Best Speaker for classical music

I'm trying to find the best speaker between $25000 and $40000 for symphonic music. I listen to other things too but that's my reference.. Interested in Wilson, B & W, Rockport, Cantonkeithjacksontucson01-04-2014 11:35a~~~~~~
See you figured, if I spend big, this will leave  behind speakers which are not up to class to play CM with pure musical fidelity.
Sure there are  horns systems at that time, 2014, which are quite good at voicing full symphony orchestra. 
But again, price, size/weight/wife friendly,,, all these factors work agaisnt going massive horn systems. 
The alternative and alot less money involved is going for the new high tech wide baads,  most latest developments came out just after you posted 2015 
Or was AER making wide bands in 2014???
I am not sure.
If they were, there is hardlya mention here on audiogon 2014, So you would have never come across AER at that time. 
These drivers are too new in 2014.
maybe in europe they had attention, but certainly not here in the states. 
Again Voxtaiv in 2014 had not really been revognized here in the states. 
Unless someone can show me a  wide band topic mentioning these 2 drivers back in 2014, with more than say 20 posts. 
Why these wide band are not more  popular here in the states is somewhat of a  mystery to me. 

dkarmeli334 posts01-05-2014 11:07amYou're right if the system can play classical music well then it can easily play everything else!

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Yes, any speaker can perform light jazz/medium orchestra jazz.
Full jazz orchestra, not just any old speaker will do. 
CM requires ~~finesse/delicacy in  full midranfe fq's.
I  May have found one. 
Not sure, but I think so.

If price is no object:

dc10audio L'instrument Grand Voix

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Oh yeah, these may do the trick, 
But price???
weight/size??
wife friendly??  
These and other considerations may be a  road block.

johnnyb533,510 posts01-07-2014 9:53am

01-05-14: Wolf_garcia
The distinction between types of music relative to speaker design is silly. A well recorded jazz piano trio has every bit as complex and demanding a tonal pallette as symphonic music, and is only constrained or affected by level and room acoustics.

I disagree based on experience to the contrary. It's relatively easy to find speakers that sound compelling with an acoustic jazz trio or quartet. Feed them a 100-piece orchestra and listen to them serve up inarticulate mush. Throw in a pipe organ and 8-part choir and it's just sonic wallpaper.


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Hey Jonny
~~sonic walpaper~~~, 
Full orchestra had me thinking the other day, , well as of 2019/late.
That there seems to be some subtle passages with flutes, harps, percussion, which is not being voiced properly so i can hear it, I had to strain my ears. 
Sure recording engineers are partly to blame. 
Of course its in the score, as a  lightly played passge, amongst a  roaring orchestra. 

My guess is if I ever find this magical speaker than can detect, voice these tinest notations from winds, percussion, any other lightly touched passage. it will be something.
So my search went on and on,,,
Midrange, here is where i need to concentrate. 
Lets take  bass/highs off the table for a   moment.

atmasphere9,559 posts10-27-2020 11:36amYour taste in music will have nothing to do with the speaker, since what makes it good for classical will also make it good for rock, metal, jazz, folk and so on. This is because its impossible to make a speaker favor a certain genre; if someone is able to do so they would be a millionaire overnight!!


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Humbly disagree, 
Any speaker can play R&R, blues, grundge, hiphop, reggie
Jazz requires a bit more finesse.
CM (at least full blown symphony orchestra) requires  even more finesse/nuances/fidelity vs all other  musical genres. 
Full symphony orchestra requires a  ~~special speaker~~Midrange demanding.

cd3181,719 posts10-27-2020 2:22pmClassical music is a far more demanding genre - from my point of view.

My desire that a system can reproduce accurate timbre ( not washed out as is all too common) far outweighs its other qualities, such as imaging, or collosal dynamics etc.

This possibly exaggerated desire for tonal colour leads me to believe I might have some form of chromesthesia (sound-color synesthesia).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromesthesia#:~:text=Chromesthesia%20or%20sound-to-color,associatio....

Classical music especially, without good instrument timbres, is difficult for me to enjoy, whereas with rock I'd be looking for great dynamics or for pop it might be a great midrange.

Classical music with good timbral expression on the other hand becomes a joy. Especially piano and strings.

So I think it's a question of finding a speaker that excels at that quality that's most important to you.

All loudspeakers are not created equal, and few, if any, can do everything right.

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Yes a  speaker that is all in all perfection, is not a  reality. 
Unless you want to go 3 way horn witha  15 inch woofer, Price? Weigyht/size? wife friendly? = not a option, Oh yeah it has every fq range you could ever want/ wish for. 
But these masssive horns present road blocks.

