Top 10 Most Influential Speakers of the last 50 years!

[JRT3]

While we are nit-picking an old article, what about the 50 years as a limit? Then the K-horns, originally offered by PWK in 1947, would be off... as well as the AR-1 & 3! We really owe a great debt of gratitude to both PWK & HK for their work. No telling how many AR-4X, cheesy EICO 3070 amps, and Garrard 50/Shure cartridge combo's I sold at Herbert Music in Auburn, AL in 1968 to my fellow Auburn U. students - definite 'baby boomers'. I bought my AR amp and turntable there @ 40% off as an employee - still have the turntable. I joined the USN 2/69 - out in 11/72 - back to AU, finally getting a pair of Large Advents, long gone now after several re-cones. Skip ahead by several decades to my most recent "Advent" replacements: NHT S1 2.1's! My latest find, a marriage of sorts of HK's acoustic suspension LF driver with the PWK K-horn's loaded compression horn MF & HF drivers - a nice pair of 1977-78 Heresys!

Gene, a belated thanks for your spot-on compilation.

 

[Brian King]

Always been partial to the Shahinian Obelisks.

 

[Bucknekked]

Being a newb to the forum, I am just discovering this thread. I have seen a lot of top 10 lists everywhere from David Letterman to the most obscure lists you've ever seen. They always provoke a little discussion. Somebody is always outraged. Alternates are suggested. Usually, most people enjoy the lists and the spirit is maintained.

I for one lived through all of those speaker fads/fashions. I thought the list was outstanding. For those who disagree, you should try it sometime. Putting the list together isn't all that tough. It requires thought, but usually a couple of days will do it. The real tough part comes when you publish it to an audience with expertise. Inevitably, if you have thin skin, you will feel shredded. Criticism will always flow and sometimes ruin your day. For those who would criticize Gene as the author for leaving out their favorite zoo animal, or for having the audacity (almost a pun) to include a member of "those peoples" stuff, just remember its entertainment. It didn't cost you a thing to read the list.

Keep up the good work Gene. I will not lose any sleep because you didn't include the Radio Shack Minimus 7. I am comfortably numb.

 

[JRT3]

I cannot believe you mentioned the RS Minimus 7! In my upstairs/over the garage spare/bonus room, aka "The room of gloom", there are remnants from many hobbies... including RS Minimus/Optimus 7 diecast speakers once used as external speakers for shortwave tabletop radios. Also in residence are my previous avr's and HT speakers - and subs. Then there are the over a hundred freight & passenger cars and 30-odd loco's - all G-scale mostly German made LGB. Even some Geiger counters! I need to list them on CL and evil-bay! Then I could buy a pair of 'Shahinian Obelisks'!!

 

[Bucknekked]

I cannot believe you mentioned the RS Minimus 7! In my upstairs/over the garage spare/bonus room, aka "The room of gloom", there are remnants from many hobbies... including RS Minimus/Optimus 7 diecast speakers once used as external speakers for shortwave tabletop radios. Also in residence are my previous avr's and HT speakers - and subs. Then there are the over a hundred freight & passenger cars and 30-odd loco's - all G-scale mostly German made LGB. Even some Geiger counters! I need to list them on CL and evil-bay! Then I could buy a pair of 'Shahinian Obelisks'!!

JRT3,
While nobody (at least nobody on this forum) would accuse the Radio Shack Minimus (or Optimus) 7 of sounding great, they sold them by the trailer truck load. I think if someone took a poll, they'd be hard pressed to find another speaker that sold as many units as the Radio Shack Minimus 7 (or Optimus if you wanted the deluxe version).

In the spirit of Gene's "most influential speakers" top 10, I think Radio Shack had a heck of an influence. It sold like hotcakes. If you look around, they are at garage sales, flea markets, truck stop restrooms, and other places of high audio standards around our fair country. Gene didn't say the speaker had to sound good to have an influence. He just said "top 10 influential speakers".

