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
3 way US made $150 speakers -- 1983 - 1990 2 way 1979 vintage EPI bookshelves on stands, modified crossovers with good components -- 1990 - 2005 Kef Reference 102 on stands -- 2005 - 2010 Quad ESL-63 on Arcici stands -- March 28, 2010 - ?
The Kefs are really decent speakers. But, I am ecstatic to own the Quads. I have been waiting for them since working in high-end audio from 1989 to 1992. The Kef 102's were one of my favorite 2 way speakers while working in audio.
Like most budding audiophile, I started with some budget gear and... (pretty much stayed there)!
When I first went off to college in '89, I used my roommates awful speakers. They were so bad, I wondered why I sprung the $$$ on a Dynaco 70 amplifier.
Then I bought a pair of RS4B Infinity tower speakers with the Emit tweeter. Not a good match with the tube gear. 35Ws of EL34 wasn't enough to control these 'solid state' speakers.
Pair of DIY Dynaudio monitors. Not very efficient, but a pretty good sound with the Dynaco Mark IVs I was running at the time.
1991 Apartment fire! Afterwards, through an audio dealer friend, I got a pair of Snell JIIIs. They never sounded good with my new H-K Citation V / Adcom 565 combo.
Homemade Jensen cabinets with 12" Stephens trusonic coax drivers. Sounded quite good with SE 2A3 or PP 6B4G amplifiers. Not WAF friendly, so they were sold to a friend. Last I heard, they were being used as PA speakers for a community theater!
Altec 755s in someone else's homemade cabinets. No treble, but a nice midrange.
(the dark years start). Onkyo bookshelf speakers as we need something out of the toddler's way.
Wharfedale W60s - nice midrange, no treble and a bloated bass.
Adire HE10.1 kit speakers. Efficient enough for SE 300B amps, but a little hard sounding.
Altec-Lansing Model 15 speakers. 32B horn with a 12" woofer. A little grainy sounding, but a step up in the sound department. I ended up parting them out as they were worth more that way!
UREI 813A studio monitors. Basically a time-aligned Altec 604-8K driver with an Eminence 15" 'helper' woofer on the bottom. The best I've ever heard for bass and dynamics. Forward sounding and not very kind for less-than-stellar sources.
and finally Magnepan 1.6/QRs. I lost the big dynamics, but gained imaging, smoothness and better soundstaging. I love the planar sound.
Magnepan MMGs Magnepan 1.6QRs Dynaudio Contour MK something or other (didn't keep long) Von Schweikert VR-1s Cain & Cain Abbys Zu Soul Superflys on order!
When I was in junior high, I received a Christmas present of my first stereo: a Curtis-Mathes (they made TVs) with 8" two-way speakers. Terrible.
My senior year in high school, I scrimped and saved and bought by first "real" system, featuring Electro-Voice ETR-18 (12" three-way, four driver) speakers.
After graduating college, I upgraded to a pair of ADS 810 (dual 8" woofers), which served me well for about 15 years.
Then it was major upgrade to five Dunlavy speakers, SC-II's for the front left and right, with SC-1a's for center and surrounds.
Then, last month, the biggest jump yet. New electronics (Ayre) and Vandersteen 5a's for the front L+R. These will be my traveling companions for many years to come
Dawg-Fish, love the 5a's. I keep thinking about moving to those, what a great speaker. But then I would have to change all of my upstream components too. Well, maybe that's a great plan, a whole new system!!
Macdad -- That's essentially what I did -- a whole new system in one rather significant bite. Seriously upgraded my two-channel capabilities with the Ayre stack and 5a's. Will say I got what I consider a screaming deal on demos from my local dealer. They've been "tuned" to my room now and I'm loving them. Happy listening.
My first was a little cheap receiver and speaker system sold by JC Penny with their brand on it. It was awful sounding, even by standards back in the late sixties when I bought it. The speakers were small monitors, six inch two ways I believe.
1973-1979. Pioneer CS-R300 monitors
They were two way with an 8" or 10" woofer and horn loaded dome tweeter. They were mated with a Kenwood receiver and actually sounded pretty good. I could not quite afford the JBL L-100's that all my buddies either owned or wanted back then. The Pioneers in this series sported a brightly colored cloth grill covering the top half of the speaker and black covering the lower half.
1979-1994. Genesis Physics II+. Paired those with a Yamaha receiver. They sounded pretty nice, but were a tad bit boomy in the low end.
1994 to present. Klipsch KG5.5
After hearing a pair of La Scalas that I could not afford, I just had to have Klipsch, as I fell in love with their superior dynamics. Although at times the KG's can sound a little harsh in the upper mids, I have been quite pleased with them over time. They come with dual 10" woofers and the horn driver. They have been played with Harman Kardon, Yamaha, JoLida and now Emotiva receivers or amps, and actually sound quite a bit better now with the Emotiva power than any other used before.
