Do you have a speaker that’s not a big name maker but punches above its weight? Why?


I have a Gato Fm6. My reference for last 10 years. Sounds amazing. Designer used to work for Gamut. Amazing clarity. Great open midrange and vapor like treble that’s detailed , transparent and vapor like!  What are others? 

calvinj


Philharmonic.  All of their speakers are excellent and well priced for what you get.  Their customer service is also outstanding in my experience.  

 

Ditto. They will promptly answer nearly any question you have about their products.

Their cabinet finishes are absolutely first rate and their speakers perform well beyond that of what you get from the big names at the same price point. Of course, it helps that the drivers they put in them account for as much as half the BOM of the speaker pair. No one else outside of DIY is doing that. 

To shtinkydog:

Not often we see a thumbs up for Dayton speakers.  If it was me I would open them up and replace the probably cheap crossover parts with good ones.  Wire and binding posts also.  Maybe extra dampening material.

Chapman Audio. My ears have been lit up by a handful of loudspeakers over the last 50 years upon first listening. Vandersteen, Quad, Snell, Magnepan.,Apogee acoustics, and Chapman Acoustics are on the top of the list. I sent my Chapman T 77’s back to Stuart during Covid for a rebuild. He hand delivered a pair of T9 reference. The only pair in existence at the time. Shortly thereafter, I came upon a pair of Vandersteen model 7’s. How good are the Chapmans? It took me 2 1/2 years of going back-and-forth before I committed to permanently placing the Vandersteen’s. The Chapmans are still in a closet

My Spatial Sapphire M5s have served me well. They have a really wide soundstage (hence the name). Before them, I had KEF R300s that were too tinny for my ears—and my wife’s. The Spatials were twice the price, but so worth the upgrade. Spatial is a small company with only word-of-mouth advertising, but if you look up the designer Clayton Shaw, you’ll see plenty of well-earned praise.