I've heard a lot of spkrs in the past & some i bought them.
But only 2 spkrs that always back into my memory : Bobby Palkovic's Merlin VSM & Tierry Budge's Escalante Fremont . I've ever owned these spkrs in the past.
They are not perfect , but get my real enjoyment in music.
Maybe i will get them again soon .
Sigh... really hard to forget them. I really miss them. |
Tidal Sunray ( never heard T1 yet) |
New and Improved BOSE 901 series 6 version 2's. Go listen to these improved 901's for yourself... |
OK, I know it's subjective, but if any of the "Best 10 speakers of All Time" don't include a pair of:
Klipsch
Quad
Magnepan
AR
Wilson
all of them, then you've not listened to many speakers besides those you currently own, and you are no longer allowed to comment.
OK, I made that last part up, but really.... |
REFERENCE 3A GRAND MASTERS GENERATION II M5 4WAY NO CROSSOVERS!!!
ONLY IF YOU LISTEN TO THEM YOU LL UNDERSTAND THAT THEY STAND REALLY ALONE!!!!!! ON THE TOP OF THE PYRAMID
NO SPEAKER UP TO $ 20.000,00 CAN COMPETE TO ITS QUALITIES
HARD TO BELIEVE I KNOW, BUT THANK GOD I AM ONE OF THE LUCKY FEW TO OWN A PAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A MUST LISTEN ONCE AT ONES LIFETIME |
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JBL Paragon, Altec Lansing Voice of Theatre, Bose 901's, AR 3a's, KLH 4's, Dynaco |
accetturos@qwest.net
YES!
The IMF's were so beautifully voiced...when I voiced my LSA1 and LSA2's (Standard, Signature and Statements) those are the speakers that I had in mind. Of course, the goal is 'live music', but realistically, we've all been bitten by some speaker which we fell in love with at a moment in time, which haunts us.
Bud Fried used to call me several times a month--and we'd talk about design and music--he was an amazing man.
One thing I did with the design, was to overstuff the cabinets of the Statements, with real wool--the difference it made was remarkable. That was a Bud Fried 'basic'...natural fabrics for cabinets! I remembered, and so many years later, could find nothing better to use than natural wool.
But, top ten---MBL's big boys are the best IMHO.
Followed by the LSA10's which never saw the light of day...but were fabulous nevertheless.
Larry |
Well lately i had the pleasure of listening to a pair of modified Acoustat Spectra 6600, of course i have not heard every speaker out there, but at 64 years old i have listend to many, 2 channel audio as been my passion for more than 40 years, and dollar for dollar i haven't heard anything that even comes close, you can see pictures of those Acoustats in MrAcoustat member gallery on Canuck Audio Mart, the small ones are mine Acoustat 1+1s and the big ones are my friend Jocelyn they are Acoustat Spectra 6600, both where rebuilt by him with lots of T.L.C. |
From the limited number of speakers I heard these most impressed me:
MBL 101 and 116
Wilson X2 alexandria
Symposium
2nd best in no particular order:
Viennna Acoustics Kiss
Verity Audio ?model around $8,000
Magico Mini
Merlin VSM:--- very hard to beat this speaker, I say that because I own them and never regret hearing the more expensive speakers knowing that I can come home to one of the best speakers out there that didn't break the bank |
I know this is an old thread but I just found it. I was a High End Audio dealer ( Audio House) during the 1980's. I sold, Rogers, IMF, Acoustats, Mordant Short, Pro Audio, Speaker Art speakers. I also sold many high end used speakers like Infinity, Quad, Klipsh etc. From being a dealer and attending many CES shows and auditioning the best available, I came to the conclusion that one develops a certain preference for a speaker sound. I love the British Monitor sound. I think Rogers did the best job in this department. I own a pair of Speaker Art speaker made in CA by a very small company. This speaker captured the British sound and has a great base to go with it. I sold a pair of Rogers speaker that were powered by two Quad amps. Can't remember the model but I think they cost $6,000. They were very good. For this list I would include the very expensive Infinities, LS3/5a, Acoustats, Speaker Art, IMF, Mordant Short. They made some great speakers those days. The Home Theater systems seems to have clouded the issue and I have not kept up with what is being offered today. Enjoy what you have. It sounds good. Terry |
Magnat Magnasphere Beta .... |
Quad ESL-63 USA Monitors; Swan (forgot model, but circa 1989); Wilson Watt/Puppy. |
Large Infinities from the 70s
Esp Concert Grande
Symposiums
Harbeth 40.1
Magnepan 20.1
Spendor LS/35a
Quad 2905
Klipsch Khornerhorn
Spendor SP100R
Reference 3A Grande Veena |
GoldmundEpilogs,Plasmatronics,ImfMonitors,MkLevDoubleQuads,DaytonWrightXg8's,SoundLabs,DahlquistDQ10A's,Nestorovics,LinnDmsIsobariks,Kek105Mk2.......J.C. |
kharma 3.2 f ceramic and Musical Affairs 16 0HM high sens/ty full range with PHY drive.The first is analytical and direct the second is analytical and musical -as a musical instrument-.
