Owning the speakers you dreamed of 20 years ago

I’ve read posts to where the Salon 2 sounds very close to the Salon 1. Even in some reviews. Wouldn’t know only heard the 2s. 

Speakers have changed, though not as much as some would have you think. High end of yesteryear certainly hold their own today. Punching bag speakers carry that status because in affect they are junk. Buy revered quality, upgrade the electronic controls and bingo you’ve audio and Quality furniture. 
Cheers

Lusted after a pair of Ohm F in high school in 1976. Went through Kef, Vandersteen, Thiel, VMPS, Piega, Soundlab, Eminent etc over the years. Bought a 30 year old pair of Ohm 2X0 at a garage sale on a whim, sent the drivers to Ohm to check and balance(the tweeter fuses were blown), and was amazed at the soundstage, bass, and realism they produce.
We moved and happen to live 2 miles away from a guy that restores Ohm F’s. Bought a pair and they are, overall, the best speakers I’ve owned! Bass, dynamics, speed, a stage as big as your room will hold, and separation of instruments like no other(an Omni strength?). All for $2500!
I still have a pair of Eminent Technology 8b which is another all time great 20th century speaker… still in production. Can be had for $1200-$1500 used.(was always a steal)
A fully restored pair of 20th century speakers will cost you less and last as long as a new design. It is the most affordable way to get a full range, high resolution speaker in today’s market.Just be certain you can restore them before you buy!
(Anybody restore VMPS 40’s?…another great!)

I had KEF 107/2s that I used with Parasound JC-1s. Really liked the sound, but replaced them with KEF Reference 1s and a pair of Velodyne HGS-15s with SMS-1 bass manager. Have wanted to try 207/2s, but they continue to be pricy and they’re heavy. I have the matching 204/2C center speaker but it doesn’t seem to blend as well with the Reference 1s as it did with the 107/2s. In fact the sound improves without the center channel, but that’s with a Schiit Vidar amp. I’ll try the 204/2C with the JC-1 I previously used with it.

noir59, you speak of the Ohm Walsh Model F? I refurbished a pair; you may wish to read about it here on the thread I started in regard to resurrecting that speaker. I also wrote about it in my review of the Ohm F5, article found at Dagogo.com 

Interesting how varied experiences are between enthusiasts! I found the speaker to have the usual engaging mushroom cloud soundstage, but as I worked with it, the performance woefully lacked in resolution compared to contemporary speakers, or even the F5. I had to remove half the dense cabinet material for the speaker to wake up and sound better. Among the speakers I use it is the least resolving. Imo, that driver simply does not have the capacity to render definition as newer speakers. 

I also owned the ET LFT-8A/B, and wrote at Dagogo.com about the conversion from A to B. Very nice, excellent value speaker. 

I would concur that these are great values. I would not agree that they perform near speakers that are higher up on the ladder. The performance spectrum at the top end is quite a ways from these speakers' performance. Speakers such as the King Sound King III, Legacy Audio Whisper DSW Clarity Edition, and Aspen Acoustics Lagrange L1 are in a completely different league. I consider the L1 to be a new genre of speaker. See my reviews of all these at Dagogo.com    :)