A shortlist after all...
Contents
And then always that winner question: ‘what is the best speaker’? Short answer: there isn’t one, except the one that captures your heart. These are three shortlists of speakers that have not so much captured our hearts, but that we think belong on a shortlist if you are looking for certain characteristics in music reproduction.
If you like speakers that are rhythmically correct, clear sounding and have a controlled, all-round reproduction:
- Buchardt S400 Mk2
- Audio Physic Step 35
- Elac Vela BS 403
If you prefer to dig into the recording, enjoy actively involved listening and want to hear lots of detail but without losing the music between notes, then the following speakers belong on your shortlist:
- Amphion Argon 3S
- Neat Petite Classic
- ATC SCM 11
If you prefer a relaxed listening experience, with rich sound, full bass and a large soundstage, we would recommend the following speakers for comparison:
- Dynaudio Evoke 20, especially for classical music lovers
- Revel M106
So are the speakers not mentioned not great? Or decent? They certainly are good, but in weighing the notes we took and listening back in the livestream, these are the speakers that offer the most on these criteria. In combination with either the Nilai or the Pass. Again: the combination with the amplifier is very important.
Thank you for doing this incredible test. I really enjoyed watching it using some good neutral headphones.
Hello Reiner. I’ve tried to e-mail you back two times, but I get the mail returned after a week from T-Online. Please, contact us with a different e-mail if you can. Thanks.
In addition to the agreement regarding the excellence of the Hypex Nilai500DIY poweramp, I note that the new KEF R3 Meta is NOT mentioned in the final list -> I remember my great disappointment during the test
ATC SCM 11 we could not assess them correctly when sounding in mono but I also contemplate them. With Hypex Nilai and closer to the walls (the usual in European rooms).
My winners:
Audio Physic Step 35 (expensive) + Hypex Nilai + subwoofer?
Neat Petite Classic + Pass Labs
-> Money leans towards the Neat Petite Classic with Brittish amplifier sound. Or hybrid like my new (December 2022) Magnat MA 900 in my cheap second audio system (with modded KEF Q100, bass-front bass reflex closed…).
Neither is the Sonos Faber mentioned and we are quite taken with it. I’d like to quote the last sentences, since I somehow suspect they will fail to get noticed:
“So are the speakers not mentioned not great? Or decent? They certainly are good, but in weighing the notes we took and listening back in the livestream, these are the speakers that offer the most on these criteria.”
The shortlists are not the list of winners. I’d like to make that clear. Emphasise it even.