List : Components with high dynamics

- appropriately amplified high efficiency loudspeakers: such as Duke's and Johnk's designs as well as horns and line arrays in general (I own arrays)

- noncompressed recordings: Metallica's new album being the antithesis of such (from what I've read). For a nice example of a noncompressed rock recording, try Richard Thompson's "Ducknapped" circa 2004.

Great dynamics can be achieved with many different amp/speaker combinations provided the match is good. I don't believe it's limited to any particular brand.

The recording is extremely important. If dynamics are not in the recording, then they won't be in the reproduction.

Tvad. Well said.

Moderate dynamics is indeed achievable with any particular good match but horns and pro-design big box speakers are definitely more highly dynamic than most other speaker types. I would have thought this was self evident to anyone who has been to a concert? Soundstage do not perform test measurements on home audio speakers above 100 db SPL because, according to them, most would be destroyed....a simple fact like this pretty much says it all.

How many of us are going to require concert level SPL in our listening rooms,
or have rooms that will even support concert level SPLs (I know...yours does,
I'm sure).

I don't need to blow out my windows to enjoy dynamics that fool me into
believing I'm enjoying my listening experience. My $8000, inadequately mid-fi,
moderately dynamic speakers do just fine, thank you. I'll wager 99% of the
readers of this thread have the same criteria, and have no use for pro-design
big box, or professional sound reinforcement horn loudspeakers in their living
rooms or dens.

But, for those who do, it's really good to know the options are out there.