 

[sterling shoote]

Just wondering, will JBL produce a 50th Anniversary L100? What would it cost? I'd suspect about $4000 or $5000 for a pair.

 

[Art Vandelay]

JRT3,
In the spirit of Gene's "most influential speakers" top 10, I think Radio Shack had a heck of an influence. It sold like hotcakes. If you look around, they are at garage sales, flea markets, truck stop restrooms, and other places of high audio standards around our fair country. Gene didn't say the speaker had to sound good to have an influence. He just said "top 10 influential speakers".

I agree. The Minimus 7 was influential, in the sense that it tapped into a uncatered market where real demand existed, and consequently it provoked zillions of copies.

Actually, very few of the speakers in the list have been influential in the true sense. Arguably B&W were influential with their original 801F, which employed individual optimised enclosures for each drive unit in a vertical 3-way full bandwidth T-M-W array. Brands such as Kef and Wilson Audio certainly embraced many of the B&W design imperatives over the years, and many other brands have embraced a 3-way TMW array in one form or another. Also, B&W's focus on the importance of eliminating cabinet resonance is an imperative that's now shared with many other brands.

Also, along with Magnepan, B&W are the only brand listed that boasts a flagship that's truly an evolved version of its original flagship conception.

Probably the biggest failure in that list is the Bose 901. Regardless of design merits it's not proved to be a design that's been universally embraced.

 

[BuddTX]

What about the first major Internet Direct Speaker Company?

I do not know who that may be, but the concept of selling a speaker, without hearing it, is a wild concept. Who would have thought that would be a successful business model!

 

[Dave Blount]

I am somewhat amazed that Bose made it twice and Martin Logan NOT once ?????

 

[DmitriyM30]

Today, Audioholics goes over its top picks for the ten most influential speakers in the American hi-fi market over the last five decades. We'll take a trip down memory lane to look at classics from Acoustic Research, Advent, Bose, and Klipsch among others. We've also got a few speakers in mind that you might not anticipate. Of course, if we missed one of your favorites, make sure to chime in on our forums to let us know who you think deserves an honorable mention.

See: Top 10 Most Influential Speakers of the last 50 Years

Let us know your picks and why.

Over time, the sound became better or worse, what resulted in total savings component?

 

[RichB]

^
A redirect from Audioholics.ru

- Rich

 

[Bucknekked]

What about the first major Internet Direct Speaker Company?

I do not know who that may be, but the concept of selling a speaker, without hearing it, is a wild concept. Who would have thought that would be a successful business model!

Salk Audio, pioneered by Jim Salk, does it this way. No brick n mortar stores, no dealers, no showrooms.
I do not know how it will ultimately turn out, but so far, he's winning hearts and minds.

A couple of things set his business model apart from others. First off, he builds an excellent product based on current audio technology and innovative design. Second, his customer base is so pleased with their own purchases they act as spokesman and demo people for the brand. If you want to hear a Salk speaker, you send Jim a note and he will hook you up with an owner in your local area. You can arrange a very personal demo. Third, he has won over industry advocates like Audioholics and magazines that offer "product of the year" awards. He wins those nationally recognized groups over, and what comes of it is goodness.

As I said, in the long run, I don't know if it will work out. I also don't think a traditional gop-in-box speaker producer would be successful at this since their product may ultimately disappoint.

 

[Irvrobinson]

What about the first major Internet Direct Speaker Company?

I do not know who that may be, but the concept of selling a speaker, without hearing it, is a wild concept. Who would have thought that would be a successful business model!

The first company I'm aware of that had this business model was Legacy Audio. I believe their first volume model, the Focus, was introduced in 1992. I think I bought mine in 1995, or thereabouts. To make the offer more enticing they took trade-ins.

