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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
dadork
632 posts
 
I have really enjoyed this thread! Some pretty entertaining characters and some pretty informative answers. So many options! Some of the speaker (arrangements?) I am not even familiar with such as the planars, line arrays, Horns etc...So many brands mentioned that I have never even heard of. I really do need to take a road trip to visit some high end audio stores but for me it would almost have to be a week with so far to drive. Much much research to be done for sure. A couple standouts from the post offered were the Larsen's, the Diesis, the Ohm omni-directionals, and the Magicos.
markmendenhall
218 posts
 
There’s a pair of Manger P1’s listed on Agon and have been for a long time.  I’ve owned Von Schweikert, ProAc, Sonus Faber, Fritz, Aurum Cantus, Totem, Talon, Wharfedale, Quad, KLH, Jungson and have listened to Merlin, Maggie, Silverline, Focal, Merlin, Martin Logan, Vienna Acoustics, Jamo, Polk, among others. I now own the Manger P1 floorstanders and prefer them to every brand listed above.  Difficult for me to believe the Mangers have yet to sell.  Just a fabulous loudspeaker.  
jhills
610 posts
 
The  one big complaint I have about nearly every box speaker, I have spent any time with, regardless of how expensive - no mater how diligent you are with set up, you may be able to get them to sound incredible when firmly seated in the sweet spot, but move a few inches either direction or up or down a few inches and the big stage, placement and most of the magic seems to disappear. After spending a bit of time with set up and dampening on the wall behind, my little Maggies keep the stage, imaging and timber fixed, with the illusion of being real, regardless of where you set or stand.
Since I seldom can stand to set in one very fixed spot or position for hours at a time - my choice would always be electrostatics, ribbons or open baffle, regardless of the room.....Jim
terry9
2,210 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!
erik_squires OP
15,640 posts
 
To be clear, this is not really me shopping.  This was for discussion.


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