What are the best speakers for Mahler?

any quality direct/reflecting loudspeaker.

Any speaker with burnt out voice coils...IMHO...:(

As transparent and as high in resolution of details your budget can afford. Please be patient with my explanation.

No speaker is best for Mahler's music unless you understand what Mahler was trying to communicate with his music. Start by attending the live performance of a Mahler symphony. If that was not feasible, listen to Mahler's symphonies No. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 9 conducted by Benjamin Zander on the Telarc label. Each of these CDs contains a separate CD with the conductor discussing the background and orchestration of the symphony to help you understand Mahler's music in case you are not already a Mahlerian scholar.

I am no Mahlerian scholar; however, after doing the above, I realized that the essence of Mahler's symphonies lies not only in the contrast and dynamics but also in the complexity weaved by the different instruments that play different themes. Hearing everything is thus a requirement, at least for me; and to accomplish this, a system (not just speakers) must yield high transparency and detail resolution as a top priority. Transparency and resolution usually brings along other audiophile qualities.

Not knowing your budget and not having heard all the speakers in the world, I can only recommend ones that I have experienced myself. I prefer speakers that have a higher efficiency ie. 91db and above so you do not have to spend too high a price for high power amplification. Needless to say, an great amp with a lot of current also helps push out the details. Also, take advantage of the SACD format.

I recommend a used pair of Wilson Watt Puppy of versions 3.2, 5.1 or above, or the B&W Nautilus 803 and above. All are efficient, but the B&Ws like more power than the Wilsons. Buy these used and save a lot of money.

My system is as follows as an example:
Arcam CD23T (can use a nice SACD player)
Krell KRC-3 preamp
Mark Levinson 331 power amp (can use more power here)
Wilson Watt 3 Puppy 2
Transparent Super XL interconnects and speaker cables

I have attended live performance of Mahler's symphony's no. 2, 3, 6.

Hope I helped. Feel free to contact me outside the forum.

Remarkable question! Several years ago I had PSB Stratus Bronze speakers and an Audio Refinement Complete amp. I was generally satisfied UNTIL I played MAHLER Symphonies and HOLST'S Planets. I felt my system was just that, "a system".

I did extensive shopping and listening to upgrade using music from those very composers and a few more. I also auditioned possible upgrades "In my living room".

When it was all said and done I bought the Magnepan Magneplanar 1.6QR, and the McIntosh amplifier. Now I enjoy my Mahler to a much higher degree of satisfaction. For my ears, and my room, the Maggies work very well indeed.

Happy Listening!

Your question, as the previous poster remarked, is indeed remarkable. The easiest answer is that no speakers – except perhaps the Dali Megalines, reviewed by Robert Green in the current TAS – can ever hope to reproduce the complexity of a Mahler symphony. However, that said, I have many versions of the Mahler symphonies on LP, CD, and SACD, and I enjoy them immensely. Although Mahler’s music has tremendous crescendos, (marked fff, which means they are to be played quite forcefully), many sections are marked “ppp,” that is, they are played very quietly. Thus, your system needs tremendous dynamic range to contend with these contrasts. Also, since Mahler’s music, like most classical music, is densely polyphonic (that is, there are many inner voices), your system must have great resolving power. The trouble is that there is no inexpensive way to do this. I would suggest building a system from front to back: first, get the best source components you can find in your budget range, then proceed to the preamp, then to the amp (although a good integrated amp simplifies that a bit), and then find the speakers that work synergistically with the rest of your components. Alas, you also have to contend with wires and all of the other associated audiophile lunacy. This takes a while, and I doubt if anyone has ever done it without making “mistakes,” but it is fun, and as your system improves, your enjoyment of recorded music will increase apace.