CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Lobby => Speakers => Topic started by: 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?
-
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.
-
From bookshelves - Kef LS50, from fullsizers - Linkwitz Lx521.
-
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.
(http://d2heru13qkbk4q.cloudfront.net/media/742984/scaled/MVC-001F.JPG)
-
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! :)p13
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 :-0
-
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.
-
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.
-
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 :)
(http://www.stassen.nl/images/kef_q900_2.jpg)
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
(https://webshop.cashconverters.com.au/thumbnail/850x520/1550863-cambridge-soundworks-pc-speakers-0.jpg)
-
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).
-
My favorite speakers I've heard are my Quad ESL-63 USA Monitors:
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-4K1Qv1JOBf0/VEBV1o6A_0I/AAAAAAAAHQs/74rJSHIfAqg/w1153-h865-no/IMG_20141016_183308.jpg)
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.
-
love it. driven by Rega electronics as well. how appro-pirate.
-
love it. driven by Rega electronics as well. how appro-pirate.
that's probably about to change, unfortunately the Brio-R has developed a slight buzzing in one of the channels, and the Apollo likes to stop playing discs after a few tracks.
looking to pickup a couple of Outlaw 2200 monoblocks. I've read about them for years and really want to hear them with my own ears. would also be really convenient, as my headphone rig with recently acquired Oppo HA-1 is across the room, so I could run XLRs and use the HA-1 as a preamp.
The 2200s would be way overkill considering I'm basically listening in nearfield, but honestly their form factor will fit perfectly on top of the vinyl crates (the crates are only 13.75" deep) and the price is right. Hard to see in the picture but even the Brio-R hangs off the front a tiny bit.
-
Those old Quads can get down right spooky/scary if fed correctly.
Especially if/when the very low bass is not fed to them but is sent to a suitable woofer.
Their power handling (read, dynamic range) increases considerably… :)p1
JJ :thumb
-
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).
Yea, I remember picking up pair of Logitech 5.1 surround sound set for like 70 bucks at walmart and actually thought they were not that bad when I tried them. Even tried several surround sound headphones at the time. Only one I found not too bad was the turtle beach hpa2 (or something) 5.1...I don't know but, were only one I thought that wasn't too bad. But yea, Logitech was pretty decent in my pc gaming days.
-
I would like to say I like the Polk Monitor 10s a lot too. My pair has the infamous sl2000 tweeters but they sound good to me. Will one day try to get pair peerless, rdo14/18, or sl2500 tweeters to see if they're any improvement but for now they sound great to me. The original monitor series from the 70's-80's is under the radar and under rated for some reason. The newer monitor series for HT uses the same "monitor" name but not anywhere near the same as the older ones.
I think cause most monitor speakers and even sda series use that infamous silver coil dome tweeter so people tend to blow them off...ohh well, more for me :)
Now..the Polk Monitor 10s I like cause they are very fluid with good air extension, very good imaging and resolving ability,good resolution, clean/clear midrange and they have very surprising low end extension that is very clean. Still get surprised by them when playing a game or listening certain music. The 10" passive drivers must do their job well cause these do have a surprising bass response. Overall I find them very good.
-
I own a couple sets of speakers that I really enjoy.
My first "higher end" speakers were the Infinity Modulus mini monitors and servo subwoofer:
(http://mitate-recycle.com/yahoo_auction_img/infinity-modulus-02.jpg)
At the time, in the late 90's, these speakers were $1000 and the active sub was $2000 more. I still have these speakers and they are still amazing speakers.
From there I moved up to a complete Mark Levinson Cello system. The speakers were $18,000 a pair back in 1995, I sold most of it but I still have the Cello Stradivari Premiere speakers in my living room.
(http://usr.audioasylum.com/images/1/18578/Premiere_p.jpg)
They're super heavy speakers, 260lbs. each. But I absolutely LOVE the sound. I had to re-foam the woofers, but other than that they work perfectly. I am waiting for my Rag to return so I can try it out with the Infinity's and the Cello's.
For current speakers, I really like the Acoustic Zen speakers. They seem to really outperform speakers that cost many times more. Their Crescendo speakers are not cheap ($18,000), but they are amazing especially for their size:
(http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue69/images/AZ_Crescendo_Mappa_burl.jpg)
We hooked the Rag up to their Maestro model ($43,000). It was pretty incredible. That would be my dream system if I had the money.
