What's the best pair of speakers you've ever heard?

[Helmuth]

dynaudio c2 sounded very nice to me on a T&A V10. Not wow but smooth pleasant good tonal balance.

[marec]

UK
LS3/5A
You don't need another picture of these...
I bought them 25+ years ago and still use them!
Lowther Delphics
Again, well known loudspeakers. I bought these 19 years ago and up until recently, they never did it for me. Latest driver upgrades = superb.
DIY OB's as per MJK's designs.
Magnificent... Mine were 15a + 108eZ
I spent more on the crossover than the drivers...

But, as I type now, it's the loathers in near field for me...

Rgds
M

[raul_77]

ATC SCM 300ASL. Sorry, but all others are toys:



...and I agree with the LS3/5a

[AllenB]

Originally Posted by DrDyna

Most PA speakers are designed to be loud, efficient and rugged / portable with high power handling, then in descending importance things like frequency response, distortion and crossover refinement are considered.

Not when we build with them and there are other less obvious benefits.

Originally Posted by KatieandDad

The Americans learnt how not to speak English.

Their rhotic accentuations were fairly common in the UK before 200-300 years ago I believe. Although modern English (and Australian) is quite non-rhotic, this style didn't exist before the 15th century.

[marec]

Originally Posted by raul_77

ATC SCM 300ASL. Sorry, but all others are toys:



...and I agree with the LS3/5a

Hey Raul
You don't drive an Audi A8 by any chance do you?
I remember having a demo of the ATC100s once upon a time (my son, you understand!) and
an A8 the following day. I remember thinking they were both overwhelmingly competent. I bought neither!(I bought a new Elise instead... Big mistake!) I hate being totally upstaged by my possessions. But then, that's my inadequacy...

Rgds
M

[raul_77]

Hi marec,

The question of the thread are: What's the best pair of speakers you've ever heard?

I have heard the ATC SCM 300ASL several times.. but I can' buy, are totally out of my economy.

Cheers

[orpheus]

I've heard a lot of great speakers, but since it is impossible to separate the system from the speaker when you're listening at shows, I have to say the best "speaker" I have heard is the aforementioned TAD Reference One.

4 of them playing multichannel recorded by Ray Kimber with his isomike system in DSD using Meitner and Pass Labs. Recording in a large concert hall, he flies his microphone array that isolates the microphones from reflections from the opposite wall with a baffle, and records 2 channels for the front, and two channels for the back. It was the most like stepping into a concert hall of any listening experience I have ever had. Incredibly expensive as a system, and difficult to replicate at home without a dedicated room, not to mention the complete lack of recordings that are done in this way. I believe it was the 2009 Stereophile Show in NYC.

Here is a pick of the front two speakers in the setup, and a pick of the Reference One by itself.

As mentioned previously, Andrew Jones is a great designer, and is great to have him demonstrate his own speakers at shows. His tolerance for absurd questions, including mine, is extraordinary. His monitor speaker is fantastic as well, I have heard it in several systems at shows and have always been impressed.

For more average budgets, I find that Vandersteen is very difficult to beat and have liked every speaker of his that I have heard, from the top of the line to the bottom.

-Aaron.

[marec]

Hi Raul
You are correct! I saw "pictures required" and made an assumption...
For me, Sonus Faber Extremas at a long ago, long (otherwise) forgotten
show. One day I will own a pair (and the amps to go with them!)

Rgds
Mark

[Godzilla]

>>> dynaudio c2...

To me those are nothing more than a two way in a box. Maybe they do sound good... lots of differing opinions. To each his own.

A PA speaker can sound terrible in a home setup. Most do. But carefully selecting drivers and using them creatively can result in something really great.

[Helmuth]

Originally Posted by Godzilla

>>> dynaudio c2...

To me those are nothing more than a two way in a box. Maybe they do sound good... lots of differing opinions. To each his own.

A PA speaker can sound terrible in a home setup. Most do. But carefully selecting drivers and using them creatively can result in something really great.

Like this one but it is diy and just 2way.