Why do you like your speakers?

[s dog]

I like my klipschs speakers because there easy to drive and sound loud and clear for movies.

[Monkey Mouse]

I have Paradigm Minimonitors (v3 I guess) that I picked up in 2001 along with the matching center channel and bought a pair of wall mounted mini Paradigms for the rear surrounds about 2 years ago - cinema series I believe. I like the sound on HT - it works well with my old but bulletproof Kenwood HT receiver. 2 channel leaves lots to be desired - all becuase of the electronics.

However, we gave my dad a pair of Minimonitors (v4) along with a Rotel integrated amp for Christmas and they are impressive with good electronics. Just need to get the right cables and he should be good as gold.

[Seas-man]

I like my Tylers because they make me smile everytime I remember that I could just have easily spent two ,three or four times more..(think..Von Schweikert, Wilson, Magico.etc...) to have the quality of reproduction that I now enjoy....
I also like to laugh,too...all the way to the bank.

[emaidel]

This is a pretty old thread that I somehow missed. So, I have to chime in with my opinion.

Surprisingly (at least, to me) no one has yet mentioned the legendary Dahlquist DQ-10's, which are my speakers of choice. The DQ-10, when fed the proper diet of power and current, and placed properly from a wall and the listener, still provides a miraculously deep and precise soundstage with pin-point imaging of just about everything. To all but "see" the various members of a chorus spread from the sopranos on the left, the altos left of center, the tenors right of center, and the basses on the right, and to be able to precisely locate the depth and breadth of each section is still an amazing accomplishment my far more expensive B&W 802F Specials simply cannot duplicate. The 10's are decidedly bass shy and must be accompanied by a decent subwoofer (preferably not the Dahlquist DQ-1W). but that combination, even now some 31 years after my initial purchase of my DQ-10's, continues to provide me with hours of sonic delights.

The 10's sold for $500 each (plus $100 for each of the stands) when I initially bought them, and prior to being discontinued, went up to $750 each. Every once in a while, Regnar (a facility manned almost exclusively by ex-Dahlquist employees) offers a completely reconditioned and up-graded pair of 10's for $1,500. There are better speakers out there for sure, but not at that price!

[Sansui71]

Okay, for all of us that can't, or won't spend the money, on high end or even middle of the road, I have a pair of Sansui's, that I have had for close to thirty years. I treat them well, and they respond in kind. 3 way 5 speaker, at 100w peak. My surrounds are Kenwood. I guess that I would have to listen to the Paradigm, or Magneplanars, to be able to hear what you guys are raving so about. But for me, these will do for now. Pics posted on the phot gallery...

[shokhead]

Like what speakers do you have{B&W}, why did you choose that particular speaker{i liked them} or set (incl swfrs). What need did you have that they filled?{hearing what comes from my DVD player and my receiver} Like what was right for you about your speakers that made them right for youI liked them}. Also are you upgrading?{Only for freebies}

[cjjuggler]

I have had many different speakers, and have come back to the 149's because they are so smooth through the 60-15000 hz range.

[theebadone]

I guess you could call me old school. I listened to a lot of different speakers and amps. And i chose the old bigg Altecs with horns. I chose a nice set of Altec santiagos 878A being pushed by a mcintosh amp from the same time period the speakers were made. For system 1. For my backup system i chose to build a set of A7 votts, that are also being powered by a vintage mcintosh system. I chose the horns and big woofers because of the huge soundstage they present, To my ears these systems are the next best thing to being there, that i have ever heard.

[dakatabg]

I buy and sell speakers and electronics and so far the best speakers I have had are Scott! They are amazing, deep bass and great highs. I still have them and I am not planning to get rid of them soon! Too bad they don't make them anymore!

[JoeE SP9]

Since you guys revived this thread!
See my signature for my speaker choice. Electrostatic speakers have no crossovers. Although I bi-amp, the crossover frequency is 85Hz. This gets it away from the all important midrange. With no crossovers you have none of the phase angle, time distortion and different radiation pattern problems inherent with any multi driver speaker. In essence, no crossover is better than any crossover. Ideally I would have ESL's that are large/good enough to not need sub woofers.
In addition the only speakers with less moving mass than ESL's are plasma speakers. Lower moving mass means better transient response which means cleaner clearer and yes, faster sound.

[poppachubby]

Funny, a newbie resurrects a wicked old thread. AR is my first and only forum I've belonged to. Where do all of the people go who belonged here for years? Seems strange to me to put in so much time and then split.

Anyhow, aside from a general concensus from hardcore audiophiles that they suck, I do love my JBL L110's. For JBL fans they are a sought after pair, for my ears lots of fun. My Avants are vintage, a poor man's Dynaco. A good all around 10 inch.

