Speakers to hang on to for LIFE

I just don't believe I'll ever hang on to a piece for life. Currently I own and love the Merlin VSM-MX, and I feel totally happy with them, but, I had the same feeling with my JBL L19, Polk 10, Energy 22s, Proac 2.5s, my Alon (now Nola) Louts SEs, my Vandersteen 3A Signatures. When I bought each of these I had a honeymoon period where I was totally satisified, felt lucky, and thought I would never need another pair of speakers (amps, turntables, etc.). I remember saying so each time (to a significant other), and meaning it. If you want to hang unto a piece for a long time, I think you have to stop reading the magazines, the e-zines, and stay away from Audiogon. That being said, I think I'll hang onto my Merlins for ....

KEF 104.2s 1987

BOSE 901 series 6 and the brand new Acoustic Wave Music System II !!

I'm thinking these new GMA Calypso's will be around long after i'm gone. My wife made the comment the other day "Well, i'll never have to purchase speakers again as long as I live" I'm not one to argue with the little woman. Anybody else breaking in a pair of these?

If you are one of the lucky guys to have 1 of the 20 pairs in the world, dont sell them cause chances are youll never find one again.

Von Schweikert VR-8. At 1000lbs for the pair this figures in there as well as bringing the concert home.

I just acquired a Golden Tube Audio MK-II integrated amp. I too have had my Celestion speakers forever. Since this is my first tube amp, does anyone have any experience with Celestion speakers and tube amps of 50 watts? I was thinking of selling my Celestions for a newer set of more effiecent speakers.

Any thoughts or suggestions on how difficult a load the celestions put on a tube amp.

Also any recomendations for a new set of monitor speakers under $1000?

I own ADS 1290 since 1988,sound execellent,and still going strong.

I love my Martin Logan SL3's. Who says they cant ROCK. Hook em up to a couple of Rouge Audio 150 mono blocks and a Rel subwolfer.....Great. Had them 10 years. Going to replace the panels when I buy a house.

These Jadis Eurythmies have been in my system for a three years now and I have no desire to change. Are they the most accurate transducers out there? Almost certainly not. Do they make beautiful music? You betcha.

Have any of you experienced the Gryphon Poseidon speakers?

Acapella High Campaniles.

Goldmund Dialogues best I've had for the price amazing fast bass

Martin Logan Summits, the ones I have. Atleast until ML comes out with the Super Summits.

Totems are also good candidates. The whole line.

What about a nice pair of Klipschhorns?

Mine.

Verity Audio Parisifal Ovations, in the quilted big leaf maple finish.....nuff said.

I've gotta come clean...I didn't hold onto my B&W N805s for life. It wasn't because I've changed my mind about them, I simply needed cash. I still think they are a great all-around monitor.

Spica Angelus - a wonderful speaker that is no longer made. I've had a pair for about 15 years or so. I have never tired listening to them. Recently I paired them with a subwoofer and the listening experience has gone up a notch.

This speaker, an evolution from the TC-50 which I've heard and liked but never purchased, is a classic.

KEF 105's since 1972. Then three years ago I heard the Merlin VSM's at CES. Bought a pair soon there after. Doubt I will be parting with them anytime soon.

I've owned a pair of Polk Audio SDAIIs since the mid-80s. Finally made the move to upgrade. I'd upgraded other components of my system during the past 20 years and the Polks always seemed to step up and reveal the improvements - this includes recently going from ancient Monster cable to JPS Labs cable - I was shocked at the improvement that made. I've enjoyed the sound of these speakers - warmth with a decent amount of detail. To my ear their frequency response seems pretty well balanced and they provide reasonably good stereo imaging (with the interconnect and opposite channel drivers). I bought them used and consider it money well spent for the years of enjoyment they've given. Relative to pursuing increasing levels of equipment performance/quality, there is a point where source material and not component parts begin to have the greater impact on the quality of the music I hear. I'm not doing A/B comparisons of equipment when I listen and couldn't care less if everything I own isn't blessed by the Golden Ears at Absolute Sound and the like. I just want to enjoy the music. The Polks have allowed me to do that for a long time. You might be wondering why I'm upgrading if they were so enjoyable? When I bought my Jolida amp a few years ago, the dealer demo'd it using Totem Acoustic speakers. Hawks, I believe. They made an impression-especially how they seemed to disappear. The Polks do a pretty good disappearing act but are no match for the Totem's. At any rate - after a good long while I finally made the move and recently purchased some Totem Forests. Just breaking them in now (<25 hrs) though they sounded good out of the box. Totem imaging is more precise and bass tighter than the Polks. I've yet to really crank them up so am listening at what to me are relatively low volume levels. I do expect I will own these for at least the next 20 years. (Obviously, in terms of consumer buying behavior - I'm not what you would call an early adopter.)

