Your all time favorite loudspeakers

[Irvrobinson]

I've been wrestling with a pair of AR3a's for some time. Aside from their bass reach, I've always thought they were overrated. There were all kinds of interference effects because of the
haphazard driver layout, and the crossover didn't amount to much. I always thought they had kind of a gooey coloration with a general lack of transparency.

I agree. In fact, the list of "vintage" speakers that I was ever impressed with is very short, and none of the ARs were ever on it. My list would include:

- Quad ESL63 - an amazing accomplishment, if you could afford them and put up with their idiosyncrasies.
- Other ancient electrostatics, like the KLH 9 and the Acoustat, ditto on the caveats, especially their lack of ability to play loudly.
- Apogees, any of them, but particularly the Apogee Scintilla. They still compare well to most modern speakers.
- ADS L1530 and L1590. IMHO, in their day (the 1980s), the best-sounding box speakers I had heard in that decade.

Modern speakers blow old speakers away, IMO. I've never understood the fascination with vintage speakers. It reminds me of people who are fascinated by stock 1960s muscle cars - I don't get it.

 

[Dennis Murphy]

I certainly agree with your list. I would add the KLH 12, which was amazingly smooth, due in part to the two acoustic suspension midranges that were run full range and equalized in the
KLH table radio and their "suitcase" all-in-one phono player. I owned the KLH 5's for many, many years--they were the same as the 12's, but in a smaller (but still large) bookshelf cabinet. I loved those, although the midbass was a little boomy in that smaller cabinet. Far superior to the 3a's.

 

[sgtjim]

B & W Nautilus 804 (Recently purchased used and had to replace one tweeter). Best speaker I have ever heard/owned. I don't frequent audio shops because I would buy new diamonds if I heard them

My stuff:
Panasonic - VIERA / TCP55VT50
Emotiva XPA-5 X-Ref 12 sub
Denon 2807
Oppo BDP 93
B & W N804 Mains
B & W 603 Rear surrounds
B & W LCR 600 Center
ASW 600 sub
B & W CDS6 S3 rear heights

Be nice to add a signature...

 

[Irvrobinson]

I certainly agree with your list. I would add the KLH 12, which was amazingly smooth, due in part to the two acoustic suspension midranges that were run full range and equalized in the
KLH table radio and their "suitcase" all-in-one phono player. I owned the KLH 5's for many, many years--they were the same as the 12's, but in a smaller (but still large) bookshelf cabinet. I loved those, although the midbass was a little boomy in that smaller cabinet. Far superior to the 3a's.

I've never heard the KLH 12s, but I did own a KLH Twenty-One Table Radio until it stopped working. (I sold it for parts years ago.) My mother thought I was nuts when I brought it home, at least until I turned it on. My father told me I wasted my money. I've always figured I was switched at birth.

 

[PENG]

I've been wrestling with a pair of AR3a's for some time. Aside from their bass reach, I've always thought they were overrated. There were all kinds of interference effects because of the
haphazard driver layout, and the crossover didn't amount to much. I always thought they had kind of a gooey coloration with a general lack of transparency. They're sitting about 2 feet away from me now waiting for me to decide whether I want to finish restoring them to roughly stock condition, or design a proper crossover from scratch.

Have you heard the AR7 and the 6?. I thought the 7 was the best small book shelf I have ever heard and the AR6 has tighter bass than the 3a, but obviously won't hit as low.

 

[PENG]

I'm tempted, but I don't know whether there would be any resale market for such an altered product. Unfortunately, the tweeter domes have pretty much disintegrated and original relacements aren't available, so they would never be stock anyhow. Anybody want a cool 1960's looking speaker with a great woofer and an optimized crossover? Hello?

I want them, if you can restore them to equal or better than the stock SQ.

 

[fmw]

I don't have favorite speakers among those I haven't owned. Of those that I have owned, my favorites are the B&W 802 and the Klipschorn.

 

[Dennis Murphy]

I want them, if you can restore them to equal or better than the stock SQ.

Well, I'm sure I could do that. If you really would like to pursue this, PM me and I can give you details on the cabinet condition and we can discuss a possible price.

 

[ibrahimmohsin]

Very late to this thread, but the 50th anniversary Wilson Watt Puppy is probably my favourite ever. I'd only ever heard the gen 8 before this, and I thought it was amazing. The newer version outperformed by a lot, and I've always loved the designs Wilson comes up with. Put together a review if you wanted to check out my opinion.

 

[Mark of Cenla]

Polk RTi4's with my 8 inch Rockville subwoofer. Peace and goodwill.

