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.
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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.
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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.
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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!!!
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@kingdeezie I think a lot of us would love to have your downgrade "issue". I love your story. Congratulations!!
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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.
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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
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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".
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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.
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@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!
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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!
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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.
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Another thread revive. Nice! Great stories.
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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
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Silverline Minuet Supreme Plus
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Tekton Lores
Great live sound.
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The ones I built with Lafayette Triaxial 12lbs Magnets and my high school electronic shop crossovers... they ROCKED
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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.
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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!
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nice revival. hope it keeps going!
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That’s a tough one. I’d go between my KEF 104/2 , JBL L100t or my L7.
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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.
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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. |
Not so much the speaker but the time. Girls, parties, music. Home-made 40" high plywood reflex cabs with 12" McKenzie full range drivers driven by a 70watt KT88 amp. LOUD. |
ADS l810 speakers and the Braun 810 speaker's were fun fun fun as I had no T-Bird. The Phase linear amp may have something to do with it. Ignorance was bliss.
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My realistic sta235b receiver 55 stomping wpc and a pair of bose 901 vI. That was my last system before being turned on to hifi. I loved playing air guitar to that system. |
My first were the most fun: Utah speakers that I mail-ordered from the Allied Radio catalog in 1969. I remember my excitement when I picked them up at the Railway Express Agency terminal, and was very pleased with the sound when I hooked them up. They were stolen, along with my Marantz Model 25 receiver and other gear. I think they were Model WD-90, as they looked just like a pair of that model now on the big auction site.
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Many, many years ago I was recovering from knee surgery over the summer.
At the time I owned a portable Toshiba "boombox" portable, an am/fm, cassette player recorder thing. I don't recall the exact model, but I had an old pair of Advent two-way loudspeakers gathering dust in my basement so...
One afternoon I removed the back from the Toshiba, plucked the wires from the 6" speaker and hard wired one of the Advents directly. I closed the back as best I could using glue and some duct tape. Voila! A hifi portable.
It was an enormous pain in the butt to lug that stuff around, but my friend and I closed a good many days on the beach listening to classical music as the sun set.
And we met a LOTTA chicks doing so.
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JBL 99s with 14 inch woofer great to rock out with great rock speaker a classic. |
@Buildier3 wrote "Most fun? Pioneer HPM-100’s, back in the day. Everything was fun then."
Man you took the words right out of my mouth. I used to own those baby’s in high school, and though a bit boomy, man I loved them with my technics receiver and turntable. I even rigged up that tiny MXR 10 band eq on long cables that sat next to me so I could remix songs.
Kinda makes me smile that all these years later, I’m running a Pioneer related speaker - if you could call my TAD CR1’s that.
Back to the HPM-100’s, Eventually I decided to bypass the tone controls and cheap binding posts and hard wire to the crossover. They sounded so much better. I feel almost no one has really heard what the speakers were capable of. I gave them to a friend and many years later heard them in his apartment hooked up to a cheap receiver. He easily had the best sounding system of any of my friends, and probably still runs them till this day. |
I would pretty much have to say that I have had enormous fun from just about every single pair of speakers that I have had, regardless of price or make. It should be fun! If one isn't getting some fun out of it, time to pack it up and be done. I think this "hobby" can get a bit too serious at times, and really, it should be about the music anyway, I think? |
Probably my first pair of speakers, B&W 603 |
Definitely Klipsch Heresy IIi...... |
Large Advents. I truly grew up with them! Still have a pair tucked way in original boxes. |
I owned a pair of Klipsch Heresy's way back in 1981. Ran them through a Luxman Integrated Amp with a Nakamichi B2 cassette deck and a Denon turn table. First real system while in the Navy. They were GREAT party speakers. Every year in May we had a big beach party, rented a generator and had music. Sold them to a friend in 2005. I still hear them at his house every now and then. I have definitely upgraded, but everytime I see and hear them they bring back GREAT memories.
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If they would still be “the most fun” why have something else?
Good question, and I have thought about this many times. There is an argument to be made that the most fun speaker is the one you should keep. I think for many responses including my own, it's a question of weighing fun factor (big bass, slam, warmth, etc) vs refinement. Also there have been many responses of speakers with big woofers, maybe there are folks who no longer have room for large speakers. |
Great thread.
