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Most "Accurate/Realistic" Sounding Speakers?

I am a major audio enthusiast and I was listening to some live, non amplified acoustic jazz and I could not help but wonder what speaker sounds that "live"? To me, the most "accurate/realistic" speakers would accurately reproduce acoustic music as if it were playing right in front of you, and also human voices as if they were talking directly to you. I guess that is my gauge by which speakers and audio systems should be judged. I know there are a ton of "accurate" reproductions, but I have never heard anything even close to the realism, super deep bass by the acoustic bass, and slam of the snare and cymbals. Have you heard any speaker truly close to this? As an over analytical audio nerd, instead of truly enjoying this great music, I could not help but think about the system that would come even close to that realism, deep bass, and gritty fast sound. I guess the closest I have heard has been Wilson Audios, but even those were not truly accurate reproductions. I have also heard that Quad planars and ATC powered speakers do a pretty amazing job.

Please opine!
regafan_1972
2psyop's avatar
2psyop
1,803 posts
 
Many people don’t care about sound systems that try to sound like live music. Many more younger people (Ipod generation) care even less about this. This is compounded by the fact the vast majority of speakers do not sound like live music.
I think another question might be, how much money does one have to spend to do a magic trick into fooling your ears and brain (for a brief period of time) that you are listening to live music. That will differ from one person to another.
My guess is around $10K, maybe more.
boxer12
8,656 posts
 
I've had very good results with DX3 Lowthers in Fideleo cabinets (with a sub) driven by a 5 watt 6550 SET amp. Vocals are spooky real with a well recorded album. Not saying it's the end all... but very very good. 
sunnyjim
927 posts
 

To prof,  you mentioned Thiel 3.7.  Yes, maybe realistic and often uncannily open sounding, but the models I have auditioned sounded bright. I once auditioned a pair of Thiel 1.6. I was amazed at the clarity and openness of the top end, but after about 20 minutes I had a headache from highs that were too bright. Obviously, this was a lower model to the 3.7's,  but it steered me away from the brand. They are beautifully made speakers with apparent quality drivers, however, they also need above an average size room so they properly integrate the audio spectrum. 


To regafan, if you have no reservations of buying older models, you might want to check out  the B&W Matrix 3MkII. I owned a pair from 1988-1995 and they offered amazing sound quality..especially tight bass and lighting fast transients  My one caveat is to match them up with either Conrad Johnson, ARC, or some combo of  tube preamp or power amp because even the earlier models could sound edgy on certain CD's  with SS electronics combos  Good Luck, S.J.

 

dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
S.J.,

If Thiels sound bright, and they can, there is a mismatch of/issues with components/cabling upstream that needs to be sorted. What is provided is reproduced.

Dave
prof
3,509 posts
 
sunnyjim,

I understand your perspective. I seem to remember feeling similarly when I heard the 1.6. It lost too much of the warmth range.

The 3.7s are both super smooth (not peaky or hashy), and I combined them with Conrad Johnson amps, in a nice sounding room. My audio-reviewer pal who said Thiels at audio shows had previously made him want to run shrieking from the room, did a 180 once he heard them in my set up. I have tinnitus and bright or peaky sound bugs my ears way before they bother most people, and the 3.7s in my set up are the smoothest, least fatiguing speaker I’ve ever owned.

And fully fleshed out in the midrange.

So what I heard with the Harbeths was a very clear, well controlled sound, with that Harbeth lushness in the midrage for vocals and other instruments that reside there. Beautifully balanced speakers. But perhaps because of the "lively cabinet" design philosophy they never quite disappeared sonically. When I played the same tracks on the Thiels it was amazing how, even being far bigger speakers, they utterly "disappeared" sonically in a way the Harbeths never did. Everything cleared up around instruments, and the sound was simultaneously as detailed or more detailed, yet more solid and "there," while, amazingly, also sounding more relaxed and organic in rendering detail They just seemed to do what speaker designers always seem aiming to attempt: sounded more "real" in all the right ways to my ears.

The Harbeths did have a certain "rounded, fleshy" character with vocals that I haven’t quite heard from other speakers, though.
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