Which brand makes the best quality loudspeakers?

[CajunLB]

No love for Pyle ? Lol

 

[davidscott]

No love for Pyle ? Lol

Or Ultralinear? JBL knockoffs neither Ultra nor linear sold back in the late 70s early 80s. Sorry I am dating myself.

 

[CajunLB]

I’ve seen jbc and jdl bookshelf speakers sold a few “vendors “ down from someone selling Romex watches at a traveling swap meet/ electronic expo years ago.

 

[sterling shoote]

This is a fun thread for sure yet thinking critically, wouldn't an informed opinion require some experience with every concept from every speaker brand out there? Now, since that's not going to happen, all we can do is voice an opinion for what we have experienced and I believe for most of us what we've heard barely scratches the surface of what's out there. So far, I've been most impressed by the JBL L200, a speaker produced about 45 years ago. I could not afford them then, and I cannot afford a used pair today. The speakers from JBL today which pick up where the L200's and L300's left off is the 4367 at about $15,000 a pair. I certainly cannot afford those unless I refinanced my home. Hmmmm?

 

[Art Vandelay]

B&W makes the worst speakers I've seen, consistently, yet scored the highest in this poll.

Since the D800 series they've engineered a slight suckout around 2kHz which makes them sound slightly polite in the mids, which tends to suit classical music, along with the way that classical music is typically recorded.
House sound aside though they are cutting edge in terms of driver and enclosure performance. I'm sure they would sound close to identical to Revel's if they were redesigned using the same design rules and principles, but you could argue that it wouldn't make sense for all manufacturers to roll out speakers that all sounded the same.

 

[davidscott]

Since the D800 series they've engineered a slight suckout around 2kHz which makes them sound slightly polite in the mids, which tends to suit classical music, along with the way that classical music is typically recorded.
House sound aside though they are cutting edge in terms of driver and enclosure performance. I'm sure they would sound close to identical to Revel's if they were redesigned using the same design rules and principles, but you could argue that it wouldn't make sense for all manufacturers to roll out speakers that all sounded the same.

Love the name. Does George know you are using it?

 

[CHEF_Canada]

No love for Pyle ? Lol

 

[Kingnoob]

I'm not a fan of B&W but they do make some excellent-sounding speakers. Every company has their own best and worst. I never cared for the looks of B&W's 800 series, but they sound great.

/all comes down to preference , most brands you cannot hear there only online like chane audio ar7x.
I fear they are just too expensive and when I listed to them at bestbuy I was not impressed. The false electro static’s with a woofer on bottom Martin Logan’s were better imo .
I’ve not even heard enough different brands to say what my preference is ... tbh

Ultimate bass lover !! si ht15 dvc.
Free the reptile aliens

 

[Mikado463]

The false electro static’s with a woofer on bottom Martin Logan’s were better imo .

Ok, I give up, what's a 'false electrostatic' ?

 

[pcosmic]

Looking at the rest of the lousy lot, my vote went to JBL/Revel (naturally and by sheer basic principle).
However, It's a shame that ELAC isn't on the list for a vote, but, lamea*s Polk (lousy Polka Polka) and ear bleed hurtbox Klipsch got in somehow.

 

[Truthslayer]

Maybe Gene should be asking who makes the best drivers.

 

[everettT]

Looking at the rest of the lousy lot, my vote went to JBL/Revel (naturally and by sheer basic principle).
However, It's a shame that ELAC isn't on the list for a vote, but, lamea*s Polk (lousy Polka Polka) and ear bleed hurtbox Klipsch got in somehow.

At the time Elac didn't have nearly a large enough of a footprint in the US. There could a bunch more added, but this what was going on at the time.

 

[Sleqzypig]

This could probably be ugly in here since nobody agrees on speakers. I currently own a Klipsch 5.1.2 setup so I guess that is what I am partial to at this time. I liked the price and the high detail in the horns.

 

[Truthslayer]

This could probably be ugly in here since nobody agrees on speakers. I currently own a Klipsch 5.1.2 setup so I guess that is what I am partial to at this time. I liked the price and the high detail in the horns.

