Purchased Wilson Sophia 1s about 4 years ago. They're fabulous and I'll always have them, but i don't think my room gets the best out of them. Would love to work with a sound/room consultant to see what can be done to help (if such a person exists).
Have you found your "End-Game" speakers yet? I have. And it feels so good!!!
Yes indeed. Several years ago, the absolutely incredible Revel Salon 2 speakers finally took me off the speaker merry-go-round. I do believe that I'll be taking my Revel Salon 2 speakers to the grave with me. What's your end-game speakers?
176 responses Add your response
I suppose my audio obsession has changed from "petal to the metal, racing fuel, throwing maximum boost and timing at it, tettering right on the edge of blowing something up" to "adaptive cruise control" where I’m just safely and quietly integrating with the speed of the "traffic" around and ahead of me. I designed and built my own speakers 32 years ago. They’ve been by my side (actually in front) thru the good stuff, and the bad stuff. The definition of the true friend. Dependable. Reliable. Loyal. Enduring. They’re not going anywhere. They have more than their share of sonic "warts", but do get some things right. My wife of 31 years still likes them. (And, me. Fortunately). On my 3rd crossover upgrade/rebuild. If some "newer thinking" grabs my attention, their could be a 4th.
|
I'll hold and fold with my 4 large Heils.....play around with whatever I run into that can keep up with them....*S* Other than those, I’ve got my DIY Walshs’ to play and continue to perfect. One can spend another lifetime in that pursuit. ;)) The only way it seems that y’all will ever get to hear a pair...or 4...😏....may be a signed and numbered set from a very limited production... The only thing that could divert would be a winning ’big’ Lotto.... Then, I might consider buying Ohm, and getting back to build them with a ’proper’ Walsh driver....or two....three....sub....*LOL* |
I build and design my own loudspeaker systems.
One of my builds was loosely based upon the Wilson X1 Grand SLAMM and was featured as part of my then system, in the UK HiFi Magazine HiFi News & Record review; the April 2002 issue.
Unfortunately I had to decommission the system when forced to sell my house.
Hopefully in late 2024 or early 2025 I will have some stability back.
Once this situation has been resolved, I will commence building a real successor, a 4 tower system somewhat larger than my X1 type build which will use massive subwoofer towers reaching below 10Hz. I have been working on this design for the last 3 years.
Current speakers being used in separate systems are Yamaha NS1000s and Graham Audio LS5/1s
|
@skinzy hhhhmmmm, No speakers at all, frankly. Be too busy with other bucket stuff....;) @waytoomuchstuff ....*G* Running that as of now with my bookshelf versions... They don't mind it, but the sub wants to get in on the act...so I've dialed up the crossover....*bliss out time* That's better....gets one into the 'roll' of the harmonics.... 😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑 .............ad infinitum...... *!* ...well.....that fried the day.....punched in the monks on a loop @ noon 11/7... I'll remember that routine if I have to follow thru with @skinzy s' thought, but will save it for the last week.....;) |
Changing houses makes me change speakers. My end game speakers become unsatisfactory as the room they are in changes. I've given up believing that I can build the ultimate end game rig. I've embraced the reality that swaps and upgrades are part of the journey. I love it! Here's a video of a woman with a million dollar system. Listen to her talk about it- she's not satisfied yet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJGnDSa71VE |
@mbmi +1 he kinda nailed it. ”end game high-end” audio is an oxymoron. It’s a “MY CURRENT end game” proposition in this crazy hobby at best …. Ergo, A current assessment and pause , but thay insatiable thirst, drive, and active hunt for “more” and “better”persists. The litmus test presents itself by our communal participation in this forum and supported by our attendance at major audio expos . |
I have been upgrading loudspeaker Xovers for over 20 years . in your revels the parts quality is a average at best ! meaning maybe a 7 out of 15 just pull a driver out and you-can see inside not even a name brand Taiwan on some capacitors.the resistors are $1 , when top quality even $12 mills are much better . The Xover is the 🧠 or ♥️ of the Loudspeaker . As much as you think it sounds good a upgraded Xover would’ve at minimum 10% better still. Look at Humble homemade hifi capacitor test. For all capacitor ratings to prove my point OP - This guy is such a breath of fresh air. Wait til he tells you he’s owned his own audio business for 40 years and he’s forgotten more than you’ll ever know. . |
For the amount of money I'm willing to spend, some JBL L100 Classics will likely be my "end game" speaker, but everyone is "recently" saying that open baffle designs are "da bomb" and never say never until you've heard some, so yeah, I might go that route one day. As one guy said, "your end game speakers are the ones in your listening room on the day you die". |
I would agree with the folks who are very happy, but if the 'money-fairy' dropped a load on them, they'd look again, and some merely higher in the brand they love. It seems like many missed the point. "YOUR end-of-game loudspeakers". Not the best that exist. We argue about that crap all the time. It was about personal end-of-game which I thought was a great premise... and leave d.i.y. bragging out...
