Best Speakers Money Can Buy?

[AudioNew]

Hello everyone. The title question was probably a dead giveaway, because it is probably pretty dumb. I am new to audio in general, and fairly oblivious to my own tastes in sound.
For reference, I have a bluetooth Bose speaker I bought at a mall 10 years ago that I'll sometimes connect to my phone.
My cursory understanding of audio is that it's subject to a ton of variables, like matching amps and speakers that go together, the condition of the room, and your subjective tastes in sound.

Having said that, the world of high end audio is fascinating to me, especially speakers, in how they are seemingly very divergent in appearance/underlying technology, often from brands that are more obscure than mainstream electronics, with very high prices, that all aim to offer superior sound. As a newbie, I am drawn to speakers that "looks cool" like the Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus, MBL 101 X-Treme MKII, and Steinway Lyngdorf (for the piano brand association, with little knowledge about how better that makes them compared to regular Lyngdorfs).

So I hope to ask veterans in the world of high-end audio what speakers you consider to be the finest that money can buy, of course from your own experience. Googling lists of best speakers seem to inevitably bring up haphazard lists of expensive speakers.

Thank you for your time, and I apologize if the question is not really worth it.

 

[Kbh57]

Good morning. There are no "dumb" questions, but some are unanswerable in any meaningful way-this might be one. There are lots of folks on WBF more knowledgeable than me, but I suspect answers to your question would be little more than what you saw from your internet search-subjective lists of incredibly expensive speakers- high six or seven figure price tags. Maybe an interesting discussion, but ultimately inconclusive.

If you are planning to get into the hobby, there are lots of smart people here who can give you tips to get you started down the right path. You would need to provide an estimated budget, a description of your space, and your goals.

My honest answer to your question is, I don't know which speakers are the best money can buy, but I'm reasonably certain I can't afford them.

Cheers.

 

[itay123]

AudioNew = AudioGod ?​

$80K budget for Speakers

So far I've narrowed it to these speakers What's your opinion ?

www.whatsbestforum.com

The overly flowery tone of the opening posts makes the intent quite clear, go ahead, sir.

 

[Holmz]

Hello everyone. The title question was probably a dead giveaway, because it is probably pretty dumb. I am new to audio in general, and fairly oblivious to my own tastes in sound.
For reference, I have a bluetooth Bose speaker I bought at a mall 10 years ago that I'll sometimes connect to my phone.
My cursory understanding of audio is that it's subject to a ton of variables, like matching amps and speakers that go together, the condition of the room, and your subjective tastes in sound.

Having said that, the world of high end audio is fascinating to me, especially speakers, in how they are seemingly very divergent in appearance/underlying technology, often from brands that are more obscure than mainstream electronics, with very high prices, that all aim to offer superior sound. As a newbie, I am drawn to speakers that "looks cool" like the Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus, MBL 101 X-Treme MKII, and Steinway Lyngdorf (for the piano brand association, with little knowledge about how better that makes them compared to regular Lyngdorfs).

So I hope to ask veterans in the world of high-end audio what speakers you consider to be the finest that money can buy, of course from your own experience. Googling lists of best speakers seem to inevitably bring up haphazard lists of expensive speakers.

Thank you for your time, and I apologize if the question is not really worth it.

Do you want the best any money can buy, or the best that your money can buy?

A lot depends on the room.
And you’ve mentioned the Steinway-Lyngdorf, who do the TDAI 11?? And TDAI 3400 amps with the room correction.
There are also powered speakers like Genelecs.

Some people out a lot of weight into speaker radiation patterns and measurements taken with a Klipple machine.

In terms of best with metrics - there is radiation patterns, frequency flatness, and time domain and impulse response.
And hence there are hundreds of ways to skin a cat, and weighting of compromises, that results in a hundreds of choices for passive and active speakers.

 

[TooCool4]

Welcome to WBF AudioNew. It’s impossible to define what’s the best speakers, how do you define best, best for what, best for whom, best for what kind of music etc the list goes on.

Yes, you have seen high price tags but loads of money does not always mean good or better sound.

Since you are just starting out, I would recommend listening to as many different systems as you can to get a feel for what you like. Take what everyone says or what you read in the magazines or on forums with a grain of salt, always go and listen for yourself. Just because someone else likes something does not mean you will like it too.

