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best speakers ever heard

Yomanze,

Put some 90s jungle music or really heavy metal on, and things aren't as convincing. If I weren't a fan of electronica, hip hop and metal then I'd still be using STAX.

Have you tried any recent higher-end Stax models, like the SR-009, with a good energizer? I previously dismissed Stax as a proper contender, even though cheaper models do the delicate airy stuff exceptionally well, but the current top models get that right as well as the drivin' bass. IMO, obviously.

Joe
 
Probably best heard, stuff from Avid..... best small speaker owned, I’d say my SL6si i’m modifying, best i’m going to achieve, either something I’ll build from Troels Gravesen website or if I EXAKT convert my FACT8.... my rooms are treated and fed with some of Linn’s finest.
 
This is the problem I've had with STAX & ESLs. The hear-through window, the nuance, is astounding.

Put some 90s jungle music or really heavy metal on, and things aren't as convincing. If I weren't a fan of electronica, hip hop and metal then I'd still be using STAX.
You just have the wrong amp, probably. Get thee a Mjolnir or a BHSE and it will deliver on all counts...
 
Cost no object Living vox olympian , Genesis Dragon , Goebel Devins , Adams OSS
Real world Hedd Towers
 
Quad ESLs have that "open window" thing...

They do, but here's the thing. Years ago I heard the system of John Watson of Mana fame. He had Isobariks on quite a lot of Mana and I've never heard anything like it. It wasn't quite to my taste in some ways but transparency, the 'open window' feeling was mesmerizing. With a suitable record you really felt like you were in the control room and the glass had been removed from the window. You could hear the acoustic and the size of the room.

Point being that they totally beat Quads at their own game while not having the limitations. I have a friend who was a big Quad fan, he had two pairs in case of breakdowns. After listening to my Isobariks often enough he decided he wanted to try a pair. He bought them and has subsequently sold his Quads.

If a speaker is fundamentally good there can be huge variation in the type of sounds you can get out of it. I've heard the same speakers sound great and lifeless depending on the context. Personally, I've never heard anything that has made me think that getting rid of the Isobariks would be a good idea.
 
I don't think I've ever heard a loudspeaker that I've been completely happy with.

Quad ESLs have that "open window" thing, but are limited for dynamics and bandwidth. Stax F81 make Quads seem cloudy, but are monstrously inefficient, undynamic, and "small" sounding. The old original Martin Logan CLS were also clearer than Quads but could be a bit fatiguing and relentless, and really had no bass. JBL, Klipsch and Altec can do dynamics in spades, at the expense of any sort of timbre. Revel and Magico appear to try to "do it all" but sound artificial and it just "smacks of effort". Wilsons all have the smiley-face EQ that sounds impressive on Audiophile Recordings. BBC-influenced designs are easy to listen to, kind of like Quads without that last level of detail, will go louder and deeper than Quads but not enough, and are still dynamically stunted. But that's what I use as my present compromise that I can live with.

Is it really too much to ask for a speaker to be able to get up and go like Altecs, but be full range, have natural timbre, be insightful and do a believable image/soundstage?

This reflects my thoughts 1000 percent, even if a bit pessimistic. Anything that can't do timbre is out - mostly the big boxes, sounding mixed and complicated and unpure. It's either quads or BBC little ones. Listening right now to Ike Quebec's "Blue And Sentimental", no speaker I've heard other than these two types can nail the amazing tone of that electric guitar. Within their operating envelopes, and well amplified and fed, must say I don't find their dynamics so limiting, personal preferences probably.
Omer.
 
Probably best heard, stuff from Avid..... best small speaker owned, I’d say my SL6si i’m modifying, best i’m going to achieve, either something I’ll build from Troels Gravesen website or if I EXAKT convert my FACT8.... my rooms are treated and fed with some of Linn’s finest.
Put the FACTs in the post...
 
At a show I was pretty impressed by some big funky looking Wilson's powered by a Devaliet. Very natural, dynamic and expressive. Very addictive and looked very cool.

At home I like my JBL 250ti's , they are hugely dynamic and have a great sound stage now. At the other end of the scale I have enjoyed BC1s with an Electrocompaniet amp very much, really impressed with simple acoustic material, the timbre was excellent.
 
To my mind that dynamic thing is a driver size and efficiency thing, you don’t get it even with high-power active monitors etc. It comes with big horns and high price-tags. Modern CAD horns are far less compromised than old exponential designs like Altecs etc. Even Klipsch are moving to tractrix these days. Have you heard the modern high-end JBL horns? There is a lot of very fancy math going on in their horns these days and the few I’ve heard sound very natural, clear and dynamic.

PS My solution is for two systems, one large, one small, and to let material and mood choose. Most music sounds good on both, some favours one over the other, and very little doesn’t sound good on either. I just love having two very different perspectives (full-range monitors and near-fields).

You'll notice I didn't mention the Tannoys. They don't grow on trees on my side of the ocean, but I'd love to get a chance to hear some. I see the possibility there for a speaker that does dynamics AND timbre. I heard a set of Berkeleys back in the 1970s, but they were in a store and were not presented at their best, to put it mildly.

I'm curious about some of the prosound 12" or 15" co-ax drivers too, such as ones from B&C or 18 Sound. But then I'd have to design a "hifi" crossover for them.
 
You just have the wrong amp, probably. Get thee a Mjolnir or a BHSE and it will deliver on all counts...

I think he’s referring to the rare Stax ESL loudspeakers, not the earspeakers.

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Exactly.

So exquisite, so quiet. The definitive curate's egg.

How much power do they need for normal listening levels and how much can they take before possible damage? I’m sure I read somewhere that they’re around 78dB sensitivity.
 
Older "moments":
Quad system into ESL57.
Audion Silver Night valves into Cadence Amayas - demo
B&W 801D - Heathrow show
Big active ATC (100 or 150s don't remember) - Heathrow show
Friend's Meridian CD into my Krell KSA-100 into friend's Epos (can't remember model but still remember Mercy Street by Gabriel on this combo!)
Boulder monoblocks into big Focals - show

More recent "moments":
Linkwitz Orion plus Thor (valve active) - demo
Focal SM-9 - Mike Valentine demo at show
MEG 901K - show
dCS Bartok into ATC 100SE - demo
 
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GRFs on a Phase + 1 of Mana, that's what you want! Actually, GRFs on the floor work just fine.

Joe
 


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