I've owned the original Sequerra Met 7's and the matching T2 ribbon tweeters for over 15 years(maybe 20 as I got them when they first came out)they are still in use in conjunction with a pair of Mirage 8" subwoofers in my main system. I liked them so much that I acquired a 2nd pair to use in my bedroom system.

got tympani b's in 1981 after owning at least 15 different types of speakers 1n the 1k to 1.5k range in 1970's money.In 1990 I was able to get a good deal on my tympani4a(the last tympani before the switch to the 20series)I am about to move to my final home and my babies will be sent back to magnepan to be refurbished before coming home to a room just for them.The 4a is the best speaker magnepan has ever made.Like all maggies,they like lots of clean power,but you don't need to spend a ton.The drawback is that they are room killers due to their size,but the ability to move the tweeter panel around the other panels lets you find the best sound.I have a pair of velodyne uld15s to help out with bass(owned them since 91)They sound so right that you don't pay attention to where the sound is coming from,it's just there.I also own a set of mg3 (redone in 01)which I really like,BUT THEY DON'T COMPARE AT ALL TO THE TYMPANI.Now here is what drives me nuts--You can find a set of 4a for about 1500 and maggie will totally redo them for less than 1500--so you can have a new set of 4a for 3k.You will find nothing will compare at that price.

The original Spendor BC1 for 28 years - very musical and listenable for many hours w/o wearing you out.

Still like my Klipsch, but wish I still had my Cerwin-Vega R-312's

After 14 years with my Duntech Crown Prince and having listened to approx. 100 "top of the line" speakers all over the world, I finally decided to get my old mates refurbished. Having replaced all drivers and they parts of the crossover that are suject to aging, my search is over.

Probably Sound Ultimates or the big Maggies would be ideal. If you can jump high enough you grab hold of the top frames of the speakers and "hang on" from now 'til doomsday, kinda like with monkey bars. However, if we're talking abouth speakers we would want to "hang onto" for the rest of our lives because of the musical satisfaction they provide, well that's whole 'nuther gym set.

Simple: What speakers are in the Smithsonian ?

Quad ESL-57s, without a doubt. After all, many people have already owned them "for life". Now that I've experienced them, I despair for all the time I've wasted. You mean I could have been listening to THIS for the last twenty years? Why didn't anybody say anything? Why didn't I listen to those who did?

Apogee Divas were/are in the Smithsonian. They were placed there to give voice to Mozart's piano, playing Mozart. Should have been the Scintilla, IMHO.

Hornshoppe Horns. Despite the inherent and obvious limitations (on paper) of a 3", rear horn loaded driver, I have yet to be so captivated by a speaker. None of the 'shortcomings' are at all apparent when one listens to this jewel. With no crossovers and being directly 'wired' to the amp, one gets the sonic 'gestalt' of
any presentation. Truth in timbre, lightning fast transients, great dynamic swings, its all there. A real find.

I agree with Nocaster, I have different speakers and components in different houses and even different systems in the same house. I would buy the Boston Accoustics A200 speakers again today although if you could find them I'm sure $3,000 would be a good deal. I've had them hooked up to a Hafler and together perform better than anything else I have ever bought. They are high end.

TWO NOW, HORNSHOPPE HORNS MARK AND DANIELS RUBIES

Von Schweikert Audio, VR4SR or better yet VR5SE.

have refoamed all four woofer in 1996 . No reason to replace
them . after this many years i'm too used to them

I'm still using JBL L212s I bought in '79. But I built new crossovers, Couple-Charged, the same type of crossovers used in JBL's top of the line Everest and K2 models. That design keeps the caps operating in class A mode. Also added spikes to the bases, which didn't exist back then.
But I also have the latest generation of the L212, the Performance Series PT800s, that I use in the HT, and expect to use them for many years also.

apogees. i still have mine, even though i haven't hooked them up for over 6 years now (room too small).

Sonus Faber Guarneri Mementos

OK, so I don't pretend to know the answer to this question, but I can say that I'm a HUGE audiophile, but I'm also someone of limited $$ means, and I have a pair of Boston Acoustics A40s which I love and probably will never sell or give away. They were CHEAP and you can still get them for a good price, but they were also just plain good. So...I can only suggest you play around and find what works for you, then keep them for a while and see how you like them over time. (Note I also have a pair of Vandersteen 1cs which I'll also keep...)

The short answer is there is no one speaker nor system that works for one person for any length of time, so don't bother to seek perfection. Your tasttes are likely to change over time, so you will likely want to shift your system over time, and as far as I am concerned, that's just fine. That's the whole point of audiophilia.

For me, life is a trip of trying different things and focusing on what my current loves are. Try a bunch of options and get rid of what doesn't work for you at any point in time. If planar speaks or some ESLs work for you, try them and hang onto them while you try other options. I'll be trying planars soon I hope, and expect to hang onto them for a long time. Meanwhile take notes about what you like and don't like. Once again, note that I dont' have a ton of $$, yet I get a HUGE kick ouf of trying out different audio optons. Get it?

