Most beautiful speakers in the world ?

[Duke]

Even your thoughts would echo

One-line poetry

 

[Audionaut]

Most beautiful speaker in my opinion? Beolab 8:

Easy to confuse with a vase or a cocktail shaker.

 

[Bjorn]

View attachment 442468


View attachment 442470

Placing a waveguide/horn into a baffle looks good. But it's not the better design for sound quality unfortunately.

 

[Lekha]

Beolab 12-2 some years ago

Without the electronics, what little space one needs...

 

[Lekha]

Most beautiful speaker in my opinion? Beolab 8:

View attachment 442362

A Beolab 8 upside down before attaching the grille. The main speaker is practically blocked, and there's a reason for that... Considering the amount of electronics inside the rather small amount of (air) volume needed for the mid-range and bass drivers.

 

[Arindal]

The main speaker is practically blocked, and there's a reason for that

In my understanding this is a 3-way design with solely the subwoofer being ´blocked´, which is acoustically irrelevant, as lower frequency waves can fully rely on diffraction if they are not compressed.

Genelec´s 83xx models rely on a similar design with an even higher degree of the subwoofer's diaphragm area being blocked, I see just a gap of roughly 1cm being open between main cabinet and waveguide:

 

[Lekha]

In my understanding this is a 3-way design with solely the subwoofer being ´blocked´,

Yes.
Bang & Olufsen are pretty good at engineering. And, for beauty!

 

[Pearljam5000]

OAudio

 

[Arindal]

that even significant phase distortion, like that introduced by an 8th-order crossover filter, isn’t noticeable to listeners.

With the exception of 8th order x-over filters in the sub 100Hz region, which might be leading to audible group delay distortion.

Multiples of research showed that the most critical factor in determining overall preferred sound is how aligned direct sound and reflections are in tonality. Because dispersion characteristics play a big role in determining the sound of reflections, this alignment between direct and indirect sound requires controlled dispersion from low frequencies up to 20khz.

Could not agree more, exactly matching my experience with numerous rooms and speakers. I wonder why this is widely accepted as solid psychoacoustical knowledge, but not being implemented or outright violated in the overwhelming majority of speakers regardless of size and price?

That's why modern speakers utilize very high order crossovers(allows the dispersion transition smoothly between drivers, the higher=the better to a point), multiples of waveguides, DSP to establish cardioid dispersion pattern etc.

We should admit that proper integration of waveguide or cardioid technology in order to achieve true constant directivity comes at the price of making speakers bigger and driving requirement for amplification power and diaphragm area. So kind of a contradiction to compact, sleek speaker designs. Still not an explanation why there are so few models trying to achieve both at the same time.

This is the dispersion per frequency behavior evidence based community likes to see in 2025.

Looks like a textbook constant directivity design only up to 2K. I wonder where this preference for narrowing dispersion above 2K hence lack of brillance/treble energy in the room originates from. I find it rather disturbing particularly when listening to recordings made in ´natural rooms´, would prefer a constant directivity up to at least 8K.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Marble speakers
Not sure if it's better than aluminum but still cool

 

[Lekha]

View attachment 442878View attachment 442879
Marble speakers
Not sure if it's better than aluminum but still cool

Simple as it should be, except for the price.
It can be made with floor tiles, and/or a broken-down kitchen worktop.

 

[Lekha]

Could be a speaker behind that grille...

 

[Yasuo]

 

[olegtern]

Looks like a small pig in elizabethan collar

 

[Lekha]

That's a good idea for keeping smaller, but rather decent "bookshelf" speakers off the floor and not on wobbly stands or shelves. The sides would add extra rigidity to the speaker cabinet and prevent any side resonances, if they occur at all. The sides could be made with real wood, and the top could be covered as well, so a heavy ornament or flowerpot could be placed on it. And the space underneath the speaker cabinet doesn't have to be wasted either. With a little bit of your time and about 50€, you'd have a nice pair of speakers. Real wood is always WAF.

 

[Bleib]

We are not buying a large tie-fighter! Or whatever they're called!

 

[Lekha]

Calisto Heritage
Handmade in Belgrade, Serbia

 

[Lekha]

From Hungary

 

[Lekha]

Reezoldini 3FS
Shelf-floor hybrid speakers. Quite an interesting port. It uses Scan-Speak Revelator drivers.

 

[Doenerkunde]

ATE Imagine series with a proprietary race track BMR