Best speaker you’ve ever *heard

My buddy's Apogee ribbon are pretty sweet.

 

I am still going with the KEF Reference 1.
in my room they do it all for me...detail, imaging, dynamics, balanced tone, bass.

 

some recent experiences that impressed my ears include:

voxativ zeth. the german company has extracted maximum potential from point source single full range driver technology.
female vocals were seamless, spotless and sensational.

martin logan esl 11. notable in that they were driven by the highly transparent benchmark system including dual ahb2 amplifiers. tiny crystals floating through the air with remarkable delicacy and clarity.

harbeth 40.2. the most natural, life like presentation i have ever witnessed. perfect pin point sound staging and speaker disappearing act. natural is often perceived as slightly rounded and subdued by comparison. so be it. there is staying power and fatigue free listening a plenty with nearly every recording with a natural sounding speaker.

 

LOL i have an unused pair sitting on a shelf. they were briefly used as surrounds when i ran the first pioneer av receiver.
as mains they do their small footprint justice with a little bass boost thrown in.

 

I went to a hifi show last year for the first time in many years. There were all sorts of massive, crazy expensive speakers that I thought were not just disappointing but absolute rubbish (compared to my Harbeth M30.1 speakers, which I like but am not absolutely crazy about).

But I heard one speaker which I absolutely could not get enough of. It was the little Brigadier Mu 2 by Serhan & Swift. I had never heard of the speaker or company before, and I've still never seen any reference to them on any forums. The room at the show was packed all day I was there. They were playing the album Eyes Closed by HAEVN. I've not heard them mentioned on this forum either. I ordered their LP as soon as I got home. It's the best sounding piece of vinyl I own and achingly beautiful music which I heartily recommend (and may have had something to do with why the demonstration was so successful!)

 

I can’t really describe any particular speaker as being "the best" I’ve ever heard, but a few memorable ones include:

Harbeth SHL5
Vandersteen 3A Signature
Devore O/93
Trenner & Friedl Art
Rogers J149

...and my KEF LS50s.

 

I had a pair of those Rogers J149.
Sold them around 1991

 

The best one I heard for longer then 30 minutes is what I have now - PAP Quintet15 Horn1 )). Nothing I owe before or listened for prolong session beats them!
MBLs are amazing and nothing like them exists, but after 30 minutes I started to get fatiqued..

 

I heard a pair of Beveridge’s years ago that was just an awesome experience. Don’t know how they compare to newer speakers, but if I had the money and the space I’d grab them.

 

Got to spend an afternoon with these in one room and Wilson Alexia 2s in another. The Vandersteen 5s had tubes driving them, the Alexia 2s had a very nice chip amp. As a former Vandersteen owner, I was pretty surprised at how much clarity the Wilsons had and how good they were at imaging and soundstage. Now, the Vandersteens had a CD as the source, so I temper my perceptions a bit. I really did not expect the contrast, and had to rethink some of my previously entertained ideas regarding driver polarity.

That said, I'd have to say that my current speakers have a very similar presentation to the Alexia 2s, which must sound preposterous comparing a $60,000 speaker to a $6,000 speaker, but there it is. That's why I bought these. The Wilsons are much more even handed in the frequency response but the clarity and voicing are very similar. The Wilsons also have better off-axis response.

 

Sony Ar1....this is the only speaker that played a grand piano that sounded like a true Grand Piano...why these speaker dont get more attention i dont know...and thier build quality is 2nd to none...

 

I had a pair of Rogers J149’s. Sold them in the early 90’s.

 

Dynaudio Special 40s. Just added them today and it's as if they have been designed to work specifically with my setup.

 

A local shop used to have yearly events where they brought in the manufacturers and their reps.
Somewhere around about 2000, give or take, Ian Paisley from Mirage was there with these massive tower speakers, 6 to 7 feet tall IIRC.
Can’t recall if they were a production model or prototype, but they were amazing.
He played a Sinatra track that was so lifelike it gave me goosebumps

 

Tawaun

Sadly, they don’t get more attention because Sony’s interest in high end audio has ebbed and flowed in the past. Mostly ebbed. But you have very good taste. The Sony SS AR 1’s are simply superb. Sadly, for the $30,000 they cost most audiophiles don’t know they exist (if they still do?) and will choose to listen to the also superb but different Wilson, Magico, B&W, and Vandersteen.

 

Thank you kindly sir so do you they are stellar speakers for sure as far as i know they still exist....

 

Acoustic Energy AE2

 

Wilson Sophia in a dealer showroom. Salesman was demonstrating a relatively inexpensive Musical Fidelity DAC playing “Brothers in Arms”. That could be my end game speaker for sure.

 

My friend's Apogee Caliper ribbons are up with the best. My custom made Alternate Audio planar/ribbon speakers are also up there.

 

TAD

 

Ino audio i28 and i32s with profundus y-4 basmadules in a acoustically treated room. By far the best I have heard.

 

Thanks a lot. I own a pair in that color--now I'll never be able to look at them again without that image in my head.

 

Bigger room speakers Acapella Audio Arts Campanile 2 Loudspeakers



Normal Room speakers

Audio Note AN-E/SEC Signature speakers

 

All New Magico A5's !