1. Home
  2. speakers
  3. 138183-17271

2way speakers

What are the best two way speakers out there?

The b&w 805 d3 is one I'm interested in but not yet heard.

I've heard kef ls50, it was too bright no bass. I heard Psi audio. Not impressed 
Vivid v1.5. No bass.

Years ago I heard revel m20. This was a really impressive speaker but I wouldn't want to buy that now as it's an old model and there should be even better ones?

I was also impressed by the b&w nautilus 800 I heard again, many years ago. But, that's a floorstander so not suitable. 

The Wilson benesch arcs also sounded pretty nice but not completely neutral.

So what do all these have in common? 





kenjit
shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,333 posts
 
@kenjit

My apologies. Let me know what else you want to discuss in more detail. I am sure the experienced folks at Audiogon can help. There are extremely few speaker designs that don’t have any weaknesses at all but ATC and Harbeth are up there among the better designs that have withstood the test of time.
erik_squires
5,268 posts
 
Fitz and Monitor Audio. 
mindlessminion
57 posts
 
@kenjit I thought you had positive experience with Proac.  Why not stick wit them?

+1 on Fritz.  I have heard them at shows and thought they were good.
audiokinesis
1,872 posts
 

"Dr Floyd Toole research conclusively demonstrated that these two factors [even frequency response and even dispersion] are however extremely important."

@shadorne , Yesss!

Toole found five factors to be reliable predictors of subjective preference:

1.  The first-arrival sound’s frequency response at the listening position;

2.  The spatially-averaged response across a window plus or minus 30 degrees horizontal and plus or minus 10 degrees vertical;

3.  The spatially-averaged response of the early reflections from the four walls, ceiling, and floor;

4.  The sound power, or the sum total of the speaker’s acoustic energy radiation; and

5.  The directivity index, which looks at the difference between the first-arrival sound’s frequency response and the sound power (summed omnidirectional response).

By making these measurements, Toole could predict with a high degree of reliability how several competing speakers would rank in a controlled blind listening test.   Notice that 4 of the 5 have to do with the radiation pattern.

Obviously nobody here is saying that these are the only things that matter, but they may be what matters the most. 

Duke

More to discover