Biggest sounding speakers....?

Hi All,

As I care less for pure sonic accuracy than the hugest ever soundstages, my Mirage M1's are pretty good at this but are there any better speakers? All the other attributes of midrange etc. are of course a bonus!!

I have a room which doesn't like bass drivers firing both ways, it's creating a real boost in the lower bass which is messing up my sound.

Thanks, Tim

 

gotta be

quad electrostatics or tannoy dual concentrics.

or those new single driver speakers made by the japanes company that look like eggs on an aircraft wing stuck on the floor.

 

2nd hand Apogee Diva's! Also firing both ways, but dipolar, will be benificial for a lot of bass problems.

 

Perhaps Magnepan?

I have wanted to get a pair of MMG's for about 4 years!

 

These here have redefined what I believe soundstage is, although at just short of 6 foot high they should to. These are simply stunning and by far the best speakers I have heard.

 

I believe that there are two aspects to the question of 'biggest sounding'. Firstly, the 'ease' of the speaker in the band up to 250Hz, where most of the energy of the sound exists and secondly the dispersion characteristics - which make the Quad ELS sound larger than it is.

I'm interested in hearing more about what you mean by 'bass drivers firing both ways'. Are you sure that's causing the boost and not positioning? The reason that I ask is that I defy anyone to listen to their lower bass from all directions at the same distance from the bass driver (in front, behind the cabinet and to the sides) and hear any difference in amplitude whatsoever.

 

I've heard Magneplanars and yes they're awesome when set up correctly, never found the ESL's to sound all that big. I also wonder if the problem with both of these designs is that they, like the M1's, are bi-polar therefore bass is bouncing off the rear wall. I guess they have less bass capability than my M1's so may be better. The dual concentrics sounded pretty small compared with my M1's as well (Tannoys big ones).

The M1's have a big port at the back (+ tweeters and bass drivers) which unfortunatly I can't move far enough away from a wall, you need at least 1 metre. Take a look in the classic section of the Mirage website. I have had these sounding huge in terms of image size however the bass is terrible in my current house!

I'll take a look at Apogee.

Oh and I'm not a millionaire either!!

 

The Apogee has a VERY large sound stage. It also has a very deep and pronounced bass if placed correctly (this is, at least 1 m from the wall, no toe-in whatsoever) and just sounds 'live', like a Mirage, but then with more detail, less colouration and more transparent. They are a pain to drive, so bring lots of watts.

 

Whoops!

Actually, this would only work in the open air. In a room you'd be walking through nodes and anti-nodes.

 

I was just about to point this out to you

 

Oh, the shame.

 

What are they?

 

I don't know but they look dangerous

 

The biggest I've heard are Apogee Duetta Sigs. I'm sure Garmt can tell us if this is a bigger or smaller model than the Diva.

 

Most of these mega-speakers are based on the Avalon Osiris:



They sound awsome. Hi-fi-ish awsome, but awsome nonetheless.

 

The Diva is bigger still, the second most biggest Apogee in fact, after the Full Range. You can find all information on:

http://www.apogeespeakers.com/

Great site!

 

Thanks v. much. Do they have to be 1 metre from the wall though? That is my current problem!!

 

Hi Garmt, have you heard the M1's I don't think they lack detail, in fact they're my favourite speaker but just not very suitable for my room (curses). I could go for a TACT device if they work. The whole thing is depressing + everyone loves them 'cos they're huge!

 

Hmmm... You cannot place them 1 m from the wall? A pity...

Don't buy a tact! It will make the sound better, but will kill the musicality.

Maybe go for an old Tannoy Prestige? They need flea watts to sound very, very big! Or other horn systems, like Klipschhorn? All can be placed near a wall...

 

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