Several people have mentioned the subjective nature of finding "the best" of anything, and I don’t think anyone disputes that. It still remains a journey we undertake willingly, because it’s so much fun. Over the last days I’ve read the Posts and thought about the concept of "Best" and about how much I continually learn about measuring sonic performance. Education never stops. "The Best" is a moving target. With that said: efficient speakers and am I happy with them?
Early on, Aric of Aric Audio shared with me that he was about to launch the first of several speakers on his website. At the time, my interest and focus was on structuring the tube system to maximize it’s ability to blow me away every time I powered it up. The undertaking was highly successful yielding 3 preamps and 3 amps. Then I started thinking about speakers. To cut to the chase, I bought a set of his Dynaltos which are 30" floor standing 3 ways, crossed masterfully, which (I live in rural Nebraska) with freight, came in under $4K.
These speakers are incredible.
The build quality is excellent, fit and finish makes you not even notice it, and the sound -- that’s why we do this, right?
I find them very articulate due to the ribbon tweet and its marriage to the mid because of his unique crossover design It sounds like one speaker -- even up close. To me, they also have both a dynamic and a 3-dimensional presence and throw a sound stage that’s wide. He rates them at 95db @ 1 watt/1 meter. My SE can drive them with ease with all of its 18 watts yet they maintain composure when driven hard by my Enigmatic mono blocks which are 120 watts a piece. Additionally they produce very low bass for a 10" in a "smallish" sized cab. Their footprint is only 11" X 13" but they sound like they are much bigger than that.
It’s a bit ironic that what I believe to be among "The Best" are truly "Unknowns" at this point because they haven’t officially been rolled out yet. Stay tuned. You might be hearing a great deal about these speakers.