 

[MrBoat]

I don't have an all time favorite, thankfully, but all the speakers I have now are, for some reason or another. Otherwise, I would get rid of them.

Thing is, I forget what the old favorites really sounded like if they aren't still around being played. I ran them into the ground, otherwise, and they were likely suffering from some kind of audible wear for some time by then so, I was usually relieved to replace them.

I like to think that what I am into currently is a culmination of all that past experience and that I have gotten better at this and as such, really would not find myself settling for less now.

I sure had a good time with my more notable speakers of the past but, that was pretty much compared to nothing. . .

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yes, obviously this thread is ancient. But the topic is always current.

I think most speakers sound good to most people, whether the speakers have a FR of +/-3dB or +/-6dB (B&W) or even +/-12dB (Wilson Audio).

So what makes the speaker our “all time favorite” or our “dream speaker”?

Not just the sound and not just the measurements. It’s the aesthetics.

Some people like the Robot aesthetics- the squarish Wilson Audio or Focal Utopias or the roundish B&W 800Ds. Kind of like how some people like squarish car aesthetics vs curvy roundish car aesthetics .

Some people like speakers that look like giant lamps (@Tankini) and other odd shape objects that remind other people of trash cans, coffins, etc.). All kinds of aesthetics.

The mind is a mystery.

 

[Mikado463]

Very late to this thread, but the 50th anniversary Wilson Watt Puppy is probably my favourite ever. I'd only ever heard the gen 8 before this, and I thought it was amazing. The newer version outperformed by a lot, and I've always loved the designs Wilson comes up with. Put together a review if you wanted to check out my opinion.

Interesting, those Wilson speakers always reminded me of a 50's era amusement park trash can........

As for my choice, I gotta go back 47 years to my Dahlquist DQ-10's or my Maggie MGIII's that replaced them 5 years later.

 

[wspohn]

Very late to this thread, but the 50th anniversary Wilson Watt Puppy is probably my favourite ever. I'd only ever heard the gen 8 before this, and I thought it was amazing. The newer version outperformed by a lot, and I've always loved the designs Wilson comes up with. Put together a review if you wanted to check out my opinion.

I have listened to the previous Watt Puppies and liked them. I prefer (and use) the larger Wilson Maxx 2s, and also use a rather rare one - Vandersteen 4As in anther system. Both are full range with excellent bass extension.

 

[Teetertotter?]

The current speakers I have now, are my all-time favorite. Are there any better under $700 for the pair, for my environment/room that is 8 X 10? See below signature. lol

 

[ibrahimmohsin]

Interesting, those Wilson speakers always reminded me of a 50's era amusement park trash can........

As for my choice, I gotta go back 47 years to my Dahlquist DQ-10's or my Maggie MGIII's that replaced them 5 years later.

lol yes a lot of people have told me the design sucks, but it just clicked for me.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

lol yes a lot of people have told me the design sucks, but it just clicked for me.

I think the B&W 800’s are the absolute best looking speakers in the world. Yet, many people think they are ugly. So we all love different aesthetics.

 

[dlaloum]

Favourites I have owned, and those I have auditioned and been impressed by:

Quad ESL, ESL63, ESL989 (and their later iterations/updates)
Boston Acoustics A400
Martin Logan CLS
Magneplanar 3.x

 

[DrMorbius]

Heard a Klipschorn setup with a tube amp in 1974 and was absolutely gobsmacked. Before I turned the corner I expected to see a string quartet in the store, playing away but instead I saw these two tower things that as I learned were actually where the music was coming from. This was a Hi Fi store in a strip mall in Biloxi Mississippi where I was stationed. I now have a 1978 pair of Klipschorns which I recapped with very high quality capacitors and am incredibly happy!

 

[dlaloum]

Heard a Klipschorn setup with a tube amp in 1974 and was absolutely gobsmacked. Before I turned the corner I expected to see a string quartet in the store, playing away but instead I saw these two tower things that as I learned were actually where the music was coming from. This was a Hi Fi store in a strip mall in Biloxi Mississippi where I was stationed. I now have a 1978 pair of Klipschorns which I recapped with very high quality capacitors and am incredibly happy!

I always wanted to try the Klipsch / Horn approach... and at one point I tried out a pair for Forte's for a while (going from ELS to Horn... ) but ultimately I found that exercise disappointing....

I had a suspicion that I needed to go to the LaScalla's or Klipschorns to achieve the desired magic - and pricing, space, availability all conspired against that experiment!

Tried the Forte's with various well regarded amps, but never managed to make them really sing.