Okay. Here is a list of the speakers that I have owned starting with the current set:
- Revel Salons
- Legacy Audio Focus
- Legacy Audio Studio Monitors
- Polk M5's & M3's
Over the last two years my system has completely changed four times.
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. |
Have to break them down in categories. Not all in chronological order
Satelites:
Ohm somethings
Energy take 2's
Kef 2002's
Subs:
Dahlquist PDQ-8
Dahlquist PDQ-12
Polk 300 or something
Paradigm PDR 10
DIY Parts from Parts Express own cabinet (best yet)
Bookshelf:
Sony with mini system
Czek 100's?
JBL L 100's ( I believe this is correct model # Used them for 15 years
Sony with mini system again
Energy C-1
JBL S 38
Polk RTi 38
NHT 1.5i
Infinity IL 10
B&W 602 s2 two pair
ACI monitors
Acoustic Energy Aesprit 300
Paradigm studio 20 V. 2 two times
Quad 11 L
Quad 12 L
Floorstanders:
JBL S310
Magnapan MMG's
Dahlquist towers don't remember model
ACOUSTIC ENERGY Aesprit 309 good price for the sound
Monitor Audio Silver 5i's (three pair)
NHT 2.5i's
VANDERSTEEN 2ci
VANDERSTEEN 2ce
Meadowlark Kestral II's
Meadowlark Ospreys
May have forgotten some. I have rested my 3 year obsession/hunt with the Ospreys
will be keeping them for awhile enough is enough.
|
JM LAB Daline 6.1
Magnepan 2.6r
Chario Hiper Reference
Totem Arro (just sold)
I am now buying Von Schweikert VR-2s |
1970 Acoustic Research AR-3a
1976 Advent
1981 Advent Legacy
1985 Bose 901
2002 B & W Nautilus 805
2003 B & W Nautilus 804
This seems to be alphabetical??? |
Short list starting with:
Bose 901 - thought they were it but then came
Klipsch Cornwall II
Genesis APM-1
Magnepan 1.6
all of them great at the time
but then came the
B&W N802s - best speaker I've ever owned by far, but
next up
Sonus Faber Amati Homage
probably next year
from there who knows
Best Regards,
geoh |
1962 - Magnavox stereo console.
1964 - Portable Maganvox stereo.
1971 - Zenith mini-stereo - poor Navy man.
1976 - 2-way monitors with inverted dome tweeter - can't remember the name.
1979 - Polk 2-way with passive radiator.
1982 - Yamaha NS-100 Be dome tweeter. Better technology than sound.
1985 - Mission Argonauts. Great 2-way floor stander for R&R.
1995 - Paradigm Studio 20v1.
1997 - Paradigm Studio 60v2.
1998 - Aerial Acoustic Model 6. Just couldn't make these work for me once I got them home.
1999 - Paradigm Studio 40v2.
2000 - Soliloquy 5.0s - wonderful monitors. Just terrific.
2003 - Audio Physic Tempo III - a worthy replacement for the 5.0s.
Future - Quad 988. |
1975 - AR-3a
1985 - JSE Model 1
1998 - Coincident Conquest
2003 - B&W Nautilus 804
2003 - Coincident Total Victory
All were bought new. The JSEs and the Coincident TVs have impressed me the most
The JSEs are still in service - gave 'em to my brother-in-law - and the TVs are so good I'm not sure where I'd go from here. |
Spica TC-50 Excellent!
Ohm Walsh 1 OK
Ohm Walsh 3 OK+
Spica TC-50 with 10" Velodyne sub - Excellent!
Dahlquist DQ-10 Garage sale find, pretty good but overrated without modifications.
Dahlquist DQ-20 A great budget used speaker! Smooth, unfatiguing, reasonably accurate, good lows and attractive looking. Needed refoaming. Added a Velodyne ULDB-15 which needs a custom crossover because the DQ's go way too low for the ULD's original 85hz.
