Personal speaker evolution


OK, so here is a thread I haven't ever seen here: What speakers have you owned? starting with the earliest, price paid, new/used, and perhaps the models that really impressed you (for the price) in CAPS.

Rat Shack Something or others, $120, new
Fisher Something or others, $280, new
ADS L710's, $550, new
Snell A2i's, $1100, used
BEVERIDGE SYSTEM 3'S, $1000, used
Martin Logan CLS, $1400, used
MARTIN LOGAN SL3'S, $2300, used
pmwoodward
1)Bose "omnivector" ~ $200 new - dad bought them for me when I bought my first "Techics" receiver in high school.
2)Infinity ~ $300 new - I don't remember the model - I took them back to the store the same day I got them - did not sound as good as the Bose.
3)Celestion ~ $500 new - I don't remember the model- I think this was my first purchase from a "High End" store. These speakers lacked bass.
4)Vecteur (Made in France) ~ $700 new- I traded in the Celestions to the same high end dealer within a year, so I only paid $200 out of pocket. These have good bass. My mom still has them (with the system I had at the time that I never took with me when I moved away)
5)CAMBER (Made in Canada) "free" used- I don't remember what model, they used to belong to tok20000, he might remember the model. I love the sound. I loved the sound even after I had to use rubber cement glue to glue the woofer cone to the rubber surround. They are now in my kitchen system.
6)pioneer - cheap at a yard sale - for the basement of the store where I work
7)REGA CAMBER (Made in Canada, I don't know why they are called REGA CAMBER and not CAMBER, but I am sure it is the same company) ~ 80.00 used off of E bay. I love the sound of these speakers, also. The box is bigger than the previously mentioned CAMBER, the woofer is the same size, the tweeter looks like it is a cloth dome, rather than metal dome, for whatever that is worth. The sound of the REGA CAMBER is slightly "smoother", but for the most part, the same as the CAMBER.
8)radio shack "optimus" - cheap at a yard sale - for the basement of the house.
From earliest to most recent:

Bose - $200 (new)
JBL - $1,500 (new)
Thiel - $800 (used)
Totem Model 1 Signature - $2,100 (new)
Totem Hawk - $2,100 (new)
Rosinante Dulcinea - $3,500 (used)

I've had the Rosinante Dulcinea speakers for 13 months, and I'm very satisfied with their performance. The Dulcinea plays amazingly large, in tandum with the REL Stentor subwoofer, in my rather large room (17 X 30) with a high ceiling. More specifically, the Dulcinea gives you great mids and highs with lots of detail and layering, and the subwoofer is able to integrate seemlessly and provide you quick and dynamic lows. No doubt, the Dulcinea is a very fast speaker, which is something I need to have.

Interestingly, I tried a Verity Parsifal Encore speaker recently. In my opinion, the Verity Parsifal Encore is an excellent speaker, but not ideal in my setting since the room overwhelmed this speaker, neither did it integrate well with my subwoofer. Overall, the Dulcinea was much better in the highs, the Parsifal was slightly rolled at the top.

Using a very good monitor speaker along with a superb subwoofer can give you the benefits of a full range speaker in many instances. Of course, different strokes for different folks!
Bose 301 new $???
PSB alpha new $200 cdn
B&W CDM7NT new $2750 cdn + B&W ASW3000 sub new $2000 cdn
Gershman Acoustics GAP new $11000 cdn

With the GAPs hooked up to Rega planet 2000, Sonic frontiers line-2 & Power-2 I'm in music heaven. After the 100hr break-in, these sound better than anything out there except for the Gershman's flagship, Opera Sauvage, speakers (retail at $30K cdn).
home made 1976, bose 301 1978, m&K sat 1b 1985 and volkswoofer sub, retail was $1800, Zingali .3S 2003, retail 6000