I am presently shopping for a good deal on some new or good used speakers to replace the KG's. I am leaning toward Klipsch Cornwall III's, but I have not heard them before and won't make a purchase until I have done so. If anyone has any idea where I can hear them within the state of Texas, please advise.
JBL L80, $400 at the BX in 1992. Totem Model 1, $1200 dealer demo in 94', plus $400 for Target R4 stands. Reference 3A MM. $1500, used. Sonus Faber Electa Amator, with matching steel/walnut stands. Original version, $3200 dealer demo in 99'. I will never let these go! Occassionally they're augmented with a Sunfire True Sub Mk II, used $900, depending on the need for the last 12Hz. I feel I'll have to spend significantly more money to improve upon these. They get better with my evolving system, and only when I have a house with a dedicated room, AC, etc., will I "upgrade." Then it will be a coin toss between B&W 800 Matrix, (if I can find a pair,) Vandersteen 5A's, sonus Faber Extremas, or something I haven't come across yet.
I forgot to include my speakers from my "bedroom systems." In high school I had a Sony boombox of some sort. It had a nice tone quality and decent output compared to most. And it was only $80. Later, I put together a bedroom system with Signet SL260s, used, for about $225. For the last several years, a Tivoli Model One has served the purpose. I purchased it new at The Good Guys.
I started as a kid with a cheap boom box that actually saw more time with story tapes and AM radio than it did music. From there I upgraded to an Onkyo Shelf system. After that I finally got a pair of real JBL speakers that were a pair of small speakers with a powered subwoofer. I tried to look up the model number, but can't seem to find them. They retailed for $650 to $850 and my dad found them on closeout for $100, he actually still has the 2nd set that he purchased.
After college and a real job I upgraded again.
Infinity IL50 - Retail $1,800 a paid under $450 and recently sold for $500.
A few months ago I heard a pair of Focal 706v speakers in a store and had my interest peaked. After stretching the budget and doing some listening I now have...
Dynaco from the time I was in junior high until I got out of college in 1986
1986 - 2009: Snell E-II
2009 - present:
Soliloquy 6.5 (owned them for a few months) Merlin TSM-SE (owned them for a few weeks) Silverline SR-17.5 (owned them for 7 or 8 months)
Silverline Bolero (just got them and plan to keep them about as long as I did the Snell E-II's! Will rework the crossover with Duelund components at some point though.
Sold the Audio Physic Step SLE. Bought me the normal Steps with the iron black stands ,very musical sepakers! Avalon Opus. Chario Academy Mill. 1. Musical Affairs Sonatine.
I find it interesting where the original poster advanced from buying new to used. I just bought my first ever pair of brand new ML's, but only because they'd been purchased by the original owner and were never unsealed. Hand me downs is the way to go for anything audio. Can you say depreciation?
I prefer not to say "depreciation". My program just isn't designed to absorb that kind of a loss.
My speaker progress has taken me through many changes, some of which are listed back on page 3 or 4 of this thread. Today I have a pair of mid/high horns mounted on top of an old pair of JBL woofer cabinets. I've had them for about 20 months now and I'm pretty certain the search is over. I don't even imagine that there is something better out there for me. What a great feeling!!
Large Advent Castle Severn Maggie 12 Spendor Sp1/2 Hornshoppe Shahinian Obelisk Klipsch Heresy, Forte, Belle Human 81 Sold most, kept some...this is one looney hobby ! If I were on the hunt for new speakers...Devore Fidelity or Daedalus.
Jensen Sonab OA-12's or 14's I can't remember Sonab OA-116 Dahlquist DQ-10 Maggie 1.6 Vandersteen 3A Sigs & 2Wq subs + Wilson Sophia 1 ( Another Classic !!!!) & quite a jump up from the others + Wilson Watt/Puppy 8. This is an amazing speaker!!!!
Kinda like asking 'what was your first bicycle/car/girlfriend?' As many of you, I started out humbly. My father told me I could have the Magnavox radio if I could fix it. I did, and then started the Journey: ADS 101?,$101; Johnzer, $350; Speakerlab K, about $750; Speakerlab S3,$350; JBL 4343, $3,000; Synthesis $1,000; B.E.S.L. 3.5, $1,800; Decware HDT, $500; Zhorn, $200(one of my favorites). Will stick with single driver type for awhile.
