2. speakers
  3. 1202514611

The Most Realistic Speaker Technology?

OK, maybe this is the question that I should have asked originally...

I need some help, because I am now more confused than ever. I am in the market for new speakers, and have about $10,000 to spend, more or less. I am looking for the most "realistic", "true-to-life", "you-are-there", quality speaker there is, at that price. But the sheer number of speaker companies, speaker technologies, and speakers out there is mystifying, stupefying, and bewildering, so my search has been extremely confusing. I am not a constant upgrade kind of guy, and I don't have a lot of money, and so the speakers that I buy are the ones that I have to keep for a long time, and so it is even more imperative that I make the right and wise decision.

I realize that everyone has their own different opinion of things, and that different people like different types of sound from their speakers, and that that may be their favorite whether or not the sound coming from their speakers sounds even remotely realistic at all. And, while I respect the right for everyone to like their own particular pair of speakers that puts out a particular type of sound that suits them that they like and that sounds good to them as their favorite, regardless of whether it sounds realistic or not, my tastes are slightly different. My particular idea of good speakers are speakers that produce sound that sounds "real", or speakers that sound like a live performer is playing right there in front of you. Please forgive my particular taste, I know that a pair of speakers can sound perfectly good to someone whether or not they sound very realistic at all, but that is just what I personally in my own opinion consider good speakers, speakers which produce music which sounds as lifelike and as close to reality as possible.

And so, the first step that I am trying to do in order to nail down my speaker search is to isolate the type of speaker technology that sounds the most realistic. Since I know that most of you have heard literally dozens and dozens more different types of speakers in your lifetime than I have, all from many different types of assorted speaker technologies, can any of you tell me what, in general, is the speaker technology or type of speaker that sounds the most realistic and true to real life, like having a live performer playing right in front of you, that sounds the most similar to that? I know that part of this depends upon the system setup and synergy, room treatments, etc., etc., and I know that people do not always prefer the most realistic sound, but oftentimes just prefer the sound that sounds good to them, but surely, there must be some speaker technologies that sound more realistic, and more true-to-life than others. Please keep in mind that I am only asking for the speaker technology that sounds the most realistic, and not for a speaker company or a speaker itself, as I think that that would be impossible for anyone to say.

Knowing that most of you have heard many other speakers than me, and from all different types of speaker technologies, I thought that maybe some of you guys could tell me, maybe some of you could then give me a good place to start, or at least some of the more stronger options that there are available out there in terms of true-to-life music and sounding the most realistic.

If you could please help me out with a little advice other than, "well it all depends on you, you just have to listen with your own ears, and try to find what sounds right, and decide for yourself", that would be great. Because, unfortunately, that does not help me out much because I do not have "golden ears" as they say, and I do not even know what to listen for. Can you guys please help me out, and at least give me some places to start in terms of which speaker technology I should be looking at more than others, to get the most realistic sound? I would really appreciate it.

Thanks to all of you for your responses, I really appreciate all of your help, and am grateful to you for any help, tips, and advice, that any of you guys can give me. All advice is appreciated.
leroyc33
mains
170 posts
 
I have an old pair of sound lab dynastats (hybrids), i have yet to hear anything like them, very open natural and realistic in the best way, i am waiting on a demo of the sound lab majestic 545 the reviews say they are the end of the road loudspeakers.
i have owned ATC 50a,100a, 150a and 300a they are not close to the sound labs, if you have the budget contact Royal hifi uk for a home demo or in the usa i would phone sound labs themselves.
on my journey i tried apogee duette sig original were best to the updated ones, Quad did not do it for me not after hearing the sound labs, if i had 10k to spend and wanted my last pair of speakers i would go sound labs 545 no hesitation, they do the lot and are very natural realistic and musical go for them you definitely will not regret it, they have been around years and are now much smaller due to design improvements, if your looking for big realistic sound then you need a big speaker if you are content with smaller scale then go for a smaller boxy type, they wont sound like big panels tho and soundlabs have dynamics a plenty i am an audiophile of 35 years with no links to any manufacturer just enthusiasm and passion
cerrot's avatar
cerrot
1,700 posts
 
Stats.  Only stats.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
ncarv
983 posts
 
I hope leroyc33 has decided by this time . . .
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
ncarv:
I hope leroyc33 has decided by this time . . .
Well, there have been several more realistic-sounding loudspeakers that have come along in the nine years since his original post.

For me, it’s Magnepan’s *.7i series, which is both a boxless panel speaker *and* a line source (win-win), but there are many others, such as:

o Monitor Audio Silver and Gold series with their CCAM drivers
o Bob Carver Corp.'s Amazing Line Source
o MartinLogan’s Masterpiece Series with more refined electrostatic/dynamic hybrids
o KEF LS50 and other speakers based on their Uni-Q concentric driver-- Muon, Blades 1 and 2, Reference    Series, R Series.
o Newer, more refined and ambitious products from WIlson, Magico, YG, and others ...
o Better, faster, and more affordable powered subwoofers that are easier to integrate with a pair of monitors,    panels, or floorstanders, and can elevate a $2K pair of speakers to a full-range system that can compete with    some much more expensive standalone passive speakers.

All these and many more have brought us closer to having the musicians in our listening room, or conversely, transporting us to the recording or concert venue.

stewart0722
184 posts
 
There are a lot of speakers that will sound great in one area or another, but in my experience, it has been very difficult for a dynamic speaker
to duplicate the illusion of instruments in an acoustic space versus a true dipole.  I have owned limited baffles such as Vandersteen, I have had Revel Studio 2s, and various electrostatics over the years.  I have for the past four years owned a pair of Magnepan 3.7s and I wouldn't trade them for anything I've had in the past.
The challenge with Magnepan is the appearance typically......and of course they need an enormous amount of current to really sing.....but if you feed them with the biggest Bryston amps you can muster like Magnepan does, you will be rewarded with the most dramatic illusion of "you are there" that has ever been conjured......
You can try to match that with other technologies, but you will not be successful overall unless you move far up the food chain to the likes of Magico and YG and maybe not even then......
Get a great pair of 3.7s for 3K or so, or 5.5K new and never look back.....
More to discover