Stereophile Recommended Class-A speakers April 2006 issues

95bcwh · « **on:** 19 Mar 2006, 04:10 am »

All,
I just bought myself the latest Stereophile magazine and here's the list of the so-called "Best speakers in terms of sound quality, price no-object"

(1) Avantgarde Uno 3.0: $11,970 - $13,970 / pair
(2) Aerial Acoustics Model 20T: $24k - $29k / pair
(3) B&W 802D: $12,000 / pair
(4) Focal-JMLab Grande Utopia Be: $85k / pair
(5) Focal-JMLab Nova Utopia Be: $37,500 / pair
(6) Innersound Kaya: $20k / pair
(7) mbl 101E Radialstrahler: $46,900 / pair
(8 )NHT Evolution T6: $4000/system
(9)Peak Consult Empress: $25,000 / pair
(10) Revel Ultima Studio: $15k / pair
(11) Rockport Technologies Merak II / Sheritan II: $34,500 / pair
(12) Sonus Faber Stradivari: $40,000 / pair
(13) Triangle Magellan: $35,900 /pair
(14) Wilson Audio Specialties MAXX Series 2: $44,900 / pair
(15) Wilson Audio Specialties WATT/Puppy System 7: $22,400 / pair

Out of my curiosity, I would like to ask how many AC members have auditioned/owned any of these speakers above?

Sadly, the only one that I can afford is probably the $4000 NHT T6 system.

Best regards
barry

audiophile39 · « **Reply #1 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 04:15 am »

Hey, at those prices, I'll take one of each for my apartment and one of each for my country abode LOL

95bcwh · « **Reply #2 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 04:24 am »

LOL, to tell you the truth, when I looked at these price..makes me wonder how many speakers of such outrageous prices can be sold in a year..

john1970 · « **Reply #3 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 04:56 am »

To all,

It amazes me that almost all of the speakers (except the NHT) cost more than $10000!! If only stereophile would review speakers from smaller manufacturers (such as VMPS, Salk Sound, Selah Audio, etc.). I love the fact the Stereophile is one of the few magazines that give actual physical measurements of the equipment (yes, my PhD in science is showing!). However, the fact that they won't review speakers made by smaller companies (that are usually a very good value) is a disservice to the audio community at large.

Just my $0.02,

John

95bcwh · « **Reply #4 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 06:35 am »

Quote from: john1970

To all,

It amazes me that almost all of the speakers (except the NHT) cost more than $10000!! If only stereophile would review speakers from smaller manufacturers (such as VMPS, Salk Sound, Selah Audio, etc.). I love the fact the Stereophile is one of the few magazines that give actual physical measurements of the equipment (yes, my PhD in science is showing!). However, the fact that they won't review speakers made by smaller companies (that are usually a very good value) is a disservice to the audio community at large.

Just my $0.02,

John

From what I read somewhere, Stereophile's policy dictate that if you want your products to be reviewed, you have to advertise on the magazine for at least 6-months, this basically put off a lot of small companies. The fact is, Stereophiles made more money through advertisement than through user subscription ( you can subscribe 12 issues for only $12 a year ! ).

warnerwh · « **Reply #5 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 06:41 am »

I believe Stereophile has reviewed a number of products from companies that don't advertise. I think Channel Island Audio is one of them.

John's comment is right on the mark. The three companies he lists I'd bet can compete with these one on one without any embarrassment whatsoever and possibly out doing some of them overall for a fraction of the price. It costs money to advertise with full page four color ads in numerous magazines. Also if your speakers are sold in a brick and mortar store the owner has to make some money too so he can eat.

BradJudy · « **Reply #6 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 04:22 pm »

Don't feel sorry if you can't afford them. I've heard some of those at the RMAF and I can't say that I think they are worth those prices, not to mention the cost of the electronics they were connected to. Of course, that's coming from someone who can't afford them either.

That's why I'm hoping to get some interest behind exhibitors doing $5k systems (source, amplification, cables and speakers) at the next RMAF.

Charles Calkins · « **Reply #7 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 04:48 pm »

bradjudy:
I like the idea of a $5k setup at the next RMAF. Is there something we can do to promote this idea?

Cheers
Charlie

mcrespo71 · « **Reply #8 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 04:54 pm »

Quote from: 95bcwh

From what I read somewhere, Stereophile's policy dictate that if you want your products to be reviewed, you have to advertise on the magazine for at least 6-months, this basically put off a lot of small companies. The fact is, Stereophiles made more money through advertisement than through user subscription ( you can subscribe 12 issues for only $12 a year ! ).

