Top Ten Speakers of All Time?

I would have to say that the Dunlavy IV-A's are as good as it gets w/o spending mega bucks. Pair them with two Plinus SA-100's and a tube pre-amp and you will be in sonic heaven. Just my $0.02 though.

Judd MacRae

QUAD988 if you have the room and $$ QUAD 989

Well spoken Tweekerman!!

Quad ESL 57, Kef 107/2, Soundlab A-3, Magnepan Tympani, Rogers LS3/5a (15 ohm), Spendor S100, Stax F-82 (?), Celestion SL600, Apogee (original), Beveridge 2s...You can tell some of us live in the past :) Most of the current designs is just old wine in new bottles...don't be fooled by the latest and greatest.

I don't know if i've heard 10 different speakers that have absolutely amazed me. As such, i'll have to stick with speakers that have "intrigued" me over the years. This does not mean that i think that they are the finest made or that i've even heard all of them under "optimum conditions". Some, like the Plasmatronics, i've never heard at all. I'm sure that there are TONS of others that deserve mentioning, but these are what stuck out in my mind right away. Many different brands or models are simply refined variations of someone else's previous idea or an existing design.

I do think that most of these listed have specific traits that one might find "endearing" or "special". They do some things so well or differently that you could overlook specific "drawbacks" that you might notice later. Most of these were different enough at their time of introduction that they were "groundbreakers" and as such, i've always loved things that were "out of the ordinary" or "freaks" that carried themselves well : )

Listed in no specific order, the Beveridge's, Hill Plasmatronic's, Ohm A's and F's, Quad's, K-horn's, Dayton-Wright's, the BIG Infinity's, Shahinian Obelisk, DCM Time Windows, Dahlquist DQ-10's, the Radialstrahler's, etc... These were all speakers that caught my eye / ear for various reasons. As you can see, most of these are pretty good sized speakers with some "mid sized" candidates thrown in for good measure. For "little tyke's", i think that the early Spica's come to mind the most.

Believe it or not, i also have to ( honestly ) mention the original Bose 901's. Whether we like to admit it or not, without Dr Bose's "breakthrough" research and initial product release back in 1968, we might not have had "wide dispersion" speakers for some time after that. This is not to mention his idea of a crossoverless full range design ( like the Ohm's ) and the use of multiple smaller drivers for transient response. Honestly, I think Amar was onto something, he just didn't know how to properly impliment it. Sean
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Apogee Diva still bests nearly anything at any price.

I would agree with the Beveridge 2SW2, 15-ohm Rogers LS3/5a, and Hill Plasmatronics! -Sam

The Acoustat 2+2's are one of the most musical pairs of speakers that I have owned.I have enjoyed the Kef 107,Magnepan Tympani IV,The Martin Logan sequel II,Infinity 9 Kappa,and too many more to mention.I have owned a few of the Acoustat models,but the 2+2's really have something special.They will best anything that I have heard in the 2 to 3k price range.

An ease one! Verity Audio Parsifal. Owners? . Chesky. Keith Jarret. dCs. Nagra. And a few rich guys out there. Awsome bass, incredible image, liquid highs, small footprint, exotic parts and finish. One listen, Game over.

I loved my Kef 107.2 They were a lot of fun to listen too. Such a big sound stage with the big whomping bass. I now own Moniter Audio speakers which are very nice. But those Big Kef's were sure fun! They could rock!

Original Quad ESL; Klipschorn; Snell Type A; IMF Special Applications Control Monitor; Maggie Tympani series; Beveridge Model 2; Sound Lab A-1; Wilson Audio Modular Monitor; Audio Artistry Beethoven; Gradient Revolution.

Duke, all of your selections are REALLY bad. Should you happen to take any of those as trade-ins out of pity for their owners, i'll try to help you to keep your show room clean and "litter free" by taking them for a small fee ( out of pity for you ). Just let me know when i can help and keep your check book handy : ) Sean
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I know i'll catch sh*t for this, but hey, I believe it to be true...Paradigm makes a great sounding speaker. Keep in mind I am speaking of price ranges here, but for under $3K, someone will have to work real hard to prove otherwise.

Hands-down: The Dahlquist DQ-10's.

Well.....this has been a good thread. However, it kinda sucks that very few of the people on this thread noticed or posted on the thread about the death of Henry Kloss. Mr. Kloss and his impact on Acoustic Research, KLH, Advent, Boston Acoustics....a guy named Tom Holman..ie: THX and beyond...hell where do people think the DQ-10 10"woofer in a 2 cubic foot box..idea came from?

I doubt if any speaker designer had more impact on peoples introduction to the high-end than those speakers designed by Henry Kloss.