also the mbl's musical and analytical |
Dahlquist DQ-10, Snell Type A (I'm biased 'cause that's what I own now :-) |
Hey Lohanimal, you've obviously never heard the JBL 250Ti's.
The yams would go out with the bath water if you had. Those JBL's "really" rock. And I've used mine to play weddings in medium size church halls and still could'nt tap all their potential-the yams woould have been "dancing around the stage" with the juice and volume those 250Ti's sucked up & cranked out. Did you know those 14 inch woofers had a 4 inch whatever and 18-20 pound magnet. I love (and respect)the way JBL and now Revel-who I feel are todays JBL-create speakers. No pussy footers for those boys--and--importantly-they keep the prices "real world" and provide way more 'bang for the buck'than the competition. Can you tell I'm a fan? Cheers & happy listening... |
Rockport Technologies - Hyperion [practicle]
Goldmund - Epilogue [full set]
Variety Audio - Lohingrin II
Avalon Acoustics - Isis
Marten Design - Coltrane
Gryphon - Posieden
Wilson Audio - Alexandria
Aerial Acoustics - Model 20.2
Vivid Audio - Giya
Sonics - Gerhad Jochim & Issophone [putting in 2 here - sorry]
Not necessarily in this order........ |
Sound Lab
Meridan (really a whole system)
Mirage Msi series |
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Montana KAS tower speakers - my dream... |
Quad 57, Maggie MG20, Snell E5, Vandersteen2CE Sing,sound Lab M1
rollo |
1. The big MBL's 111 I think (with MBL amps)- incredibly even top to bottom - and they create genuine ambiance like live musicians...
2. Yamaha NS1000 (with Lavardin IT amp - what i use)- the closest thing to being at a live event - astonishingly fast transient response
3. Avalon Eidelon (with conrad Johnson amps) - effortless, even handed, true depth of field
4. Rockport (model name I don't know but they were big)- astonishing imager, rude bass
5. King Audio electrostatics (the big ones)- neutral, smooth, and unfussy
6. proac response 1SC (small rooms)(with Lavardin IT, and musical fidelity TriVista)- underated, very neutral, accurate, my favourite sub £2000 speaker
7. reference 3a de capo (small rooms) - a bit like the proac, very neutral and natural
8. JBL (K2 I think)(with Klimo Beltaine)- oh so smooth and even handed, great depth of field
9. Apogee (with £120K of McIntosh amps)accurate, dynamic, and astonishing bass
10. Bosendorfer - musical
The MBL got top spot as they have a natural sound, and do something none of the others are capable of. If that don't do the trick for you get the Avalons (if you want to relax), or the Yams if you want to rock and roll!
The above are the only ones that stood out for me. |
DCM TFE200's...............AMAZING GOOD! |
4 KLH Model 9 Full Range Electrostatics!
Difficult to find accompanying equipment and placement is never easy BUT if the obstacles are overcome it is one of the top loudspeakers of all time. Creates the illusion of live music. |
Snell AIII, Vandersteen 2ce Signature, Alon Model 1, Wilson WATT Puppy, NHT 3.3, B&W 801, Quad esl, Audio Physic Virgo,Sonus Faber Stradivari, Thiel 2.2 |
Wisdom Audio D75, Infinity IRS, Snell Type AIII,Watt Puppy 5,Linn Keltik Acktiv, Martin Logan CLS |
Jaybo - you better duck because I think your going to get blasted for mentioning Bose in this thread. :O |
Properly set up JBL 250Ti's were/are incredible and incredible value. |
gonna do brands here to show its more commitment and consistancy than a happy accident. some made some bonners, but many were among the best ever.......dunlavy/ar/rogers/hales/duntech/B&W/kef/impulse/ jbl/klipsch.....honorable mention..bozak/allison/imf/quad/maggies/ohm/epi......lightning stricking once, bose 901 |
If you have had a chance to audition the Princeton Acoustics PA-5 Monitor, I think you'd agree that it's smooth presentation is ES-like, (tweeter unit resolves down to 100hz, avoiding sensitive x-over bumps -- thanks E.Jordan!) Bass is pretty much unreal for a speaker of this size, and the finish is beautiful. A real unknown treasure. |
Also add a pair of Mordaunt Short System 442 speakers to this list. Untouchable at the price point.
