Most expensive speaker??????

[Frgirard]

You right. In a big living room, a cheap speaker is enough. https://www.thomann.de/fr/yamaha_stagepas_400bt.htm

 

[Ron Texas]

I did get to hear a pair of Wilson Alex in a large room with a 20' ceiling. They were playing some strange electronic dance music. The speakers disappeared, but there was no imaging to speak of. It could have been the source.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Didn't realize the Genelecs would get that loud. Some of these systems still might equal or exceed that. Some of them are horns and some have equal woofer area.

 

[coonmanx]

For 3/4 of a million bucks I want my speakers to give me a "happy ending". LOL.

 

[Ericglo]

Anybody heard any of these high dollar speakers enough to tell if they are good or not?

I've heard some speakers costing $40k to $68k per pair. In a large room they did sound impressive though some suffered from various ills like small sweetspot etc. I've heard a couple in problematic rooms that sound just horrible.

I have heard some high end speaker systems at Cedia. I haven't been in three years, so I haven't heard the latest. Usually JBL Synthesis and Wisdom's top of the line are considered best in show. Alcons system has come on as of late. Decked out these are all over $100k. I have heard the Steinway Leingdorff(?) speakers, which sounded pretty good. I think I have heard Magicos, but it was a while back. If I did, it didn't make an OMG impression.

One year at Cedia, Harman decided to end the show with their Everest speakers cranked up. You could hear it throughout the entire convention center. I stood in front of them and it felt like a Niagra Falls of sound. Not the best sounding speaker, but impressive how loud they could get.

 

[Ericglo]

I wonder who buys these things.

I deal with a lot of rich people. I rarely see very expensive speaker systems. IIRC one of the Facebook founders had a Wisdom system in his HT, but I don't think he had a separate 2 channel system.

To buy these systems, one would obviously have to have the disposable income. I would think that the owners would also have to have some knowledge/interest in audio. It isn't like any of these speakers are easy to find unless you are looking for them.

 

[coonmanx]

If I wanted to buy speakers that cost that much then surely I would have to buy a house that costs more. Those speakers just won't fit in my one bedroom apartment.

 

[Killingbeans]

Although I’ve seen some folks think the Magico horns are ugly monstrosities, I happen to find them beautiful.

I think I'm one of those folks. I wouldn't even accept them as a gift. Personal taste is a funny thing

 

[Tom C]

I have heard some high end speaker systems at Cedia. I haven't been in three years, so I haven't heard the latest. Usually JBL Synthesis and Wisdom's top of the line are considered best in show. Alcons system has come on as of late. Decked out these are all over $100k. I have heard the Steinway Leingdorff(?) speakers, which sounded pretty good. I think I have heard Magicos, but it was a while back. If I did, it didn't make an OMG impression.

One year at Cedia, Harman decided to end the show with their Everest speakers cranked up. You could hear it throughout the entire convention center. I stood in front of them and it felt like a Niagra Falls of sound. Not the best sounding speaker, but impressive how loud they could get.

I’m trying to put together a home theater room right now. I chose my dealer because he advertised that he sold Revel and JBL. But when I asked for JBL, he tried to steer me toward Wisdom. I had never heard of them before, and glancing at their website, I got a feeling of boutique startup. Kind of pricey for what you get, and unknown quality. We compromised by settling on Revel. Why he refuses to sell me JBL, I don’t know.
Based on your post, it seems Wisdom has been around a while, and is well accepted. Do you like them?
I was sorry to hear you didn’t think the Everests were the best sounding. I’ve never heard them, but have heard good things about them, and hoped they would be excellent, since I like my lower priced JBL’s so much.

 

[Killingbeans]

If I wanted to buy speakers that cost that much then surely I would have to buy a house that costs more. Those speakers just won't fit in my one bedroom apartment.

Yeah, If I absolutely had to waste a million dollars or more on home audio, I'd probaly just get a building permit for a dedicated home theater with dream acoustics and place it somewhere in my backyard.

