Best speakers I've ever heard under $350,000

[AudioHR]

This is what I currently have as well (Aries Cerat with the Tobian's).

So far of all the gear mixes I've ever heard, this is the one the up till now emotionally engages me like no other set up.

I also have the BAT VK80i integrated here. What a fantastic integrated it is as well. At $10K, I've yet to hear anything else near its price point that can outdo it.

The Tobian's have an excellent reputation, I don't believe I have heard them yet. Were they at the Munich show? Partnered with Aries Cerat I would expect your system to be pretty darn good!

Thought I would post pictures of my current system. More modest in price but with the high efficiency Coherent Audio Neo 18 speakers my Shindo gear can make the music sound natural and real. Presently listening mostly to my Artisan Fidelity Garrard 301 with an Ortofon Classic SPU, love its presentation!

As you can see I have chosen not to have all my gear placed between the speakers but run longer interconnects back to my source that is adjacent to my listening area.

I guess my point would be that you don't have to spend anywhere close to $350,000 for speakers View attachment 139000


to enjoy wonderful sound. Although I must admit I was seduced by the sound of the Acapella and the Aeonor horns at the Munich show, lol!

 

[Synaxis]

The Tobian's have an excellent reputation, I don't believe I have heard them yet. Were they at the Munich show? Partnered with Aries Cerat I would expect your system to be pretty darn good!

Thought I would post pictures of my current system. More modest in price but with the high efficiency Coherent Audio Neo 18 speakers my Shindo gear can make the music sound natural and real. Presently listening mostly to my Artisan Fidelity Garrard 301 with an Ortofon Classic SPU, love its presentation!

As you can see I have chosen not to have all my gear placed between the speakers but run longer interconnects back to my source that is adjacent to my listening area.

I guess my point would be that you don't have to spend anywhere close to $35,000 for speakers View attachment 139000to enjoy wonderful sound. Although I must admit I was seduced by the sound of the Acapella and the Aeonor horns at the Munich show, lol!

Looks like a wonderful set up!

 

[DasguteOhr]

I can say I have heard one of the best speakers under 5k€. revival audio atalante 5. use headphones for this video. completely convinced me, well made, sounds very nice.

 

[Kingrex]

The Tobian's have an excellent reputation, I don't believe I have heard them yet. Were they at the Munich show? Partnered with Aries Cerat I would expect your system to be pretty darn good!

Thought I would post pictures of my current system. More modest in price but with the high efficiency Coherent Audio Neo 18 speakers my Shindo gear can make the music sound natural and real. Presently listening mostly to my Artisan Fidelity Garrard 301 with an Ortofon Classic SPU, love its presentation!

As you can see I have chosen not to have all my gear placed between the speakers but run longer interconnects back to my source that is adjacent to my listening area.

I guess my point would be that you don't have to spend anywhere close to $350,000 for speakers View attachment 139000


View attachment 139001View attachment 139002to enjoy wonderful sound. Although I must admit I was seduced by the sound of the Acapella and the Aeonor horns at the Munich show, lol!View attachment 139004

I heard these at a dealer. I would be happy with them. Actually, the dealer selling these is the same guy that has taken about $15,000 of my money to try and fix my Audion Black Shadow. Says he never saw a penny. It all went to the technician. I have no reason to doubt him. I just wish he would have said the amps are old duds. Don't bother trying to upgrade them. Instead he was all happy to go down the path of sure, these can be brought up to current performance levels and sing. Well, they sing like a tenor. Good from 10 or so miles away.

 

[Kingrex]

I prefer this version. Just personal preference.

I've personally found that moving up in companies lines isn't always "better" per se, just different.

My ideal dream world would see me having 2-3 different speakers in my set up that I could rotate between to cover all my bases on sound. I would spend the less money on the 12FH's and then buy my "other" speakers I really love that I'll be doing a review on soon.

Certainly others may feel differently.

I had a client.with the Alex. He got talked into the AlexV. They were too big for his room and he asked to have his.Alex back. They said his Alex wers sold already and the exchange cost would basically be him returning the AlexV and spending enough to outright buy a new Alex. Bigger and better was not better in his situation.

 

[gionaz]

they are almost twice the price

yes of course! but the differences are huge! i prefer to have acoustic loudspeakers to the max, then upgrade everything else slowly

 

[ssfas]

I guess my point would be that you don't have to spend anywhere close to $350,000 for speakers View attachment 139000

I thought that was just a self-deprecating rich man's joke. Depending on your financial standing, it could be best speakers under $35,000 or best speakers under $3,500. I have a very similar turntable to yours and was recently convinced to try about the cheapest SPU, the 1S, and it bounces along very nicely (also on a Groovemaster III).

I find audio gear distracting and generally ugly, so mine is also on a rack to the side, in a corner. It used to be in a cupboard. I use unequal length speaker cables (5m and 3m), really not an issue as they have very low impedance and the difference in signal transmission is about 0.00000001 seconds, during which period of time sound travels 0.003 mm, which is about 1/10th the thickness of a hair. Another audio myth I don't lose sleep over, along with $350,000 being a tipping point for speakers before life becomes worthwhile.

In any event, as my personal experiences of Switzerland are overwhelmingly negative, I won't be buying Swiss hifi. Others may have completely different experiences.

 

[gleeds]

Hi Rob - thanks for reiterating what I stated several times in the video; that there is no such thing as one best speaker, its completely subjective and that this was my personal preference and others would likely prefer other speakers.

Thanks again for helping me make those very important points!

The Tobians are incredible speakers. Anyone wishing to experience them should head to Fred Ainsley's place on Long Island to experience them correctly set up with great accompanying cabling and electronics.

