A friend and I traveled to Cincinnati to visit around 5 high end stereo shops. We listened to everything from magnepan, focal, paradigm among others. One store had the Golden ears which both of discussed, that at the end of the day, the Golden ears were the ones that really stuck with us. I hope to one day be able to afford a pair. Glad to see they were on the list.
I have the grandfather to the Goldenear, the Definitive Technology Mythos ST's with built-in powered subs and feed with good gear sound pretty darn good and go down to 20 hz
The GoldenEar were on the list but with a little qualifier that you overlooked. Yep Steve used a strange Beam Tetrode tube design to drive the ribbon tweeter. This was a low power ZOTL amplifier using some old television components and that's why they were on the list, because Steve and everybody else adores the $5000 ZOTL controller amplifier that powers speakers up to $167000.
@@keplermission I wasn't commenting on Steve's setup. I was just merely expressing my opinions towards the Golden Ears. When I heard them they were being ran with Mcintosh equipment.
Glad to see that Zu made it to your list. I'm still in love with my Zu, Soul Supremes (with cherry wood finish, drool) which I bought based on your review. Thanks Steve!
Cool list but definitely way up there in price for me, not a chance on those except maybe the zus. I believe ill stick with my snell type e3 and harman kardon 930 for the time, those i can afford and seems to do the job really well.
I’ve always been impressed with the audio products from Scandinavia. Always with a style and sound quality that just sticks with you long after your initial experience. Now to be honest I’ve always been lacking the capital to own some of these true audio jewels but that doesn’t stop me from rendering a personal opinion on some exceptional audio products from exceptional companies. Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to all Audiophiles and Audiophiliacs world wide.
Bang & Olufsen was Scandinavian and you know was always 'the Sound of New York', everybody remembers the 1980 year systems and the following they had but very few buyers could look at paying the prices. But to be honest the prices in Radio Shack back then were such that nobody really could buy them either unless you know, landowning people. Talking about Christmas, I knew this Church goer and when he died we got his receiver for a good will store and it was a Realistic STA-450, that was one of the most affordable (maybe he was a Scrooge). But in those days these things were exclusive, that's why we made kits up and bought component speaker parts for home built speakers.
@@RUfromthe40s ...and talking about prices ... the Dayton Audio amplifier for $200 is Chinese and prices of Japanese stuff was higher than European. Britain had a Crimson Elektrik pre/power that was named after the split up of Robert Fripp's band King Crimson, they'd split in 1974. Well it used Japanese components cobbled-together in England and Steve would've loved these items. But the Japanese imported stuff had import tax on it, like Trump put on Kasrut whiskey and Joe removed right away upon gaining office. Well ... Japanese semiconductors best suit Japanese speakers and you know in Britain they couldn't be bought unless a whole set was bought. The Technics Homeycomb speakers were ONLY for whole systems, but in the USA we could buy Japanese separate speakers. But Britain did have some outsourced (secretly Japanese toned) speakers but with Dayton Audio 's HTA 100B I'd recommend Lanzar 6 x 9 speakers, make your own boxes.
@@keplermission no i bought after having the 79 SB-F3 some honeycomb SB-F2 that in the back it can be plugged as a 4ohm speakers or 8 ohms speakers, yes ,in the 70´s european brands were already struggeling for a piece of market and if i had not a entire neighboorhood of young militar family´s i wouldn´t meet the quality of schneider, Philips(amazing), Telefunken , Blaupunkt or Grundig or even the brand with more features Normende that somehow i found similarities with Nakamichi decks like the heads ,engine,etc. but in the 70´s i had a tv ,huge one with a support in crystal and the tv all white with a crystal on/off button that could be taken and children couldn´t see tv in the afternoon onmly study, then when arriving from work at4.30 p.m. i would take the crystall button insert it and turn on the tv that had wireless remote and headphones wireless ,this in mid 70´s and the all white huge tv only had for show two chracteres for the channel number and like in cassette decks the contrast, brightness ,colour and volume each had a litle display with leeds to see it´s levels, and the remote worked by radio frequencies and had a timer analog one till 2 hours, in Portugal due to the revolution in 74 had not colour tv but i lived and still live 40km´s from Spain and with high-quality colour image i could watch TVE and TVE2 ,i watched cartoons in Spanish TV whyen i was growing up so spanish or castellano as it´s called is a second language to me, all of this european brands i bought cheap from my german friends and also a mercedes 350SE from 71, a V8 and a ford Granada coupé 3.0L V6 or V8 i´m not sure
The Borresen X3's with Aavik U-150 integrated has good depth of soundstage But that same soundstage is crazy wide. It's the most "live" sound I've ever heard and I've attended many shows and heard many systems that are Much costlier. The only one that comes close to this Experience is MBL. Steve, you are right on the money!
The Vandersteen 2 has always competed with the best in their price range since 1977. Got to meet Richard in Phoenix around 1980. He was a very nice and interesting person.
These speakers may all be excellent, but they're about as accessible to me as a round way trip to Pluto. Maybe include something us peasants can afford. Nice units though.
