up category don't measure well. They're designed for looks and luxury, not performance. There are exceptions, of course.

Which ones in particular? The majority of the expensive speakers I've heard really do sound very good. Diminishing returns is definitely reflected in the progressively poor performance/cost ratios, but everyone involved in this hobby knows that. The only speakers which I listened to and didn't like were the $6k JMLabs Electra 1027Be and the $45k Marten Design Coltranes. I had a good hour with both and couldn't quite like them.

1027 BE: I was literally shocked when told the price because they looked far too nice for a pair of $6k speakers. The similarly priced ProAc D38 sounded much more impressive, but doesn't look nearly as nice (matte wood veneered box vs curvy, glossy paint/fancy wood). I think I preferred the B&W 803S over them too... Note: the three speakers were auditioned in three completely rooms and setups.

Coltranes: $45k! Yer kindin' me! Maybe it was the room (bare glass walls on one side, glass cabinets on the other) or the unburned-in components (Esoteric X-01Limited, can't remember what amps), but I didn't think much of them at all. They sounded good, but not $45k good. I thought the $25k Sonus Faber Amati (w/ Burmester gear) sounded much better although it was in a much better room.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif Interesting that you should spot that. I deliberately excluded NAIM from my Brit-Fi. My (admittedly limited) experience with NAIM systems has never been favourable to my ears. I've always found their sound to be so aggressive. Although this may have been a speaker issue. As I say. I haven't the luxury of extensive experience. I really should start going to hi-fi shows.

Which Naim gear have you listened to? There was one particular combination of Naim/ProAc system (CDX2/XPS2 - NAC282/HiCap/NAPSC - NAP250 - ProAc D80) that I found unlistenable. It was, like you said, bright and aggressive. I think it was poor CDP synergy with the rest of the system. Swapping the CDX2/XP2 for a CD555/PS555 sorted things out

In general, Naim gear aren't that aggressive...

 

[KrooLism]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdjenders /img/forum/go_quote.gif LOL. I went to the local Mercedes-Benz dealer to ogle yesterday, and they had a $375,000 Maybach in the showroom. It came complete with a wonderful Bose audio system .

Well - that's Mercedes for you. IMO the most overrated car manufacturer. If you want performance, go BM and if you want class, nothing says class like an Aston Martin.
Or JAGUAR!

Speaking of which, some car companies are starting to wake up in terms of audio. Aston Martin uses Linn I think in all their new cars and Lexus have a contract with Mark Levinson.

 

[Schalldampfer]

Well, the ones that come to my mind firstly (being the ones my dad has) are...
Tannoy
Quad

Then I heard of McIntoshi and B&W from my dad.
My relative has a full B&W set in her living room, but it may be (actually, it probably is) the room acoustics, but I was not impressed.

 

[zowie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thelonious Monk /img/forum/go_quote.gif crap... how could i forget megnaplan??

funny!