[seadogs1]

To me the finest pair of loudspeakers I've heard are the ones I'm listening to right now, The Vapor Audio New Joule Whites driven by a Purity Audio Design Basis Two Pre driving a pair of Merrill Audio Veritas Mono Block amps used with an Exemplar modded Oppo 95.

[rbbert]

You need to get out more.  The title of the thread is "Finest...heard", not "Finest...owned"!

[Russell Dawkins]

Help me remember the name of some high end cylindrical and very tall speakers with a waveguide that was top to bottom on one side.  Heard those in a shop and a colleagues listening room a ways back.  They qualify imho.

Would those be the Beveridge?

[Disbeliever]

I live  in NW London England and fortunately there are still  stores in  London & elsewhere in the UK  to visit and audition speakers, Many dealers also operate from Home & commercial premises. Hi-Fi Mags plenty the oldest HFN & RR,  although Gramophone were reviewing  Hi-Fi many decades before HFN & RR appeared. also  What Hi-Fi? Hi-Fi World, Hi-Fi Choice, Hi-Fi + , Home Cinema Choice.

[rbbert]

Would those be the Beveridge?

That would be my guess also.

[jimdgoulding]

Would those be the Beveridge?

I believe they were, Russell.  Thanks.

[Pete Schumacher]

You need to get out more.  The title of the thread is "Finest...heard", not "Finest...owned"!

Perhaps you might want to go hear what Seadogs is so pleased with.  You may find that you agree with him . . . 

[JerryLove]

Salk SS8.

McIntosh XRT2k had a lot going for it; but there was something not quite point-source on the mids/highs.

[Russell Dawkins]

(re: the Beveridge speaker)

I believe they were, Russell.  Thanks.

It might interest some to know that "our own" Roger A. Modjeski of Music Reference was involved from 1978 in the amplifier design of the Beveridge.
http://www.ramlabs-musicreference.com/bio.html

[Elizabeth]

Magnepan 20.7

[rbbert]

Perhaps you might want to go hear what Seadogs is so pleased with.  You may find that you agree with him . . . 

It's possible, and I hate to dismiss something with which I have no experience, but unless there is something awfully special about those speakers, I find it hard to believe.  I know a lot of people do find something special in full-range cone drivers, but I'm definitely not one of them.  Full-range planars, maybe.

[pansixt]

The Finest pair was actually two pairs of Klipschorns driven by some monster Mac Tube Stack and possibly a quad setup
at a UVA frat house in 197?.

Probably at some audio show since then somewhere in the US of A, I have heard something to compare, but how could my aged memory know for sure?

I wish the topic was: Name the Finest Pair of Loudspeakers You Remember Hearing.

Shoot, Now I forgot the question!!!

[wilsynet]

JBL Everest.  Not that price is the determiner of quality, but they're about $60K a pair if I recall.

[pansixt]

Everest. 60K. Equally insurmountable for me.

Love to hear them though. Maybe I have and just can't remember.  Always liked the JBL's.

Got an old pair of Altec Horns and Crossovers. Always wanted to do something with them.

[geowak]

Probably Focal 1038be. But the 1028be's were also very good. For bookshelf, the Wilson Audio Duettes.

[apollophono]

Do Bill O'Reilly and Dennis Miller count? 
I crack myself up.     They are speakers
and probably loud. Yuk Yuk. 

Seriously I couldn't match anybody here. 
Most of what I've heard has been the run
of the mill audio shop fare such as Linns or
such.  The most I've ever purchased has
been the recent JBL S530 for $379 this
Christmas.  They do sound good with my
TBI Millenium. 

[pansixt]

Do Bill O'Reilly and Dennis Miller count? 
I crack myself up.     They are speakers
and probably loud. Yuk Yuk. 

Seriously I couldn't match anybody here. 
Most of what I've heard has been the run
of the mill audio shop fare such as Linns or
such.  The most I've ever purchased has
been the recent JBL S530 for $379 this
Christmas.  They do sound good with my
TBI Millenium.

Good One ApolloTT About Bill and Dennis. They are Loud and Funny in their way. No doubt the JBL's and Millenium
sound sweet.
James

[pansixt]

Good One ApolloTT About Bill and Dennis. They are Loud and Funny in their way. No doubt the JBL's and Millenium
sound sweet.
James

Edit: I just looked. The JBL's retail for Six a pair. Good Deal Mate.

[ccklone]

Hey Now,

I was on a business trip to Vancouver, B.C. last fall and had the opportunity to pop into HiFiCentre to have a listen. The guys there were terrific, they let me roam around and audition for a couple of hours. They had in a back room some Wilson Audio Sasha W/Ps that floored me. They sounded amazing.

I think they had a dCS pre-amp and CD feeding a McIntosh amp. Haven't heard anything like that in recent memory. We don't have any audio shops in Louisville, KY. So it is a treat to go on a business trip and check things out 8^).

--
Finest kind,
Chris

[kevin360]

You know what, if I had the money and space for any of these outrageously expensive and usually bizarre looking rich man's toy audio systems, I would say screw them all.

Priorities please, priorities.  Keep head on straight please.

Drive a Honda but have a statement stereo system rather than drive a Ferrari and have a decent stereo system now personally that is one of the most amusing things I've ever read.

Surely, this is a straw man argument. If I had the disposable income for the speakers/amps about which I posted (a quarter million), I can't imagine that I wouldn't plant them in a million dollar room. How does purchasing exquisite gear skew my priorities? When one has such capital to toss at the room, hiring Rives (for example) to do the room design doesn't induce the slightest batting of an eye.

A quarter million dollar speaker/amp combo may be for the well heeled, but the components are certainly not toys. Every t has been crossed and every i dotted. From design to manufacture to performance, nothing short of exemplary will do. I appreciate no compromise designs.

Similarly, I wouldn't consider a Ferrari 458 (lists for about a quarter million) a rich man's toy car. If I were a rich man, I'd own a couple (hopefully, two would be enough to insure that I'd always have one to drive while the other is out for service). For some people, there's more to driving than getting from point A to point B. Lots of money means I can enjoy lots of track days, but that still doesn't wedge the car into the 'toy' hole.

I drive a Honda S2000 CR. I love my little car. It's a blast to drive and it's exceptionally reliable. What's not to love? Still, it's not a Ferrari 458 – not by a mile! I desire the 458, but it is well beyond my reach. Fortunately, an excellent sports car was in reach, and that's what I bought (and I don't mean financed). So it is with my audio system, but I invested more in it than I did my car. Both are kept in a new structure. The combined cost wouldn't buy a new Ferrari 458.

Since I was a youth, I've wanted a 911. The latest generation is an amazing car to drive, but I don't connect with paddle shift like a do a proper manual. It was a goal of mine to buy one when I turned 50, and I was prepared to make that dream a reality. As so often happens in life, the plan changed. I thought of options and talked to my wife. She was in favor of the dedicated room and the Honda. I drove the Honda, fell in love and bought it. A couple of months later, the big garage project was under way. Of course, it went well beyond the projected budget, but that's a common theme in life as well. 

I'm quite satisfied with what I have , but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't love to own a Ferrari and the big Scaena speaker system and the big VAC Statement (now, the IQ – not what was pictured) amps, etc. Knowing that there exists something better doesn't diminish my enjoyment of what I have. I honestly don't care about the Porsche anymore. Likewise, the Magnepan 3.7s paired with the Def Tech Supercube Refs are keepers in my book – the best speakers I'll ever have, but not the ultimate, which is the theme of this thread.