Next - Will be moving the Dahlquists into the bedroom when I put together a beautiful horn/tube system. |
Jbl century 100 , Klipsch Herseys , Bose 901 series 4 , Infinity rsm , Dalquist 10 , Def tech bp2000 , Polk srt , Aerial 10 T , Totem Shaman and presently own Nearfield Pipedream 21 , Esp Concert Grands and Aerial 20 t s . |
Heathkit DIY (8" woofer, 1 3/4" paper tweeter)
AR2a
Definitive Tech BP10
B&W CDM1SE |
1979-81 - Poineer 3 ways - had a carbon/graphite woofer (I was in high school in Germany when I got the hifi bug. Worked for Kenwood in the military outlets as a sales rep part time.)
81-85: Infinity RS II, purchased in Germany for $571 pair. Sold for $1500 when I returned to DC to go to college. Too big for dorm, needed money.
86-89: Used dad's Pioneer CS-88A from early 70s.
90-03: Suffered with Infinity SM #@$%#. Was into career, wife, family, didn't listen to much music although still managed to amass a decent CD collection.
October 2003: Longing for that Infinity RSII sound that is imprinted in my memory, I stumbled on Dali Grands and will live happily ever after. They don't sound like those 2 emits, 3 mids and 2 woofs that I used to have but they exceed my requirements. Purchased on Audiogon. |
1. EPI 100, new, around $100/pair
2. Klipsch La Scala, new, about $800.00 (in black, with grille; bought just one, intending to later get a pair of Klipschorns for a 3-speaker stereo array; this never happened, but I still use the single La Scala for casual listening, sports broadscasts, conference tapes, etc.)
3. Linn Index, new, don't remember the price (these were bought on the dealer's upgrade plan with intent to trade them in on Sara's)
4. Linn Sara, new $800.00/pair (great deal on a demo pair as the dealer needed to make room for the new Sara 9's; in a listening test vs. the La Scala, the little Sara proved to be more revealing of what the musicians were trying to communicate; they still satisfy) |
Started with the large Advents through college, then switched to Kef 104 ab's for many years. Then (drastically) upgraded to Avalon Osiris, which I've had for 3 years. NNNot going anywhere soon.
David Shapiro |
1985 - Pioneer Monitors. Awful but free.
1988 - Onkyo floorstanders. Yes, that Onkyo. Had 12" woofers which, at that time, seemed bitchin'.
1991 - Infinity monitors. Sealed, sounded great, looked classy. Too bad I sold them.
1999 - Klipsch RB-3 monitors. A classic "what was I thinking" situation as I half-heartedly got into home theater. They sounded bad from the start and never improved. At least they were cheap. My kids will hate me for passing them down when they're old enough ... the kids, not the speakers.
2003 - JMlab Cobalt 816S floorstanders. Finally stuck my toe into the deep end. Really like these speakers. See my system page for more details.
???? - Dynaudio floorstanders. Need spousal approval which is an indeterminate number of years away.
|
I started off with the biggest gaudiest loudest speakers I could find, the Cerwin Vega AT-15. At 18 years old, probably the perfect speakers for me. They were huge, about 40"x20"x20". 15" woofers, extremely efficient, and there seemed no limit to how loud they would play. They got me thrown out of TWO different apartments (well...that and some other things).
Then I went to the other end of the scale and bought the Carver al3's. Nice speakers....terrible choice. My lifestyle at the time and those tall, fragile speakers was a godawful match.
Sold them and went with a pair of PSB speakers combined with an M&K sub. Perfect set up for the time. Great for HT which I was into at the time, easy to place, out of the way, etc.
Then I replaced the PSB's with a pair of Boston VR-20's combined with the M&K. I still have these speakers. Very good HT speaker, a little harsh and thin for music, but for $400 not bad at all.
