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Best Imaging Speaker You've Heard?

3747 Views 35 Replies 22 Participants Last post by humbland, May 21, 2020

dbissett

Discussion Starter · Sep 29, 2019

Way back in the 70s you could spend all weekend listening to very high end equipment in any number of hi-fi shops in every major city. On one such excursion I had the surprise privilege of hearing Duntech speakers, designed by John Dunlavy and produced in South Texas, later in Australia. After listening to lots of then the "best" speakers, Klipsch cornerhorns and JBL monitors come to mind, the store clerk flipped on the Duntechs and it was as if all the other speakers didn't count anymore. We were listening to symphonic music at the time in a very large listening room, typical of the era, and when the Duntechs were turned on the entire orchestra unfolded horizontally across almost the entire room and vertically from front to back. You could pick out orchestral sections and individual instruments sitting everywhere. The effect was stunning. I didn't get the Duntechs because I was on a student's budget at the time and I figured you just wouldn't get the same effect in an apartment. Eventually they left the US market as did the opportunity to own them; and the priced sailed from hundreds to tens of thousands over the years. But I've never forgotten the clarity and 3 dimensional expansion of the sound. What speakers today do the same thing? Which ones have you heard that allow the group, or even an entire orchestra, to spread out in your room and recreate a really 3 dimensional sound stage to the degree that you can pinpoint the arrangement of instruments as if they were there?

1 - 20 of 36 Posts

dlinsley

· #2 · Sep 29, 2019

I built a set of DIY Sound Group Titan 615LX two years ago, and it is uncanny how expansive a sound stage they throw yet still have pinpoint accuracy in placement. I've owned various other speakers the past 25 years including Meridian DSP 5200/5000/5500, Ruark, KEF, B&W, Mission and Boston Acoustics, and never experienced that kind of imaging. Maybe it's the horns, or that only now I have a fully treated room (acoustic design by Shawn Byrne), or something else about them, I don't know. I now feel done, completely content, with speakers.

Reactions: 1

shivaji

· #3 · Sep 29, 2019

dbissett said:
Way back in the 70s you could spend all weekend listening to very high end equipment in any number of hi-fi shops in every major city. On one such excursion I had the surprise privilege of hearing Duntech speakers, designed by John Dunlavy and produced in South Texas, later in Australia. After listening to lots of then the "best" speakers, Klipsch cornerhorns and JBL monitors come to mind, the store clerk flipped on the Duntechs and it was as if all the other speakers didn't count anymore. We were listening to symphonic music at the time in a very large listening room, typical of the era, and when the Duntechs were turned on the entire orchestra unfolded horizontally across almost the entire room and vertically from front to back. You could pick out orchestral sections and individual instruments sitting everywhere. The effect was stunning. I didn't get the Duntechs because I was on a student's budget at the time and I figured you just wouldn't get the same effect in an apartment. Eventually they left the US market as did the opportunity to own them; and the priced sailed from hundreds to tens of thousands over the years. But I've never forgotten the clarity and 3 dimensional expansion of the sound. What speakers today do the same thing? Which ones have you heard that allow the group, or even an entire orchestra, to spread out in your room and recreate a really 3 dimensional sound stage to the degree that you can pinpoint the arrangement of instruments as if they were there?

Well, you can still get a pair of Dunlavy's, which I have heard and were quite impressive. A pair of SC- V's on Ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dunlavy-SC...520433?hash=item4d9a7f5ef1:g:-4QAAOSwZP9dbp5l

torii

· #4 · Sep 29, 2019

in my home has been the maggie lrs. in the past was some expensive martin logans.

Reactions: 1

dbissett

Discussion Starter · #5 · Sep 29, 2019

shivaji said:
Well, you can still get a pair of Dunlavy's, which I have heard and were quite impressive. A pair of SC- V's on Ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dunlavy-SC...520433?hash=item4d9a7f5ef1:g:-4QAAOSwZP9dbp5l

That's quite a find. Never would have thought to look on Ebay. Have you heard them or any other of their recent designs?

Rex Anderson

· #6 · Sep 29, 2019

shivaji said:
Well, you can still get a pair of Dunlavy's, which I have heard and were quite impressive. A pair of SC- V's on Ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dunlavy-SC...520433?hash=item4d9a7f5ef1:g:-4QAAOSwZP9dbp5l

I owned a pair of Dunlavy SC-V's for many years and used them for my work as a recording, mixing and mastering engineer. I had to sell them when I moved to a smaller house. These days I prefer Revel loudspeakers due to the neutral on and off axis response and wide dispersion thanks to the waveguide technology. The flagship Salon2 is an exceptional loudspeaker, but the entire product line shares the design philosophy based on the work by Dr. Floyd Toole.

rhelliott2

· #7 · Sep 29, 2019

Best ones I've heard are Polk SDA.

