Which speakers did you find bright, fatiguing or just disappointing in some way?

Anybody remember Speaker Lab? They made DIY speaker kits. Their top-of-the-line model was called the Model K. It was a giant corner horn speaker modeled after the Klipshorn. A buddy of mine had four of them, one in each corner of his 10x12 bedroom and driven by a Phase Linear 400 watt amp. I don’t know if they were fatiguing or not. I couldn’t stand to stay in there long enough to find out. If the room is rockin’, don’t bother knockin’.

Speakerlab used to be here in the Roosevelt neighborhood of Seattle. Back then Speakerlab, Hawthorne, Magnolia and Definitive were all on the same street well within a hundred yards of each other. From DIY and quality budget to mid- and high-end we had it all within easy walking distance. Those were the days!  

The crazy part was that on any given trip it was a toss-up who would have the best most engaging system. Speakerlab was generally the biggest bang for the buck, but not always, especially not if you like to listen deep into the recording. But they were good, and loud, and had some cool ideas like mounting a sub in a floor or wall, turning the whole room into a speaker baffle and generating some pretty darn deep powerful bass in the process!  

Their space is still there with the same blue awning, just no more Speakerlab. Magnolia too is gone. Only Hawthorne, with it's eclectic mix of new and used turntables and systems geared to millennials listening to small systems in dual use rooms and apartments. Definitive is a ghost operation, specializing in Microserf and Goolag millionaires who would rather pay a so-called advisor expert than have to actually learn a thing or two about anything, let alone learn to (shudder!) listen. 

A very sad situation. Years ago before Stewart Marcantoni retired he seemed to specialize in replacing complete six figure systems these guys had bought only to learn the hard way that Levinson and Wilson are unlistenable. Stewart told me at one point he sold 6 complete six figure systems to customers who replaced entirely everything they had bought from Definitive. In one month. 

Don't know what happened to Speakerlab. Or Magnolia either, for that matter. On any given trip you were more likely to find good speakers at either of those than at Definitive. Another one to throw on the pile of things I will probably never understand.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a speaker you can turn right up and continue enjoying clean pristine treble?

Is there even such a thing?

There is. Unfortunately very hard to find. Fast as they build em, fanboys snap em up.

In my home? Well the worst by far was JBL L7. This was back around '90 or '91. They didn't last long. Very hard on the ears. The day I sold them, after getting used to their replacement, the JBL were like an ice pick in my ears. Can't believe I ever liked that JBL sound.

Next worst one in my home were Von Schweikerts. Forget the model, but they were highly hyped at the time. By hype I mean reputation far exceeds performance. They were okay, but rather drab, like everything was there, except life and vitality. Not the best detail either. Not fatiguing though, not that I recall. Just disappointing. Heck even the cabinet construction was disappointing. Oh well.

Never heard Wilson in my home. But you hear them so many other places, hooked up to so much other stuff, after a couple decades I just don't need to get them in my room to know they will be a disappointment. Any of them. All of them.