Now I have the Europas and really enjoy them. I've gone toward the monitor side of things, although I can see myself with a large floorstander in the future. |
Boy, this is painful:
1992 - present: Bose 4.2
I need to graduate and get a job so that I may be free of these things! Just starting to scratch the surface on what my next set of speakers may be. I aspire to own a pair of Thiel CS2.4's, but I'm not sure if I can live with the Blose long enough to save up for the Thiels! |
Akai something or other
Jamo CBR-120's (After a number of yrs reconed and custom wired, spring terminals were upgraded as well with WBT).
Swans Cygnus
No intention of selling these any time soon. |
Ge console
Sansui small bookshelves
Bozak 302's
Phase Linear Phase III
Fulton small bookshelves
Fulton large floor standers
Infinity Servo static 1
Unity Audio Signatures with subs
Audio Physics Virgo's
Avantgarde Duo's Series 1.1
Still looking for the perfect speaker
PS Why did you get rid of the Beveridge 3's? |
Well, actually the first one is a Sansui minisystem,
1995-1997, Fisher (forgot the model) plus a techinics receiver
1997-2004, sound dynamics 300ti, very happy with it till the upgrade bug bites me
2004- undetermined future, Dynaudio 1.3 SE |
Radio Shack DIY,ADS 2ways, Linn Kans, Activ Linn Kabers; considering Dynaudio contour S5.4's |
Apogee Duetta II's...These have been upgraded to Signature.This is my first speaker and my last.I have never heard there equal.Thank's,John |
in '70 had a KLH compact system with turntable/tuner in one, it had these nice looking two way speakers
then went to small advents, large advents,
rogers LS35/A, added an audio pro subwoofer
then rogers studio ones'
magnapan which I never got used to
then thiel CS2
For last 12 years I've used thiel 2.2's.
thinking of changing -would like to audition thiel 2.4, legacy signature, sololoquy 6.3, reimer, von schweikert VR5
any suggestions? |
Can't recall them all, but it's gone something like this: Aiwa minisystem w/ attached speakers, MB Quart floorstanders, JM Lab bookshelves, NHT SuperZero, Vandersteen 1, Vandersteen 2, Vandersteen 3, Quad ESL-63, Dunlavy SM1, Dunlavy Cantata, Von Schweikert VR-1, Von Schweikert VR-4 HSE, and, last but not least, Kharma Midi Exquisites.
And I wonder where all the money went. :) |
Here's all I can remember
1)Tiny FM radio I bought with Newspaper route money
2)Fred Meyer (variety store) Integrated with card board boxes (it even had an 8 track player) WOW!
3)Old Zenith tube console with 15" speaker
4)Warfedale E70's, Blew em up three times with a Quatra amp
5)Scott? Huge Floor standers with top firing tweet and mids for that same dumb amp.
6)KEF Q10 second system
7)NHT 1.2
8)B&W Matrix 3E
9)NHT VS 1.4 Home Theater stuff
10)NHT SW 10
11)Sony junk speakers thrown in with a package deal on rack system. Then I threw them out.
and...... |
1) OHM H (think about $400 pair but don't remember) around 1977(?)
2) Large Advent (also don't remember but less than the OHMs) around 1978)
3) Dahlquist DQ-6, $500s for pair, plus stands, 1992
4) Aurum Cantus Leisure 2 (Chinese ribbon tweeter monitor), 2004 |
This thread was too humorous to pass up.
1) Technic 8" 2-ways
2) Some cheap 3-way with a 12" woofer - loud though
3) Genesis IIs - had these a long time
4) Mission 707s - had these the shortest time
5) Profile 2s - JSE clone
6) Profile 3s - JSE clone
7) Soliloquy 6.3s |
B&O - forgot what model but the system looked really cool.
Dahlquist DQ-10 - one of the best speakers I have ever heard. Even today. Great stage presence.