I'm pretty sure this is not their policy. Many products have been reviewed without advertising- empirical audio cables, bozak vintage speakers, channel island audio. I thought they will only review a product that has at least 5 dealers, but maybe I'm wrong.

KT · « **Reply #9 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 06:20 pm »

IMO, these super-expensive class-A full-range Stereophile ranked speakers fill a very specific niche that's comprised of perhaps less than .1% of the music listening public. They're more like the luxury niche of speakers, like a Ferarri, Rolls-Royce, or Bentley.

So if you have the money for them, and they fit into your audio world-view, by all means check them out.

If not, there are many great speakers that will give you great musical satisfaction at a tiny fraction of the cost. If musical enjoyment and value are what you seek, you have a lot of serious choices, some of which may be DIY.

It's fun to read about these megabuck (and maybe good sounding?) speakers, though, much as it's fun to read about the Ferarri Enzo or F50. I would never own one of these cars even if I coud afford one, but learning about a company's statement product and how it attempt to push the performance envelope can be enlightening.

By pushing the boundaries of good sound production through the creation of statement speakers, a manufacturer can learn a lot which it can then trickle down to its more affordable products (Focal/JMLab comes to mind). It also gives other manufacturers a reason to innovate.

So I don't see these mega-expensive speaker as a negative thing. The only negative thing is the mindset that one has to spend this kind of money to be musically satisfied, which is clearly not the case.

But, no, I haven't heard these speakers.

Best,
KT

KT · « **Reply #10 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 06:41 pm »

Quote from: john1970

However, the fact that they won't review speakers made by smaller companies (that are usually a very good value) is a disservice to the audio community at large.

Just my $0.02,

John

I don't know how Stereophile select the speakers that it reviews, but you should be heartened by the fact that John DeVore at DeVore Fidelity had his Silverback speakers reviewed in Stereophile, and that it earned a Class-A limited low frequency rating in the speaker category.

I first met John about 4 years ago when I was working at In Living Stereo in Manhattan. At that time he was a sales rep at Sound by Singer, but he was also working on his speakers, the Gibbon 8 and the Gibbon 3. We heard the speakers, and they were phenomenally good for the price (and on an absolute level), so we carried them.

At that time DeVore Fidelity was a one man operation, and still might be, so it is in no way a major manufacturer with a huge advertising budget. But the quality and sound of John's products made people take notice and now he's on the map.

John's statement product, the Silverback, is expensive at $14,000, but this recognition from Stereophile does also throw some light on his more affordable (and excellent sounding) speakers.

So chalk one up for the smaller manufacturers.

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/devore2/silverback.html

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/devore/gibbon8.html

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/devore3/gibbon71.html

Best,
KT

john1970 · « **Reply #11 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 11:01 pm »

While the silverbacks are interesting, I would never call any speaker by any manufacturer a value if it consisted of 4 drivers/channel and retails for $14K. At that cost, a pair of Selah Audio ribbon arrays should cost almost $50K.

Just my thoughts,

John

Please realize that I have no problems spending thousands on speakers, but for 14K the speaker could be considerably larger and contain more drivers.

kfr01 · « **Reply #12 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 11:09 pm »

Quote from: john1970

While the silverbacks are interesting, I would never call any speaker by any manufacturer a value if it consisted of 4 drivers/channel and retails for $14K. At that cost, a pair of Selah Audio ribbon arrays should cost almost $50K.

Just my thoughts,

John

Please realize that I have no problems spending thousands on speakers, but for 14K the speaker could be considerably larger and contain more drivers.

I agree. Over $10k and I expect to see something different than a conventional looking 3-way design.

Custom drivers you say? Who cares. Unless I see some measurements showing me why some custom drivers are superior to far less expensive mass-produced drivers, I'm not impressed.

jermmd · « **Reply #13 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 11:14 pm »

I'm surprised by the mega-expensive speakers that didn't make the list. Where is Dynaudio, Dali, Vandersteen, Von Scweikert, etc. They are certainly as mainstream as the others and I believe they advertise.

mcrespo71 · « **Reply #14 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 11:19 pm »

Quote from: john1970

While the silverbacks are interesting, I would never call any speaker by any manufacturer a value if it consisted of 4 drivers/channel and retails for $14K. At that cost, a pair of Selah Audio ribbon arrays should cost almost $50K.