Celestion Ditton 1 Monitor Audio Studio 2se B&W Nautilus 804 Chario Academy 2 Hyperion HPS 906 JM Lab Mini Utopia Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor Focal Electra 1007 BE Sonus Faber Grand Piano MERIDIAN DSP 3100
Will my Hi End Audio system set up: 1- Totem's Limited Edition The One speaker, US$3400, New. 2- CD Player: RAYSONIC CD168, US$1578, New. 3- Bada LB-5500 Power Filter Plant,US$115, New. 4- YAQIN MS-12B Tube phono Pre-Amplifier,US$226, New. 5- Cayin A-88T integrated/power vacuum tube amplifier, US$1700, New. 6- Speaker cables, Part Two: Audience-Au 24 2.5 meter, US$800, New. 7-Interconnect Cables: Audience Au-24 interconnects 1meter, US$502, New. 8- Cable Elevators: Dark Field,US$105 for 4 field, New. 9- Power Cable: Anaconda CX Price US$1808 for 3 power cable, New. 10- Speaker Tuning Feet, US$376 for 2 speaker,New.
• Kenwood speakers (came with "hifi" system) • Definitive Audio ProMonitors * 4 + center + sub • Monitor Audio Golds (GR20s I think) + center • System Audio SA1520s (I think) • Spendor BC1s (still have these - rebuilt by spendor engineer) • Focal Mini Utopia BEs (still have these) • Currently exploring new speakers
1968- 72: Built-in speakers on a Concord 555, tube-type, reel-reel, stereo tape recorder. Even as I moved on to better speakers, I kept the tape transport, as it sounded petty good for my needs.
72-78: Bose 501: Big bass, with an East Coast mumble.
78-84: Rectilinear (model# ?) 3-way, 8" woofer. All paper drivers, mid-range has a whizzer cone. I think they're still in the attic.
84-2008 Infinity RS 6: 8" poly woofer, 3" polydome mid, EMIT tweeter. Loved the sound, still do, still have them. Snagged another pair off ebay just yesterday.
2008 - present: Klipsch Cornwall III: I love 'em, wife hates 'em mostly because of the size and I play them too loud.
Rectilinear X1 traded for a Fender Bassman head/bottom SAE Mark X (traded for a Tandberg 330 Cassette Deck) Dynaco A 25 XL (used as a back channel in a quad configuration - I'm really dating myself here!) Bowers and Wilkins DM2 - 300.00 (new) Home brew IMF Monitor (350.00) Burhoe Acoustics "Blue" - 200.00 Original Advents with fried egg tweeter - 100.00 used Kef 105 Series One - 1000.00 Dahlquist DQ10/mirror imaged with matching subs 1200.00 used Acoustat Model Ones - 1000.00 (part of a package deal including Sonic Fidelity monoblocs and all interconnects and speaker wire) NHT Model 1.3 (300.00) system severely downsized Epos Model 14's including heavy duty stands 800.00 Shahinian Obelisks with updates - 1300.00 I will be sending my Obelisks in for reveneering so who knows what I will use in the meantime - I would like to experiment with B&W DM6's or Ohm "F"'s. (I currently have the room and the power available to drive these properly) Neat thread - it brings back alot of fond memories.
An update to my initial post back in '03. Just when I thought I'd never get rid of my Revel Salons (Gen I), I heard the Wilson Audio Watt/Puppy 8s. So in chronological order, here goes:
Okay. Here is a list of the speakers that I have owned starting with the current set:
- Wilson Watt/Puppy 8s - Revel Salons - Legacy Audio Focus - Legacy Audio Studio Monitors - Polk M5's & M3's
Over the last several years my system has completely changed 6 times.
Lastly with the Watt/Puppy 8s:
DCS Delius DA converter DCS Purcell DA converter Audio ReQuest F-Series Media Server CD Player Audio ReQuest IMC Video Synology DS201J Network Storage Device Tweak Richard Gray 1200S Tweak Grand Prix Audio Monaco Modular Rack Stand Grand Prix Audio F1 Carbon Fiber Shelf Tweak Grand Prix Audio Apex Footers Tweak PBN Denali Mono Amps Amplifier
Firstly with the Watt/Puppy 8s:
- Classe Classe SSP-600 Surround Pre - Classe CDP-300 Video - PBN Sierra Denali Monos Amplifier
With the Salons:
- Levinson 390S - Levinson 33H's
With the Legacy Audio Focus:
- Meridian 561 pre/pro - Meridian 596 dvd/cd player
With the Legacy Audio Studio Monitors:
- Meridian 502 - Meridian 506.24
With the Polk Audio Speakers:
- Yahama DSPA-3090 pre/pro & 7 channel amp
And I am still evolving. However, the speakers are forever remaining. I would ultimately like to end up with a dual purpose system where both music and movies are enjoyed. That'd bring me full circle.
I bought the Klipsch KG3.5's back around 01. It was buy a pair for one sale. Think i paid around $500. I sold them once i moved from Tampa in 04 and went without a audio system until last year when i bought a pair of Klipsch F3's used. I also bought a pair of RF82's and traded them for a pair of RF63's . The RF63's are great in my bedroom setup.
