Audiophile Speakers for Rock, HipHop and Techno

@gavman, loudness is endemic in this type of music. I listen to both regularly. Are you perhaps mistaking the meaning of dynamics? A lot of this stuff is mastered for cars and ear buds. Look at the waveforms and you will see there is compression with not much difference in the max/min values. I actually like techno and EDM, dynamic it is not, in the sense that there are great differences between the quietest and loudest passages in the music. I’m sure there are exceptions but in general my statement stands.

A speaker that succeeds with bass-driven electronica requires greater dynamic range, sub bass extension and mid bass slam than a design intended for music made exclusively by acoustic instruments. Many speakers that are perfectly adequate for other genres are incapable of playing hip hop or electronica in a way that is as satisfying as a well implemented car audio installation. Klipsch la Scala are a prime example of a fundamentally flawed design that censors any sub bass. Such a speaker may meet the audiophile definition of dynamic, but this fails to capture the need for fast, weighty and extended bass capable speakers that can do justice to bass-driven electronica and hip hop. For me dynamic is also a descriptor of whether a speaker can energise a room into the sub 20hz zone without ’one note’ colourations.

My personal system goal is to recreate the effect of a powerful dance pa of the Richard Long variety, playing in a large warehouse to a thousand plus people.

That’s why i use Focal speakers and Boulder power amps. Ime no valve power amp can achieve the necessary ’fear factor’ you get from plumbing the depths with a big rig in a big room.

If you strictly adhere to a definition of dynamics that excludes this, i submit that most punters would disagree.

I just purchased a pair of Dynaudio Emit 50 speakers that fit what you are looking for without breaking the bank account. I also use Transparent speaker cables.

Another speaker that looks like it was built for rock: Bryston "A" and "T" series.

I’ve had great success with hip hop and electronica with verity speakers. Those sun bass cabinets are really well made and tuned. Verity midrange is second to none very punchy especially in the newer models.