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Speakers which always sound good

This is brought up because I'm home shopping, but I'm not actually looking for speakers right now, so please don't take this as a request for advice so much as opinions.

As I shop for homes I've realized how few are really equipped for the audiophile.  Too many fireplaces and windows and damn kitchens and bathrooms placed completely inappropriately for us! :-)

And as you may know, I'm a big fan of appropriate room treatments.

So, wanted to step away from this world for a bit and ask, what are speaker brands that you feel always work?  Or at least, work really well without having to think about the room acoustics or placements?  Reminder that this is 99% of the buying public.  We who have laser line levelers, a closet full of measurement microphones and a chair which bolts our head into a fixed location may not believe it is true, but this is the majority of the buying public. 

What do we, the audiophile community recommend to them to actually be helpful in getting them as many positive music listening experiences as possible?

Best,

Erik
erik_squires

Showing 4 responses by terry9

terry9
2,212 posts
 
Three things:
1. room
2. books and records behind and in front of speakers
3. planar swarm

The two best rooms I have heard both used several pairs of Quad ESL's. The first uses 3 pairs of stacked Quad 57's - it snapped into focus when the last bookshelf was populated.

The other is my own, which snapped into focus when I moved a pair of 2805's and a pair of 2905's into a quasi-circular arrangement facing the listening position. The long wall, which is faced with books and records, is immediately behind the speakers which face a wall of mainly records and equipment. The listening position is only 2.5 meters from the speakers, but frequency response is pretty much flat down to low 40's.

terry9
2,212 posts
 
Ah.
terry9
2,212 posts
 
Oops - changed a few minor things, like speaker position by an inch or two - lost half an octave. Ah well - there's Sunday.
terry9
2,212 posts
 
Eric, to answer your last question, room dimensions. Since you are looking, I suggest that you consider the optimal room dimensions discovered by U of Salford's School of Acoustics. They have done the simulations, which are available to the public.

They found that most rooms are bad, a quarter are OK, and a few percent are good. There are a number of 'islands' of 'good' ratios which yield first class results, at three room sizes. Adding some book shelves and record shelves gives some flexibility for adapting an existing room. Good luck!
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