**CM ~~Timbral expression ~~tonal colors~~~
Yes This is all midrange.
Here is where we ought to focus and forget about bass/highs. 
Super highs are more for ambience than actually in the music. 
That isa  super tweeter perhaps falsifies the actual highs within the music, ie classical composition. 
Do we want these shimmers, and sparkles? Yes we do. 
But lets forget the sparkles and concentrate  exclusively on midrange
Here is where the heart and soul of CM lies. 
I can find bass and high add on speakers, thats no big issue. 
its the massive amount of midrange fq's where we need to stay focused. 
Perahps there are a  few single drivers that have capability to voice these wide band midrange with some degree of success. 
As box/xover  speakers have failed in presenting  symphony orchestra as it will be required. That is, nothing hidden, nunaces  heard in flutes, soft cellos,  hidden harp passages, 
This is the midrange we will need to make classical music come to life.

Note  upon closer look at the YT upload, do you  guys see a  speaker behind the front Arpeggio, and hasa  huge sub woofer,,and seems  the speaker cable is going to the rear set of speaker with the sub.
hummm, actually I hope that is the case. 
The bass in this demo is way more that I want/need. 

antigrunge2551 posts06-30-2021 2:55pmRalph,

while your argument is fundamentally sound, only Jazz and Classical are typically performed without electronic support. Rock, Pop, Reggae, and even ELP always went through large speaker arrays with multiple crossovers and other electronic aids in the transmission chain. For acoustical music, any break in the frequency responce or -horrible thought- phase shifts in the audible spectrum severely interfere with one‘s enjoyment. So: ideally horn or other single driver systems, if need be two-ways, anything more complex usually doesn‘t get there.

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OK now we are getting somewhere. 
One  of the things that perked my attention to these single wide band, was the higher senstivity.
Which factor may help allow some of the hidden subtle passges spread throughout Schnittke, Pettersson, Henze.
There is ~~alot~~~ more things going on in the redcording, which at times are getting crushed by blaring brass, massive cresendos, Like in Ravel Daphne and Chloe. 
Fora  year+ I racked my brains, as to how is it possible to give  more voice to these jems covered over in some, if m=not most, of my cd collection.

Stay on Seas web site daily, looking and looking. 
Then I recall seeing these odd things on Ebay called **Full range/wide band drivers***, maybe I should take  a  closer look,.
After choosing several,  witha  next day sale, 1/2 price on ebay,,I decided to go one step price wise up, $200 pair. 4 inch. 
Here is what I was looking for. Sure its not going to cut it, its onlya  temp til i get cash for a  real deal wide band. 
The ebay seller gave me a tip as to what his drivers are **clones* of.
That was the very 1st time I heard the name of the wide band which is on my wish list, september.

*Be all/end all* = represents all 100% fq's?? Not looking for this feat.
Classical music, full open orchestra is hardly below 60hz, not much above say, 10khz. 
Looking for something that can compete with Seas's very best 4 inch *Dedicated*  midranges. 
It was a  very long search, and had to think through this sort of *puzzle*, after I heard the word of the  lab, very next second research began. 
Here is something I  found, just now.
I've heard many YT uploads of wide bands, and each one has impressed me. But  this one goes further. 
I was convinced there isa  sub attached somehow to this speaker, and so looked into the specs 
Come to find out, no sub.
Looks like my plans to hold on to the dual Seas W19E001's as glorious bass, will not be needed. To my chargin, as i put alottt of cash intom the new Mundorf xovers and the bass is exceptional. 
Yet  if the bass is even close to what i think I'm hearing in this vid, the Excel mids will ,,sadly, have to go.
Another issue  here is **power source**, 
I got a  note from a  USA dealer, PP amps would work just fine with this driver. 
But a  100 watter??
Could be trouble ahead. 
I have no plans whatsoever to sell the Defy7. 
These mismatched components,will just have to learn to get along. 

They have been around alottt longer than I imagined

https://www.stereophile.com/content/voxativ-ampeggio-loudspeaker


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCwyMZ_bKRo

My tech geek advised, cabinet construction might present some work/budget.
I'll get them up N running 1st, temp cabinet,  then he and I will figure out  a  design that I can follow. I am no cabinet maker, thats for sure. 

antigrunge2552 posts06-30-2021 5:28pm@atmasphere,

 My point is actually about frequency band overlaps and phase shifts as a result of crossovers

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Yes this is important/critical in a   a  plethora of mid fq;s comming out ofa  full symphony orchestra. 
Seas *dedicated midrange* althougha   great driver for all jazz, a  blast of a  orchestra will be a  symphonic overload. 

I'me guessing Vox has made extenive testing on how they want mids to come across.
My tech geek mention this same **over load** might be (= will be) heard in this wide band as well. *crack up/distortion*
He has been around countless FR/wide band speakers, horns primarily.
But has not heard these newer designs, 
This will be the ultimate test, full *grunge* symphonic orchestra passages.