Speaking of which, I think a solid pair of Dynaco A25 or 70 will be the end of the road for me. I let a pair of A25 slip through my hands recently, just didn't have the cash. I'm old school like that, plus, they just have that nice, natural tone that won't fatigue.

[Worf101]

But the Platinum Audio Studio 3's in my original post are now in the basement. I scored a set of ADS 1290's for $300 dollars and a 5 hour round trip to Jersey. I wanted a set of mains that I could run in 2 channel and not need a sub. With twin 8s in each cabinet these speaks provide deep un aided bass for pure audio mode and rock in HT as well. System must do double duty and these fill the bill.

Da Worfster

[pixelthis]

Funny, a newbie resurrects a wicked old thread. AR is my first and only forum I've belonged to. Where do all of the people go who belonged here for years? Seems strange to me to put in so much time and then split.

Anyhow, aside from a general concensus from hardcore audiophiles that they suck, I do love my JBL L110's. For JBL fans they are a sought after pair, for my ears lots of fun. My Avants are vintage, a poor man's Dynaco. A good all around 10 inch.

Speaking of which, I think a solid pair of Dynaco A25 or 70 will be the end of the road for me. I let a pair of A25 slip through my hands recently, just didn't have the cash. I'm old school like that, plus, they just have that nice, natural tone that won't fatigue.

JBL was it back in the day, and they still make some nice (expensive) stuff.
True story, I found a used JBL sub on the "clearance" table(you bought it its yours)
for a hundred bucks at Sears, and that was one of the best subs I have ever had.
Me and a friend traded it back and forth, losing it in bets, etc.
Took a 1,000 B&W sub to replace it, great piece of kit as the BRITS say.

[pixelthis]

AND WHY DO I "like" my speakers?
They reignited my love of music, beat out a lot of speakers costing a lot more, image and
resolve music like nobodies business, go down under 50hz, unreal for a sub 600 buck bookshelf, still look and sound new after eight or so years.
They are the 602s'2, with the Natilus tweeter, the poor audiophiles speaker.
Main drawback, they look funny in the front with my floorstanders doing surround duty(b&w 305b's).
But hey, music sounds like angels wings with them.

[dakatabg]

I don't like the new generation speakers! They make them with 8" woofers and have a big lack of bass - I don't like that! I like the old school speakers with the 12" or 15" woofers and they sound much better in my opinion!

Look what Sony, Pioneer and all other brands make today! Nothing that can be compared with their past speakers.

[pixelthis]

I don't like the new generation speakers! They make them with 8" woofers and have a big lack of bass - I don't like that! I like the old school speakers with the 12" or 15" woofers and they sound much better in my opinion!

Look what Sony, Pioneer and all other brands make today! Nothing that can be compared with their past speakers.

Nothing these days can be compared with past anything.
AND Sony and Pioneer (and most Japanese speakers) are generally considered a joke,
save the expensive "skunkworks" inwalls from Pioneer(2600 for a HT set with sub).
Companies are trying Chinese made speakers , the sign on the side ,"designed in
America, England, etc, built in China" on the side of the box the magic phrase that is supposed to assuage fears of audiophiles buying these speakers.
The verdict is still out on that little experiment, but my Klipsch's were falling apart
like a church whos preacher has discovered the crack after only a few months.
A reviewer of Klipsch's latest high end speakers also complained about QC.

[audio amateur]

You seem to enjoy bringing up crack, whores and churches in your posts Pixel

[Auricauricle]

I traded a Yamaha preamplifier for the pair of Polk Monitor 7c's that I currently listen to. Prior these, I used Acoustic Research (Holographic Imaging [forget the model]) and Klipsch Heresies. The AR's were actually quite nice, but after awhile the sound was a bit tepid and thin. The Heresies were appealing at first for their sensitivity and their clarity, but after awhile I began to think their sound was sterile. This was made all the more acute when I convinced myself that vocals were breathless and pianos were played without their familiar ring....

The Polks produce the music with a fairly large footprint that is formidiable and weighty, in comparison to the AR's, and warm, in comparison to the Klipsches. I do not have them set up optimally--these are speakers that are best used with stands--but they fill my apartment with very presentable sound. Vocals are quite breathy and liquid; pianos are crisp and wooden and they can rock and roll like hell when I want them to. Meanwhile, the price was agreeable and my contention that one can obtain satisfactory reproduction of sound without breaking the bank or purchasing something au courant (these speaks came out in about 1977) is (for me) vindicated once again.

This will suit me fine, but I still drool over Quads and Maggies, nevertheless....

