The perfect speaker [Archive] - The Art of Sound Forum

Reid Malenfant

26-06-2011, 18:38

Tweeter - Yamaha NS1000 3cm Beryllium (JA-0513)
Midrange - Yamaha NS1000 8.8cm Beryllium (JA-0801)
Upper bass/lower mid - Monacor SPH-225C
Bass - Creative Sound Solutions SDX-15

Coming soon, as soon as i get some space & my arse in gear :eyebrows:

Barry

26-06-2011, 21:12

How about stacked Quad 57s, used full range, with a Kelly ribbon tweeter coming in above 10KHz?

Bass? I don't know, but I'm sure REL do a good active sub-woofer for those frequencies < 40Hz.

Jonboy

26-06-2011, 21:43

How about stacked Quad 57s, used full range, with a Kelly ribbon tweeter comming in above 10KHz?

Bass? I don't know, but I'm sure REL do a good active sub-woofer for those frequencies < 40Hz.

gets my vote having had a simular setup:thumbsup::wowzer:

Neil McCauley

26-06-2011, 22:19

Barry

27-06-2011, 09:05

My vote goes for the Mark Levinson HQD system on everything and I do mean everything except visual appeal. Sonically both the Alpha and the Omega. Such a tragedy to see what that once great organisation has become.

Signal source? the Mark Levinson ML5 reel to reel.

That is more or less what I described. Never got to hear a HQD system, but I'm sure these days the massive (24 cu. ft.!) pair of woofers could now be replaced with active sub-woofers.

Agreed they were imposing and sadly I don't have the room for stacked Quad 57s, but they "don't half sound good"!

Regards

Neil McCauley

27-06-2011, 10:25

That is more or less what I described. Never got to hear a HQD system, but I'm sure these days the massive (24 cu. ft.!) pair of woofers could now be replaced with active sub-woofers.

Agreed they were imposing and sadly I don't have the room for stacked Quad 57s, but they "don't half sound good"!

Regards

I heard them at the Levinson USA factory in the 1980s. A few seconds of anything, even at a low SPL told an experienced listener all they need to know.

As a point of reference, on that trip, but in Chicago I listened at length to the Infinity IRS system and The Beveridge 2-SW2. In terms of bass articulation, the IRS was it. In terms of sheer musical credibility in the upper mid to extreme top and visual elegance (depending on your taste) it was the Beveridge.

In terms of combining all of this and yet in a system of such visual awfulness as to be indescribable using civilised language, the HQD had it all.

Meanwhile, what was the pinnacle of UK speaker design at that time – according to the Haymarket Publishing zombies? It alternated between the Linn Kan, the truly musically destructive Sara and the unspeakable Isobarbarick. How quaint.

technobear

27-06-2011, 12:16

Bass, mid and treble all coming from the same driver.

Headphones probably do it best but there are some excellent single driver speakers out there and also quite a few which add low bass and high treble without screwing up the midrange through a phase distorting crossover.

griffo104

27-06-2011, 15:36

A few years ago I heard a complete, and I do mean complete Ensemble system and for the first time I think I actually enjoyed and understood what digital was capable of. A great sounding system of which the speakers did their job.

I still think a good speaker is totally dependant on the system driving it. Bot just a Linnie viewpoint but coming from an IT background GIGO has always been at the forefront of my thinking and it still does to this day - pretty much in everything and not just hifi.

However if anyone wishes to give me a nice pair of Magico speakers to prove me wrong I'm willing to give it a go :lolsign:

John

27-06-2011, 15:57

So far the best speaker system I heard is Vic speakers
It use two Bastanis Crystals a Radian compression driver and these massive 18" dipole speakers.
http://www.aespeakers.com/news.php?start=0&news_id=24
I do not know if you can get these drivers anymore I think the run was only limited to 6 but by god the bass is awesome
The scale is truly staggering

magiccarpetride

27-06-2011, 16:56

What mix of speaker to make your perfect combo.

Whether it be bass from a celestion or mid from a 57 or ls3/5a or a bc1spendor tweeter.

Over to you.

The best speakers I've ever heard were Magnepan 3.7. Coherence, naturalness, believability, convincing bass, realistic soundstage. Absence of any sugar coating or euphonics.

Most relaxed sounding speakers I've heard so far were Willson's Sophia. But at the expense of coloration and candy coating, which are the characteristics I detest.