-
(http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/raidho/04.jpg)
Raidho D1 really stunned me at RMAF2014. Delicate highs, fantastic imaging, and thunderous bass from such small stand mounted bookshelves. Crazy. Unfortunately they are way out of my price range at $28k retail.
Other favorites include the Linkwitz LXmini which are pretty cheap and do lots of things very well. I also really liked the Salk Songtower RTs (ribbon tweeter option) at ~$2600.
I'm currently building a pair of Amiga DIY kit speakers for my mother. I have no idea how they will sound, but they should sound good at least.
-
I was impressed by the Raidho D1 even filtered through a youtube video
http://youtu.be/sFwW7tNghyI
http://youtu.be/HkBF-LeW9ek
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMZQlxEyeKk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWbpgHNXzgs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbR98mePKe4
I wish I owned these though:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br3TR5OG5aw
http://youtu.be/jRFMPlrti_I?t=9m15s
-
I have next to no experience in higher end speakers compared to others here, so my preferences are probably going to develop once i get to hear more stuff.
So far nothing has beaten Genelec monitors as a whole package for me. These were 8260A-s. I have the 8050A-s that are quite close in performance. Some others i've heard have more natural tone and/or softer highs, though. And still nothing beats bass driver cone area.
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMZQlxEyeKk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWbpgHNXzgs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbR98mePKe4
I wish I owned these though:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br3TR5OG5aw
http://youtu.be/jRFMPlrti_I?t=9m15s
Jbls! What's giant one on the bottom.
I always wanted pair of older jbl monitors. I actually have pair of great condition jbl 4410s locally available for trade. I feel tempted to message him to make an offer.
-
I really really like speakers from the current lineup by Marten Design from sweden.
https://www.marten.se/
I basically built a system around EAR electronics (EAR 868, EAR 890 monoblocks, EAR 324, EAR Dacute) and the Marten Speakers just worked like magic with them. They have a sense of humanity and realism that is uncanny. The newest Accuton diamond tweeters and latest Accuton ceramic drivers in the current version of their speakers have elevated performance to levels I just never imagined. Anyhow, I've been around the block with speakers now. Many owned, many experienced intimately through good audio buddies. Single Driver, electrostatics, Multi Drivers from all sorts of brands (Magico, Wilsons, Venture Audio, B&W, Estelons, Focal, MBL the list goes on...).
There is always better out there. However, coming into a realization that "harmony" and "synergy" within components, yourself, your mind set, your life, your family, your childhood, your bringing up and even your mental being form a mind map for you as a listener... a being who is an individual with a unique listening taste purpose built for YOU. Heck, even our ear canal shapes are different...we all just hear things differently. So what sounds good to me, might not be the right audio food for another mind.
Anyways, its late at night and enough of my philosophy...there is wrong. There is right. Then there is what is right for you.
I believe strictly in the third. If I like the sound of a Kazoo...well damn it, that is what I like! No one can judge you for that.
Here are the Kazoo's I have fallen in love with and own because when they speak through music, they speak to me and nothing else matters. Completely different kind of speakers, totally different sound but equally amazing at digging out an all emotional listening response that really grabs your soul and throws it into the ethereal...
Marten Design Bird 2 speakers:
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8659/15907284387_e3beab3403_b.jpg)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3750/10241204154_579c380fca_b.jpg)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3880/14657206806_da490b6cb2_b.jpg)
Blumenstein Naga:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7558/16200962331_6391166744_b.jpg)
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8575/16202026142_c1a6faeafc_b.jpg)
-
Literally everything made by Legacy Audio blows me away. The FOCUS SE was a life changing experience for me. I now aspire to own whatever Bill Duddleston's current flagship is. In this case, the AERIS:
(http://legacyaudio.com/images/made/images/uploads/products/Legacy_Audio_Aeris_Speaker_High_End_Golden_Ear_Award_Winning_434_476.jpg)
http://legacyaudio.com/products/view/aeris/
-
I've been a speaker junky for a long time but my area of specialty has been upper end vintage, second hand. To support my habit I started a brisk trade in buying and flipping second hand vintage gear in the Seattle area several years ago. I contemplated actually starting a brick and mortar store around the idea for awhile. I had to move to the coast where such things weren't quite as available and that's tamed this particular obsession. And still I managed to float through a couple different pair of vintage Polk, Infinity Kappa, and lovely pair of Yamaha NS-690 (the studio monitor version, with a triple set of binding posts).
I really like Vandersteen as a company. Their 2C series is so good that I've owned them twice and their prices have made me question if they aren't in fact the point of diminishing returns. They just seem to do everything right... beyond possibly aesthetics and being particularly finicky about proper room placement.
