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
The Linn Komri is the best speaker I have ever heard. Compared to Acapella Audio's giant horns and McIntosh's humongous line arrays, it is the Komri that stole my heart. Only the Vandersteen 5a powered by Ayre's AX-R monoblocks comes close. I have never heard a system of such resolution and naturalness working in perfect symbiosis as the Komri.

Revelatory.

The tweeter's exquisite attack releases high frequencies into the room from the ether and not from any particular driver. The crash and sizzle of symbols decaying eminates from a general direction, but sources from no absolute location. This attack and decay behavior can be followed through the frequency range to the lowest octaves. This is a revelation for me and I have not before or since heard anything like it.

picture
Soundlab A-3 was the best speaker I ever heard. They belonged to a late friend of mine in CA. He had them paired with a pair of awesome subs and twin BEL 2002's.
The Surrountec - Germany !!!

This may be a studio monitor, however, it is not 'dry' & 'lifeless'
Rather 'fast' + 'precise' yet reasonably musical.

Please do take a look.

Try and audition if possible.

It is one of the best [well implemented] T & P Diamond & Ceramic Drivers design. Well implemented.

http://www.surrountec.de/public/indexEn.php
"'The people making comments including myself, no matter how experienced have limited comparisons. There would be other loudspeaker design we would consider if we heard them irregardless of taste.'
--Armyscout41
"Excellent point, Armyscout41. I would bet that few of us have heard more than a handful of speakers in which all other conditions are constant. And I'm certain that many among us would change our response 2 or 3 times in the 5 years that this thread has been running."
Evita

I agree with Evita and Armyscout41. It's essentially impossible to do TRUE A/B comparisons with a significant number of speakers because of their size, etc. This point became immediately obvious to me at the 2007 RMAF. I do NOT claim to have heard every speaker (well, DUH!), although I have heard quite a few. With that in mind, I will state that I think the best I've ever heard are the

Denalis by Intuitive Design.