The best speaker you ever heard?


In my opinion, the speaker is by far the most important part of the audio system. After all, it is the only part you hear. OK, the other stuff really matters a lot, but without a great speaker... No go.

I am a bit 'speaker-obsessed' I guess, and now I am wondering: What are the best speakers you have ever heard, and what made them the best?
njonker
Hi Hifi, thanks for doing all that work. That was very interesting. Can you tell I haven't looked at this thread for a while? ;-)
Martin Logan Grand Slamm.I heard when they first came out at a Stereophile Show. I think at the time they cost $70,000.00 a pair.They had a pair of these huge woofer towers with 6 12 inch drivers as well.Amazing transparency,speed and slamm.
ATC active 100's. Can any passive speaker equal active speaker technology? It's been almost 3 years - still the best speaker I've heard.
Avantgarde DUO's make every other speaker on the market (with the exception of Avantgarde TRIO's) sound slow, inertial and as if they are covered by a feather quilt.

The best sound you can buy without a doubt.

It just shows that the Audio industry took a wrong turn 50 years ago. Inefficient speakers with huge crossovers that eat detail, powered by huge distorted amps that that make hundreds of watts but sound bad. "If the first watt doesn't sound good it doesn't matter how many more watts there are". Stick to Single Ended Triode tube power amps and DUO speakers.

Don't listen to a "speaker" or a "stereo", listen to a holographic three-dimensional re-creation of Miles Davis or Stan Getz standing three feet in front of you with DUO's & tubes.