Go Ahead - Name Your Top Five Speakers!

[User211]

Speaks for itself. I listed mine on another thread... but it occurred to me it'd be interesting to see what sort of common agreement this thread results in - if any!

So go ahead - what do you think?

It really doesn't matter if you have heard the widest variety in the world - just list the ones you rate.

 

[MiTT]

Having been able to attend RMAF more than a few times I'm lucky enough to have heard all of my choices:

• Avalon Sentinals
• JM Labs Grande Utopia EM
• Symposium Panorama
• Analysis Audio - the big 4 panel jobs (can't recall the model name)
• YG Acoustics Anat Professional - never liked them that much until last year, and then they were suddenly MAGIC!

There are a few few others just a bit down on the list, and of course I've yet to hear the CLX. I suspect it would make the top 5 list!

EDIT: added a few images from various encounters

 

[amey01]

I forget what yours are Justin - name your five?

Mine are:

• ADAM Tensor Alpha
• Martin Logan Statement E2
• Avalon Sentinel
• Gryphon Poseidon
• Martin Logan CLX
• MBL 101E

Can I have six? They're all worthy of a mention by me. I'd love to hear that YG thingy but I can't comment as yet. I'd also love to hear some Sound Labs. Like you Justin, other than ML (and the Avalons) all mine are non-US origin.

EDIT:......can I add another - Dynaudio Consequence - heard many many years ago in an unlikely location but it was very good. I'd keep it out of my "top x" list purely becuase my memories might not transpose into substance.

 

[tonepub]

Forgot about the big Symposium speaker... That has sounded excellent whenever I've heard it, but is it something you can actually buy these days?

 

[MiTT]

Forgot about the big Symposium speaker... That has sounded excellent whenever I've heard it, but is it something you can actually buy these days?

Good question Jeff, I honestly don't know for sure. I had heard that it was available for order somewhere, but I can't recall where (I think it was the Abso!ute Sound). I obviously have NOT placed my order...

EDIT: Just checked their website... they are taking orders and all of them are Made To Order :drool:

 

[C.A.P]

To hard to tell as many I have not heard and room acoustics play a HUGE role.

 

[MiTT]

Mine are:

• ADAM Tensor Alpha
• Martin Logan Statement E2
• Avalon Sentinel
• Gryphon Poseidon
• Martin Logan CLX
• MBL 101E

I'm sure the Statement E2's would be on my list, but I have never heard them, so I omitted them. I'm sure most of us here would have them in our Top 5, and some are actually lucky enough to actually have them...:bowdown:

 

[amey01]

I'm sure the Statement E2's would be on my list, but I have never heard them, so I omitted them. I'm sure most of us here would have them in our Top 5, and some are actually lucky enough to actually have them...:bowdown:

Yes - heard them a while ago.

 

[MiTT]

Yes - heard them a while ago.

Very Lucky dog!!!

 

[User211]

I forget what yours are Justin - name your five?

From the other thread:

"Hmmm... I'm just thinking about what I think the best speakers I have heard are...

Oddly, I can't really come up with virtually anything I think is absolutely amazing. I can find fault with anything! But these are very good:

Analysis Omegas
Good old Linn Isobarik - just a really good, full sounding, relaxed speaker. Great memories of it in various locations - and that's what made it exceptional - wherever I heard it, it ALWAYS sounded great. Not that expensive, either.
CLX
Big MBLs (have to give 'em the benefit of the doubt from the material I heard them with) and the MBL101E
Cabasse La Sphere
At a push, Avantgarde horns - specifically the Duo, but the Trio plus bass horns are probably way better. The Duo has similar problems to MLs with dynamic versus "something else" doing the higher frequencies.

Gamut speakers are great, too.

Not living in the US, hearing the top end American native stuff is virtually impossible. Really should go to RMAF sometime...

You'll note everything there apart from the CLX isn't of US breed.

Naturally, I am not a professional audio type, so my choice is based on a less broad "experience set".

EDIT: Naim SBL beats the Avantgarde's, on further thought - driven by a full complement of Naim electronics, of course! In fact, it's way up there"

Actually, I got his wrong - it wasn't the SBL, but a huge floorstander I heard some years ago... looks like they don't make it anymore - at least it's not on the website.

 

[David Matz]

Mine are:

Soundlab
clx
YG kipod
quad 2805
biggest magnepan

 

[amey01]

YG kipod

Isn't this a funny name for a high-end speaker? It is supposed to be very high-end and yet they name it with connotations of about the lowest-fi device available!