Carl

I was working one of my first "real" jobs and had bought a pair of Bose 901 series IIIs which I thought sounded great but had a super low amp wattage limit. I had a Pioneer SX-1250 at the time and was worried constantly that they'd get fried so I boxed them back up after a week and traded them back to Pacific Stereo for the JBLs. The 901s had been sort of my consolation-prize-to-myself for finally accepting that I wasn't gonna be able to swing the Infinity QLS 1s that I wanted (and still want!) not to mention the extra amp(s)they'd have needed. Anyway...I was initially disappointed with the trade. The L-65s sounded somehow "plain" compared with the Bose 901s but, as the days passed, it slowly began to dawn on me that they were somehow more listenable and they dovetailed much better with the wide variety of music I liked. Many years (and audio components!) have passed now and I've never been able to part with these speakers. Except for having to have them re-foamed a few years back, They've never had any problems. I've auditioned tons and tons of fancier speakers but have never run across any that I thought would fit my lifestyle any better than my L-65s enough to justify the extra expenditure. ...but if anyone knows of somebody's rich uncle seeking a starving artist to donate a pair of mint condition Infinity QLS 1s with commensurate amplifiers to...............lol!

I have a pair of Montana SPX. I have to say these are the only speakers that I have had where I have had zero listening fatigue, or (a first for me) an urge to upgrade after 11/2 to 2 years. I have friends over and they can't believe the sound stage and clean uncolored sound. These are kind of hard to find to audition but worth the effort.

The Dunlavy V's. It is my 10 th year and I see no need to replace them.

The Dunlavy V's. It is my 10 th year and I see no need to replace them.

Agreed! That is the mark of a great speaker. No more Merry-Go-Round for you. No need to own the latest styles or hyped models....no need to keep up with the Jones' ...it will just be different, more trendy ( more magazine "ooohs and Ahhs" ), more precious materials, but rarely, if ever, can you do much better buying this years model versus a proven classic! Learning when to stop! Recognizing when the poor sound quality is the bad mix/master from the studio and NOT YOUR GEAR...is the first step to keeping gear for life.

If the DAL V's were an SUV then it would be a "Land Cruiser"....who needs the latest Cadillac Escalade or Land Rover just to get more cup holders!

I couldn't have said better myself, Shadorne!

For the last 30 years I have owned and loved my Rogers LS 3/5a's with a pair of Satterberg subs. Many preamps, head amps and amplifiers have come and gone there way but these have remained. Only recently did I decide to sell those and buy a new set of speakers. I have picked those out and will not look back probably for another 30 years. Buy well my old speakers sold for 3 times what I purchesed them for. My new ones will do the same.

I owned a pair of Cerwin-Vegas for about 7 years before I sold them to a friend who was obsessed with them (he is a real basshead and CV fanatic). I do regret selling them, and if he ever sells them again, I'll take them back. They are incredible speakers. For the money there is nothing else like them (at least in the UK). Perhaps in the US JBL sold something similar? It's still my dream to bi-amp a pair of 1515s with Graaf OTL200 poweramps =)

Speakers I'd never let go of would include B&W Nautiluses, N800Ds, Sony APM-8s, Sony GR-1s, Sony SR-R10s, Yamaha NSX-10000s, Yamaha GR-1s, Technics SBM1/3s, Technics SBM10000s. You get the picture - statement speakers that are probably impossible to find yet are good enough to give a lifetime of pleasure. Now, if I had to choose from that list...

KEF 104.2
Paid $1700CDN brand new back in '85
(Wish they were the bi-wireable version but such is life)

I have owned a pair of Bud Fried tweaked TLS80's since 1978. I have never grown tired of listening to them. They require nominal power and they sound great with very ordinary power supply. Transmission line bass is like nothing else available. I use them in my home theater set up and have absolutely no need for a sub woofer.
I recently acquired a pair of old JR149 9"x15" cylinder type speakers with a matching JR sub-woofer, amp, and crossover. The JR's use similar drivers as the TLS80's - Kef 110's and a 127 tweeter. JR's are often compared to BBC designed mini monitors like the Rogers LS3/5 because they incorporate the identical drivers to the JR's. I think they sound better. I guess I prefer British sound theory - and older is sometimes surprising better.

I have three pair that I will more than likely have till the day I die.
The first is the Braun L-810 circa 1970, driven by Carver, still able to create goose bumps. My main system is the Apogee Stage(1991)driven by a pair of McCormack mono blocks, goose bumps to tears in the same movement. Finally a pair of Fried Beta Signatures driven by a Bryston 2B fronted by my PC workstation, just plain fun.

I bought my Infinity Kappa 8.1's in 1993 and have not had the urge to change. Still like new.

I agree with an earlier response...The 805s is a special speaker in the line, and definately a monitor to hold on to. Good with lots of equipment, magic with tubes. A sleeper in the B&W line.