Your personal best, Earth shattering speaker auditions that left you speechless

In 1979 I heard the new three piece JBL L212's. Love the JBL sound and the imaging was the best I'd ever heard. Have a pair in my bedroom now, still make me smile!

 

Joseph Audio.

A couple models were demo'd at a show in a crappy-sound hotel room. Many years ago.

That make – whatever model – is my end-destination dream speaker.

Now, how to afford them...

 

Ohm Walsh F , left me speechless, awesome sound and look.

 

Back in the 80s at an electronics show in Chicago I got to hear 30 ips tapes played on the Wilson Audio WAMM.

 

I am currently running my A7 VOTT's and other components, using a TD-160 Super, with a 2M Bronze cart. as one of my sources (it has a Rega/Moth tone arm). Very happy.

I like the Valencia's. It's a funny thing, there are many "audiophiles" who don't consider the vintage Altec's to be audiophile speakers, from today's perspective.

Pitty... There are those, who don't quite understand, what real, effortless sound is. Fortunately, I am not one of them.

Over the years, I have learned how to take Altec's to even a whole new level of realism.

I would not trade my A7's for any speaker on the planet!

 

Mid 70's at Stereo West in Hays, KS. I was more enthusiastic than discerning but the first time I heard JBL L300 speakers, it left a such a permanent impression on me that a mere 25 years later, I bought a pair.

 

They did for me as well, breathtaking air and openness.

 

The German Physiks the same design principle as the Ohm Walsh F, real time arrival of the high frequencies, open and effortless, very real!

 

I heard these there as well. I agree. The soundstage was amazing.

 

Yes, How much the room and amplification influence the sound, quite a major influence!

 

Two sets of speakers have left me absolutely speechless over the last few years. Firstly, Audio Research electronics into these :


Wilson Audio Sophia 3

and secondly, Esoteric electronics into these :

PMC MB2i (these PMC's are incredible).

 

Have heard both and agree with you 100%.

 

I recently heard some Spendor SP100s. They didn't leave me "speechless" from dynamics, detail, soundstaging or any of the usual audiophile adjectives. What got me was their tone and midrange, the closest my ears have heard to what I would call "perfect." They prompted me to double my price cap and buy their SP2s. These speakers are not the hot, crazy girlfriend who rocks your world and then leaves you high and dry. They're like the woman who loves you enough to massage your.....feet after a hard workday, and it feels oh so nice.

 

Someone name-checked the Guarneris: there is something magical about that era sonus Faber, which is like nothing else.

Earth shattering? Well, a pair of f*** off huge JBLs (can't remember the model, but 15" drivers) inflicted major damage to a small town in northern England on the end of my baby Krell, which was barely above idling, while indulging in a heavy duty bass frenzy. Geology department of a neighbouring university rang us up and asked us to turn it down as we were interfering with their seismographs...

Seriously: large Shahinians various. Soundstage the size of Rutland and utterly convincingly real, whether on an original Track pressing of Electric Ladyland via lots of Exposure monoblocks or chunks of opera (I really don't like opera) via a couple of boatloads of Dynavector amps (designed to drive Shahinians).

Or Tannoy Westminster Royals...

I need a bigger house...

 

not high end,well they are for my budget, but when I was auditioning bookshelf speakers for my first budget audiophile stereo,my PSB Image b25's blew me away.
I had auditioned focal and another monitor but stopped when I heard the PSB's.This was 2004 or so and still have them.

 

They key is for the speakers to leave you speechless whilst they are playing your own well known albums or tracks..A lot of auditions can be artificially impressive via the use of impressive recordings.

 

My first experience with high end sound was at the same store. It was also the Proac / Cary setup.
I had never heard a system that truly fooled me for a real person in the other room playing an acoustic guitar. I've heard some decent systems, but none had ever fooled me for the real thing.
When I entered the room and found out that it was a recording, my jaw hit the floor. That one experience has cost me a lot of money over the years.

 

A few years ago the PMC importer for my country offered me a pair of these to demo at home. They never left my room and quite possibly never will. They are the only speaker I know of that can play any type music very well. I fell in love with them on the first song I played and am in fact listening to them now as I reply to this post

 

Steve, I am sooooooooo jealous
I have heard many, many speakers in my life but these PMC's are the definately the best. Stunningly realistic. You are right, as soon as you start listening to them you know there is something here very, very special. And if anyone thinks that their own speakers have a great mid-range, they should listen to these (rather big) babies........ the PMC mid-range driver is truly spectacular. Vocals are scarily real. If forumites can afford the price - which is as heavy as the speakers themselves - I recommend strongly.

 

I'm pretty sure an active version of these was what Abbey Road used for Giles Martin's press demo of the 2017 Sgt. Pepper remix recently.

Wish I could been there -- it's a sure bet the sound was extraordinary. (Well, it always is in AR; I got to sit in a mastering suite there in '99 for a playback of a few of the Yellow Submarine remixes ... the experience was religious. )

 

When I'm auditioning gear, I purposely bring along discs of what I typically listen to ... which includes a lot of, uh, indifferently-recorded pop music.

 

First heard these in a dorm room in 1978, playing Little Feat's Waiting for Columbus. Amazing sound.

John K.

 

Probably one of the first times I had a jaw dropping experience was with Martin Logan speakers. The imaging was truly holographic and I felt like I could reach out and touch the vocalist. Problem was as soon as I moved she disappeared back into a 2D soundstage! Another was Klipschorns for their shear speed and dynamics. Way too large for my living room (and ugly according to my wife), these were never coming home with me though. I don't think I've ever heard such realistic drum beats from a speaker. Not speakers but headphones, I had Grado GS1000 cans driven by a custom Moth 45 SET amp and the first time I plugged in Emission Labs 45 tubes I fell in love with the sound. Finally, I recently bought a pair of Salk Soundtowers and very often I'm just amazed at how they sound. They are actually my favorite speaker that I've heard and at their price I could actually buy them, and they look so good my wife never complained!

 

The Sonus-Faber Aida, I do my grocery shopping near my local Hi-Fi shop and pop in sometimes this day was Aida day.
They were playing a record I thought I knew well, ZZ Top- Tres Hombres on vinyl, I felt I should ask them what they were playing.
If you have not heard what a $120.000 can sound like, treat yourself, you now know what can be achieved.

 

One of the best that I have heard was a Custom Speaker being demonstrated with Linear Tube Audio Electronics at last year's Capitol Audiofest, that used a Voxativ driver (like this one) in a large horn configuration. It sounded astonishingly dynamic (something like 102 dB/w/1 meter sensitive) and astonishingly lucid, open and accurate with nary a coloration to speak of. I was floored!