What is the most FUN pair of speakers you've ever had and why?

A  DIY pair using JBL midrange and woofers plus Altec tweeters.  Picked up the drivers at an estate auction and built the cabinets in a local hobby shop. .  Didn't know too much about crossovers. but built several sets.  This was in the very early days of stereo, and I had loads of fun experimenting and learning. (This was well before the Thiele/Small parameters were published.)   Grandson has the JBL and Altec drivers, but hasn't asked me to listen to anything he's doing with them.   Oh Well.  

Tribit X Sound Go Bluetooth speaker considering it's size must be the best pound for pound speaker I have ever heard.

It's not stereo and it's far from wide bandwidth, but there's enough there for a whole load of fun. Lovely tone too.

Indispensably liberating for smartphone or MP3 player use.

That’s a tough one. I’d go between my KEF 104/2 , JBL L100t or my L7. 

nice revival.  hope it keeps going!

My first pair of Magneplanars---the Tympani T-I. Finally, life-size images and scale (grand pianos are huge, piccolos tiny), singer’s voices at true-to-life height (five feet off the floor), wide open sound, and great depth and height (if the recording contains such. The triangle at the rear of the orchestra in Boult’s EMI recording of Holtz’s The Planets sounded further away than the wall behind the Tympanis, and positioned higher than the closer instruments. The percussion section of orchestras are often standing on raised platforms.). After hearing Board game with miniatures, the images produced by other loudspeakers sounded miniaturized, like those in a child’s doll house. And the large venue in which the recording was made also shrunken.

 

BD-Designs Orphean horns. Unlimited dynamics with spot on tonal accuracy, zero honk or cupped hands syndrome. Bert is also an awesome person!

I love to modify my speakers, so any speaker amenable to modification. Outboard crossovers, ability to change out drivers, even the physical horns in my case.

The ones I built with Lafayette Triaxial 12lbs Magnets and my high school electronic shop crossovers... they ROCKED

Tekton Lores

Great live sound.

Silverline Minuet Supreme Plus

Kinda torn between my first hi-end speaker (Ed Long Time Alignment speakers" mid 1970s)) and Accoustat 2 + 2s ~ 1985. The Ed Longs were my first effort to improve speakers. I took them apart, replaced the OEM internal wiring, 5 coats of borosiliate, then horizontal rod at midpoint to further stiffen the already stiff cabinets, then stuffed with wool)

The 2+2s with the help of a friend who had a spool of OEM wire doubled up the in/out of each panel then to XO and later to the servo amps harness, which several simple mods were done to improve both sound and stability. I also DIYed outriggers to add rigidity and ability to tilt/ I wish I still had them: Good times

Another thread revive.  Nice!  Great stories. 

Music is much more fun when shared with others.  My little Elac Uni-Fi 2.0.  By far, these get the most play and use because they’re not in my sound rooms, but in the living room where they can be enjoyed most of the day while cooking or socializing with friends and family, and they sound soooo good for the size and price that I even bought a second pair to put in the garage! If they were weatherproof I’d get a third pair to put near the BBQ pit!  Have some outdoor speakers but none I have tried sound this good.  

@ellajeanelle If you're looking into outdoor speakers, look at these: Dayton Audio IO8XTW 8" Indoor/Outdoor 2-Way Speaker w/ Bass Radiator White (parts-express.com).  They also have a 6.5" version.  I really doubt that they'll match the Elacs fidelity-wise, but my god, they're amazing speakers for outside.  And that price! 

shtinkydog OP: Thank you for the suggestion.  I have tried some pretty decent JBL outdoor speakers (control series) and doubt that those Dayton Audio will top them.  I want something that sound as good or better than the Elac.  I heard some very nice sounding outdoor speakers at a local casino, but failed to see what they were because I was preoccupied.  I need to make it a point to see what they were next time I go.  Thanks again!

@ellajeanelle .  I have the tiny JBL control x.  For their size, they rock.  I haven't heard any other control series units, but I think you're right, they'll beat the pants off the Daytons, as they should seeing the difference in price.  When you say casino, was it the downtown grand in vegas by chance?  i heard some QSC speakers in there that were damn good! 

shtinkydog OP: No, it was at a casino in Palm Springs, CA.  They have them positioned throughout the outdoor covered walkways.  I've only been to Vegas a couple of times.  I have a cousin there.  I plan to go for New Years. 

@ellajeanelle enjoy and good luck! 

Peavy Spiders about 40 years ago.   They were average PA speakers and we powered them with two Kenwood 40 watt amps.   We set them up in our barn and we were "stylin".  

The "Mermans" that I designed and built for under $1,500/pr with used drivers including JBL 2241H 18", JBL 2251J 9.5" and modified Great Heil.

 

They can play from a whisper to symphony/concert levels in a 5,000 cu ft room without compression/distortion.

Never have I heard a speaker with this level of detail and soundstage/imaging, and I wish that everyone could experience it.  The system (add an Oppo95 and Yamaha RX-Z9) was compared favorably against a $100,000+ system.  I find "Easter Eggs" like you can’t believe in just about every cut I listen to. THAT’S WHERE THE REAL FUN IS! Unfortunately, YouTube does not convey these attributes.

https://youtu.be/Rq1qn-FYqEo

 

After years of changing speakers, cables, DACs, etc I was in serious Hi-Fi burnout.
With a majority of my music being metal, prog, rock, or blues I think I was chasing my tail trying to find qualities in the recordings that just aren’t there.

With my free time extremely limited by family and work I decided to downgrade. I wanted something rugged that I could put in the room and that could workhorse for the next 20 years. A pair of “set-and-forget” speakers that just played music.

I took a gamble on a new pair of Klipsch LaScalas in July and I am having a lot of fun in the hobby again. I got some LTA tube gear and everything just sounds “right.”

Definitely the most fun I’ve had listening to music in my system in a while, even if it’s not the “best” sound I’ve ever had.

@kingdeezie I think a lot of us would love to have your downgrade "issue".  I love your story.  Congratulations!!

Revel Salon 2 speakers!!!  From top to bottom, the Revel Salon 2 speakers perform at such a high level of proficiency, they took me off the speaker merry-go-round.       Phenomenal speakers!!! 

It's a tie between my stacked Advents and a pair of JBL L110s that addressed everything I hated about the bloated and harsh L100. The Advnts were big and neutral, very forgiving with bass forever, but ultimately the 'restrained' high end made me want more, but i did more than a little "One more cut" listening on them. The JBLs were the first computer-aligned Thiele-Small design JBL ever did, along with their first soft dome tweeter. They nailed it. Absolutely accurate, non-fatiguing, great imaging, tight extended bass, and of course, JBL quality cabinetry. Drove them with an extremely underrated Marantz 3250 preamp and 170DC MOSFET 85w/ch stack with the matching tuner that had a real oscilloscope built in. Should have never sold that rig, but a new wife and a move ... and you all know the rest.

Probably replied a few years ago, but would have to be my HPM 100's. They survived quite a few parties. Bought them when they first came out, I'd guess around 1979.

I bought the original first version DCM Time Windows speakers when they came out in the late 70's, for $660.  I live in southeastern Michigan, not far from Ann Arbor, where DCM was located.  They were driven by a Kenwood KA-9100 integrated amp, and I have many great memories of how good sounding the DCM Time Windows were.  Unfortunately, the system was stolen from my house about 5 years later. 

Around 2008, I happened upon a mint pair of the first version DCM Time Windows selling nearby me, and bought them for nostalgia reasons.  I then sold them a year later to my brother, and he is still using them to this day, sounding very musical in his furnished basement.