EPI Model 100 - had to downsize (decided to go to college)
Dahlquist DQ-10 - again
Little Bose pieces of crap (Lifestyle 10 or something like that). I know, but I had to downsize, again, and wanted HT. They looked like a good idea but sit in front of them for about 20 minutes and they grate on you like crazy.
PSB Stratus Bronze (fronts). Fit budget and fits listening room. And sound pretty nice for HT and music.
Great idea for this thread.
Jack |
1. Long ago - $100.00 stereo tuner & 2 speakers from
Five and Dime (SS Kres??????)
2. 16 yrs. ago - Huge used old Kenwood with jumbo Radio
Shack speakers.
3. 12 yrs. ago - Denon DRA345R receiver & matching DCM 340
carousel CD player.
4. Am now considering 2 channel, maybe monos and a couple
speakers with a foreign name because I have been very
happy with my Lexus LS.
|
Speakers have changed least often so they can be remembered.
I'll start with smaller Advents although there were some no name jobs in my very first system. Then came the larger Advents...I thought the smallers were better with more tuneful bass. Next was my speaker epiphany when an audio salesman told me to go with speakers that could "keep up" with upgraded electronics down the road. I chose the Harbeth Monitor Mk3's which I hung onto for about 16 years relegating them to generally more musical secondary systems after they were done in the main setup.
For the main system I went with Apogee Duetta II's. Looking for a little more transparency and air I then moved on to the Martin Logan CLS II's which I used for several years with and without subs by Entec. A change of listening environments prompted the move to Wilson Watt2/Puppy 1's which was one of the few dynamic speakers that could keep an electrostatic lover happy. Current speakers are the more refined Wilson Sophias.
In the other system, the Harbeths were eventually replaced by ATC SCM 10's. Now I am using Sonus Faber Guarneris. |
Sony all in one system (30+ years ago). Then a Technics system with Jensen 3-ways (25 years ago). Then Klipsch LaScalas (still own) - 22 years ago. Thiel CS3s (tweeters blown) -18 years ago. Paradigm Studio 100 V2s (still own) -3 years ago. AR.com DIY (sill own -back channels in HT) -last year. EFE T-22s (front 3 channles in HT) + Adire Audio Rava - last year.
Best speaker - EFE T-22's + Rava. |
KLH bookshelf speakers model?
Altec Lansing Mid stacks
Polk Audio Rt-5
Klipsch KG 5.5
KLF C-40
Klipsch Quartet
Magnepan SMGa
Dunlavy SC-1
Klipsch Forte II |
4-05-2004 Lafeytte C-25s? Not sure of model# 1967 Lafeytte C-50s? Not sure of model# 1968 AR-4As 1969 AR-2As 1974 OHM Gs 1975 OHM C2s 1977,(2 pair stacked), incredible rock speakers stacked!! Magnepan IBs 1983 Celsestion SL-6s with Reardon 10" subwoofer 1984 Incredible home engineered and built ported speakers (12" woofers, 4" mids and dome tweeters)still have 1999 Magnepan IIBs purchased on eBay then sent to Magnepan for rebuild (wow)!! still have 2004 OHM C2s (2 pair stacked...again) still have, something old is new again 2004 One current system powered by 2 Crown DC 300As mono'ed (amazing what you find on eBay) Tom Miller milfam@adelphia.net |
Magnepan MG-1 ($500)
Polk RTA-12(?) (@ $900) (a mistake)
Acoustat 1+1 and pair of Kinergetic Woofers ($?)
