The best speaker you ever heard?

Rockadanny: I went to Jim Salk's house to audition a pair of his Veracity HT3s. After listening for a bit, I came to the conclusion that they are better than live. Or at least what live SHOULD sound like, were it properly miced, set-up, and amped. They magically fill the room with high resolution, no distortion, crystal clear music. Exquisite and incomparable - both in sound and asthetics.

I'd be curious to know which speakers you are comparing HT3's against? A comparison with Tyler, Zu, Silverline, Acoustic Zen, Daedalus etc would be great, but if you have others in mind it would be good to know what they are.

Aktchi,
Comparisons were of some speakers past. I admit that the HT3s were nearly the most expensive speakers I've heard. The others: Audes Blues; Tannoy Eyris DC-3; Vandersteen 2ce; Von Schweikert VR-2; Zu Druid; Vienna Acoustic Beethoven Baby Grand; Polk LSi25; Martin Logan (?). And IMO the HT3s were not just better, but better by far. Then there are mine: EgglestonWorks Fontaine, but truthfully speaking I am holding judgement on these until I get my system back up and operating. It has been out of commission for a few weeks. I am looking forward to comparing the HT3s to my Egglestons soon. So I guess I jumped the gun a little comparing the HT3s to my Eggys. Keep in mind that the HT3s use perhaps the best drivers available, with an amazing ribbon tweeter, and a cabinet whose size and construction contribute to the enhancement of the sound. Of the other speakers I mentioned (except for my Eggys) , I never felt their cabinets played any significant role in adding to the quality of sound. And IMO the cabinet is just as critical as the drivers. Dynamics is one thing, and many of the above speakers have it. But only the HT3s, and I suspect my Eggys, have properly sized and contructed cabinets to add qualities such as tone, timbre, and clarity, making them musical.

Re: B&W Original Nautilus

BTW the MF and HF drivers on the new Vivid speakers are the culmination of the designers ideas with regards to metal domes.
Here is a little trivia,the original Nautilus was conceptulised as a 5 way, using a 16"/8"/4" dome/2"dome/1" dome.Cheers.
Sphere

Sphere,
Thanks, I know next to nothing about the original Nautilus and appreciate any further info I can get. Certainly an exceptional speaker. Guess I will have to check out some Vivid speakers now.

Rockadanny: Aktchi, Comparisons were of some speakers past. I admit that the HT3s were nearly the most expensive speakers I've heard. The others: Audes Blues; Tannoy Eyris DC-3; Vandersteen 2ce; Von Schweikert VR-2; Zu Druid; Vienna Acoustic Beethoven Baby Grand; Polk LSi25; Martin Logan (?). And IMO the HT3s were not just better, but better by far...I am looking forward to comparing the HT3s to my Egglestons soon.

For some of us, your comparison against Zu Druid is meaningful because a few in this forum hold and promoe it to be the best speaker below Zu Definition (around $9000). Others mentioned in similar esteem are Tyler, Silverline, Daedalus, Adagio. Hence my interest in comparisons.

Is HT3 fussy about amps, room placement etc? Would it sound good at low volumes or in smaller rooms?

BTW, when you were at Salk's, did you listen to any of his 2 way models at all, HT2 and QW? If so what did you think of those?

Rlapporte, Boa2, Sphere...

Let me state my .02 on the dealer participation (welcome) and disclosure (always a must).

It is not a matter of doubting someone's honesty or integrity, but understanding any conflicts of interest. You wouldn't think it was ethical if Sean Casey or Ty Lashbrook or Jim Salk or one of their employees posted as "MusicLover2000" and without disclosingt the affiliation, said his company's speakers are the best. Dealers are in the same boat.

An individual can say whatever he wants about any product. We may doubt his expertise and knowledge but not the freedom. But even the most honest employee or dealer does not have that latitude. He can speak freely about many things but not about many others. So a dealer's opinions have to be interpreted in light of that limitation.

To dealers I would say, I know it is heart-warming that you want to, and feel you should be able to be just one of the guys. And in my home or yours you probably can. But in the end you do know the truth that in public forums you can't, and in spite of our home-like folksiness, this is a public forum. No matter how you rationalize it, some words have to be measured, softened, watched for. Just like a guy who works for Nikon can never be just one of the hobbyists in public discussions about camera. There are invisible strings attached to you and we need to know what they are. So, don't rationalize, do the right thing always and disclose your affiliations.

I do agree that listening for yourself is best - so go and listen and you don't have to read anybody's opinion. That's how I lived when I had the time, and you have my envy and admiration. But this is not an argument for diluting ethical standards: those who do take the time to read an opinion need to be able to consider it properly; even if you use A'gon casually, its integrity has to be maintained for those who like to use it more seriously.