2. speakers
  3. 141405-8458

Speakers with the most detailed midrange? (non-ESL/planar)

Anyone care to give their opinion on what dynamic speaker has the most detailed/revealing midrange? Not including electrostatics or planar speakers. Approximately between the frequencies of 400Hz to 3kHz. Also, just to clarify what I mean by detail: when there is a musical passage that entails many different layers of instruments, the speakers' ability to separate all the elements so all the instruments are heard clearly and nothing is obscured. Also the ability to retrieve every last bit of information on a recording, such as random sounds in the studio, distortion in recordings and reverb tails.

As far as price goes... 2 categories... below $12,000 USD (new) and any price range. Thanks.
woofer72
cheche9's avatar
cheche9
14 posts
 
Harbeth 
any model
bgbkt
1 posts
 
I’m surprised why Salk doesn’t get recommended much here. It’s SS 8 with Accuton midrange, RAAL tweeter and crossover designed for Dennis Murphy gives excellent and smooth mid to high performance. 
dodgealum
976 posts
 
Woof--I would prefer not to name specific brands/models out of respect for the unique listening preferences of different folks who frequent this site. Everyone hears differently, has different room characteristics to work with, and different ideas about what constitutes great sound. My post was merely to point out that certain trade offs might come into play with designs that prioritize detail through the midrange. In my experience, a speaker that is balanced overall and gets the midrange "correct" will tend to satisfy over the long haul. One that emphasizes certain frequency bands in pursuit of "more detail" may impress initially ("WOW, I could hear the air pass between her teeth") but over time maybe not so much.
gosta's avatar
gosta
202 posts
 
Very nice recommendations and interesting thoughts here. Keep on!

At the moment I am surprised how good sound I have at my working place since I placed my ATC SCM12 there powered by a paradigm AMP with ARC2 room correction. Source is Tidal from PC with an Oppo HA2-SE dac. Crossing at 80hz to a Cambridge Minx sub. Very simple and low cost. Fantastic sound. Don’t want to leave the desk. Can’t work. With the ATC also you have no SPL limitations whatever when you want to crank it up. The Minx sub has limitations though, but it is small enough for the desk.

For desk top listening you really need a good correction system because of all negative interaction from the desk, terminals etc. Cleans everything up dramatically. ARC is very handy because you can easily save and load different correction files, e.g. if you have more than one speaker to change between.I use several but the ATC is the winner right now. Very detailed but still smooth or easy to listen too. 
oem-wheels
151 posts
 
Salk Sound's Song 3A will do the trick.. Starting just over $4100 for the pair.. Super detailed full range speakers.. 
More to discover