Martin Logan Quest ($4,000)
S.A.P. J2001 (twin woofer) ($21,500) One of the best sounding speakers I've heard at any price, and, at 99 db/w efficiency, I can use it with just about any amp. |
KLH,$59.95, JBL$129.00, Klipsch Heresy 1 used $225.00, Kenwood used $100.00, Pioneer cs88a used $200.00, still have these in the closet, Klipsch Heresy II used $300.00, Magnepan MG1 used $100.00 sold these for $225.00 at garage sale, saw the guy a year later and he never hooked them up so I bought them back for $100.00 again, Paradigm Studio 100 v3 $2000.00, sold 'em, Magnepan 1.6qr coming tomorrow $1725.00? OK Bye |
Klipsh CF-3
Klipsh CF-4
PSB Stratus Gold
Audio Physic Tempo
Legacy Focus
Gallo Nucleus Reference (still own)
Audio Physic Libra
Von Schweikert VR-4jr (will take delivery in 2 weeks) |
1973 Studiocraft 330's of brand don't know who made them but, they sounded good in the store. Tweeters were facing 45 degrees outward which seemed to improve the sound stage. 1974 large advents. Nice nuetral sound. 1976, double advents which were stacked woofer, tweeter, tweeter woofer. played much louder. 1979 Audioanalyst phase matrix threes. Had a coned tweeter with a grill that was supposed to improve the sound stage. They wore out in '89 so I bought two Linn Nexus demos which were very nuetral and smooth. Heard Vandersteen 2's that year but, could not afford then. Finally bought the Vandersteen 2 CE sigsin 2002. Love the nuetral , balanced sound. |
Starting in 1973 -EPI 50,EPI 100, Ohm C+,Dahlquist DQ10,Chartwell LS3/5a(financial reasons),Spendor BC1,Quad 57's,Quad 63's,Linn Kans,Kan II,Tukans,ATC 20's (Superb!) ATC SCM100a's far and away the BEST! There are many others I've spent considerable time with, too many to mention. |
Aiwa mini system ~$100
Technics rack system/floorstander...I was young and seduced by the though of those 12" and 15" paper, and I do mean paper, woofers
PSB Stratus Silver i's $800
Psb stratus Gold I's $1700
Merlin VSM-MM's $7700...these are simply unreal. |
I don't know if it actually is an evolutionary link, but I got Magneplanar MG 3.6Rs at the end of last year. I have been busily engaged in the job of getting them to run ever since. Bought used from a guy I would not recommend buying a hairpin from, they required a lot in the way of repairs. They do sound great after many efforts, so all is not negative. Just a question of what everyone has too little of: time and money. Dealing with Magnepan has not been smooth sailing either, since I do not live in the USA, which is reason for the folks at Magnepan to complicate things. I worked with a dealer who, while taking his own good time to get things done, did do a very good job of repairing them. I am now learning the art of replacing the foil in their ribbon tweeter; not the easiest task in the world I can assure you!
Wonder what an SE version of these speakers, using a stiffer panel structure (by incorporating something rigid à la Mye stands in the design) and better quality components all around (including the connectors and, most certainly, the x-overs, would be like?
Looking at the way they are built compared to top box speakers, it is a wonder they sound as good as they do. Strange company that Magnepan outfit... |
Pbb sez: Wonder what an SE version of these speakers, using a stiffer panel structure (by incorporating something rigid à la Mye stands in the design) and better quality components all around (including the connectors and, most certainly, the x-overs, would be like? I listened to a pair of 3.5 with an allegedly hotrodded x-over (I have no idea as to the schematics). Improvement in the low end, some improvement -- low level detail became more evident -- in the tweet section (without an attenuator). However, I speculate that bi-amping would do the trick famously. Also, rather than changing connectors, one could hard wire cables to the x-over? |
1. zenith allegro speakers 10 inch woofer with horn tweeter amazing sound. FREE ages 5-15
2.Yamaha bookshelf first new speaker 106.85
3.a/d/s mv40 800.00
4. Vandersteen 2ce sigs 1500.00
5. a/d/s l710, l780, l500, l990, and much more none over 400.00
6 ess heil from 70s free
7.symdex sigma and omega best there is 400.00
8. Note Perfect alpha pro se. Australian speaker traded equipment.
all of these within the last 2 years. Nothing i have tried can come close to the symdex. except the vandy 5's but 400 vs. 12,000 not that much better... |
Some cheapo Aiwa system's speakers
Allison 1
Duntech mini monitors
Thiel 2.2
Proac Response 5
Kharam CRM Focal titanium tweeter 2.3 (current) |
DCM Time Frame TF350 S$800
Totem Model 1 S$1500
Vandersteen 2CE Signature S$3500
Cabasse Baltic/Thor II S$POA [coming soon]
Always bought new. Started out with the DCM time frames back in 1990. They are a cheap and good pair of spks and the thing is, they're still in good working condition playing in my Dad's house.
