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Ultimate Classical Speaker. Magico Q5, Rockport...

Hi,

I'm considering buying a new "last" speaker (if that ever exists in this hobby). I do like all types of music but my preference is for classical music especially Classic piano plays (eg. Chopin Ballade nr.1 by Horowitz or Rubinstein is as good as it gets for me) and am looking for a speaker that is able to reproduce that as accurate as possible.

A few speaker comes to mind but they all have their limitations (haven't heard them all since that's always easy) when looking at feedback on the various forums.

- Magico Q5 (Very true to source, believe great on piano but bass hasn't got a big slam. Doubt if it can produce the intensity/large scale in a piano concert in the bass.

- Rockport Altair. Stunning in the low end but "musically" voiced. Not sure if it's true on piano?

- Any large speaker with ceramic drivers. Good on classical, but can't play them very loud and generally the ceramic driver don't give the slam a conventional woofer can do.

- Hansen bigger models??

- YG Acoustic?

I own a pair of Hansen Prince and have owed the Marten Design Coltrane in the past. Greatly like the speaker but it's not full scale. Also the tweeter isn't as refined as for instance a diamond tweeter.

Would be nice to get opinions from people here and recommendations about other speakers or the speakers mentioned above since I haven't heard them myself with classical piano.

Many thanks
hififreakk
rtn1
535 posts
 
Classical piano is my reference, in addition to violin sonatas and concertos. I used to this orchestral works were the hardest to reproduce, but it is definitely piano and violin.

The speaker is important, but just half the equation. One can have the sense of tonality and weight, but the "aahhhhh..." factor is in the decay. If you have a system that does decay from an acoustic instrument into the venue, that is not something very common. As you listen to certain pianists, they maximize the decay effect with the speed and phrasing. Peter Takacs (Beethoven) and Stephen Osborne come to mind. Some may find them dull if their system does not properly reproduce the effect. Decay is not necessarily something I would ascribe to Horowitz, who is more about the attack of the note, joy, and the ability to always find something new in a piece.

I have a video under my system page of Osborne doing Rachmaninov. Interestingly, while the little iPhone speaker did pick-up the weight and tonality, it didn't really pick-up the decay.
4musica44107
520 posts
 
I too listen to a lot of classical music, and recordings that feature/include the piano and/or harpsichord are at the forefront of my interest. I recommend you audition Verity speakers. In my experience, the only conventional multi driver speaker that I have heard that betters my Verity Amadis for piano is the considerably more expensive Vandersteen 7. Both of those speakers are excellent for all music genres.

Best Regards,
Steven
ebm
9,311 posts
 
What do you have thats so great!!
psag
518 posts
 
Marten Coltrane not full scale? I've owned it, and it most certainly is full scale in a reasonably sized room. Accuton diamond tweeter is standard in the Marten Coltrane, what happened to yours?
hififreakk OP
5 posts
 
Hi Psag,

Although I enjoyed my Marten Coltrane a lot however the amount of air the speaker was moving just wasn't enough in my room. Liked the speaker a lot though (as well as design/build quality). The Coltrane has indeed a diamond tweeter which is very refined. That I meant was that I like the Hansen Prince a lot, but it's hasn't got the diamond tweeter which I enjoyed so much in my previous Coltrane.
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