I called the Vandersteen company back in the 80's when I was interested in a 2. I was shocked at how cottage the industry was because I got Richard Vandersteen on the phone. I never got Mr. Sony on the phone. The same thing happened with Bill Low of Audioquest. We probably talked for two hours. Things were different back in the day pre-internet and pre-cell phone.
Wow so Steve used the 17JN6 Beam Tetrode LTA ultra-linear amplifier with only the ribbon tweeter in the GoldenEar T66. That figures because ribbon tweeters made their entry long ago in the late 1960s, when made by DECCA Kelly of the British Empire group of engineers and when tube sound still ruled, so that the Goodmans Dome Radiators (Axtent) designed then by the late Billy Woodman of ATC, also come alive only powered by EL34 tubes and with Solid State ... hurt our ears.
yes the cost of a international phone call was really expensive, today even with image is almost free,thing did evolved and old scince fiction tv series or movies inspired future engeniers, don´t know if anyone remenbers a tv show ,english one that was Space 1999 so it´s already in the past and a moon station didn´t travel through space because of a nuclear blast on moon facilities but some of the features on this tv series were already improved and it seemed a impossible thing but it´s better than what they predicted and the moon is still in it´s place and space ships are not parked on the moon still. How about Blake 7 ,anyone remenbers it a english tv series too
@@FOH3663 I’m using 2 PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium poweramps as monoblocks (upgraded with KT150 tubes). I currently listen to Maggie 12/QR that I bought 12 years ago for $1200 a pair. Love them but can’t wait for the LFT 8s!
I did the same thing. I've had them for a couple months. They are wonderful on all types of music. Transparency and dynamic. You will love them. Tip, get a friend to help set them up, they are beasts. 😊
Steve, I really enjoy your videos. I must point out that you are mispronouncing "planar." It is pronounced as if it is spelled "Play -ner" because the drivers are flat, as in a geometric plane. I just verified this with the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Sorry to be nit-picky.
Heard a pair of vivid audio kaya 90 …..wow , …almost electrostatic in presentation , but with bass punch and kick , more important even…the amount of resolution and micro detail from that tweeter without whatsoever a bit of sharpness or unwanted brightness was unbelievable , that with an esoteric system , With mcintosh c70/mc 2152 ……even a greater Wow ….very good speaker.
Would be tough I know but wish someone would compare the Goldenear T66, Borrenson x3 and the Perlisten R7t. No dealers for any of these in my area to audition
Thank you for this video. I am in the process of build a new stereo system, after 30 years. The new system is replacing the system I sold off in the early 2000’s. The old system was based on Vanderstein 2C's (I loved those speakers) bought in the late ‘80s. That makes your video that much more meaningful to me. Sadly, my budget for the new system can’t afford new Vandersteins, but ZU DWX seem very interesting and in my budget. I like the full range driver design; it should time and phase align the sound naturally. Thank you for your insight.
Vivid Giya remain the best speakers I've ever heard, after hearing them about 4 years ago. Those Kaya's seem really interesting. I'd be interested in a similar list for budget-audiophile, I believe that ELAC has been crushing it in that area.
That has got to be the maddest piece of clothing I have ever seen you wear to date. Bravo Steve. Bravo... Don't tell me it has matching pants/trousers.
The best speakers are the ones you like the most The price and everything else is irrelevant. Everybody perceive sound differently It's best to go listen for yourself and buy what you like.
Epos Es14n. No list is complete without them. Such a shame they have no distribution in the US yet. This speakers has the highest preise and the best measurement among all passiv speakekers.
Dear Mr. Guttenberg, you are still wasting your time listening to passive dinosaur speaker systems? My guess is that your "costly speaker cables", also take part in this waste of time. When will it come clear that cables can not - IT IS IMPOSSIBLE - improve the sound of a speaker? Think about IT for a moment: SPEAKER CABLES ARE REACTIVE SYSTEMS, IN FACT THEY ACT AS LOW PASS FILTERS, THAT INTERACT, TO MAKE THINGS EVEN WORSE, WITH A PASSIVE XOVER, WHICH IS ALSO A REACTIVE SYSTEM. THINK FOR A MOMENT: AIN´T THAT A COMPLICATED SITUATION FOR THE POWER AMP ITSELF? What is the best speaker cable? NO CABLE. THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SHORTEST POSSIBLE DISTANCE. WHY DON´T YOU COMPARE ACTIVE vs PASSIVE SYSTEMS. YOU MAYBE SURPRISE AT THE RESULTS, OR MOST LIKELY YOU WON´T BELIEVE YOUR EARS.
