Of all the pieces of the hifi puzzle, loudspeakers are the most important and the most personal.
To my way of thinking, system building begins here and everything else follows:
speakers > amplification > source(s) > cables / rack > accessories
Of course you have to have a room to put everything in and that room should help steer the speaker choice in terms of both size and placement—too much speaker is as bad as not enough speaker for the room and placement can make or break most of ’em.
Perhaps counterintuitively, perhaps not, my short list of favorite speakers is short. I could easily live with any pair on this list as they suit the Barn and me and as a matter of fact I do as the DeVore Fidelity O/96 and I are old friends. But you already knew that. Maybe some other picks will be unexpected but if I’m communicating my thoughts, experiences, and feelings effectively in my reviews, maybe not.
Dynaudio Contour Legacy Limited Edition Loudspeakers ($14,000/pair) | Review (October 2024)
I hesitated putting the Contour Legacy Limited Edition speakers on this list because they are a limited edition but there are still some available and they are lovely in every way. “Dynaudio’s Heritage line is meant to honor history and legacy while embodying the best the 47-year-old company has to offer. I hope I’ve been able to convey in words and listening impressions that my heart, body, and mind believe they’ve achieved their goal with the endlessly engrossing Contour Legacy.”
DeVore Fidelity O/96 ($17,500/pair) | Review (June 2023)
My speakers. As you know, many speakers come and go some costing 10x the price of the O/96 yet I am always thrilled to have them back in action. “More than most speakers I’ve had the pleasure to spend time with, the O/96 offer a direct connection to the humanness of the music being made, those aspects of music’s communicative powers that exist beyond an accumulation of sounds, every single time I sit in front of them. For years on end, without fail.”
Gauder Akustik Capello 100 Loudspeakers ($29,975/pair) | Review (January 2025)
It was in the review of the Gauder Capello 100 that I first spilled the beans about this short list. “The Gauder Akustik Capello 100s moved onto my short list of favorites within favorites soon after their arrival. The more time spent listening and loving everything I heard from and through them make the Capello 100s essential entries on the must hear list for anyone with the requisite budget looking for that last pair of speakers.”
DeVore Fidelity O/Bronze Loudspeakers ($30,000/pair) | Review (September 2025)
Yea, I like them more than the O/96. A lot more. “Beyond the play-by-play, beyond the picking apart of sonic details, the O/Bronze are among the most engrossing loudspeakers I’ve had the great pleasure of living with, placing music intimately close, me inside of it, or it inside of me. I’m talking about a real human connection to music that takes hold of one’s senses, thoughts, and feelings by focusing them completely on the music in play well beyond sounds, digging deep into our shared humanity.”
Rockport Atria II Loudspeakers ($38,000/pair) | Review (October 2023)
The Rockport Atria II are among the most impressive speakers I’ve heard in Barn for all the right reasons (according to my preferences). “From a pure performance perspective, the Rockport Atria II leave nothing to be desired and offer nothing but everything your music has to offer, seemingly re-made before your very ears. They dig as deeply, convincingly, and completely into the heart and soul of music as I’ve heard from a loudspeaker, delivering a level of quality that consistently transformed reproduction into completely captivating music-inspired experience that always led to the desire for more—more music, more time, and more pure goodness.”