Thu Aug 03, 2017 8:20 am
Amplifiers, and especially speakers, can cost a fortune. Unfortunately, with Hauptwerk, being able to afford the speaker system is the difference between Hauptwerk sounding Ho-Hum and Hauptwerk sounding fantastic. Since the origin (Hauptwerk) of the sound is as close to the real thing as you can get, the speakers can change all that. I did a lot of experimenting and a lot of research on speakers and speaker systems.
My own personal experience showed me that Genelec speakers were the best with Focal speakers a close second. But they are expensive. Dr. Maier, of OrganArt technology, told me that Genelec speakers were his top choice. After an agonizing A-B comparison, I bought a pair of the Focal's with the 6-1/2" speakers because they sounded just as good as the Genelec's but were less expensive. Both had built in amplifiers. Like the Genelec's, they have excellent clarity and presence.
I had a set (six) of Definitive Technology speakers but found them to have less clarity in such stops as a Bourdon and Cor de Nuit. It seemed that they "colored" the sound somewhat. I could get much more volume out of them which wasn't a high priority for me.
I was able to get a speaker system from a 1970's Rodgers organ that had a dozen 6x9's in each cabinet for each manual (36 speakers in total) . I was actually surprised how good they sounded. Although the speakers looked like cheap JBL's, the sound was spread over a large number of sound producing elements which probably made the sound acceptable. They took up a lot of room, however. There was an immense 300lb pedal speaker cabinet that contained two 15' (or bigger !!!) woofers which originally was for a single 32' pedal Violone stop. It sounded fantastic, every bit as good as my sub-woofer, but more that tens times larger !!!!.
I also had access to a pair of 1970's vintage Acoustic Research AR-9's which were exceptional speakers even today. Like the Genelec's and Focal's , they seemed to have extreme clarity and presence.
Today, speakers are much smaller, which is good for Hauptwerk home owners. Like everything, it all depends on how much you can afford. Deciding what's best for you can drive you crazy. The only way to be able to accurately do this is to compare, side by side, your top two choices through your Hauptwerk set up and in your acoustic environment. Any other way will just frustrate you.
My situation is much much easier today. Since I now live in a condominium surrounded by quiet neighbors, I use a pair of AKG 701 headphones with my Focal subwoofer. I actually got the headphones back in 2008 as a recommendation from Bret Milan. Headphones, like speakers, can vary widely. The 701's are still, in my opinion, the best for the money. I got them on sale for $250. I see Senheiser headphones out there for $1500. Hmmm. The 701's have a wide and flat response and do not color the sound as much as speakers do. A 32' Principal or 32' Bourdon sound very clear. Since headphones do not move the air like speakers do, the low feeling of large pipes is missing so the sub-woofer works well.
Antoni