Reactions: 1

driedmango

· #8 · Sep 29, 2019

Genelec 8351

shivaji

· #9 · Sep 29, 2019

dbissett said:
That's quite a find. Never would have thought to look on Ebay. Have you heard them or any other of their recent designs?

I wouldn't call any of the Dunlavy speakers, of recent vintage.

They have been around for quite some time. They still get high praise though and reviews can be found of these and the other SC models on the web. Even Rex used to own a pair for mixing duties back in the day.

Del Boca Vista

· #10 · Sep 29, 2019 (Edited)

-totem forest sig
-harbeth 30.2 anniv with tubes

nodoubt

· #11 · Sep 30, 2019

paradigm......unreal soundstage

WOKNROX

· #12 · Sep 30, 2019

For me it's the VMPS 40's if you take the time to get them setup right...

But if you want all the gold without any of the setup hassle... it goes to my BIG SDA SRSTL'S...
Just throw them up against the back wall, give them some room to the sides and plug in the SDA cable... sit back and your off to the races.

Reactions: 1

jujuman200

· #13 · Sep 30, 2019

Martin Logan CLS IIZ..... don't remember the subs that were used..... awesome sauce..

Juju

niterida

· #14 · Sep 30, 2019

I have 90s vintage Mordaunt Short MS3.20's in a 7.1.4 setup.

When I switch from surround mode to stereo I can hardly tell the difference. The first time I did that, I had to physically get up and stick my ear next to my surrounds to double check they weren't playing. It even sounded like my front heights were playing too.
Can't get much wider soundstage than that

I think a lot of it is to do with the room and speaker positioning as much as the speakers themselves ??

KenM10759

· #15 · Sep 30, 2019

KEF Blade or Blade 2.

Like nothing else because they're designed like nothing else. Quad force-cancelling woofers on each side of each speaker, and a single coincident tweeter & midrange forward with no flat surface for diffraction.

WOKNROX

· #16 · Sep 30, 2019

Are we talking about "imaging" or "wall of sound"...?

It sounds like some are confusing the two...

For a wall of sound speaker I'd say that Mirage M1 or Mirage OM-5 (I'm talking about the big boys with built in "true" subs) would be my pick...

These speakers can fill a room with very spacious sound...!
Ian Paisley was an awesome speaker designer and really understood omni directional designs.

Bill-99

· #17 · Sep 30, 2019

A long time ago, in a world filled with good AV vendors that no longer exists, I listened to a pair of Gradient loudspeakers. Not sure what the model was but they were perhaps 4' tall and looked like miniature Washington Monuments. My wife thought they looked like trash bins. But those things could image. It seemed so solid you could almost walk on the stage. Never owned a pair as they were way out of my price range at the time but it left a lasting impression.

Reactions: 1

Rex Anderson

· #18 · Sep 30, 2019

niterida said:
I have 90s vintage Mordaunt Short MS3.20's in a 7.1.4 setup.

When I switch from surround mode to stereo I can hardly tell the difference. The first time I did that, I had to physically get up and stick my ear next to my surrounds to double check they weren't playing. It even sounded like my front heights were playing too.
Can't get much wider soundstage than that
I think a lot of it is to do with the room and speaker positioning as much as the speakers themselves ??

I get the same experience from my Revel F208's and C208. In stereo mode the center image is amazing, sounds like the center channel is on. I attribute that to the wide dispersion and tweeter waveguide. Ultima2 Series (Salon2 and Studio2) have a zero diffraction front baffle that makes them image even better.

niterida

· #19 · Oct 1, 2019

WOKNROX said:
Are we talking about "imaging" or "wall of sound"...?

It sounds like some are confusing the two...

For a wall of sound speaker I'd say that Mirage M1 or Mirage OM-5 (I'm talking about the big boys with built in "true" subs) would be my pick...

These speakers can fill a room with very spacious sound...!
Ian Paisley was an awesome speaker designer and really understood omni directional designs.

I think I am talking imaging - I get distinct instrument sounds coming from far left or right and even top left or right - not just the same sound all across the front.

wlhungdude

· #20 · Oct 1, 2019

Danley SH-50's. I had the opportunity to listen to them at another AVS forum member's house. I liked them so much I bought them.

Thanks Beast !!

Joseph

Reactions: 1

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