01-07-14: Wolf_garcia
I listen to 100 piece orchestras frequently, always have, and have a well rounded
background decades long in myth-free audio as a professional
musician/recording engineer and hifi fan. I stick by what I say...for example, my
current somewhat modest rig, using small driver coherant floorstanders and a
great sub, can reproduce orchestras in my room with every single recorded note
and tonal dynamic preserved and delivered to my ears with stunning fidelity and
soundstaging, and at levels approaching ear damage.
Wolf, you're also right, and I should have further qualified my statements to the
contrary. In the context of the original post, there are a lot of speakers in the
$25-40K price range that can do orchestral. In the cones'n'domes category I'd
add a vote for whatever Sonus Faber offers in the OP's price range. However,
although the range of overtones coming from a jazz trio--grand piano, drum kit,
and acoustic bass--are complex, they still don't require the sorting out on
playback of "The Planets" or "Elijah." My experiences with
the Totem Arros (no WAY can those do large ensembles unless it's in a closet :))
and GoldenEar Triton Sevens vs. the Magnepans illustrate what I'm talking about.
If a jazz trio (grand piano, 4 drums, 4 cymbals, and a bass viol played pizzicato)
creates a complex set of overtones, how much more so when you add in 50
massed bowed strings, woodwinds, brass, and a full percussion section? Add in a
pipe organ and cantata-sized chorus and there's a lot of sorting out to do with
incalculable overtones. There are a lot of speakers that can't track all that but
still realistically reproduce all the nuances of a jazz trio. However, anything in the
OP's price range should be able to do credibly play back large scale orchestral
music, and some better than others.
There is still an economical aspect of planars. Magnepan's top line 20.7 costs less than the Wilson Sophia. Add in a pair of JL Fathom F212s and the combo still costs less than a pair of Sasha W/Ps, while being able to fill a room better than Alexias and more like Maxx's, with bass extension to below 20 Hz.