Actually I prefer the Dynaco A-50s I've used for the last 19 years, but with 600,000 A-25s sold what can you say. The A-25s are still a regular seller on Ebay with consistently heavy bidding on each pair sold.

It was nice to see the Mission 770s and Dayton Wrights mentioned. I would like to add the Merlin VSM-M to the list.

HEY, wait a minute WHATJD....I posted a Henry Kloss Thread!! He was a man to be admired for his passionate professionalism. Something that everyone should admire and envy.

In no particular order:

Sound Lab A-1
Wilson Grand Slamm X-1
Eggleston Andra
Vandersteen 5
Thiel CS6
Von Schweikert 4.5
Wilson Watts
Martin Logan SL-3
Sonus Faber Extrema
Aerial Acoustic 10T

the soundlabs speakers

just kidding!

EgglestonWorks gets 3 of the top 10 spots, IMHO, with their IVY, SAVOY, and ANDRA models. Nice folks too.

I don't know if they are the 10 best......but I got them brand new in 1983 for $1050 (retail 2200.00, but fortunately for me the guy was closing his store) and have yet to find anything on todays market for under $4000.00 that even comes close.
They are the first generation to the joseph audio line. They were originally designed by a company called JSE Corporation. The model is #2. They handle 350 watts peak and can seamlessly blend all 5 drivers with the infinite slope crossover. The 10 inch and 12 inch bass drivers are all the bass you could ever want and yet quick and tight. The mid driver and tweeter are dynaudio drivers and the other 3 I believe are from seas. If you can find these speakers used anywhere you can not go wrong in buying them because their lack of recognition has left the resale price rather poor. However the sound is in a league with the best of the best.

Vandersteen 4 and Genesis V should be added to the long list of those already mentioned, along with any half-way decent speaker properly placed in a great-sounding room! The room has been the deciding factor (and most severe limitation) with every system I've owned.

I like Coincident Super Eclipse or Joseph RM33si but haven't seen these speakers in other posts. Am I wrong should I get out there and audition more speakers?

We had a set of Maggies (Tympani I-D) for about twenty years. I don't know they're in the 10 best but we did enjoy those speakers. Replaced them with Wisdom Audio M-75. I will seriously argue these are in the 10 best. The most impressive thing they do right is "everything".

Snell AIIIi speakers are all around contenders. And the Apogee Divas with the right setup.

Paradigm Active 40s, when given proper ICs and power cords, stands and a excellent pre and source. When all of these are done you will have one of the finest FULL RANGE speakers money can buy.

well guy's there are alot of good spks. most of the stuff i see listed here are expensive. i have owned 350 or so sets of spkrs. mostly because i do repairs and rebuild. just about any sound good it is just a visual thing more than the drivers playing. they each have thier own good points.

There are so many variables in selecting speakers, it is impossible to agree on this list. Generally, I selected ones that I think do the best job of achieving their desired goal (ie. best for a certain price or best possible sound).

From my experience in the business and as a listener I would pick:

Avantgarde Duo
Quad (original)
Wilson Watt/Puppy
B&W 801
Beverage
Goldmond (small)
Magnaplanar MG-1
Advent (Large)
B&W CDM-1
LS3/5a

Magnaplanar Tympani D I get chills just thinking about them.

I have used these speakers for almost twenty years. My reference standard comes from live recordings using a stereo Neumann mic and my 1/2 track Crown tape deck. I was there making the recording...using that as my reference point I find the AIIIi speakers still able to reproduce the original performance. In the subsequent years I have changed turn tables, CD players (now Wadia 850), tuners (Marantz 10B and SAE MK VI) and pre amp/power amp combo...was audio research, now Spectral DMC 30 and DMA 150 ....the result is always better sound...more accuracy...but the Snells seems to permit the associative changes to come through clearly...which makes sense considering Peter (going back to his days at EPI) pioneered smooth time accurate powerbandwith...with low time distortion (accurate control of phase distortion) and low resonant cabinet construction with minimum refractive distortion....same things that Revel...Avalon do...thus these are wonderful speakers.

John

Snell AIIIi's are wonderful speakers. Have had so many speakers in my listening room but the big Snells always stay after comparing.

burmester' b99 nothing like this one

JM Reynaud doesn't get the press they should (aside from Listener magazine). I own both the Trentes and the Twin MkIIs... Both are exceptional speakers for the money and they have no equal in the "toe-tapping" catagory. 'very musical line of speakers...I never find myself thinking "nice speaker performance".. I just keep thinking "wow, I love this record..."... I hear the Offrandes are great, but at $3800+, I'm not there yet.

Spendor 1/2's. These speakers have with stood the test of time.
Way too many positive reviews (and sales) for the Spendor 1/2's not to be considered an all time great.

