Does anybody buy GIGANTIC expensive flagship speakers?

It wasn’t even close. In fact, my wife and I demoed very expensive YG speakers at Axpona, then went to the L100 room and listened to the same song. The L100’s sounded better hands down.

 

Zamfir

 

No idea, the system wasn't playing that day. I would suspect hip hop...lol.

 

They rent commercial space for their stereo. Those spaces are large and much cheaper than Residential spaces.

 

So they have to go to a separate place to listen to music?

 

This room while large for Hong Kong showrooms is still too small for these speakers but nevertheless shows some promise. The problem with large speakers is they tend to create large problems that need to be counteracted. They are good enough to want to hear them in a better space. And big speakers like this have their strengths in terms of big effortless dynamics. So far my choice in this big room big speaker category is Acapella Audio Arts and so far they lead the field for me because they meet my criteria of at least 3 auditions in 3 separate spaces with different equipment.

The room 4 floors above the Rockport I spent more of my time with - and are of the more sanely priced stripe


The speakers at the back require that big amplifier on the right at the back. These are the ATC SCM 150ASLT LE (speakers at the back) (£$47,000 I believe) and this would also count as "large" speakers when you factor in the active power amp. The room here was more built for the size of these speakers. The Rockports go bigger with greater dynamic ease (I should hope so) but this room did well. I bought my LM 219is based on auditions with the ATC SCM 150 speakers at another dealer in HK (who is licensed to sell only the classic series) and I almost walked out of this dealer with the Parasound A23+ power amp (not pictured but A/B compared to the JC5 pictured here. This was a nice sound and the A23+ had no issues driving these speakers with non dynamically compressed Chinese drum music or full tilt classical. Metronome CD players use the Philips Pro 2LF mechanism - the best CD transport left in the industry.

 

I've heard more than a handful of $XXX,XXX systems ... they can sound jawdroppingly amazing.

However, with one notable exception, after ten or fifteen minutes I catch myself glancing at my watch. And this is even if they're playing music I like! Yes, the 'soundstage' they throw is huge and deep; you can locate voices and instruments to the millimeter; bass is tight, subterranean and slamming; midrange and treble like an open window, smooth, airy and full of previously-unheard detail; macro and micro dynamics utterly lifelike, etc. etc. ...

... but the whole set of desirable design parameters included just doesn't make music. Doesn't add up, somehow.

I'm almost always happy with a well-matched, much more affordable-for-mortals system, where you can relax and follow the tune with no effort.

 

At home they may run a Rogers LS-3/5a but I was talking to a fellow who was in the process of looking for a commercial space for his system. My 600 square foot flat runs me $17,200 per month and I am in the New Territories (the outer district away from the city). A Commercial space that might be 2400 square feet can run $7,000HKD a month. Which might be $900 US or so. So if you can afford $200,000US speakers you can afford $900 to rent a space for them. It seems bonkers but I have been to these spaces and they have large theater like settings so you can have friends over - they have washrooms and a kitchen - you could live in them - but it is not legal to live in them. Besides during the day other businesses may be manufacturing (loudly) so you would not be able to listen during those hours anyway.

 

I tend to agree - I am not trading my system in for either of the systems I was auditioning yesterday. But I do get the appeal.

 

This is totally my bias but, concerning speakers like YG, Vivid, KEF Muon, etc. ... I don't want anything that looks like a prop from The Martian Chronicles dominating my living space.

 

Room size,preferred listening volume and distance from speakers are important when choosing speakers....i prefer nearfield position...9ftish....big statement speakers need distance and volume to "gell"...don't want a band/ orchestra at full blast in my room...treasure my hearing too much for that.

 

My speakers are huge -but they gell rather well about 14 feet away, and sound terrific even in very quiet listening... May be simple 2-way design with 1st order xover helps...
I remember 20 years ago listening to commercial refrigerator-sized Grand Utopia and was very impressed how well they sounded in normal volume...

 

14ft is probably a good distance for big azz speakers....and i was generalizing...always exceptions my friend

 

Exactly my thought. My room is 24x28, but when actually listening, I want to be a little intimate with the music. Don't need loud bombastic sound, not what turns me on.

 

I'd love to hear those Pure Audio Project speakers. Years ago, I had a pair of Magneplanar Tympani 1D speakers (a folding screen arrangement of 3x6 foot speakers each side). These were seriously good but needed seriously good amplification and were not outrageously priced. The covering cloth was a light grey weave in my pair, not mauve as in the photo.

 

One of the big plusses with large speakers is that they can usually do 'scale' very well. ( room dependent naturally), BUT one of the biggest issues I commonly hear with the very same speakers is that they also tend to portray instruments in too large a manner...like a ten foot wide guitar, or a violin that sounds like it is eight wood wide. This is, to me, more than off-setting to the impressive scale that is also portrayed.

 

This is true. I demoed Borrensen flagship speakers and it sounded like joe satrianis head was the size of a hot air balloon. Everyone seemed to really like it, but I honestly thought it sounded horrible.

 

I agree. I've been to AXPONA quite a few times now and many times when I hear gigantic speakers the scale of instruments and voices is way off. I specifically recall some set-I don't remember what-playing some bluesy spiritual something. It sounded like a giant Wizard of Oz head singing. I also remember a huge John Lennon head. Those I think we're from Volti. It's distracting and not enjoyable.

 

Yep...my listening room is about 1100sq ft...i just picked out a corner where i can listen at a volume that gives me all of the music without blowing out my hearing.Realism is the main target of our little hobby,but it needs to be scaled to our rooms and volume preferences.

 

Man I hope you're right. I'm constantly resisting the urge to upgrade. And I don't need it. My system and room is bananas.

 

Lol...relax bud...gonna have a tough time replacing those Snells

 

The Magnepans (1.6) that I had sounded great. The problem was that their sweet spot was tiny. If you were anywhere in the room other than one designated chair, the sound completely fell apart.

 

Snell J's, driven by Rega Elex-R? ... sounds like Heaven to me!

 

That seems to be a problem with planar speakers. Quads original electrostatic speaker for one.

 

You need to be more selfish....the designated chair is yours.