1959 Zenith Console - Gift from parents (Had nothing to compare them to, I just remember that they made sounds) 1970 Small Advents - $200 (Love Loved These for years) 1983 Time Windows - $600 (Loved These guys Very Much) 1987 Merlin 2 Way Tower - $1000 (Love/Hate) 1988 Merlin Excaliburs $2500 (No Love Just Hate) 1990 Dahlquist DQ-10 Free (Loved These Guys a Lot) 2000 Merlin TSM $2500 (Very Disliked, Got Rid of within 60 Days) 2000 Revel F30 $1500 (Love Loved These Guys, Killed me to sell)
in 2008 I lost my long time dedicated listening room in exchange for a new wife. Now I'm relegated to listening to a diminished system in one of our bedrooms (it's still wonderful but a mere shadow of my old system).
2008 NHT Classic 3s - $500 (Love Them, Unbelievable sound at this price point)
I'd love to get a pair of Revel F52s and set up another system in the family room but that will have to wait until a death or a divorce occurs (whichever comes first).
Bose 401 floor standing, Yamaha solid state receiver Audio Physic Spark IV, Jolida tube amp, Rel sub
That is it, been into this just about an year, lets see where it goes next, I love the sound so far, bass is still a bit tight, soundstage is amazing, so is the resolution.
JVC boxes?,Paradigm 7se($500.00 new),KEF Cantor 3(?),Magnapan MG 1.4($1400.00 new),B&W DM630i($1200 new),B&W DM1800(store demo?),Paradigm Studio 60V2($500 used)KEF Reference 3($1800 used),Paradigm Studio 100V3($1900 new),PMC TB2+($650 used),Focal JM lab Electra 936($5,000 new), Klipsch RF63($1100.00 new floor model), Energy RC50($600 used), Quad 22l2($1100 new), Currently with Klipsch Cornwall III ($3800.00 new)for 2 channel and Paradigm studio 60V1,20V1 and center V1 for home theater(purchase all used for $700)
Can't remember 60's, 70's and 80's. So, from the mid 90's forward, B&W 802's with center channel and 4 surrounds. Replaced 802 with 800d's and center and surrounds with the B&W signiture series. Sold all the B&W and went 2 channel with the rockport altair's. Now, altair's gone and the Rockport arrakis in their place. Nowhere left to go! That was exhausting!
...first set of "real" stereo speakers for me was Cerwin Vega circa 1984, can't recall model but they were top of the line for them, huge floor monsters. then Bose 901's in 1993, my 3rd set and last purchase Energy RC-10 bookshelf speakers, believe it or not the cheapest by far and best sounding of the 3, not to mention smallest by a mile!
Bose AM-5 Series II 1994 to 2001. Walkman/Discman with cheap headphones from 2002-2004, since I moved to the US and started off from zero. Quad 21L 2005 till date.
I started in junior high with some Bose bookshelf speakers, KLH with passive sub, first fullrange ($80 still compares with some $1000 fullrange, Klipsch Synergy Klipsch Reference 7's (modified) $1100 new, then to another class of speakers DALI HELICON 800 mk I $2800 used AVALON AVATAR used KRELL RESOLUTION III $1700 used ZU ESSENCE $2500 new EMERALD PHYSICS CS 2.3 $3600 used
climbing the stairway to heaven: college, 2 way JBL's...junk for the years I was in training, then Vienna Acoustics Mozarts with a REL StataIII sub. I have been actively auditioning for several years...and am about to purchase Harbeth Compact 7 ES3's for a bedroom(13x13xx8'. My references are rebuilt Quad 57's, Vandy 5's, and for giant scale..Magico Model 6(I call them Stupidos because of the Price, and Revel Salons) I don't have the space or money for giant large scale speakers, nor do I think they are necessary. For value, I have concluded that Harbeth's or similar BBC type speakers or Quad's offer the best sound for the least (relatively speaking) money, especially in the all important midrange. I have been most moved emotionally by the music I love with Quad's and Harbeths with good but not stupid expensive tube gear and passive preamps.
Kenwood Godawfuls AR 2-ways (25's?) Boston Acoustics bookshelf Polk Audio 7 Polk Audio 10 VMPS Super Towers Spica TC50 w/Hsu Research subs B&W DM600 w/Hsu subs Apogee Acoustics Duetta Signatures
Radio shack cheapies, late 70's. JBLs in 80's, Infinity's in 80-90s....then started building my own. So far I've built two sets and would never buy from a store again.
-Sanyo ghetto blaster -Kenwood towers -Paradigm 3se (that started it!) -B&W DM220 -Boston A100 -Yamaha NS690 (they're still in the bedroom) -Paradigm Studio 100 v.2 -Active triamped 3 way custom with Eton 11-581 woofers dual Scanspeak 18-8545 mids and Newform research 15" ribbon tweeters.
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