Nothing wrong with horns if done right, they have come along way.That's the great thing about capitalism, gives us the opportunity to have lots of options to choose from. Plus the ability to afford it. We all seem to hear things just a little bit differently. And we have so many options on the market today, anybody should be able to find something that meets their needs. Still, it's always a good idea to have your ears flushed every few years. As my ear, nose and throat doc says, doesn't matter how well you clean them, dead skin will still build up and effect your hearing.

 

[CoryW]

We'd like to get your opinion on who you feel makes the best built and best sounding loudspeakers in consumer audio. Your opinion should be based primarily on sound quality followed by build quality and durability. This choice should be based on the overall product line of a particular company and not just one or two products that may excel.

If you find a particular brand on this list lacking, please indicate why.

Give us reasons why you chose a particular brand or why you feel that particular brand shines above the others on this list. If your brand isn't listed here (sorry only 10 polling options allowed), please post the brand name in the thread along with your experiences.

RBH all the way. I have loved my us made JBL, KEF, Mission, Infinity. Since I found older RBH speakers locally, I have moved through their entry MC models, and now all reference. They are stunning. Looking at the cabinet internals, they are built like a safe. I love em.

 

[Mikado463]

Nothing wrong with horns if done right, they have come along way.That's the great thing about capitalism, gives us the opportunity to have lots of options to choose from. Plus the ability to afford it. We all seem to hear things just a little bit differently. And we have so many options on the market today, anybody should be able to find something that meets their needs. Still, it's always a good idea to have your ears flushed every few years. As my ear, nose and throat doc says, doesn't matter how well you clean them, dead skin will still build up and effect your hearing.

I've heard some mighty fine sound coming from the likes of Avant garde speakers over the years, they love being driven by tubes and in large listening rooms

 

[Truthslayer]

I've heard some mighty fine sound coming from the likes of Avant garde speakers over the years, they love being driven by tubes and in large listening rooms

Agreed, they can create a huge soundstage. If people haven't heard them, they just don't know what their missing out on.

 

[revrob57]

My favorites speakers aren't listed. But my previous all time favorites were the Salk Audio HT3 full range speakers with a ribbon tweeter. My recent purchase of the Canton Reference 3 DC purchased from A4L are my new favorite. Truly a reference speakers to truly build a high end 2 channel audiophile system around. My last speaker.

 

[Pogre]

Since the D800 series they've engineered a slight suckout around 2kHz which makes them sound slightly polite in the mids, which tends to suit classical music, along with the way that classical music is typically recorded.
House sound aside though they are cutting edge in terms of driver and enclosure performance. I'm sure they would sound close to identical to Revel's if they were redesigned using the same design rules and principles, but you could argue that it wouldn't make sense for all manufacturers to roll out speakers that all sounded the same.

I've never been impressed with B&W speakers until I got to listen to a pair of 802D3s (powered by a stack of fancy McIntosh gear) a while back and they're still the best speakers I've heard. True full range speakers that don't need a subwoofer. Outside of those every one (B&W speaker) I've heard sounds lacking, I'm sure due to the engineered suckout you mentioned. Those D3s tho, phew. Awesome speakers. Way outside my budget, but they sounded very, very good.

 

[TitaniumTroy]

Magnepan, though not on the list gives a lot of bang for your buck, in highly detailed sound. With the unique sound of dipole bass and ribbon tweeters, however they do have some limitations. Which why I replaced my Magnepan 3.6s with JBL 4367s which is based off the M2 Project.

However before you think these two way horn speakers, have a studio sound from the eighties because of their outward appearance, think again. JBL and Harmon put their latest technology into the optimizing the horn so it has a wide open sound, with no honking. Plus the 15' dual drive woofer and it's 130lbs cabinet can really put out some bass if needed without the old JBL colored sound.

I've heard a lot of various expensive speakers over the years, this speaker would match or beat most of them. I've seen other owners say the same thing one was on the Audiophilac youtube channel with a modified M2 design. Also no ringing tweeters, it uses two annular tweets in a compression driver, which has incredible dynamics, and can play very loud with very low distortion.