I've owned a bunch of Dahlquist and Snell too. The DQ-20i had beautiful mids and uppers but really needed a sub to make it a full range experience. The Snell Type A/III"i" (improved/modded) were beautiful in flame maple and staged like you really were in a concert hall... but they weren't my favorite Snells. The smaller Type E/II (owned twice) with it's extra rear firing tweeter and modest size made it much more enjoyable experience in typically sized living rooms. The Type J/IV were a very neat speaker. Trading them for some AKG K701 and an amp got me into headphones but I missed those speakers more than I had thought I would and ended up paying cash to have them back a couple of years later. A DIY single driver solution of a similar size and character put them back on the "for sale" list again and I wish them well.
I also had a passion for vintage AR, specifically the Teledyne era, and have owned many different models. The speaker I still wish I had? The original Teledyne AR9. The AR9LSi came close but just didn't quite have that same ability to go from airy violins to tight, chunky bass like the Titanic sinking into the depths of the abyss, without ever sounding anything other than supremely capable. Some day I may try to remake this this speaker from a DIY start.
Then I got into dipoles and had a love/hate relationship with a few different models of Magnepans and ended up living with a pair of Martin Logan SL3, which might have kept me happy for awhile but at the time I didn't really have a large enough listening room to let them blossom... and the DIY bug had already planted eggs in my brain.
Since then, a couple thousand dollars worth of woodshop equipment and trial and error I now live happily with a pair of modest two way dipole based on 18" pro woofers in "H Frame" baffles and 8" Audio Nirvana Super Eight full rangers in simple baffles on top. A miniDSP 2x4 handles the crossover duties. These are my third build around just the Super Eights and perhaps my last. I'm not done with DIY yet although when I sit down for a good listen I often forget any ideas of somehow improving upon their sound. I would like to hear (and maybe build) a pair of Linkwitz LX521, the Orion, or something very similar in design.
One of the best speakers I ever heard (in a room, with XYZ up stream)? I once heard a phenomenal vinyl setup (probably $30K in turn table, pre and amps) playing Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon through a pair of Focal Chorus 836V, in an absolutely excellent room. It made my jaw drop and heavily contributed to a revived vinyl habit that I'm currently in recovery from.
Part of the collection I had in 2009:
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/538/LrwOvQ.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/eyLrwOvQj)
The Teledyne AR9 (I wish I had never gotten rid of!):
(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/908/5MULsL.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/p85MULsLj)
The ugly DIY dipoles I love to pieces now (I tell people they are a "prototype" and not worth working on serious aesthetics yet):
(http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g163/oktyabr/H_frames/th_100_4005_zps59b2cf73.jpg) (http://s56.photobucket.com/user/oktyabr/media/H_frames/100_4005_zps59b2cf73.jpg.html)
-
My favorite speakers are Danish, for the most part: GamuT and Dynaudio. My favorite floorstanders are the Dynaudio Confidence C2 MkIIs, but I also like the Dynaudio I own, the Contour S3.4 very much as well. They are very neutral, but musical and never fatiguing. They are also amazingly fast, almost Quad-like, but have much more dynamic slam than Quads. They can play full-out orchestral passages and go from piano to fortissimo incredibly quickly and never even hint of break-up.
The other speaker I like very much are Harbeth 30.1s, which are very transparent and have an astonishingly beautiful midrange.
I agree tthat Quad ESL-63s, when properly set up, and with a proper sub (the best setup I've heard used a Swedish open baffle sub) and driven with quality electronics, can be amazing.
-
I love my Polk 45b's and Velodyne sub.
The sub is sitting on mdf with thick foam pads from Lowes', with about 50lbs (a cinder block and two paving tiles) of dead-weight to push it down into said foam.
The bass sounds extremely accurate
-
Father is a Focal fanboy through and through.
-
Hello, all... first post.
Favorite speakers owned:
1. Maggies, Maggies, Maggies... MG12s, to be exact.
I love me some planar magnetics, whether attached to my head, or not.
2. Joseph Audio RM7si
Excellent small floorstanding boxes – my 'public instruments' of choice until dipoles won me over.
walk the plank
(http://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/307jos.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pBY1Ucmlh_4/TaMgqnc9wPI/AAAAAAAACzA/hy5DFyh3CH4/s320/814236203_bT4xY-XL.jpg)
-
Hi, all when I try to attach photos it leaves img img in brackets??
Also is there a way to get to the last post directly rather than scrolling down?