Topic: your current favorite speaker you heard or own. (Read 4857 times)

RexAeterna · « **on:** November 17, 2014, 01:35:05 PM »

I know this is mainly a headphone community and chat bout headphones but im more of speaker guy in a way and always were more interested in, interesting designed speakers.

What is considered the best or favorite and why?

Me, I heard plenty of good speakers from thiel, polk, altec lansing, b&w, delquist, infinity, cerwin vega, AR (acoustic reasearch), jbl, and pioneer but I still find the Technics SB7000A fascinating that I currently own.

Technics brand is looked down upon because in the USA they were owned and controlled by Panasonic. Actual technics stayed in japan and where most of their high-end were designed and marketed.

The technics sb7000a were mainly a Japanese speaker like of rest of their "phase linear" design speakers.

Anyhoo, before I rant too much.. while the sb phase linear series has interesting story, why are they my favorite? Simple, they sound really, really good and super smooth from top to bottom. Love the look and separate cab design too for each driver. Works really well. Have good smooth and pleasant high frequency extension, wonderful clean midrange, very good clean low end extension where I find no sub needed and such a coherent and percise imaging capabilities.So far my favorite speakers. There just special.

They're not perfect of course but very exceptional performance in my book. These are one pair of speakers that shows technics were capable of great things and, were capable in the high end speaker market.

I find them under-rated too but due to their rarity cause they were in the US market for short time and due to the "Technics" name they're pretty much brushed off. Pain too is, when you do find them, they're usually priced high and you usually find them with no working tweeters or the tweeters have been dislonged from the magnet and needs realignment, other drivers not working or ok condition or, has been replaced with cheap drivers. The original drivers are very well designed and sound very good if you find them working. I got lucky and found my pair in pristine condition and for insanely good price with the crossovers redone but I do understand not everyone that lucky.

Favorite speakers I heard that I don't own were a pair of delquist speakers. Forgot what model but they sounded really nice with the music the guy was playing. Really enjoyed them and could see myself not going for anymore speaker pursuits if they were my only pair.

So, what's yours?

kothganesh · « **Reply #1 on:** November 17, 2014, 01:43:53 PM »

When I lived in New Jersey, my favorite was the Cerwin-Vega. That is a speaker for rock, IMO. But I was a bit of basshead then. As I mellowed out, I took a liking to NHT which is more neutral than certainly to my pair of Cerwin Vegas. I owned bookshelf speakers and they were certainly sweet and mid-centric. When I move back to India, I sold them got a pair of NHT floor standers that I still use. Again, very neutral to my ears but the room I I listen to them is kind of bare so I need to dress it up a bit.

Hroðulf · « **Reply #2 on:** November 17, 2014, 02:29:34 PM »

From bookshelves - Kef LS50, from fullsizers - Linkwitz Lx521.

DaveBSC · « **Reply #3 on:** November 17, 2014, 06:02:58 PM »

It's a tough question. There are speakers that I really like for certain types of music and not others, and then there are speakers that are simply epic but I have no chance of ever owning because my last name is not Gates (Tidal Sunray, Rockport Arrakis etc.)

If you want to talk about rock, no speaker I've ever experienced rocks harder than the Egglestonworks Ivy, including many monsters that are considerably bigger and more expensive. Each Ivy packs SIX 12" woofers in an isobaric configuration (three inside the cabinet) for a total of twelve in a stereo setup. -4dB at 13 (yes thirteen) Hz, 76" high, 750lbs each. Like most Eggies they are not the most sophisticated speakers out there so for something like Kind Of Blue, I would recommend something else. If you just want to have fun though (and you have the space for them) Ivy is pretty much the king.

In terms of fit and finish, my favorite is Daedalus. Lou's woodworking is simply outstanding, and for the prices he charges, I don't think anybody else comes close. His speakers also sound really really good, but as pieces of furniture, they are unmatched.

