speakers for classical music

I listen almost exclusively to classical. . . 15% large orchestra. . . lots of small chamber, piano, vocal soloists, occasional modern female vocalists. I second whole heartedly the recommendations for the Vienna Acoustic brand for this application. I own a pair of Mahlers myself. One thing to bear in mind is that Vienna speakers may sound slightly woolly if not driven stoutly by relatively powerful amps with high damping factors. . . but with appropriate amps they sing with a finesse, transparency and a controlled authority second to none, and their micro/macro dynamics is simply superb. I fell in love with them at RMAF 2006 after listening to dozens of regretably disappointing suites, including rooms featuring much more expensive devices.

i too listen to classical music, as i am right now as i am writing. timbre is number 1. dynamics are at the bottom of the list.

there is one speaker which is least inaccurate in the midrange, namely the quad 57. instruments sound natural and have most of the timbral cues to present a very realistic sound. yes, they have weaknesses and flaws. all speakers do. thus, i would select electrostatic speakers, to minimize timbral inaccuracy. i find most cone designs problematic as to reproducing timbre accurately.

Mrtennis, I'm surprised to hear someone that loves "classical" music that puts dynamics as the last priority. I too need correct timbre, or I can't listen. Still, classical music is BY FAR the most dynamic music in my wide ranging collection (about 30% classical). I'd hate to not enjoy those dynamics.

OTOH, for a long time, I gave up low bass and dynamics for budget reasons and chose excellent mini-monitors in order to get timbre right for trumpet and soprano, foregoing bass and dynamics while I couldn't afford them at the same quality level as my mids.

Dave

Try one of the Focal speakers in their current line-up. Their new tweeter and midrange are very clean and grain free. No more anguish while listening to massed strings, majority of my cds are listenable now.

Yes MRT, I owned a pair of MG IIA for 20 years, marvellous speakers indeed. Drove them with Aragon 4004 first, then with JRDG 7M later. Then I started to wonder why cello vibrato was barely perceptible. . . and why PPPP was so bleedin' similar to FFFF, and why FFF sounded close while PPP came from afar. . . . and the rest of course, is history. Of course for 20 years I was perfectly convinced that wishing for a deep, tight and tuneful bass was pure frippery and totally beneath me.