So you are setting out on the Quest - the search for the ultimate loudspeaker (within monetary constraints, of course). Congratulations! I wish you the very best in your search!
I've never heard of the Rockport "Hyperion". Is this a new model?
You mention Revel and Wilson WAMM along with Rockport. Frankly, the Revels are not in the same league as Rockport or the big Wilsons.
If you place a very high premium on recreating the feel of a live performance, as implied by your emphasis on imaging and soundstaging, I might have something you'd be interested in.
I'm a dealer for Sound Lab full range electrostats. The Sound Labs have a rather unique set of qualities.
Being a full range single-driver loudspeaker, they are inherently time and phase coherent. Their tall, curved panel approximates a line source, which has some rather distinct advantages over point source loudspeakers. You see, sound pressure level falls off with the square of distance from a point source, but linearly with distance from a line source. This sets up a much more uniform sound field in the listening room - in my room as you move from 1 meter to 8 meters back, the sound pressure level only falls off by 4 dB! Also, the timbre is correct throughout the room. This much more closely recreates the sound field of a live event than what you get with conventional speakers. With most speakers, the sound field in the room changes significantly in tonal balance and sound pressure level as you stand up and move around.
For the ultimate in imaging and soundstaging, the Sound Lab Ultimte 1's are the model to look at. These use an extremely rigid tubular metal frame, and are capable of holographic imaging. But, perhaps more important, they recreate an enormous, enveloping feeling of acoustic space because of the uniform soundfield they set up. You can stand up and dance around, even go into the next room, and the tonal balance doesn't change. Of course the imaging is best along the centerline of the room, but the timbre is correct from virtually anywhere.
The Sound Labs are the only truly full-range speaker with single-driver coherence, and they do this with the legendary clarity of electrostatics. They use the thinnest diaphragm in the industry and thus excel at inner harmonic nuance; they get the reverberant field right; they have line-source radiation for a more natural sound field; and they are a dipole for superb bass pitch definition (the notes decay more naturally because significantly less energy is put into the room's standing wave modes).
The down sides are of course high initial cost, and the Sound Labs are a difficult and inefficient load to drive. Fortunately there are many amplifiers available today that can drive them quite well. Also, dollar for dollar a first-rate box speaker is going to play louder and deeper.
For a really no-holds-barred system, you could add the dedicated electrostatic subwoofer panels. This would extend the bass even deeper than the mid-20's the Ultimates already go to, and would increase headroom.
I'm not saying the Sound Lab Ultimates are necessarily the right speaker for you. Many factors go into making that decision. But if your quest takes you into this realm, and especially if realistic soundstaging is a top priority, I wanted to give you enough information so that you could make an informed decision on whether or not it's worth seeking out an audition.
If you don't have a Sound Lab dealer near you, I'd be happy to find a way to provide you with an audition.
Best of luck to you on your quest!
I've never heard of the Rockport "Hyperion". Is this a new model?
You mention Revel and Wilson WAMM along with Rockport. Frankly, the Revels are not in the same league as Rockport or the big Wilsons.
If you place a very high premium on recreating the feel of a live performance, as implied by your emphasis on imaging and soundstaging, I might have something you'd be interested in.
I'm a dealer for Sound Lab full range electrostats. The Sound Labs have a rather unique set of qualities.
Being a full range single-driver loudspeaker, they are inherently time and phase coherent. Their tall, curved panel approximates a line source, which has some rather distinct advantages over point source loudspeakers. You see, sound pressure level falls off with the square of distance from a point source, but linearly with distance from a line source. This sets up a much more uniform sound field in the listening room - in my room as you move from 1 meter to 8 meters back, the sound pressure level only falls off by 4 dB! Also, the timbre is correct throughout the room. This much more closely recreates the sound field of a live event than what you get with conventional speakers. With most speakers, the sound field in the room changes significantly in tonal balance and sound pressure level as you stand up and move around.
For the ultimate in imaging and soundstaging, the Sound Lab Ultimte 1's are the model to look at. These use an extremely rigid tubular metal frame, and are capable of holographic imaging. But, perhaps more important, they recreate an enormous, enveloping feeling of acoustic space because of the uniform soundfield they set up. You can stand up and dance around, even go into the next room, and the tonal balance doesn't change. Of course the imaging is best along the centerline of the room, but the timbre is correct from virtually anywhere.
The Sound Labs are the only truly full-range speaker with single-driver coherence, and they do this with the legendary clarity of electrostatics. They use the thinnest diaphragm in the industry and thus excel at inner harmonic nuance; they get the reverberant field right; they have line-source radiation for a more natural sound field; and they are a dipole for superb bass pitch definition (the notes decay more naturally because significantly less energy is put into the room's standing wave modes).
The down sides are of course high initial cost, and the Sound Labs are a difficult and inefficient load to drive. Fortunately there are many amplifiers available today that can drive them quite well. Also, dollar for dollar a first-rate box speaker is going to play louder and deeper.
For a really no-holds-barred system, you could add the dedicated electrostatic subwoofer panels. This would extend the bass even deeper than the mid-20's the Ultimates already go to, and would increase headroom.
I'm not saying the Sound Lab Ultimates are necessarily the right speaker for you. Many factors go into making that decision. But if your quest takes you into this realm, and especially if realistic soundstaging is a top priority, I wanted to give you enough information so that you could make an informed decision on whether or not it's worth seeking out an audition.
If you don't have a Sound Lab dealer near you, I'd be happy to find a way to provide you with an audition.
Best of luck to you on your quest!