Once you get into these years down the line, you will also find out the best way to test is to have the kit in your own home and using it with the rest of your kit but that is years down the line.

Good luck in your audio quest, don’t get sucked into more money equals better. One last thing don’t buy what you can’t afford, it’s not worth getting into debt for.

 

[craigr]

I would suggest:
(1) Ask yourself what genre of music you prefer or will listen to the most. My experience is that high-end speakers tend to favor in terms of "believable reproducibility" one genre over another. For example, Sonus Faber speakers excel on orchestral, classical, jazz, especially strings. They are not particularly "good" on hard rock or metal genres. In contrast, I find Focal, Magico do not reproduce classical music well, but are tuned more toward rock and similar genres. Wilson has a unique sound that is very clinical to my ears.

(2) Do you like very detailed sound even at the expense of "warmth?" Wilson's provide every last detail, clearly differentiated. Detail is present, but perhaps in a warmer or more natural way with Sonus Faber and hence the latter may not sound as "articulate".

(3) Be aware that the "upstream" components greatly influence the sound of the speakers. Do you want "tight" impactful bass? Perhaps you would prefer a solid state amp. A "warmer" tone, then perhaps a tube based amp. The preamp also influences the sound and you can certainly mix and match (I have a tube preamp and a solid state amp so I get the "best of both worlds".

(4) Cables make a large difference in the sound as well. I find, for example, the NOrdost line of cables to sound as if there is a veil compared to the Shunyata cables.

In other words, there sound that emanates from the speaker is not dependent only on the speaker per se. You have to go and listen to entire systems.

(5) The precise speaker placement, the room and its treatment are critical. This will take days of experimentation, but in the end can truly provide a wide and deep soundstage and speakers that seem not to exist.

Good Luck on your endeavor!

 

[Holmz]

I would suggest:
(1) Ask yourself what genre of music you prefer or will listen to the most. My experience is that high-end speakers tend to favor in terms of "believable reproducibility" one genre over another. For example, Sonus Faber speakers excel on orchestral, classical, jazz, especially strings. They are not particularly "good" on hard rock or metal genres. In contrast, I find Focal, Magico do not reproduce classical music well, but are tuned more toward rock and similar genres. Wilson has a unique sound that is very clinical to my ears.

(2) Do you like very detailed sound even at the expense of "warmth?" Wilson's provide every last detail, clearly differentiated. Detail is present, but perhaps in a warmer or more natural way with Sonus Faber and hence the latter may not sound as "articulate".

(3) Be aware that the "upstream" components greatly influence the sound of the speakers. Do you want "tight" impactful bass? Perhaps you would prefer a solid state amp. A "warmer" tone, then perhaps a tube based amp. The preamp also influences the sound and you can certainly mix and match (I have a tube preamp and a solid state amp so I get the "best of both worlds".

(4) Cables make a large difference in the sound as well. I find, for example, the NOrdost line of cables to sound as if there is a veil compared to the Shunyata cables.

In other words, there sound that emanates from the speaker is not dependent only on the speaker per se. You have to go and listen to entire systems.

(5) The precise speaker placement, the room and its treatment are critical. This will take days of experimentation, but in the end can truly provide a wide and deep soundstage and speakers that seem not to exist.

Good Luck on your endeavor!

Crickey! ^That^ is a sales bonanza of name dropping of brands.

Getting an idea of passive or active speakers would be my first port of call decision.

 

[craigr]

If we define "active" speakers as those that have built in amps (thereby negating the need for amps in your "pathway", and "passive" speakers as those that require an external amp, consider the following:

(1) You may save money with active speakers in that you do not need to buy amps nor the power cords to the amps, nor speaker cables from the amps.
(2) You can probably safely assumed that the speaker company designed the built in amp specifically for the crossover, drivers, etc of that speaker and this "matching" may be beneficial in terms of efficiency and maybe for sound.
(3) BUT, you must accept their choice for the sound or character of the speaker. What was their bias in designing the amp? Did they emphasize the bass, or the midtones? Did they "tune" their speaker/amp for predominately classical music (large orchestral pieces), voices, rock or heavy metal? This may not be a problem for you in that if you like the sound, then you accept their choices. But, you are "stuck" with their choices without the chance of modifying the sound.

