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Need fast speakers

Peter_Tos

pfm Member
Hello.
I'm going to build a stereo system from scratch. After my experience with BBC speakers I realised that I need fast sound. Perhaps I need wideband speakers or speakers without a crossover. Maybe something else. I'd love to hear your views on this. No restrictions at the moment other than a reasonable WAF and a budget of £3k (maybe £4k).
I'm not a fan of heavy rock. Mostly light jazz, vocals, pop, some electronic music but nothing heavy.
 
What source(s) do you intend? Regardless of the answer I’d suggest Genelec 8030C active monitors so you have £2K left but you’d have power amps as well as speakers. You would need to sit less than 2.5m away though.
 
you might enjoy a planar/electrostatic type speaker. Quads, Magnepans, Martin Logan. When i think of fast, detailed and responsive speakers, I think of the old Martin Logan CLS's. Not much low bass, but otherwise very clean and lovely.
 
Okay, I’ll presume you have a laptop. Personally I’d get an RME ADI 2 dac and use it as a preamp into the Genelecs. I could do that but I don’t. I’m trying not to recommend stuff I have and remain objective.

I’m sure the Petites are great, I’ve owned Neat speakers and love them, but that’s £2K gone on passive speakers.
 
Hello.
I'm going to build a stereo system from scratch. After my experience with BBC speakers I realised that I need fast sound. Perhaps I need wideband speakers or speakers without a crossover. Maybe something else. I'd love to hear your views on this. No restrictions at the moment other than a reasonable WAF and a budget of £3k (maybe £4k).
I'm not a fan of heavy rock. Mostly light jazz, vocals, pop, some electronic music but nothing heavy.
ATC SCM 40’s passives, or active.
Fantastic speakers.
 
Focal

I’ve owned loads of speakers and these are the fastest. Superb imaging, detail and speed!

Yamaha NS1000Ms are also pretty quick…

I would go for speakers with paper or paper/composite woofers and not plastic/bextrene/polypropylene…
 
After my experience with BBC speakers I realised that I need fast sound

Thats the most true statement I've heard today.

Its so right, I could have said it myself.
Apart from all the goodies, fast they are not .
Great point !

First I thought Kan, Royd, Rega, older Naim.
But Neat is maybe a greater idea, with no restrictions within your budget its a lovely challenge - good luck.
 
I presumed new, so the active ATCs leave minus £3.5K for the rest of the system. Woodface’s suggestion is a good one if going second hand. A Leak ST20 and some Quad ESLs would work well too.

I’ll leave it there. Can end up pointless and confusing for the OP very quickly.
 
I've tried many speakers and for the type of music you state I would very much recommend these:
https://www.club-27.com/diy-speakers/horn-speaker-amy
For your preferences I would even choose them over the 'fastest' sounding of my current speakers which are Avantgarde horns and a magnitude more spendy.
The big Bastani driver connected directly to the amp with no crossover produces a very immediate and live sound.
 
Fast speakers to me are the likes of Wharfedale 505.2's or KEF Cantor.

But they are over thirty years old and well under your budget.
Might be worth experimenting with if you are so inclined.
Move them on easily if not your bag.
 
‘Fast’ almost always means mid forward and bass-light. It is to a large degree a psychological thing IME. Some speakers are genuinely more agile than others, e.g. ESLs, horns, sealed boxes rather than ports etc, but much is just EQ/presentation. Beyond that lies a lot of marketing!
 
‘Fast’ almost always means mid forward and bass-light.
I think speed depends on the ability to play peaks in music quickly and fully. I have come to the conclusion that any crossovers smooth out the peaks and dynamics. In addition, some types of cones and drivers in general also make the sound slow. I agree with you that a sealed box will seem faster than ports.
 
Depending on your budget and room I’d suggest going and listening to some proper big horns (Klipsch, JBL, Altec etc). Not a cheap way to make a loudspeaker, and they need space to work (which was my issue), but they have an immediacy and directness unmatched by standard moving coil cones in boxes. It’s not a world without compromise, but if dynamics are your thing nothing else comes close.
 


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