At home in my own system though I have Talon Firebird Diamonds, which I was lucky enough to pick up for about 25% of their original cost, actually not that much more than the diamond tweeter upgrade was originally. Talon's history as a speaker builder is pretty rocky, but they got the Firebird right. Importantly it's small enough to actually fit in my room, and it does just about everything well - it can rock out like an Eggleston, and sing beautifully like a Rockport or Venture. Good stuff. Sadly I think the new and vastly more expensive Phoenix is a big step back, new management I think is to blame.

Thad E Ginathom · « **Reply #4 on:** November 17, 2014, 06:20:20 PM »

Quote from: Hroðulf on November 17, 2014, 02:29:34 PM

From bookshelves - Kef LS50

At a local hifi meet a year or three ago, various dealers demonstrated various speakers, and, for me, almost all of them sounded just wrong. Many were bass heavy, others, even with high price tags, just sounded rough. Some were huge, some were middle-sized, but, in terms of sound, a pair of LS50s stood head and shoulders above most of the rest for natural sound that was a pleasure to just listen to. I could sit and look at the colour all day, too!

Other favourites from meets were Genelecs: one time, a pair of mid-booshelf-size speakers with digital input and room-correction, and, another time, their tiny "laptop" speakers. Nothing that small has a right to sound so good. But nothing that small has a right to cost so much either

burnspbesq · « **Reply #5 on:** November 17, 2014, 06:35:28 PM »

I have three different sets of small bookshelf speakers: B&W 686 in the home office, PSB Imagine Mini in the office office, and Triangle Comete in the family room. The Triangles are the best of the lot, but if I could afford it I would replace them all with Harbeth P3ESR.

If someone gave me $50k and told me to go buy a new speaker-based system, I would probably end up with Magico S3. Great value at $18k/pair.

Mr.Sneis · « **Reply #6 on:** November 17, 2014, 07:34:49 PM »

I am a speaker novice but I have owned a few sets over the years. One of my first purchases was a pair of NHT Super Zero's for some insanely cheap price -- $40 or somewhere around that neighborhood. I don't ever want to give them up - they image insanely well for tiny ass speakers. Downside is they cannot do bass but that's what sub is for - same downside as most any other bookshelf speaker.

uncola · « **Reply #7 on:** November 17, 2014, 07:54:34 PM »

My favorite speakers are my Kef q900 floorstanders that I have in my home theatre. I like that I can turn off my subwoofer and the music still sounds the same

I also have a special sentimental place in my heart for Cambridge Soundworks computer speakers.. they were my first $100+ speakers and made pc gaming awesome. I still have them in a closet somewhere

Armaegis · « **Reply #8 on:** November 18, 2014, 01:55:19 AM »

Quote from: uncola on November 17, 2014, 07:54:34 PM

I also have a special sentimental place in my heart for Cambridge Soundworks computer speakers.. they were my first $100+ speakers and made pc gaming awesome. I still have them in a closet somewhere

I still have mine! I "upgraded" a few years ago to the Cambridge Soundworks Model Twelve but still have the Soundworks in storage if I ever need a backup system. I went through many other cheap 2.1 computer speakers over the years but none were up to snuff (though you can't really complain about a Logitech 5.1 system when it goes on sale for $40-50).

postjack · « **Reply #9 on:** November 18, 2014, 02:04:25 AM »

My favorite speakers I've heard are my Quad ESL-63 USA Monitors:

They lack the sub bass but make up for it with unreal midrange. I've really never heard midrange like these produce anywhere else. And although they aren't characteristically "rock" speakers, the midbass is actually amazing, but I generally love midbass from electrostatic headphones too.

Author Topic: your current favorite speaker you heard or own. (Read 4857 times)

RexAeterna

your current favorite speaker you heard or own.

kothganesh

Re: your current favorite speaker you heard or own.

Hroðulf

Re: your current favorite speaker you heard or own.

DaveBSC

Re: your current favorite speaker you heard or own.

Thad E Ginathom

Re: your current favorite speaker you heard or own.

burnspbesq

Re: your current favorite speaker you heard or own.

Mr.Sneis

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uncola

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Armaegis

Re: your current favorite speaker you heard or own.

postjack

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Author Topic: your current favorite speaker you heard or own. (Read 4857 times)