Speakers for vocalists

Some speakers are definitely better than others for voice. My Maggie 1.6 are pretty good I think, and do a lot of other things well. However, many years ago I had KLH5 and KLH12 speakers that were the best I have ever heard for voice. They were three way, with a pair of very light paper cone midranges, about 3 inches in diameter. When I visited the Smithsonian museum of Science and Industry in Washington DC I noticed that they used KLH5 speakers for the displays which included spoken word audio.

When auditioning speakers, an old trick is to turn off the music and listen to an FM radio station where a man is speaking. The human voice is a "test signal" that we all are familiar with. If voice sounds natural, you probably have a good speaker.

Eldartford,

I agree with you 100%! The human voice is the ultimate test signal. Not just a Mans voice but female vocal too. At one time I used a few tracks like "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega for my reference besides others.

Quadophile...Female vocalist is a good "test signal", for overall quality and imaging, but a man's voice will root out any tendancy to bass boominess.

SET and horns. Everything else sounds like music from a box to my ear. Just heard Avantgarde's the other day, and I swear it sounded like a live concert, especially on a CD of a gospel choir. I've heard planars, electrostatics, and ultra-high end paper cone speakers, and while many sound fantastic, I can always corral the music in my mind. I can pinpoint it as a definable, palpable body. With the horns, however, the analysis disappears, and I am simply overtaken by the natural presence of the music.

Are electrostatic speakers power hogs or are they very efficient? I have Rowland M201 amps and is that a good fit for these electrostatic speakers?