Yes in the last two years a lot of good speakers were released and re-released, it happens a lot speakers being sold through the years sometimes with some internal changes to improve them or modernise them,like the LaScala model from klipsch that i don´t remenber when they were released but somewhere in the 40´s maybe, some amplifiers can´t get the best sound they can release but if with a good amplifier they would sound close to perfection, as the wharfedale Linton were also a great set of speakers i saw some comparisons here on youtube but youtube sound can´t be related with the real sound any speakers you listen to here ,it´s the same when comparing catrtridges and in the comments people talk like if they were retarted,once i told a friend for him to sell all his very expensive sources and keep only the amplifier and speakers to conect tio a lap top if the sound is so good as some think ,but everything is wrong on a laptop output no matter what you install on it it will always have computer sound specifications that are far from real sources of sound, if it was so good one would record music in high quality to a analog recording device or digital and it would sound perfect but that is far from happening
Steve, hello . . . do you stream music, and if so, have you heard of USB Audio Pro? If not, give it a trial, use TIDAL to download. You would also need a MQA capable DAC. Using this combo is outstanding as a digital source. Speakers seem to disappear. 🔈
The Vandersteen 2 was a separate boxed woofer, mid and tweeter based on some 1970s ideas developed by Radio Shack in Fort Worth TX, for hobbyists. The woofer had a box without parallel sides, thereby a departure from Thiele-Small parameters and the RS woofer box had an open back and two cutaway sides with a top and no base panel. That woofer had a closed box SPL of 78dB but was mounted in a strange plywood box, increasing the SPL. So the Vandersteen 2 was something more available to the mass market.
It was a very interesting year for me I had a bookshelf speaker actually astound me. I had read about the Wharfedale Litton anniversary 2 way and a pair used came up on eBay for a price I felt I could afford to lose on if I did not like them, was I shocked. Tremendous sound out of a little box. All my vintage speakers have nothing less than a 12" driver so I love these little gems. Steve I am older than you and following you for many years keep up the great work and your great humor!
Just discovered u last night.....wonderful reviews/descriptions of the speakers........however, it would have been wonderful if u had let us know what was upstream. Were u using Krell mono blocks or maybe a Schist receiver, a nice single ended triode or a nice $2000 integrated. I have a Very limited budget but enjoy the most musical system possible. Thanx Steve!
When’s someone marketing a high end speaker going to eschew any sort of exotic or “high-falutin” name for it and simply opt for: “Bloody Brilliant - Bloody Expensive” … ? 🧐
The bowed classical music double bass is an example ofspeaker sound reproduction quality has been serious need of attention! With the exception of the double pair of KLH-9 speakers, powered by Futterman designed OTL circuitry, the sound rendition has been like that of a ball park senth inning stretch Hammond organ with just one tone slider active! I believe this is what has discouraged Gary Karr from doing recordings. This is an area of sound review that needs attention!
I been working on high end audio equipment since 1976. I worked for Big sound system repair shops fixing many systems and got to know a lot of them from my bench. Out of all my sound system stuff, I have the Vanderseen floor standing model I purchase back in around 1991 and it stll blows me away in how well it brings music to the room. Short story, one friday night I brought home my crew from work ( 4 guys ) to treat them for a great install we did with a new large dental office. The thing is, we were debating bands and how they record and play live, So I wanted to play for them my Dark Side of the Moon LP I had that was Cut, not pressed from the Original master. None of them were aware I put on a record. I had a Sansui reciever to these Vandersteed Speakers. These guys sat, mesmerized in front of the system listening in very deep thought. When the record came to the end of the 1st sside, one guy got up and pushed the eject button on the CD player only to find no CD inside. He turned to me and with a super suprized face said " Theres no CD, what the F were we listening to ? " I poined out the record and all 4 of them could not believe the sound the system had and it was a record. I also had the CD, so I popped it in and played it. No Comparisson. All 4 guys instantly became Audio lovers and we got into a deep discussion about the system and what I alway belived was the most important part, The Speakers. I have to add this, I used my preamp into an old Dynaco st-70 one day and There Is A Difference ! That old st-70 showed me tubes still have a place in the high end stuff. Thanks for your reviews, we appreciate your efforts.
Was lucky enough to hear Borresesen X6 on HiFi show. Just to bad that was the first room I stumbled in to, after that i had to spent very little time in other rooms, because had heard the best of them all, couple of Sonus Fabers made some healthy competition, sound and design-wise.
Listening to speakers via a microphone and played back through another system with either other speakers, other headphones, or worst of all a 1/4” computer or phone speaker, it seems would not relay any useful information.
I heard Vandersteen's Kento speakers, on granite bases. The sound was jaw dropping good, as it should be at its price point, which is far more expensive than the speakers reviewed in this video.
Thanks Steve ' I been having alot of fun with Dynes Emitt 50s for price point dam their good and so easy to drive Dynaudio bass drivers don't dip to low in impedence my Audiolab 6/7000a never sounded so big and forgiving😉 thanks again ' you my dude Merry Christmas and happy new year - hopefully one day we could have a live video together 'that would be cool 2 Gen x live ohhh boy !
@stijnvanderlooy5311 not the Emitt 50s I have used a dozen Amps on them ' in big and small rooms both treated My 6000a @ 50/75 watts drive the 50s to about 93db before bass bleed out " And the 7000a even more loud ' I will say I was shocked ' but my 70 pound Tube Intg amp the Galion SE geez what a pairing crazy bass Attack
Thanks Steve you do a great job in describing all the various different equipment & speakers that are available. As for me, this hobby is in many ways like men's watches, there are a lot of great watches below $1K and a lot of great watches costing $5K, $20K , and $50K +++++.