Just my thoughts,

John

Please realize that I have no problems spending thousands on speakers, but for 14K the speaker could be considerably larger and contain more drivers.

A speaker is either good or it isn't. I'd take many small speakers over large ones on sound alone.

Michael

95bcwh · « **Reply #15 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 11:33 pm »

There's another loudspeaker category called "Class A-Restricted Extreme LF", which means the speaker will reach down to 40Hz only. Dynaudio and Dali are in this category.

Whereas for strictly "Class-A", the speakers can reach down to 20Hz.

The speakers list for "A-Restricted Extreme LF" are:

1. Dali Euphonia MS5: $12,500 / pair
2. Devore Fidelity Silverback Reference: $15,000 / pair
3. Dynaudio Confidence C4: $18,000 / pair
4.ESP Concert Grand SI: $40,000 /pair
5. Focal JMLab Electra 1027 Be: $75,00 /pair
6. Focal JMLab Micro Utopia Be: $6000/pair
7.Harbeth SUper HL5: $3995 / pair
8. Isophon Europa II: $11,500 - $15,600 / pair
9. Krell Resolution 1: $13,000/pair
10.Linn Akurate: $9495/pair
11.Lipinksi Sound L-707: $4590/pair
12.Marten Design Coltrane: $50,000/pair
13.NHT Xd: $6000/system
14.Opera Callas Divina: $8995/pair
15.Opera Callas: $3295/pair
16.Paradim Signature S2: $1900-$2200/pair
17.Peak Consult InCognito: $15,000/pair
18.Penaudio Serenade: $9000/pair
19.Piega C8 LTD: $17,000/pair
20.Quad ESL-998: $6650-7300/pair
21.Quad ESL-989:$8650-$9500/pair
22.Tannoy TD12:$12,160/pair
23.Triangle Magellan Concerto:$19,900/pair
24.Verity Audio Sarastro:$34,995/pair
25.Wilson Benesch A.C.T:$13,500/pair

zybar · « **Reply #16 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 11:34 pm »

Quote from: jermmd

I'm surprised by the mega-expensive speakers that didn't make the list. Where is Dynaudio, Dali, Vandersteen, Von Scweikert, etc. They are certainly as mainstream as the others and I believe they advertise.

Not sure if they have current reviews.

Hard to imagine the Vandy 5A and various VS speakers not making the "A" list if they had been reviewed.

George

SET Man · « **Reply #17 on:** 19 Mar 2006, 11:37 pm »

Quote from: john1970

While the silverbacks are interesting, I would never call any speaker by any manufacturer a value if it consisted of 4 drivers/channel and retails for $14K. At that cost, a pair of Selah Audio ribbon arrays should cost almost $50K.

Just my thoughts,

John

Please realize that I have no problems spending thousands on speakers, but for 14K the speaker could be considerably larger and contain more drivers.

Hi,

If more drivers mean better sound than I must be nuts using my homebrew Single Driver speaker with one 6" Fostex per side + super tweeter!

It all about "quality rather than quanity" my friend.

Take care,
Buddy

john1970 · « **Reply #18 on:** 20 Mar 2006, 12:09 am »

Agree on the quality issue.

However, if you are in a large room there is no way a single driver system is going to fill the room as much as a large tower system. My only point is that at 10K+ prices a design should incorporate more or larger drivers. One of the speakers selling for 25K/pair consists of three drivers / channel. I would love to know what the OEM cost of the driver are! My guess is the total wholesale cost of the drivers can not be more than 1K (and is probably much less).

J

zybar · « **Reply #19 on:** 20 Mar 2006, 12:26 am »

Quote from: john1970

Agree on the quality issue.

However, if you are in a large room there is no way a single driver system is going to fill the room as much as a large tower system. My only point is that at 10K+ prices a design should incorporate more or larger drivers. One of the speakers selling for 25K/pair consists of three drivers / channel. I would love to know what the OEM cost of the driver are! My guess is the total wholesale cost of the drivers can not be more than 1K (and is probably much less).

J

Usually the most expensive part of the speaker is the cabinet, not the drivers.

Also, when coming up with a price, you have to take into account many more factors than the raw materials used.

Not that I am defending the megabuck components.

George