In contrast, a "passive" system you can "tune" the sound to your preference and even "tweak" the sound for different genres of music or different sources (e.g. vinyl vs DAC). This flexibility may be important to you depending on your listening choices.

 

[Holmz]

If we define "active" speakers as those that have built in amps (thereby negating the need for amps in your "pathway", and "passive" speakers as those that require an external amp, consider the following:

(1) You may save money with active speakers in that you do not need to buy amps nor the power cords to the amps, nor speaker cables from the amps.
(2) You can probably safely assumed that the speaker company designed the built in amp specifically for the crossover, drivers, etc of that speaker and this "matching" may be beneficial in terms of efficiency and maybe for sound.
(3) BUT, you must accept their choice for the sound or character of the speaker. What was their bias in designing the amp? Did they emphasize the bass, or the midtones? Did they "tune" their speaker/amp for predominately classical music (large orchestral pieces), voices, rock or heavy metal? This may not be a problem for you in that if you like the sound, then you accept their choices. But, you are "stuck" with their choices without the chance of modifying the sound.

In contrast, a "passive" system you can "tune" the sound to your preference and even "tweak" the sound for different genres of music or different sources (e.g. vinyl vs DAC). This flexibility may be important to you depending on your listening choices.

Usually it’s only better if one can do better with tweeting, than they can buy off the shelf.

That is not a given.

 

[MarkusBarkus]

..:meet ya half-way: Von Schweikert Ultras with active foundation bass and the rest is passive.

 

[PYP]

Hello everyone. The title question was probably a dead giveaway, because it is probably pretty dumb. I am new to audio in general, and fairly oblivious to my own tastes in sound.
For reference, I have a bluetooth Bose speaker I bought at a mall 10 years ago that I'll sometimes connect to my phone.
My cursory understanding of audio is that it's subject to a ton of variables, like matching amps and speakers that go together, the condition of the room, and your subjective tastes in sound.

Having said that, the world of high end audio is fascinating to me, especially speakers, in how they are seemingly very divergent in appearance/underlying technology, often from brands that are more obscure than mainstream electronics, with very high prices, that all aim to offer superior sound. As a newbie, I am drawn to speakers that "looks cool" like the Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus, MBL 101 X-Treme MKII, and Steinway Lyngdorf (for the piano brand association, with little knowledge about how better that makes them compared to regular Lyngdorfs).

So I hope to ask veterans in the world of high-end audio what speakers you consider to be the finest that money can buy, of course from your own experience. Googling lists of best speakers seem to inevitably bring up haphazard lists of expensive speakers.

Thank you for your time, and I apologize if the question is not really worth it.

do you have any small audio dealers in your area? The ones who have several rooms of different sizes. A visit to a dealer who specializes in true customer support is very helpful. Such folks ask about your goals and try to match your tastes and budget to gear they sell.

 

[AudioNew]

Good morning. There are no "dumb" questions, but some are unanswerable in any meaningful way-this might be one. There are lots of folks on WBF more knowledgeable than me, but I suspect answers to your question would be little more than what you saw from your internet search-subjective lists of incredibly expensive speakers- high six or seven figure price tags. Maybe an interesting discussion, but ultimately inconclusive.

If you are planning to get into the hobby, there are lots of smart people here who can give you tips to get you started down the right path. You would need to provide an estimated budget, a description of your space, and your goals.

My honest answer to your question is, I don't know which speakers are the best money can buy, but I'm reasonably certain I can't afford them.

Cheers.

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I guess what I am really curious about is how people get into high-end audio, in how they even begin to know the kind of setup is to their tastes, since the end result seems to depend on so many variables.

 

[AudioNew]

AudioNew = AudioGod ?​

$80K budget for Speakers

So far I've narrowed it to these speakers What's your opinion ?

www.whatsbestforum.com

The overly flowery tone of the opening posts makes the intent quite clear, go ahead, sir.

I'm not sure what you mean, but if you are suggesting that I am another user, I am not. Sorry for the confusion. I was going to go with AudioNewbie but that was taken, so I just went with AudioNew.

 

[AudioNew]

Do you want the best any money can buy, or the best that your money can buy?

A lot depends on the room.
And you’ve mentioned the Steinway-Lyngdorf, who do the TDAI 11?? And TDAI 3400 amps with the room correction.
There are also powered speakers like Genelecs.