[JoeE SP9]

Nothing these days can be compared with past anything.
AND Sony and Pioneer (and most Japanese speakers) are generally considered a joke,
save the expensive "skunkworks" inwalls from Pioneer(2600 for a HT set with sub).
Companies are trying Chinese made speakers , the sign on the side ,"designed in
America, England, etc, built in China" on the side of the box the magic phrase that is supposed to assuage fears of audiophiles buying these speakers.
The verdict is still out on that little experiment, but my Klipsch's were falling apart
like a church whos preacher has discovered the crack after only a few months.
A reviewer of Klipsch's latest high end speakers also complained about QC.

I agree with you about most Japanese speakers. While their electronics, especially the vintage stuff was quite good, with only a few exceptions, speakers from Japan are pretty bad. Frankly I don't understand the infatuation some have with them. Just about any American or British speaker from that era or any era will walk all over them.

[Auricauricle]

I can't think of any Japanese speakers of note right now. I do remember their fondness for Tannoy. One shop I liked to haunt had the whole line: Westministers, Edinburghs, Sterlings, SRM's etc. I heard that Yamaha had a pair of speaks in the '80's that were regarded pretty highly, but that seems to be more the exception than the rule....

[Hyfi]

I don't like the new generation speakers! They make them with 8" woofers and have a big lack of bass - I don't like that! I like the old school speakers with the 12" or 15" woofers and they sound much better in my opinion!

Look what Sony, Pioneer and all other brands make today! Nothing that can be compared with their past speakers.

My Dynaudio Audience 82s do not lack bass if driven properly. Heck, the 42s have decent bass for their size. It has been proven that a smaller driver can more accurately reproduce the correct sound. It may not go as low but will sound better.

[JoeE SP9]

I can't think of any Japanese speakers of note right now. I do remember their fondness for Tannoy. One shop I liked to haunt had the whole line: Westministers, Edinburghs, Sterlings, SRM's etc. I heard that Yamaha had a pair of speaks in the '80's that were regarded pretty highly, but that seems to be more the exception than the rule....

NS1000: Aimed at the studio monitor business. Not bad, sort of JBL like with no low bass.

[Pat D]

This is quite an old thread, I notice. When I replied in 2005, we were sort of in between. I wanted to replace the ailing Quad ESL-63s with something more suited to our living room, and I got PSB Stratus Minis with a view to putting them in the family room when we made a final decision on main speaker. The Stratus Minis work great in the family room for TVs and movies, BTW: dialogue is very clear and intelligible and they are completely non-fatiguing. They work well with a 75 watt Yamaha A-V receiver despite being moderately insensitive and having a minimum impedance under 4 ohms.

However, we found the Paradigm Signature S2 to be even smoother and they have a more even horizontal dispersion so that moving a foot or three or found to the side doesn't make much difference. The actual tonal balance doesn't change much even well off to the side for casual listen while in the kitchen or doing housework. They image very well, which goes along with that even dispersion, in case you don't know. There's not to much to say about the sound except that it's very neutral. They don't get in the way of the music.

We still have the 15" Paradigm PW-2500 subwoofer for the deep bass.

There are other speakers I like, of course. The best speaker I've heard recently is the PSB Synchrony One, which is every bit as good as the reviewers say it is. I didn't like the PSB Synchrony One B as well, as it seemed less invisible and not quite as smooth though it's a very good speaker. Like the Stratus Mini, it has deeper bass than most standmounts.

I liked the original Paradigm Signature S8 very much but I have not heard the second iterations of the Signature line.

I also liked the Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor (I think there is a more recent iteration) but it is quite expensive and with a first order (6 dB per octave crossover) and a fairly high crossover to the tweeter (spec'd at 2500 Hz), I imagine its off axis dispersion is less even than that of the Paradigm Signature S2 and hence it would be less room and placement friendly.

The Quad ESL-63 and no doubt later models can sound great in the right set up with lots of space.

[manlystanley]

Well, I like my B&W 684's a lot. When driven by a Denon receiver they sounded muddy. But, with my H/K they sound great. However, I stopped by to listen to a pair of 801D's and was shocked at how much better they sounded. One of these days......

I used to love my Klipch RB5-II's, but I've found that they sound better then by B&W's when driven by a cheap amp. But, that they just cannot bring out the true detail when driven by a better amp.


But, I'm currently very poor, so I'm trying to limp by with what I have.

[GMichael]

I love my Strata Mini's because the have planner mids and tweets that give them an airy sound, while having conventional base drives for more dynamic range than most panel speakers in their price range. They also look pretty d'm nice while doing it. Their resistance doesn't drop below 6 ohms so my receiver has little to no trouble driving them.