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Harpsichords and Related Topics

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Subject:
From:
Andrew Bernard <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Harpsichords and Related Topics <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 3 Dec 2017 17:28:00 +1100
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Hi Ray,

Speaking as an audiophile amongst other things, what is you budget? Given
that speakers vary from 0$ to upwards of $100,000 dollars, what sort of
range are you looking at?

Since I primarily listen to harpsichord music and I have a very fussy set
of ears (which can be an unfortunate affliction!) I find it is good to have
speakers that can respond to very fast microtransients of attack. The best
speakers for this purpose are ribbon speakers, because the ribbon has very
little inertia, weighing next to nothing, it can stop and start with almost
zero delay or overhang, and they are also well known for having very low
distortion. People who hear the ribbons often think they are hearing live
music. My pair are six feet tall, and made locally in Australia, where such
a set goes for around A$10,000. Electrostats are also brilliant, but again
large and expensive.

This may well be off topic as a question, but the problem is that
audiophile forums are full of people who know very little about music in
general, paradoxically, and it is almost impossible to find anyone in that
context who knows anything about harpsichord of organ.

In short, transparency is the key, and very fast response. Having mentioned
my ribbon speakers, there are traditional cone speakers now that are pretty
good indeed, but again, for really good harpsichord reproduction, they are
always going to be pricey,

The harpsichord is a demanding instrument in every way, and asks a lot of
us!

Andrew



On 3 December 2017 at 16:59, Ray Lurie <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Any speaker recommendations for listening to harpsichord music (or early
> music in general)?
> I know that this has been asked in the past, but that was a few years
> back, so, answers may be different now.
> Ray
>

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