|
There is no such thing as "end game" for speakers. There are just way too many designs with all kinds of sound signatures at various pricepoints...all with their strengths and weaknesses at any pricepoint. There are a whole bunch of models released every year....i.e. no end game. However, there is such a thing as the end of a dude's wallet. When a dude's wallet ends ("end game"!), he tries to convince himself psychologically that he's got his "end game" speaker, etc... Yeah,..yeah...we know all about that schpeel dude...🤣 |
Depends on whether you’re talking about components/systems that you don’t feel the need to ever change, regardless of inclination/budget or those to which you have such an attachment that they’re going nowhere, ever. In the first category are my Martin Logan Spires (and Martin Logans in general). I’ve been tempted of late to change these for 15As, but every time I listen to them, I think, "Why would I want to change?". Budget probably won’t change though for a few years even if I change miming - I’m building a passivhaus, which is going to swallow all available resources (as an aside there, our passivhaus consultant deeply disapproves of valve and Class A amps - or would if they knew what they were 😆). In the former are my Spendor BC1s and accompanying Quad 33/303 - I bought these in 1977/78 as a student and they’re most definitely keepers. I also have the astonishingly synergistic combo of Tom Evans/Graham Fowler’s amp. designs: the Finestra 3-box preamp and the Alecto II+ monoblocs, plus Hydraulic Reference turntable |
My end game speaker is the monitor audio platinum 200 ll, and I will be rewiring the internal wire with OCC single crystal which will give me maybe a 15 to 20% improvement right across the board, OFC wire which most speaker companies use is junk, OCC single crystal is far superior for audio, I did it with my last monitor audio gold 300 G4 and I got a 10 to 15% improvement in everything. |
My Ohm F5s I’ve had since 2008 are likely not going anywhere though I will be very interested to see what happens with Ohm now that the John Strohbeen era is over. Hoping Ohm is bought by someone who recognizes their unique value and invests to move things forward and take it to the next level, the way JS himself always wisely did slowly but surely over many years. |
I've had my used Dali Euphonia MS5 speakers for a few years now. I've added a 4 sub array. I'm still blown away every time I sit and listen. I always have a big smile on my face. I've noticed a couple pair on sale right now for a darn good price. These babies can be Tri-wired, which I've done. Most every set I've seen, the owners have either wired them wrong, or never tried tri-wiring. Their stupidity is our gain. These were Dali's top of the line in '07. |
You can never trust any audiophile's claim of having found "end game gear" until they are dead and buried. Until then, it's an open (and dubious) proposition :-) I'm sort of "end gamed" for the moment, having been mostly priced out of upgrades. So I'm very happy with my Joseph Audio Perspective 2 speakers. I also have my Thiel 2.7 speakers, which I've had for a long time now. I cant see every getting rid of them as they are my "fall back" speaker - one that just seems to do most things right, almost nothing wrong, and I dearly love their sound. Keeping them around allowed me to be more open to trying other speakers - if I made a major mistake with a speaker purchase, at least I didn't get rid of the Thiels, and they will always bee there.
|
