Im not a maggie fan, but have owned a bunch of open baffle speakers, including my current fav of 3 years, Emerald Physics 3.4s. Want something current check out GR Research
Recommendation on speakers for listening to live music
Hello, I was wondering if anyone had a recommendation on speakers for listening to live music. I have a big collection of live Grateful Dead, phish, jazz, etc.. This is music on cd or vinyl that was recorded live. Are there quality speakers that cater to both live and studio recordings. Would be using McIntosh power amps mc252, mc275 etc.. Thank you very much for any advice.
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Magnepans. I love planar speakers for their ability to recreate the soundstage, their boxless presentation with images hovering in front of you, and their transient quickness and agility. You need to have some room in front and behind them, add well as a lot of power, say at least 70wpc, if not more to really get them going. |
That wall of sound lasted less than eight months. Not for the quality and innovation rather the logistical aspect. The wiki is fairly informative. Long before Harman JBL was open and helpful to DIY and their developments were substantial. If your new to horns it would be smart to compare a dynamic and a horn speaker in the same room for your own experience. I just heard a demo of the Meyer Sound Labs Amie powered 2 way. Regardless of your speaker choice a properly located processing subwoofer system is what will get you the extra 3dB needed to portray Lesh's low B or the tuning of Tony Williams' 18" Gretsch creating that more live effect. I've never used Audio Kinesis but I've used four Velodyne DD subs to a similar affect. Far more affordable the Swarm is a popular option that will partner with many different types of speaker systems and manage most any rooms peculiarities you might encounter. Beware of speakers with built in self powered subs. Speakers are located for sound staging. The room dictates were the subwoofers should be located. Para diddle y dee, good luck with your search. |
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Hi, I use Tekton Design Double Impact speakers. They really bring out the dynamics and excitement of a live performance. They have high sensitivity so no problem driving them with your amps. I drive mine with a 50w/ch monoblocs tube amp to an average of 87-90db, pick at around 100-105db with ease. Whether classical or rock concert it's a great joy listening, closing my eyes and I'm there. Another thing I like about these speakers, no listening fatigue. Check them out on their site www.tektondesign.com They have models even higher then my DI's. BTW, the guy that designed them is a drummer :-) Hope it helps, Gilaad
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That’s what I used to think, but the Heritage mk IV series are different from the "typical" Klipsch. They retain the sensitivity and dynamics, even at low volumes, but are more refined than previous iterations, including refined horn that I’m finding disappears and is actually quite dispersive. I have been quite impressed by them, and I’m a long-term neutral-leaning audio fellow... I’m frequently taken aback by sounds that appear up, or way off to the sides, or in front of the speakers, or even occasionally behind me. Even my cats have noticed, lol. This is part of what lends the "live in the concert hall" sound. Are they my "end game" speakers? Probably not, I might go seek refuge back into the neutral, perhaps that new Q Acoustics Concept 50 (?), but the Heresy IV are impressive and a joy to own and listen to, and certainly provide an alternative look into the music which sounds fresh and lively, and to my also surprise are non-fatiguing and fatigue is something I had been worried about... well, no worries with the Heresy IV. They are an alternative, and I’ve been to a lot of different live music events of all types in all types of venues over the past 45 years or so and they do provide the live feel and sound... I selected them after going to an exclusive loft in L.A. and listened to many other even much more expensive speakers which basically all sounded quite the same as each other and not much of a step up over my old "linear sound" Epi speakers (albeit now updated w Human Speakers parts). There was no reason at all to spend multiple thousands on new speakers that didn’t really sound any different nor better than my trusty Epi ... However, the Heresy sounded different, and when I heard Keith Richards standing next to me while playing his acoustic guitar, and then Jagger step to center stage and walk forward and lean into the mic, I was sold. And, I’ve found them to be convincing with classical music as well. |
That's the fun thing about audio, different people can have much the same live listening experience, and get completely opposite conclusions from it. When I think about live orchestral or chamber ensembles, comparisons to horn loaded speakers, is about the last thing that goes through my mind*. Especially with Klipsch, but I can never NOT hear the sound of the horn. To me, they make every type of music, sound as if it is coming from a PA. And that's the last thing I want when listening to classical, the sound of a PA. *Unless we're talking about horn speakers such as Avant Garde Acoustics, or Acapella, but then, we're in an entirely different category of speakers. |
The horns would be too high pitched , they would make you feel uneasy, anxious, and not,want to sit at high volume on the couch. UNLESS KLIPSCH HAVE FIXED THEIR HORNS, AND FREQUENCY OF THE CROSSOVERS I sacked my old speakers, piled up in basement, kept my old mid-fi BIC Venturi v830 and V630 pairs in basement system, AS THey have a much warmer tone than previous speakers I used.