Ali Tait

27-06-2011, 22:46

They are not perfect, but what electrostatics do well, they do better than anything else IMHO.

magiccarpetride

28-06-2011, 17:44

They are not perfect, but what electrostatics do well, they do better than anything else IMHO.

They are the best when it comes to revealing the upstream changes. You may change a power cable or a pair of interconnects and not hear any differences if you're using the cones-in-a-box speakers (even when using ultra high-end boxes). But try the same change while using electrostatics, and the differences magically appear:)

Reid Malenfant

28-06-2011, 17:55

I guess you haven't listened to a pair of Yamaha NS1000/2000 or 10000 then Alex :scratch:

David Price (reviewer for a certain magazine) described them as sounding like an electrostatic with a subwoofer & supertweeter ;)

John

28-06-2011, 17:56

yes but getting those Yams to perform right I heard a few and none sounded good probarly due to the difficulty of getting them to perform to the level they can. From everything I read about your system I sure this not the case with your Mark

Reid Malenfant

28-06-2011, 18:02

They like valves John, or class A solid state ;) They can be a tad bright & fizzy with class B (simply showing up the damn amplifier :eyebrows:). No idea how come they work so well active with this 6 channel Parasound :scratch: They shouldn't, but they do :)

NS1000 review (http://www.inner-magazines.com/news/82/72/Yamaha-NS1000/)

John

28-06-2011, 18:21

The few times I heard them they been quite fizzy I know they must be so much more just yet to hear it. Great you found something that works so well with them

BTH K10A

29-06-2011, 22:53

The best speakers I've heard to date were the JBL D6600 Everests. Truly amazing speakers with a midrange as good as an electrostatic plus the most tuneful deep bass and the delicacy of a ribbon tweeter in the high frequencies.

Maybe in a few years time I might be able to justify buying a secondhand pair if the price is right. :)

I wonder if any were sold in the UK. :scratch: My one and only audition was in Germany where JBL's seem to have a stronger customer base.

aquapiranha

29-06-2011, 23:29

They are not perfect, but what electrostatics do well, they do better than anything else IMHO.

Yep, I used to love the ESL63's a friends dad owned. Not everyone's cup of tea mind. I thing the best speakers I have heard to date are Tannoys.

Marco

29-06-2011, 23:56

Hehehe..... Santa will bring you some for Christmas, Steve! ;)

The perfect speaker? It doesn't exist. I need something that can do serious scale ('heft') and realism, though, at 'live music' playback levels without crying 'mammy, daddy' when the going gets tough...! :eyebrows:

Marco.

aquapiranha

30-06-2011, 07:14

BTH K10A

30-06-2011, 21:00

I need something that can do serious scale ('heft') and realism, though, at 'live music' playback levels without crying 'mammy, daddy' when the going gets tough...! :eyebrows:

Marco.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f120/emttsd15/04022010053437_2.jpg
:rock:

technobear

01-07-2011, 12:00

I always preferred this one style wise:

http://www.avland.co.uk/aasp/jbl/0920/k2s9800se/k2s9800se.jpg

:stalks:

aquapiranha

01-07-2011, 12:08

I know there was chap on WW who had a pair of these JBL's, did anyone egt to hear a pair?
I would love to listen to some myself.

MartinT

01-07-2011, 12:42

Big JBLs take some beating for scale.

Marco

01-07-2011, 14:38

I always preferred this one style wise:

http://www.avland.co.uk/aasp/jbl/0920/k2s9800se/k2s9800se.jpg

:stalks:

K2s, aren't they? Awesome! I do love JBLs....although big Tannoys can easily do as much scale, and probably more ;)

Martin (or anyone else), next time you venture up my way, you must pop by for a sesh and I'll frighten you to death with what the Lockwoods can do with rock music, in my wee room, scale-wise. Some people never fully recover.....! :eek: :eyebrows:

Marco.

Lodgesound

01-07-2011, 15:36

Hi Marco.....

For large power duties the LS 5/8 will easily reach 115 db spl without distortion which is quite staggering (well staggeringly dangerous in a domestic setting as being a monitor speaker it does'nt actually sound that loud).

