Best Speakers Money Can Buy?

[thedudeabides]

I honestly don't know what he expected since there is no "best" loudspeaker. Too subjective and too many variables. It would be similar to asking what is the best" car.

 

[Charles S]

Certaintly there is no answer to this loaded question and any opinion is bound to create contraversy. nevertheless it is a valid question. i think the best way to arrive at an answer for anyone considering a purchase is what flagship of what brand is best for me, money notwithstanding. i bought a Wilson Chronosonic XVX. Wilson has a lot of detractors and the XVx may not be the best in all categories. One of the main criticisms I hear is that Wilsons only sound good in the one central listening location but the fact is that 99.9% of all my listening is done solitary. and the fact of the matter is that Wilsons have very low distortion in all the respective categories of speaker prices. i wouldn't trade in my XVX for any other speaker regardless of price. personally i think because of the size of my room, an Alexx V would probably sound as good, but there is a certain satisfaction of owning the "best", if there is such a thing, that exceeds the sonics, and the dynamic capacity of my XVX is almost limitless. it simply cannot be overloaded. it just loafs in my room no matter the sound level and no matter the bass blast. so for me personally, it's the Wilson chronosonic XVX.

Charles Updated System: Wilson McIntosh Audioquest

Amps: McIntosh: MC3500MKII (2); MC1.25KW (2); MC2.1KW Anniversary
Preamp: C-12000 Anniversary
Sources: MCD12000 Anniversary; MVP881; MVP851; MR87; Marantz 510LV; Lenovo Yoga laptop
Speakers: Wilson Chronosonic XVX
Sub-Woofer: Wilson Thor’s Hammer; Wilson ActivXO Stereo Electronic Crossover
Cables Main System AQ: WEL Signature speaker cables; 24’ balanced IC; balanced 1-meter Dragon IC ; WEL Signature digital, Coffee digital coaxial cables; Diamond optical (2); Diamond USB; Dragon (5 HC, 3 source cords); Thunder & Monsoon power cords
Cables Subwoofer System AQ: Redwood speaker cable; Wolf balanced subwoofer IC; Wind balanced IC to ActivXO; Hurricane HC; Firebird HC; Firebird Source; Dragon HC, power cords
Power Conditioners: AQ Niagara 7000; Niagara 5000 (3); (4) dedicated 20-amp lines.
Streaming System: Hi Fi Rose 130RS Network Transport; Samsung internal SSD; Audioquest Wel Signature digital balanced 1-meter IC; Audioquest Diamond 1.5-meter USB cable; Audioquest Dragon 2-meter source power cord; HDMI cable 24’ for music videos; one eero Max 7 installed in study and one eero Max 7 installed my audio cabinet. Rose RS130 hard wired to the eero Max 7 in my cabinet and internet wi fi tremendously improved throughout my house, ensuring greatly improved reliability of streaming system
Isolation: Wilson Pedestals; Bassocontinuo McIntosh Ultra Feet; X-material plinth
Cabinet: Double Custom Woodwork & Design (CWD)
Acoustic Treatments: Room and Echo Tunes

 

[dcathro]

Certaintly there is no answer to this loaded question and any opinion is bound to create contraversy. nevertheless it is a valid question. i think the best way to arrive at an answer for anyone considering a purchase is what flagship of what brand is best for me, money notwithstanding. i bought a Wilson Chronosonic XVX. Wilson has a lot of detractors and the XVx may not be the best in all categories. One of the main criticisms I hear is that Wilsons only sound good in the one central listening location but the fact is that 99.9% of all my listening is done solitary. and the fact of the matter is that Wilsons have very low distortion in all the respective categories of speaker prices. i wouldn't trade in my XVX for any other speaker regardless of price. personally i think because of the size of my room, an Alexx V would probably sound as good, but there is a certain satisfaction of owning the "best", if there is such a thing, that exceeds the sonics, and the dynamic capacity of my XVX is almost limitless. it simply cannot be overloaded. it just loafs in my room no matter the sound level and no matter the bass blast. so for me personally, it's the Wilson chronosonic XVX.

Charles Updated System: Wilson McIntosh Audioquest

Amps: McIntosh: MC3500MKII (2); MC1.25KW (2); MC2.1KW Anniversary
Preamp: C-12000 Anniversary
Sources: MCD12000 Anniversary; MVP881; MVP851; MR87; Marantz 510LV; Lenovo Yoga laptop
Speakers: Wilson Chronosonic XVX
Sub-Woofer: Wilson Thor’s Hammer; Wilson ActivXO Stereo Electronic Crossover
Cables Main System AQ: WEL Signature speaker cables; 24’ balanced IC; balanced 1-meter Dragon IC ; WEL Signature digital, Coffee digital coaxial cables; Diamond optical (2); Diamond USB; Dragon (5 HC, 3 source cords); Thunder & Monsoon power cords
Cables Subwoofer System AQ: Redwood speaker cable; Wolf balanced subwoofer IC; Wind balanced IC to ActivXO; Hurricane HC; Firebird HC; Firebird Source; Dragon HC, power cords
Power Conditioners: AQ Niagara 7000; Niagara 5000 (3); (4) dedicated 20-amp lines.
Streaming System: Hi Fi Rose 130RS Network Transport; Samsung internal SSD; Audioquest Wel Signature digital balanced 1-meter IC; Audioquest Diamond 1.5-meter USB cable; Audioquest Dragon 2-meter source power cord; HDMI cable 24’ for music videos; one eero Max 7 installed in study and one eero Max 7 installed my audio cabinet. Rose RS130 hard wired to the eero Max 7 in my cabinet and internet wi fi tremendously improved throughout my house, ensuring greatly improved reliability of streaming system
Isolation: Wilson Pedestals; Bassocontinuo McIntosh Ultra Feet; X-material plinth
Cabinet: Double Custom Woodwork & Design (CWD)
Acoustic Treatments: Room and Echo Tunes

Hello Charles,

You are making the assumption that the most expensive speaker in every brand will be the best. In my experience that is not the case. There can often be a sweet spot further down in a range. Flagships can often be a designers vision taken too far, be too big, have too may drivers, have great strengths but also big weaknesses.

I, like some others, believe that there is no such thing as the perfect loudspeaker that we will all like. The important thing is to find the best speaker for you, which you already have.