I think maybe we have so many "past" speakers is we just had more fun when we were young, I know I did.
I would say Silverline Sonatas. I had them for several years and they were very dynamic and easy to listen to. |
Thiel SMGa speakers driven by Braun/Atelier ADS A2.
These were my first "Audiophile" grade speakers.
And you might say they were my first love.
Purchased together with the ADS A2 in 1984.
Traded in in 1996 for a pair of Thiel CS .5 speakers after my son was born and my wife and I were afraid that it would be much too easy for our baby toddler to knock over those baby Maggies. Hence the baby Magnepans were traded in for a pair of baby Thiels.
Still have a special fondness for Maggies, as well as for Thiels. |
mine were my Polk Rtia5 floorstanders. They really rocked. Capable of incredible volume and really visceral listening experience. I have replaced them with a new pair of maggie LRS speakers. The new maggies are the most detailed, transparent, and airy speakers I ever heard but they don't compete with the Polks for dynamic power and punch and I sometimes really miss that. Especially when I'm drinking. |
Most fun? Pioneer HPM-100's, back in the day. Everything was fun then.
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b&w c210. I call them little Bees and they're still playing in the lab room where I hobby.
I picked them up at good will $10/pair. |
for me the JBL 4333A... everything sounds very pleasant with great bass and smooth... I just keep looking what to play next!
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I wonder if these speakers were more about being at the right place at the right time. I also wonder if they’d still fulfill today, or if everyones expectations have continued to go up and up. If they would still be “the most fun” why have something else? It’s like saying “those $100 cerwin vegas were amazing; I wish these $7000 personas brought me as much joy” |
Paragon Acoustic Regent
Read about them when they first came out but no dealers in my area. Years later and very early in my days here I came across a pair in Connecticut several years after Paragon closed shop. Drove 10 hours round trip to pick them up. Of the more than 50 pairs of speakers I’ve had through here the Regents are the ones I miss the most. I logged more listening hours in succession with the Regents than any others. They made incredible music at all times and never fatigued me in the least no matter what front end I put together. Fun, musical, expressive, engaging....so many boxes checked who could ask for more. (This dummy)
Most stupid sale I feel I ever made. They are so rare and incredibly musical that to this day I can’t believe I let them go. Guess the merry-go-round made me think that there was so much more to experience.....
there’s a pic of them in my Evolution in progress system.
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2 Jensen Imperial Horns, 1 Jensen Imperial Sub. 1970, Made them from plans, a local cabinet maker had. He had 4 stacks of 1" marine plywood.
He cut the boards and sold them as kits or he'd put them together for a pretty stiff price.
Took most of my earning for a year, to buy the raw drivers, 3 Mac 30 Kits and traded an old HD 45 flathead that ran really good (when it ran), for a C11. It took a 1951 chevy 1/2 ton, two trips to move that system. LOL
A guy sold me a Thoren TD121 he brought back from oversees for 80.00 and a tune up on his Buick Skylark.
Man oh Man I was a 16 year old kid with a really cool stereo. Loved that system. 2 car garage EMPTY to fit those in. 35 or so speaker builds later, still love to whip up a pair of what ever I can dream up. Have speakers changed that much since then. LOL They took 7 sheets of 1" plywood, to build 3 speakers cabinets, you tell me.
Regard |
Recently my local audio dealer who is into vintage audio suggested I add a high efficiency speaker to my stable. I have a pair of Martin logan Summits and a pair of Green Mountain Audio C-3 HX .
He suggested looking at Klipsch heritage. I picked up a pair of Chorus II from craigslist... 101 dB efficient....Boy are these fun... Are they perfect..no. I noticed Danny Richie over at GR Reasearch recently did a significant mod to a pair of Klipsch Forte 3. You can see all the details over at audiocircle.. I am giving serious consideration to seeing how far I can reasonably take them with performance mods (crossover, cabinet bracing, etc).. These are party speakers that can rock out
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I find it interesting that the majority of these posts are past tense. |
The Totem Arro the way they respond to changes in the chain is like getting new speakers all over again. Their soundstaging and tone are first rate for any speaker at any price or size... |