the sound from your speakers depends a lot on the recording itself, we have quite a lot of live lps and cds , some sound like a 6th generation cassette dubbed 1984 Destruction demo, some are simply flawless. Our stereo is quite nice , some recordings are tight, and sound great, others are no bass, harsh,crowd, or not mixed properly Use your ears, as a bad recording in, is a bad sound out no matter how much your system costs enjoy the hunt
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For amplified live music ATC is hard to beat. They're better at high volume. They also manage bass better than most brands. This is one of those things that you need to experience and live with long enough to stop being emotional about it. ATCs start rolling off bass at a relatively high frequency. This very significantly reduces room problems, especially when you crank 'em up a bit. They provide fantastic dynamics, very high quality bass. The bigger ones with big bass drivers have great punch. And you can fill in the very low end with subs if you want. Mains with -3db points below 40hz are a bad idea in most rooms for amplified, bassy music.. |
Hi Jazzydrummer, As it supposed to be, everyone is in love of the carefully build own sound equipment. In my case, I’m in love of mine, a pair of Atma-Sphere MA1 driving Soundlab U-545. Real sound. Electrostatic sound is fantastic. For instance Woody Herman Woody’s and his Big Band Concord Records CJ-330 “Woody’s Gold Star is like sharing the scenario. Hope could be helpful.(Excuse my poor english) |
Hello, You have some nice gear. I noticed you did not mention a budget, Bookshelf or floor standers, or even color and finish. You are addressing a group who has either owned a lot of speakers or have listened to most. I do not own them but have heard several on SS and tubes. The Tekton Moab’s are going to be the best live performance for the money or beyond the money in sound. My favorite Tektons are the Encore. Perfect mix of live and studio nuance and not as big as the Moab. If you need a better price but still a great speaker is the Double impact. |
@kingharold OP's budget is 6-8K. |
This discussion is mostly pointless. As others have pointed out you are listening to recorded music in a home environment. The system that fits your room size and layout, satisfies your playback volume needs, and reproduces everything well will be best for all music. It all starts with the room and your demands. The few useful nuggets include: The Swarm to add bass with almost any speaker, but don’t expect live sound to be convincing without lots of cone area. How much? Refer to first principles…how much room to fill , how loud? IMO, use horns only if your answers are Large and Loud. There’s more to it, but many ways to get there. |
I get what your trying to put together and agree you answered your own question, JBL (biggest and baddest you can afford). Google JBL 4350 monitors. No subs required. To the posters who think that the Grateful Dead "just" used PA for the sound haven't been to a concert. There is a very good YT vid on "The Wall of Sound". Funny I don't see any PA. This is a super high end system. Lastly, The GD employed the best recording technics they possible could and in fact moved the ball the down court. Most of the GD live recordings are directly off the sound board. BTW Phil Lesh ,bassist, had his own set of amps and speakers for each string on his bass. Regards, barts
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*Bass Sorry, someone had to say it........🙄 |
Exactly as clearthinker says. It's a fallacy to conclude that because the recording is of a live event, that you need speakers that employ similar technology to those used at the event itself. PA systems are driven by the need to go as loud as possible with as few watts as possible. (The watts bit is less significant nowadays with class D designs, admittedly.) Also, as clearthinker says, what's been listened to is a recording. If it's rock music, it's most likely a feed from the mixing desk, with possibly a bit of hall sound mixed in. Jazz recordings are more likely to have been room sound with possibly a few spot mikes. In either case, what you want is to reproduce the sound of the recording, so all the usual sonic criteria apply. |
Don’t laugh. If you want to play your live music heavenly real and not extremely loud, I’d say Quad ESL 2912. In my opinion the worlds’ best and to some extend affordable, speaker to experience music at home. If you want to enjoy music live in full size (suppose you have no neighbors and your listening-room is big enough) I’d go for the Magnepan 1.7i (minimum) or better the 3.7i. The ’i’ as an important upgrade to ’full quasi ribbon’. Meaning that the wires of the former models are replaced by metal ribbons. Far better sound, practically indestructible and no more ’wire loosing’. These Magnepans though, do require real beefy amps to fulfill there power needs. But there are more roads that lead to Rome, so I wish you lots of wisdom and succes in this difficult quest. ;-) |
Personally I leave live music to the musicians and venue. |
Bloody hell man. You answered your own question. JBL. There is no better for what you seek. It's likely others on this forum have not experienced the beauty of the source material you mentioned. A lesson in history might benefit some but some, but likely most here would lend a deaf ear.... For me modern JBL studio monitors with properly phased subs are the hands down ticket. Yes, pun intended. Live sound at home. Amps. Source. Entirely different conversation. Peace ✌️ |
I am a grateful dead fan and I agree that you want the system to have a very clean tight base to reproduce Phil‘s baselines. I just recently replaced my JL audio subs with a swarm sub system. I really like it. Very clean and tight and integrates well with my speakers if you have the room for it, I would consider that. You can Google it. |
A big grateful thanks to all that replied! An apology for not listing my budget (which is around 6-8k) I had a feeling JBL would be a recommendation as Jerry Garcia used jbl speakers in his cabinet, and the infamous ‘wall of sound’ was filled with jbl speakers. Not sure what speakers Phish plays through or the many other jambands I listen to use. The subs sound very important as both Phil Lesh (the dead) and Mike Gordon (phish) really capture the very low end frequencies. Feel free to keep chiming in, and a happy day to all you audio heads! |