 

[Bucknekked]

The first company I'm aware of that had this business model was Legacy Audio. I believe their first volume model, the Focus, was introduced in 1992. I think I bought mine in 1995, or thereabouts. To make the offer more enticing they took trade-ins.

and so far, Legacy Audio seems to be doing pretty darned well. They were on my short list for my current speaker upgrade. The Legacy Studio HD was one of my early choices. They may have made the cut but I couldn't find anyone who personally was willing to stand up and give them some love or an audition. That's the downside of the internet only marketing plan. But Legacy looks like a great line of speakers

 

[shadyJ]

The first company I'm aware of that had this business model was Legacy Audio. I believe their first volume model, the Focus, was introduced in 1992. I think I bought mine in 1995, or thereabouts. To make the offer more enticing they took trade-ins.

"Internet Direct" is just another way of saying manufacture direct. I have to think there were manufacture direct speaker companies before Legacy, at least going back to the 60s. I just don't know the speaker landscape very well back then, but there had to be some outfits that did manufacture direct. I know that Hsu Research started out in 1991.

 

[Irvrobinson]

and so far, Legacy Audio seems to be doing pretty darned well. They were on my short list for my current speaker upgrade. The Legacy Studio HD was one of my early choices. They may have made the cut but I couldn't find anyone who personally was willing to stand up and give them some love or an audition. That's the downside of the internet only marketing plan. But Legacy looks like a great line of speakers

Legacy transitioned to a dealership model some time ago. Just looking at their web site, I don't see a way to buy direct.

 

[Irvrobinson]

"Internet Direct" is just another way of saying manufacture direct. I have to think there were manufacture direct speaker companies before Legacy, at least going back to the 60s. I just don't know the speaker landscape very well back then, but there had to be some outfits that did manufacture direct. I know that Hsu Research started out in 1991.

I didn't know Hsu went back that far. BuddTX asked about "major" companies, and Legacy was the only one I could think of. Hsu would qualify as major in some context. I can't think of any others, but I'm sure there were numerous direct sale small fries. Just going back that far, without the internet they would have had to advertise in magazines, which makes the contenders more obvious.

 

[Verdinut]

Thinking about another speaker which has been influential over the years and even until now, not because of its faithful reproduction, it's the Altec Lansing 755 Pancake 8 inch speaker.
It was developed by Western Electric in the 1940's but it has been selling on eBay in the recent years. I have seen them selling at prices as high as $1,500 each. They were selling for less than $40 in the 1950's !

Just because they had been designed by the Western Electric Company, which was the pioneering firm for the first speaking movies under the Westrex name, people have been attracted to that loudspeaker, which had actually been marketed for in-wall installations, but has never been considered as a real hi-fi transducer.

I am sure that some of you old fellows like me remember the product. It was also installed in some of the first Altec bookshelf enclosures which were selling in the early 1960's, the Lido's.

 

[Echolane]

I’m surprised and disappointed that the Quad ESL-63s were not among your selections. They qualify by date of introduction and certainly by quality and relative uniqueness. Why did you decide to leave then out?

 

[TLS Guy]

I too had an issue with Thiel being on the list. I probably would have included the Quad ESL.

Irv you beat me to it.

Surely the Quad ESL 57 has to get the top billing.

Prior to the introduction of the Quad ESL speakers were pretty much universally crude ghastly affairs. I was there at the first outing of the Quad ESL at the 1957 Audio Fair at the Hotel Russel. To say that the speaker sent shock waves through the industry is an under statement. You see the speaker was far more tonally accurate than any speaker produced to that date, and by a big margin. No one knew what possible improvements could be made. Speaker manufacturers were afraid all speakers would be Quad.

The result was that speaker manufacturers put serious resources into R & D to up their game for the first time. The investment was substantial. One of the first achievements was the Thiel/Small publication and the development of accurate mathematical modelling of speakers. This was heavily supported by KEF.

That speaker really set the ball rolling for the rapid improvement in speaker development by showing that accurate reproduction was possible.

The fact that electrostatic speakers have not had major market penetration is irrelevant. That speaker, which is highly accurate, threw down a massive gauntlet. Truly is it was of the major landmarks on the way to high fidelity reproduction. It guaranteed Peter Walker's place among the truly great pioneers of high fidelity.