Does a speaker exist with these characteristics? 1) Sensitive and fast- 89 db or better. 2) Minimized cabinet resonance and coloration. 3) Mostly neutral tonal balance with a slight bass emphasis from 125 Hz and below. 4) Solid bass to at least 40Hz. 5) High level of refinement and transparency while still sounding natural.
I dem'd some JMR Euterpe floor-standers which, in my mind, fit your criteria. Likely thin on the ground on your side but something of a reference for you perhaps...
You didn't state a price so I guess the sky's the limit. Other than the sensitivity rating, the Joseph Audio Perspective 2 has everything else on the list. From the Stereophile review: The Pulsar 2 is the most resolving speaker I ever owned, and it did not sound unnatural.
I actually was gonna start a thread kinda like this. The Q Acoustics Concept 500 ticks those boxes and why is a pair of speakers I really want to try. Treated paper cones, a cabinet that has some of the best tech and is superbly clean without resonances. even that slight bass peak is there where you want amazingly so. It on their A List too and has a 30 day or 60 can’t remember, trial period. Q Acoustics Concept 500 loudspeaker Measurements I also would love to try the Joseph Audio speakers as @timind mentioned. Sonus Faber has a bit of emphasized low mids, and are nice speakers. I’ve auditioned a few in the past. Expensive tho.
Pretty much describes Wilson Audio Sasha DAW speakers, except they go down to 20hz. The beauty of the Sasha DAW's over the Yvettes for me, was the easy adjustment of the rake angle.
2,3 and 5 are in the eye of the beholder, some people will ensure no speaker ever produced in past and future comply with those points. Or will decide something fits the bill while everyone else will disagree.
Not sure about the bass emphasis, but the FinkTeam KIM, which I now own, tick the rest of your boxes. Here's an in-depth review (in pdf format, via the FinkTeam site): https://www.finkteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/HiFi-Critic-Kim-review-Award-March-2021-1.pdf
Purchase yourself a pair of KEF Reference Series speakers, yeah, yeah, yeah I heard all your belly aching about these speaker and none of it is true! You just have not heard them set up with the correct components and in a good sounding room. I compared the Harbeth Super HL5 + speakers with the KEF and the KEF just kicked their butt. I spent over 2 hours listening to the Harbeth speakers in a room set up very similar to mine at home and with comparable equipment and yes they sounded nice but no where near the KEFs. Someone up post mentioned Joseph Audio, that is another fine example of a manufacturer who knows how to design and build speakers and they also sounded much more refined than the Harbeths. So if you cannot let go of your prejudice against the KEF speakers, which I am sure you never will, then I would direct you to look into the Joseph Audios Pulsar2 Graphene line (or go bigger with the Perspective2 Graphene). Another wonderful sounding speaker is Vivid Audios Oval Series. Yes you might not be able to adjust to their looks, I happen to love the looks but not everyone does, but the sound is beyond wonderful. All three of these speakers will satisfy you and sound much better than the Harbeths and meet the (5) points within the criteria you set up as wanting to meet or exceed.
Nope, see 1) Sensitive and fast- 89 db or better. "Turning to the Perspective2's measured performance, my estimate of the new speaker's voltage sensitivity was 83.6dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is within experimental error of the original Perspective's 84dB."
If you are talking about the KEF Reference META 5 they better do for 4 times the price. That is the only KEF Reference with a sensitivity about 89dB.
My estimate of the Perspective's voltage sensitivity was 84dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is on the low side. However, as indicated by its plot of impedance magnitude and electrical phase against frequency (fig.1), the Joseph is a very easy load for the partnering amplifier to drive. Not only is the phase angle relatively low, the impedance remains above 8 ohms at almost frequencies, with a minimum magnitude of 6.27 ohms at 135Hz." Yes the sensitivity is a bit lower than requested but since it is a pretty even 8ohm load it is not a difficult speaker to drive.
A bit? 5-6dB is a world. For example for 100dB you need 100 watt with the 83dB efficient speaker, with the 89dB efficient speaker you only need 25 watt.
I don't believe that the single figure tells the whole story. From the technical part of the above-linked review by Martin Colloms, a speaker designer himself: and
Given great feedback on these that they were extremely impressive in the attributes you are seeking. Trusted listeners we’re raving. Rigoletto 2020 | Odeon Audio - Lautsprecher handgefertigt in Deutschland
It is easy, @avanti1960 asked for a speaker with an efficiency above 88dB. The KIM has an efficiency of 86dB. I'm not talking about what I like or what sounds good to me, I only write technical points.
That is interesting, who are these trusted listeners? I have listend to the Rigo 2020 here in my room and at the designers place. Neither listening experience impressed me. High efficiency, dynamic and bass slam (for its size)? Without a doubt but very lean sounding in the lower midrange. BTW: The review of the hifistatement review sold his one after a year and I also know another person who sold his ones very fast too. I know very much Odeon speakers and I have owned 4 Odeons in the past. For me it was the worst sounding Odeon I have listend to so far. My friend who knows Odeon for years had the same listening impressions.
At least the name sounds right, I can imagine Frasier Crane saying " I don't have speakers, I have a pair of Rigolettos"
I have listend to them, they were very bass heavy which might fit in point 3. but I was able to locate every chassis while listening even if I was sitting about 3.3m away and found it totally annoying.
It's interesting to me that 5 disparate points of desire can elicit so many diverse responses. And a couple of points on the wishlist I find hard to parse. 2) Minimized cabinet resonance and coloration.- Does this mean some herculean effort to damp cabinets and exotic materials a la Wilson? Or just sensibly thoughtfully built cabinets using bracing etc? 5) High level of refinement and transparency while still sounding natural. - This seems totally subjective. Also I thought you were looking at AN-E's which satisfy some but not necessarily all of those requirements?