1)Kharma Ceramique 1 (probably best dynamic speaker period at any price)
2)Soundlab A1
3)Avantgarde Duo
4)Consider Silverline Audio, very impressive for the money. You can't go wrong with any of the above. Pure Musical Utopia when coupled with the right electronics and wires.

I was really impressed by the Avantgarde Uno speakers a few years ago at the CES Show being driven by a $125,000 Audio Note 300B power amp. It was so nice I could have listened for hours. My dream is to someday own a pair of Avantgarde speakers (when I hit it big on the stock market, which may be awhile).

How do you guys get a chance to listen to all these great speakers? Do you belong to a club? Do you have friends that are all audiophiles? I am alone when it comes to good listening stuff in my group of friends, so I have no one to share any of this. My brother thinks I am nuts.

It is too bad that posters could not include a retail and wholesale price with the speakers they are recommending. That would be very helpful to me and maybe to others, too.

Matchstikman, you should go to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It's every January and every speaker discussed here (that is still being manufactured) will likely be there.

Listening conditions are not that great, but considering entry is free and airfare, hotel and food can be had for as little as $500.00, it is a bargain not to be missed. Below is a link to my thread on this subject. Many others may be found by using the word "CES" in the search engine here at Audiogon.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ymisc&1029813468&read&keyw&zzces

No Tannoy speakers? I thought their Concentric drivers are pretty good.

I have a pair (# 17 & 18)of Snell Type A speakers since 1978. Apart from having to replace blown fuses and the occasional driver, the speakers have always been up to the task to handle whatever power source that I use to drive it. Rather than spending thousands of dollars to replace them, I spent $500.00 to replace all the drivers last year. Although the Snell Type A-III are probably better I think the orginal Snell Type A were and still are fantastic sounding speakers.

Although they're small, Mission 770's were a true classic. I always regretted not buying a pair when I had the chance - sweetest little 2-way ever made.

Started this thread over two years ago. Just shows our diversity and how all of us perceive sound. This is as it should be,just a wealth of information. A few months ago acquired a pair of Alon Point V floor standing speakers. After living with these awhile I have found them very musical as far as box speakers are concerned. The clarity and sound stage is just down right amazing. These have managed to replace the venerable Time Windows,something I didn't think would happen. At this point will be looking at the upper line of Alons. If you haven't heard Alon speakers,do audition a pair. I think you will be most impressed.

Can anyone say REVEL???? I was, a short time ago, in an audio store that carried B&W, Revel, and Vandersteen. They had a room of all Levinson equipment to try out these lines. The B&W 802 were on a pair of 33H. the sound was good, but not great. We traded the B&W for the Vandersteen 3 and went down hill. After the disappointment, we walk to another room of identicle size where they had a Classe system consisting of the CDP1, a 47.5 pre, and the CA200 amp hooked up to a pair of Revel Studios, the small brother of the Salons. The sound was the best I have heard to date. I attend CES every year and still have found nothing better. Assuming the Levinson equipment is better than the Classe, The Studios were even more impressive. STUDIOS, STUDIOS, STUDIOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apogee Divas, Infinity IRS, JBL Paragon, MBL 101 D- Radialstrahler, original B&W Nautilus, Martin Logan Statements.

Klipschorns would most definitely have to be at the top of that there list.They were developed before many of us so called audio fanatics were born! It's almost like being in the league of Tommy Edison for developing the phonograph.

Other notables would be KLH,Magnepan,JBL,BOSE(for the 901's),Advent and there must be other's but those names have to be in the hall of fame.

the large advent,the dahlquist 10,the bose 901,the allison 4 ,the rogers ls 3/5, the epi 100,the spica 50,the shahinian arc,the vandy 2ce,the klipch heresy....honorable mention the ohm walsh designs....all were infinately musical and affordable..the vandys and the bose still are.

Goldmund Dialogues. These obscure speakers were offered briefly in the 80s in this country and were light years beyond any other dynamic at the time. I'm out of touch now so I can't speak to how well they hold up to modern achievers but here's the facts. They are 4 ohm, 96 db efficiency, and sport the fastest crossover in history with slopes in excess of 60 db/octave. The drivers are 1 inch inverted soft dome tweeter, 7 inch midrange, 7 inch woofer. All drivers are made by Focal. The cabinets are synthetic stone and weigh in somewhere around 150 lbs. each. I love them.
Certainly they are a top ten item but as I said I don't know where they would fit on the scale.

WOW(!) tons of posts and only two mentions of Thiel?

THIEL, THIEL, THIEL, THIEL, THIEL, THIEL.....

Thanks... I feel better now!

p.s- THIEL! (HEHEHE)