 

[Killingbeans]

Why he refuses to sell me JBL, I don’t know.

Too little profit margin?

 

[Tom C]

Too little profit margin?

Yes, that is my suspicion.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Everyone has to watch this video, $1 million MBL speakers are made with toothpicks and a toaster oven

 

[Killingbeans]

Everyone has to watch this video, $1 million MBL speakers are made with toothpicks and a toaster oven

No need to use more advanced tools than necessary. Toaster ovens can be converted to fit lots of useful applications. There's lots of people who rebuild them for use as DIY solder reflow ovens.

 

[Pearljam5000]

No need to use more advanced tools than necessary. Toaster ovens can be converted to fit lots of useful applications. There's lots of people who rebuild them for use as DIY solder reflow ovens.

Yeah but I don't know
I still expected something totally different

 

[JeffS7444]

Everyone has to watch this video, $1 million MBL speakers are made with toothpicks and a toaster oven

Looks very expensive to build in that manner but I imagine that even if they could increase production and lower the price by orders of magnitude, those will never appeal to a large audience.

 

[thewas]

Didn't realize the Genelecs would get that loud. Some of these systems still might equal or exceed that. Some of them are horns and some have equal woofer area.

Usually they are not (low) bass horns and optimised for SPL like an active Genelec, meaning they might reach similar levels but just in some regions of the audio band. Unfortunately they usually also don't give SPL numbers, so we can only speculate and till then the Genelec seems to be objective "SPL king" outside of PA stuff.

 

[Ericglo]

I’m trying to put together a home theater room right now. I chose my dealer because he advertised that he sold Revel and JBL. But when I asked for JBL, he tried to steer me toward Wisdom. I had never heard of them before, and glancing at their website, I got a feeling of boutique startup. Kind of pricey for what you get, and unknown quality. We compromised by settling on Revel. Why he refuses to sell me JBL, I don’t know.
Based on your post, it seems Wisdom has been around a while, and is well accepted. Do you like them?
I was sorry to hear you didn’t think the Everests were the best sounding. I’ve never heard them, but have heard good things about them, and hoped they would be excellent, since I like my lower priced JBL’s so much.

You might want to read this thread.

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/the-official-wisdom-audio-thread.3179600/

I don't remember the first year that Wisdom came to Cedia, but it has been awhile. Their top of the line system uses planar drivers. I think they were also sold to the DIY market as Bohlender Gra(?) I forget the name. Anyway, I remember friends saying you have to hear this demo. I think it was around '14 or so. Really great sound. '15 or '16 they had their top of the line system demo. I think everyone hands down considered it the best demo. IIRC the whole system was around $500k.

Usually they flip flopped demos with their top of the line and a relatively (their words) more modest cost system. Think living room and such. I was less impressed with some of these demos. One year they had one that sounded pretty good and I remember the Wisdom guy saying this was "only" like $250k. He did laugh after he said it.

I would say Wisdom has been around long enough to be legit. I would want to hear the speakers that I am buying first. I think they are out of Utah and make everything in house.

As for JBL/Revel, I am not sure why you would be steered away from JBL. Harman puts way more emphasis on JBL at Cedia than Revel. Not sure at other shows. I do know that Floyd Toole went with Revels instead of JBL for his HT setup. On the flip, Keith Yates put M2s in Rob Hahn's theater.

Home Theater of the Month: The Hahn Theater - Keith Yates Design

As a retired cinematographer, Rob Hahn knows a good-looking image when he sees one. So it’s no surprise that he wanted a superlative home theater. “I’ve always dreamed of building... More

keithyates.com

Where are you located?

 

[PierreV]

Yeah but I don't know
I still expected something totally different

They aren't realy a factory owning big company

 

[strummr]

I think I'm one of those folks. I wouldn't even accept them as a gift. Personal taste is a funny thing

Irrelevant note... just noticed your avatar, nice pull from the Painkiller album art.