You rarely ever see any for sale. Don't think I've seen a pair on Audiogon ever and I've been with Audiogon since the beginning.
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Duntech Soverign is one of the greatest. They are easy to set up if you have the space. Very efficient, as close to reality as any speaker ever made. I had the crossovers updated by the factory in Australia last year, now they are state of the art. But they are big and heavy. They will reflect the quality of the upstream components, and are not forgiving. I use a 100 watt ARC VT100 with them which is a great match. |
It's very hard to list a top ten speaker of all time. Too many price points, sizes, personal tastes and etc...
But from a dollar to dollar perspective my pick is clearly the Dunlavy SC-IV signature series. Nothing I mean nothing can touch these speakers "overall performance for the money". I have owned speakers in the price range from $2000 - $90,000 retail and the Dunlavy SC-IV signature series speakers impress me the most.
Only drawback is they are big and not th easiest to setup. But once you give these classic speakers the right amount of space and excellent electronics & cables they deserve to have. Wow ! You will hear what I mean.
Another drawback is you can only find the Dunlavy SC-IV signature series speakers preowned since they are no longer in business. The only reason why Dunlavy is no longer in business is because Mr. John Dunlavy became very ill and retired there after.
I am a critic of Stereophile at most times. But back in 1994-1995 calling the Dunlavy SC-IV's product of the year was rightly so accurate. The signature series are even better sounding than the orignals. And forget the Dunlavy SC-IVa speakers. Dunlavy became ill and rushed for an upgrade in actuality cheapened a few things which took away the magic from the Dunlavy SC-IV signature series.
There are a number of worthwhile additional speakers to mention on there greatness but the Dunlavy's stand out in my mind. |
Klipschorns, one of the original speaker designs and still one of the best for the money. Some people do not like the horn sound but i love my klipschorns. |
so does my 8-track player from my '69 Impala... |
>>Bose 901 series 6 sounds better than my JBL L150A<<
So does my Tivoli Radio. |
Bose 901 series 6 sounds better than my JBL L150A and the JBL's are right up there with the best sounding speakers ever made! Now I know why the BOSE 901's has been around for so many years....there DAMN GOOD! |
Dont forget the Talon Firebird Diamond! |
After owning my Sonus Faber Guarneri's for a couple of months, I feel they are definitely some of the best speakers I have ever heard, maybe the very best. In my top ten, they are either the top or second.. The original B&W Nautilus might be better in a larger room. |
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Well I'd like to swap the Polk Audio LSI-15 for the new Quads ESL 2905. I just heard them and OMG. I'm done! |
BOSE 901 series 6 and The Brand NEW BOSE Acoustic Wave Music System II !! |
I'm only picking speakers I have heard
Magnepan 3.6
Quad 989
Quad 988
Quad ESL-57
KLH9s very rare Double pair
B&W 800D
B&W 802
Ohm Walsh 5
Thiel 3.6
Polk Audio LSI-15 |
Just bought a new pair of Sonus Faber Guarneri Homage speakers. They replaced my Hales System 2 Sig's and are far more musical.
Having heard many speakers in the last 25 years, the G's are a real piece of art and IMHO the best speaker for small ensemble, classical and small jazz or blues in the world.
Have not heard the new Memento's, but I have a feeling that their ring radiator would be inferior to the Esotar driver. |
Analysis Loudspeakers Amphitryons. Full range 2-way ribbon design from Greece that goes down to 22 hz and has unbelievable dynamics. |
Legacy Whispers
Thiel CS7.2
Maggie 20.1 |
vintage JBL L150A New Quad 989's |
MY TOP 10 LIST starts with: KLIPSCHORNS CAN DO THINGS TO MUSIC THAT NO OTHER SPEAKER CAN. MAKE CHILLS RUN UP AND DOWN YOUR SPINE.
Duntech Soverigns though not as accurate as they could be have a beautiful wide range sound and when driven by good electronics sound wonderful.
B&W Signature 800's, outstandingly accurate and very good, maybe not as exciting as the K'horn and the Soverign.
Paradigm Signature S8 Does a lot of things well and is a very balanced speaker and properly team it with a Signature Servo and it will be wider range and rock solid clean bass as good as any. |