 

[gleeds]

Totally agree, why would anyone take these silly videos seriously ? But advertising works in strange ways, just repeating the name of the brand creates recognition. The people with these YouTube channels want to create traffic so they can maybe get something financially out of it one day. Not many of them are actual audiophiles, often just regurgitating stuff they have heard or read elsewhere, just look at the guy filming in his garage/lab

Say what you will about YouTube videos and the opinions shared within them. Videos like this play a vital function by making audiophiles aware of little-known brands that do not enjoy the BIG brand's massive ad budgets and broad retail distribution networks. This is a valuable and necessary service for discovering excellent products like Tobian.

 

[Macattack]

Totally agree, why would anyone take these silly videos seriously ? But advertising works in strange ways, just repeating the name of the brand creates recognition. The people with these YouTube channels want to create traffic so they can maybe get something financially out of it one day. Not many of them are actual audiophiles, often just regurgitating stuff they have heard or read elsewhere, just look at the guy filming in his garage/lab

I agree people are trying to make a buck. I am okay with that. I can choose not to watch (or click). As for the ‘lab’, I take that for what it is. A guy with more money than most who digs getting in front of the camera with high end, expensive equipment. Sometimes it’s actually quite entertaining. What I don’t like are the frequent ‘watch this upcoming video’ videos which create clicks with absolutely no value to anyone except the ‘scientist’.

 

[christoph]

In any event, as my personal experiences of Switzerland are overwhelmingly negative, I won't be buying Swiss hifi. Others may have completely different experiences.

Care to elaborate?

 

[Republicoftexas69]

I'm not a fan of giant speakers. Some of the most expensive setups that I've seen are paired with high cost giant speakers . Those types of setups do little in the way of sound to thrill me.

Klipsch Heritage Series: Heresy, La Scala, Khorn, and Jubilees are compelling in the way of sound with well mated electronics. ATC SCM50 passive speakers are also quite excellent as are Linn current Isobarik speakers. All of which are no where near the price of $350K.

Just my opinions

Neither am I.

 

[mtemur]

The best speaker I’ve heard is the Kharma Veyron 2D. It delivers lifelike sound with impressive dynamics, all without any harshness or edginess. The sound is incredibly smooth, with exceptional imaging. No other speaker comes close, period. While it exceeds the $350,000 mark with an approximate $500,000 price tag, anyone considering a $350,000 speaker can likely stretch to this level as well.

 

[AudioHR]

I thought that was just a self-deprecating rich man's joke. Depending on your financial standing, it could be best speakers under $35,000 or best speakers under $3,500. I have a very similar turntable to yours and was recently convinced to try about the cheapest SPU, the 1S, and it bounces along very nicely (also on a Groovemaster III).

I find audio gear distracting and generally ugly, so mine is also on a rack to the side, in a corner. It used to be in a cupboard. I use unequal length speaker cables (5m and 3m), really not an issue as they have very low impedance and the difference in signal transmission is about 0.00000001 seconds, during which period of time sound travels 0.003 mm, which is about 1/10th the thickness of a hair. Another audio myth I don't lose sleep over, along with $350,000 being a tipping point for speakers before life becomes worthwhile.

In any event, as my personal experiences of Switzerland are overwhelmingly negative, I won't be buying Swiss hifi. Others may have completely different experiences.

Ha ha I thought the same when I saw the $350,000 but as you say the point remains the same, you don't have to spend a fortune to get descent sound. Pick your price point.

Still I do appreciate that those with the disposable income, the appropriate space and dedication to getting it right are able to recreate a superior sound to my more modest system. To me the key is the dedication to getting it right with proper system matching and attention to room acoustics etc. I think we have all heard those very high end speakers and systems that just don't honour the music.

 

[Synaxis]

Ha ha I thought the same when I saw the $350,000 but as you say the point remains the same, you don't have to spend a fortune to get descent sound. Pick your price point.

Still I do appreciate that those with the disposable income the appropriate space and dedication to getting it right are able to recreate a superior sound to my more modest system. To me the key is the dedication to getting it right with proper system matching and attention to room acoustics etc. I think we have all heard those very high end speakers and systems that just don't honour the music.

Hi AudioHR,

I agree with you 100%. That was the premise of my experience with these Tobin's - that I found (for me) happiness without the need to spend six-figures on speakers.

 

[AudioHR]

The Tobians are incredible speakers. Anyone wishing to experience them should head to Fred Ainsley's place on Long Island to experience them correctly set up with great accompanying cabling and electronics.

Are the Tobians available for audition anywhere in the west?

 

[Golum]

Are the Tobians available for audition anywhere in the west?

Define "west" pls.

 

[AudioHR]

Define "west" pls.

I was thinking west coast of North America as opposed to the east like Long Island. I live in Western Canada we don't get a chance to audition much of the really hi end products here.

 

[AudioHR]

The best speaker I’ve heard is the Kharma Veyron 2D. It delivers lifelike sound with impressive dynamics, all without any harshness or edginess. The sound is incredibly smooth, with exceptional imaging. No other speaker comes close, period. While it exceeds the $350,000 mark with an approximate $500,000 price tag, anyone considering a $350,000 speaker can likely stretch to this level as well.

Wow that is a lot of coin!

When I was in Munich I did listen to a Kharma speaker, I am not sure of the model. Many of the expensive speakers did not really sound that good but the Kharma room was an exception. I realize that setting up larger speakers in a random room must be a challenge .

Personally the look of the this Kharma speaker was not for me but I did make a positive note on its sound.

 

[Synaxis]

Are the Tobians available for audition anywhere in the west?

The distributor is Mike at Suncoast Audio. He can give you a list of dealers if you call.