I know many folk have a problem with BBC designs but I first heard a pair of these when I was 15 in a BBC dubbing theatre and vowed I would one day own some - had to wait 10 more years before I did though. I've personally never found anything any better except the B&W Nautilus 801 which when properly driven did admittedly sound quite breathtaking...

Marco

01-07-2011, 15:43

Hi Stewart,

Yeah, you've mentioned those before and they sound right up my street... Got any pics of your LS 5/8s? :)

I need to buy/borrow and SPL meter some time. I've never actually measured how loud things can get with the Lockwoods, on the end of my TD copper amp, in a fairly small room, but it at times it must be frighteningly loud. The sound can pin you to the wall with its sheer visceral intensity...

Marco.

BTH K10A

01-07-2011, 16:54

I always preferred this one style wise:

http://www.avland.co.uk/aasp/jbl/0920/k2s9800se/k2s9800se.jpg

:stalks:

Yes the K2 S9800 was very nice but has now been superceded by the K2 S9900 which I think looks even better.

My first choice would have been a pair of Everest D6600's followed by the K2 S9900, but at £44k & £28k respectively they were more than I could justify spending for a pair of speakers.

The Array 1400 on the other hand is a lot less at circa £9k and is not far off the more expensive models in performance. In fact the law of diminishing returns is very evident. It's also worth noting that the designer Greg Timbers used the prototypes for these in his own system rather than the range topping models he also designed.

Unless I manage to find a pair of secondhand D6600's for under £10k I don't think I'll ever part with my Array's. :)

If Marco pops in on his way to France then he could provide an unbiased evaluation of the Array's capability.

Marco

01-07-2011, 17:06

That is highly likely, matey! :)

Marco.

MartinT

01-07-2011, 19:00

Martin (or anyone else), next time you venture up my way, you must pop by for a sesh and I'll frighten you to death with what the Lockwoods can do with rock music, in my wee room, scale-wise.

Don't worry, I will take you up on that :)

John

01-07-2011, 19:05

Scale wise big drivers rule

BTH K10A

01-07-2011, 19:52

Scale wise big drivers rule

Yes, if you want really deep bass size matters ;)

http://audio-database.com/MITSUBISHI-DIATONE/diatonesp/d-160-e.html

Reid Malenfant

01-07-2011, 19:55

Yes, if you want really deep bass size matters ;)

http://audio-database.com/MITSUBISHI-DIATONE/diatonesp/d-160-e.html
As an add on (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9443&highlight=diatone) ;) With some specifications...

MartinT

01-07-2011, 19:56

Yes, if you want really deep bass size matters ;)

Not just deep bass; size matters for punchy midrange too, as well as the aformentioned scale.

AlexM

01-07-2011, 20:34

WAF is going to be quite low for those Diatone domestic models.... even more so if you need a stereo pair :).

Has anyone seen the average size of a Japanese apartment in Tokyo? maybe they could double-up as bedrooms for the kids :)

jimdgoulding

04-07-2011, 21:49

I think I could be happy with Roger Sander's electrostatic speaker system if my room were larger. Get me an affordable Mystere CA21 pre for a little tube warmth and a digital and analog front end with a phono pre and a Shelter 901II cart and that oughta do it.

avalonsounds

06-07-2011, 15:56

The most convincing speakers Ive ever heard,are Apogee Scintillas with Replacement Graz ribbons, driven by Huge Krells.They just do everything.The rear firing tweeter, presents a 3d image, that with piano, youll believe there is a Steinway in the room.Ive had two pairs and regret selling them,but you real need a big room.:(

Marco

06-07-2011, 16:28

The most convincing speakers Ive ever heard,are Apogee Scintillas with Replacement Graz ribbons, driven by Huge Krells.They just do everything

Including, near-limitless loudness levels and huge, foundation-threatening scale and bass impact?

If so, they'll be the first statics I've heard of which can do that! ;)

Most tend to throw up the white flag at anything near the levels I sometimes listen at..... :fingers:

Marco.

BTH K10A

06-07-2011, 16:47

I thought they were full range ribbon speakers :scratch: with an amp destroying impedance curve. ;) I've heard a pair and they were good but apparently quite fragile with age.

technobear

06-07-2011, 17:03

I thought they were full range ribbon speakers :scratch: with an amp destroying impedance curve. ;) I've heard a pair and they were good but apparently quite fragile with age.

Correct :)

I like Apogees :drool: