What's the best-sounding system you've ever heard?

Nope - it’s Def jam mine.

(But only cause I haven’t heard yours!)

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One thing that binds this community together is that almost all of us share a dedication to sound quality.

So for a lot of us the best system we’ve ever heard actually is at home.

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The second best system I have ever heard is in my home now! I suspect it would become the new best system I have ever heard if I were to take it into my garden…

Mind you, when I consider the systems I’ve never heard, then who knows? :man_shrugging: :wink:

Well,
considering that sound doesn’t actually exists in the absence of a perceiving organ - science: it is otherwise just silent air molecules moving periodically - think of the greatest system in existence, no-one able to hear it and, though working, still absolutely silent…
The revenge of the human ear and the cortical right temporal lobe over hype and technology!

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What sound is was discussed in another thread recently about pressure. - though of course it directly relevant to consideration of sound quality.

https://community.naimaudio.com/t/air-quality-and-pressure-in-your-room/

The best sounding system. After a few beers (or wine) I’d probably argue that it was mine.

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I think Pete’s nailed it, but, of course, one has to ensure that one is drinking the correct beer or wine, for maximum aural benefit.

Oh, what fun finding out. :woozy_face:

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Aural and oral

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The smallest P3ESR are reputed to be the hardest . I have a pair and they will perform with say a SN3.

If fed by oodles more current they certainly prefer it.

Interesting that Alan Shaw uses Hegel and has used mid-range Yamahas at Bristol

I have P3ESR they much prefer a Rega Aethos than a SN3 .

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I suspect that for most non-forum users the best system they will ever hear is from a forum user.

You missed one more …al, that applies to high end hi-fi…

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:+1:

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An so I did!

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Probably the best system that I have ever heard was a, Linn LP12>Naim amplification>Linn Kann speakers. The system was in a dealers demo room and my ears were only 20 years old. (They are much older now)

Its a sobering thought but, it probably doesn’t matter how much I spend on HiFi now I doubt if I will ever hear a better system.

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Why not try and replicate that system, spending any excess money on getting a room of the same size and acoustic characteristics?

I think the challenge might be getting the 20 year old ears again. :grinning:

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The best system I ever heard was at one of the old Heathrow HiFi shows (at the Ramada Hotel I think).

It was a Mark Levinson CD player (when ML was the dog’s wotsits), a massive Trilogy valve (pre and power?) amplifier(s) sat on the floor and a pair of Canadian(?) floor standing speakers (with a pyramid-shaped top) with a three letter name (ARC or something like that).

A rather young lad was doing the demo (and he clearly knew what he was doing) and I believe it was the Trilogy room. There was one track he played of a female vocal and I kid you not it seemed this lady was standing in the room singing to us. The room was totally silent, except for the sound of jaws dropping on the floor. I think I stayed in that room for an hour, it was so amazing, I had never heard anything like it.

I suspect my system today actually sounds as good if not better. But in that room in the Ramada was the first time I had heard reproduced music sound so real. All the other rooms that day sounded pants in comparison.

I was going to respond further to Roog with the following observation, however it is equally applicable to many of the notings of best sounding system (including my own):

Whilst any of us may hear something and consider it to be the best we’ve heard yet, the memory of how a system sounds is not a fixed reference that can reliably be compared with the sound of other systems at some later time. So taking Roog’s as an example, that system of LP12-Naim-Kans may have sounded wonderful compared to anything heard before and so fixed in mind, but might not sound so wonderful if heard after hearing the system he/she has now.

In my case the example was my own system in a different location compared with its familiar indoor sound the days before, so very obvious. Then afterwards compared with upgrades to my system, the difference in sound outdoors was huge, whereas all but one upgrade since have been relatively small improvements however distinct, and only a handful of those, so I feel reasonably confident they haven’t added up to the same degree of change. The one not small improvement in the intervening time was introducing Dave, so now I cannot be so sure. But the nature of the improvement of the outdoor playing and the nature of the improvement Dave brought are different: outdoor sound was, well, open, with very well formed soundstage as if the patio the speakers were on at tge end of the garden was a stage with the performers on it. Dave brought a leap forward in detail, while also giving depth to the soundstage. I suspect the openness of outdoors would win over the detail if I could compare direct - but combining the two, i.e putting my current system outdoors, and I might decide that I must move somewhere where I need never take back indoors again!

A very difficult question to answer, as there are many factors to be taken into account.

I have listened to quite a few very expensive systems, including one with Statement pre/power amplification. A number of them sounded very good, as well they might considering the price.

However, one demonstration immediately comes to mind for me, partly because the system was nowhere near as expensive as some of the other systems I have auditioned and contained a number of components I would not normally have considered, but still turned out to be absolutely enthralling.

The system contained the Lindemann 830S/858 amplifier and Trigon Advance phono stage I ended up purchasing, along with an Acoustic Signature Triple X turntable, Ortofon Cadenza Bronze cartridge, and a pair of Triangle Magellan Concerto speakers. Not a cheap system by any means, but far less costly than some others I have heard.

This system had sounded very good indeed when auditioned with an Auralic streamer and DAC, but it was when the dealer switched to the Acoustic Signature turntable and played a direct cut jazz record dating from the early 70s that the magic really started. I really can’t remember ever hearing such a transparent, realistic and 3 dimensional sound outside of the best live small intimate venue acoustic gigs I have attended.

Other records sounded excellent as well, but this direct cut record just completely blew me away. I asked the dealer for details of the record (I wish I could remember them), but he told me not to bother looking for a copy. He had spent several years trying to track one down, and many hundreds of pounds on the purchase once he was successful.

So, it’s not just the system - it very much depends on the quality of music being played on it!

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