Some people out a lot of weight into speaker radiation patterns and measurements taken with a Klipple machine.

In terms of best with metrics - there is radiation patterns, frequency flatness, and time domain and impulse response.
And hence there are hundreds of ways to skin a cat, and weighting of compromises, that results in a hundreds of choices for passive and active speakers.

I was just curious what the best any money can buy is, in aspirational terms. I understand there's little practical payoff to that kind of theoretical. but I don't really have a space yet where I'd want to invest a lot. Do you know of any dependable beginner-friendly sources that I could look at to start educating myself? I don't know the difference between passive and active speakers to be honest. I find the vertical string coverings on Steinway Lyngdorfs and Gryphons to be aesthetically pleasing, but that's probably a very tangential and trivial point.

 

[AudioNew]

Welcome to WBF AudioNew. It’s impossible to define what’s the best speakers, how do you define best, best for what, best for whom, best for what kind of music etc the list goes on.

Yes, you have seen high price tags but loads of money does not always mean good or better sound.

Since you are just starting out, I would recommend listening to as many different systems as you can to get a feel for what you like. Take what everyone says or what you read in the magazines or on forums with a grain of salt, always go and listen for yourself. Just because someone else likes something does not mean you will like it too.

Once you get into these years down the line, you will also find out the best way to test is to have the kit in your own home and using it with the rest of your kit but that is years down the line.

Good luck in your audio quest, don’t get sucked into more money equals better. One last thing don’t buy what you can’t afford, it’s not worth getting into debt for.

Thank you for your welcome and sage advice! Where does one typically find a range of different systems to listen to, if I may ask? High end audio shows come to mind, but are there others? I did see articles I am in the United States, if that is helpful.

 

[itay123]

I'm not sure what you mean, but if you are suggesting that I am another user, I am not. Sorry for the confusion. I was going to go with AudioNewbie but that was taken, so I just went with AudioNew.

You may fool others, but you won't be able to fool me

 

[TooCool4]

AudioNew hi-fi shows are a good place to get ideas but not the best place to listen, they are never ideal. Dealers show rooms, friends places etc are good places to try or if you can find manufacturers that allow money back guarantee.

 

[Robh3606]

Start small don't jump into a hobby where personal preference is so important. You have to decide what you like and what your goals are and an internet forum is a bad place to start.

To avoid most of the nonsense in matching this to that look at an upgrade of your Bluetooth. Go check out active speakers that are designed to accept a streaming input. You can get an idea by just going to any music store that sells powered monitors.

You can compare several different speaker types as well. Your are going to need a subwoofer if you want better bass extension. You can get quite a bit of bang for your dollars with an active sub and satellite system.

You can also purchase a converter that will take a streaming input and change to an analog output for actives that don't stream. As you learn more you can make more educated decisions.

Rob

 

[Holmz]

I was just curious what the best any money can buy is, in aspirational terms.

Good luck - there is no “best”.

I understand there's little practical payoff to that kind of theoretical. but I don't really have a space yet where I'd want to invest a lot. Do you know of any dependable beginner-friendly sources that I could look at to start educating myself? I don't know the difference between passive and active speakers to be honest. I find the vertical string coverings on Steinway Lyngdorfs and Gryphons to be aesthetically pleasing, but that's probably a very tangential and trivial point.

Personally I cannot think of an amp I want less than Gryphons.

Now maybe if I had a massive room, with no intention or desire for the presence of any lady folk, then a statement room of gear might be what I want.
But I do not begrudge people that desire a big blingy systems.

There are all sort of systems, and each can have their own appeal.

Do you want a large system?
Do you have a large room?
Etc.?
What do you like to listen to?

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I guess what I am really curious about is how people get into high-end audio, in how they even begin to know the kind of setup is to their tastes, since the end result seems to depend on so many variables.

They either start in “high end” or they get there in an evolutionary way.
Most likely do so using the later case, but for some it’s the former.

If you are asking for advice as to what to get, then you are probably pretty doomed to be unsatisfied.
However if you have it down to a small list of things you liked, you would probably happy with most of them.
But at this point it’s like you are wielding a shotgun, and hoping for some precision hit.

 

[Al M.]

Do you have a large room?

Excellent question. Room size is crucial for speaker choice.

My speakers are optimal for my room, if I had a really large room (and the budget) I would choose other speakers.