Best all around speakers

Cleaneduhippy,

Don't you know already?There is a category of the speakers you are looking for;they are call music lovers speakers.

Really,there are only 2 candidates;
1.Harbeth

2.ATC

feed them with high current ,quality amp like Bryston,Sugden masterclass and these speakers will slay all those pompous looking loudspeakers.

Are you into Springsteen?Have a listen to Hungry heart.Roy Bittan ,attacking at the piano,listen how the music dance through Harbeth/ATC.Listening through Magico/Wilson,Roy Bittan's pace sound less attacking you think he has arthritis...

Into classical?Try listening to Beethoven's 9th;;Karajan;you would see how attacking Karajan was,and you would understand what the fuss are all about.

There are 3 problems though;[About Harbeth/ATC]

1.Not very good looking.

2.You can't really brag like Magico etc;they have been around forever,and very little has change.

3.you will be a fanatic[and close to lunatic].You live will never be the same.Remember I have warn you!!!

I second Fafafion and Bongofury but with a caveat - there really is no "best" - just horses for courses.

I'd add a comment that Harbeths are (to my mind) slanted a little towards easy listening whilst ATC are slanted a little towards rock/jazz/big orchestral.

Both excel at midrange but Harbeths are voiced to play better at modest levels whilst ATC are voiced ruthlessly flat and prefer to be played at realistic levels (or they sound bass light). Nothing I have heard beats ATC's realistic rendition of percussion but they are a harsher/less warm sounding speaker than Harbeth. ATC's are used by Telarc (orchestral classical/jazz), by several Nashville studios (country) and a multitude of rock/pop/dance electronica studios around the world. They are also in several dance clubs and Disney's concert hall in LA (extremely rare that you find studio speakers also used as sound reinforcement at venues/clubs - most will distort badly or simply blow up a these SPL's).

I'd add that top of the line Dunlavy's are also regarded as a speaker that can do everything (used a lot in Mastering). Although, they shine slightly better in classical than rock.

Being good all round unfortunately means a speaker won't flatter a particular genre, instrument or recording...although vocalists tend to always come off well in my experience.

IMHO, for the time being at least, the notion that the best speakers for a wide variety of amplification needs is a faulty premise. I suggest one find the best speakers for their budget, room, and tastes, and then select the appropriate amplification.

I've never understood trying to match speakers to particular types of music. Either speakers are accurate or they're not. If they're accurate (dynamically and frequency response-wise) and full range, then they'll work equally well with any music.

Dave

I prefer the strategy of matching amp to speakers rather than going least common denominator, but if you must have speakers that will match to the widest variety of amps, I'd say horns (high efficiency) or something efficient and with > 8 ohm impedance (not very common) for improved damping factor with most amps. I think Harbeths mentioned may fall into this category, but not sure. Rogers I'm pretty sure does.

If you match the amp properly using something that is high current and doubles output from 8 to 4 ohms, like many Class D amps or some Musical Fidelity's I'm familiar with for example, I'd say Ohm Walsh series 3 is the best moderate cost floor standing full range I've heard. Depending on room size they range from $1000-$6000.

If the sky is the limit regarding budget, then you have many fine choices if you match components carefully depending on taste and preference. Good monitors with limited low end will cost less, good full range floor standers will cost a lot more.