 

[raanan]

top 5 speakers

1)CLS
2)QUAD ESL57
3)Klipschorn
4)LS3/5A
5)Strathearn ribbons with Russ Dewalt double Khorn subwoofer

 

[JonFo]

As C.A.P. says, rooms play such a huge role, comparisons are pretty tough to make.

That said, here's my list

1) My custom Monoliths, sub and center (in my room on my gear)
2) CLX
3) Wisdom Audio LS150i (with active x-over, Audyssey Pro, tri-amped)
4) Meridian DSP-8000
5) Spires


Note that only one dynamic speaker makes it on the list. And that's a fully active variant, heard in a custom room with a full Meridian Digital Theater setup (including MRC applied).
If I’d heard some line-arrays in good settings, there might be one or two on that list as well.

Before Gordon jumps on me for listing my own setup , let me clarify why it's there:

Loudspeaker to room interface is one of the most critical parts of sound reproduction. If one takes the time (thousand+ man-hours) to engineer the speaker to the room and the room to the speaker, then the results can be pretty spectacular as compared to just plopping a speaker in a room and calling it a day (which is what most vendors/stores seem to do).

The questions was: what are the top 5 speakers I’ve heard, and that’s my list

 

[Gordon Gray]

No problem Jonathan.

With all your knowledge and expertise in the field, I'm sure they kick ass.

Would love to hear your set up one of these days.

To put in my two cents on the thread and not in any particular order since there are too many variables, here's some transducers that I've heard over the years that struck me as very musical.

MBL

Analysis Audio

ML Statement

Sound Labs

Wisdom Audio

Best,

Gordon

 

[Audiophiliac]

Hmmm this could be tough, but in my experience, I would list these, thought not as a concrete favorites list. Just speakers I have heard and was able to enjoy the musical experience with.

In no particular order:

B&W Silver Signature (silky smooth and sexy sounds from these...one of my first hi-fi experiences)

ML Prodigy (Having not had a chance to really listen to the new stuff, these were amazing setup in our store with a real nice vinyl rig and some hybrid tube gear)

Wilson MAXX 2 (detail, resolution, spatial rendition, dynamics, imaging, and the paint process are all unreal....they are a bit anal, and not quite as emotionally involving as some others, but that is highly dependent on upstream gear and listening material)

Krell LAT-2 (This little but HEAVY monitor might be the most dynamic speaker I have heard....at least it came off that way. Amazing staging, crystal clear top end, of course mates perfectly with big Krell power....if I had to pick just one stand mounted monitor, this would be it based on what I have heard thus far)

Zu Audio Druid MKIV (For me, this has been the most enjoyable speaker I have heard. I had the chance to sit in Sean Casey's (co-founder of Zu) basement and listen to these beauties for over 2 hours. We spun vinyl, and used a couple different amps and sources....and everything was just perfect. No room treatments, no digital processing, no power conditioning, no 5 figure electronics, no exotic cables, no rocks, blocks, or magic socks......just some tubes, and the Druids....and the MUSIC.....they have such a beautiful warm tone and are very very dynamic....and they can play LOUD and not fall apart.....sure they are not as detailed as a ML or a Wilson....and they might not throw as good a stage as the LAT-2, but they have something that just works for me....and brought me further into the musical experience than anything else.....I am hoping that their new Essence will be my next real speaker...and hopefully my last for a while. :music: )

 

[tonepub]

The Zu Guys are great!

We've got the Essence in for review right now and this pair is staying in my living room with a Pathos Tube/Hybrid amp.

Great stuff. Here's my pair, custom painted by Zu in period correct factory BMW paint..(Golf yellow, used to come on 2002's and 2002 tii's)

And the good news is that my wife loves em!

 

[Audiophiliac]

NICE!!!! I am looking forward to your review! June issue? How do they do with the Pathos? Everyone seems to use tubes with the Zu speakers....and rightly so with their high sensitivity and easy load. But I have never seen a review where someone threw some monster SS power at them. They can handle it for sure. Just a thought. Nice color BTW!

 

[tonepub]

The Pathos isn't huge power (75wpc), but very warm sounding, which I prefer with Zu. Also going to give it a go with 300B power and a pair of Manley Mahis...

I used to use my Druids with a pair of Bottlehead 2A3 amps and loved em. These are not quite as efficient as the Druids were.

 

[amey01]

I remember another one.......again, I was in an unlikely location, unprepared for a high-end audio listening experience and next thing these Lansche Audios were playing in front of me.

From quite a few years ago, can't even remember the model but they did look something like the attached.