The Totem monitors were imaging kings. Still love them, but hated the treble hardness which couldn't seem to go away with different amps. One of the hardest to match.
With the Vandersteens, I got lots of bass and very nice mids. Seemed to work well with anything and hard not to like. Treble [again] was problematic and could sound harsh when pushed. Imaged even better than the Totem(!). Wasn't as fast as high efficiency single driver type spks.
Looked for high efficiency spks which could reproduce the full freq spectrum without throwing away anything and NOT sounding boxy. Needless to say, this upgrade would be the most significant for me. I also own a pair of Cabasse Farellas for HT and loved the tweeter. So investigated their eyeball spks - starting with the iO paired with the Thor II sub. I was amazed at how these spks disappeared and the music was so natural it didn't seem like I was listening to hifi, just music. So I've taken the plunge and gone for the bigger Baltic II/Thor II. |
Jensen who-knows-whats?
Klipsch Forte
Legacy Focus
Von Schweikert VR-4 III HSE
Merlin VSM-Milleniums
These would be over the span of the last 24 years.... |
Tandberg Studio Monitor, bought in Belgrade, new, 2.000$ (still have them)
KEF Concerto, bought for 30EUR at a second hand store this year
Wharfedale E 30, bought for EUR 45 at a second hand store
Bose 301 Series II, bought for 5EUR a ta flea market, woofers needed replacement |
Cheap JVC's, Polk 5jr+'s, B&W Cm2's(Concept 90's), B&W 802 S2's and Merlin VSM SE/Me and to be MX's. |
Well this is one long thread, I don't recall prices but here goes:
homemade box with 8 inch driver
Altec 887? (new)
Polk Audio monitor 7b (new)
Bose 901IV (new)
Paradigm 9SEMKIII, blown up by son, (new)
Thiel CS 1.5 (used)
Cambridge Audio Ensemble One (new)
Radio Shack (various)
Paradigm Studio 60v2 (new)
PSB Alpha (used)
NHT Super ones (used)
Acoustic Energy Aegis One (new)
NHT SB3 (new)
Acoustic Energy AESPRIT 300 (2 pairs) (new)
The AE 300s are my favorites to date and don't intend to change for a while. |
Radio Shack drivers in home made boxes, new ~$40, 2 years
Dynaco ~25?, new $?, 2 years
Altec 15" coax in home made boxes, used $40, 6 mos.
JBL L26, new $240, 2 years
JBL L65, new $720, 3 years
ADS ?, new $300, 2 years
B&W DM110, new $240, 4 years
Tannoy Arden, used $700, 5 years
JBL 4343, used $1600, 5 years
B&W 802, used $1600, 3 mos.
Tannoy S10, used $900
Tannoy D700, demo $2200, 6 mos.
JBL S3100, used, $2600 (real keepers, currently owned) |
Radio Shack bookshelf - everybody seem to have begun with this
Pioneer HPM100 - in possession
AR9 - tower 4 way
AR48b
Infinity RS 4b
JBL4412
JBL L200
JBL SR4732
Snell C5
NHT VT2
Martin Logan CLS
Velodyne DD15 |
Home-made Altec Lan Voice of the Theater
Pioneer 3 ways (H65?)
DCM Time Windows
Bose 901 II's....two pairs
Maggie II's
Accoustat 4's
Infinity Beta's.....still own |
