I actually have Black Max speakers - still....
I just happened to run across this post regarding Black Max speakers and got a big chuckle out of all the opinions that Black Max speakers are junk - from I suppose, individuals forming their expert opinions just from a photograph.
When I got my first good-paying summer job during college, my objective was to buy the best stereo system I could find at the end of the summer. At the time I lived in Lexington KY. After doing all the research I could (this was before the internet - 1978) and hitting every store in Lexington, I drove to Louisville and spent the day scouring every audio store in town. I happened across a place called Macdonald's Sound Goods, which seemed to have the best selection of high-end gear at the time. I had previously thought I had settled on a brand of speakers which I felt were the nirvana of speakers at the time - can't remember which brand it was now. BUT, I had made up my mind that I was going to buy the BEST-SOUNDING speakers I could find, regardless of brand.
This store (for the time) had an awesome listening room with about 15 pairs of high-end speakers set up so one could easily switch back and forth to easily compare, in an equal environment. Two of the pairs of speakers were Black Max speakers - the B30 and the B50. The ones in the photo in this thread are the B30's - they were the shorter of the two. The B50's were the top of the Black Max line and were about a foot taller than the 30's.
After about two hours of constant comparison, it was clear to me that the B50's had the smoothest, most balanced sound of anything that store (or any other store I had visited) had to offer. I was told by the sales staff that Black Max's were manufactured in Louisville - not that I cared. Nonetheless, the Black Max B50's were my ultimate choice, despite that fact that they cost more than I hoped to spend. But I wanted what sounded best.
So, that was 1978. Here it is 2011, and guess what speakers have NEVER gotten knocked out of my house - yep, my Black Max B50's. They sound as good today as they did they day I brought them home. And they've been moved back and forth to college dorms several times, then to several houses in Dayton, then several houses in Louisville, then to NC, and now back to Ohio. And, they weigh a ton. I've gone through several receivers, and actually have another pair of large speakers that I had for a different room in the house at one time. But nothing has ever compared sound-wise to my Black Max's.
And, since I'm a guitarist and a bass player, I've played them REALLY loud to play along with for long periods of time for let's see, 33 years.
So, for all you experts who on sight claim that they're junk, my experience would lead me to believe that's not quite the case. Many times I've gone to audio stores to check out the latest speakers, wondering if I'd find something to leapfrog them, but in 33 years have NOT.
I do remember that the B50's sounded better than the B30's (in the photo) - but the B30's weren't bad. I remember their primary selling point was that they had a perfectly flat response across the entire frequency range - no boominess and no tinniness - just a very smooth and rich sound that I've never gotten tired of to this day... And they have a rear-firing mid-range and a rear-firing tuned bass port that really seem to make a big difference in the width of the sound compared to all the other speakers that sounded boxy, comparatively.
Just thought I'd share the opinion of someone who actually has the brand compared to those who can judge quality from a photo... If something that sounds this good and has lasted for 33 years is junk, let me know what else compares...
Thanks...
