how to rate these speakers

leftwinger57

Well I'm back and this timeI have what I think is a relavent subject. Since there are so many speaker mnfgrs. out there I came across a few if you would grade them on listening experience or build factor.
1,Vandersteen1c
2.Klipsch Forte 1
3.Ohm/Walsh 2xo and or FRS-11
4.Polk Monitor 12s
5.Frazier Black Boxes
6.Rectilinear 3 High Boys
7.Infinity SM112 w/3way and tweeter adjust.I own these.
Clearly this is a small smattering of what is out there and truth be told some are now discontinued.Could you shed some light on some of these speaker sets ,,,,,,lw

michaeljhsda2

I like the sound of #6

mhardy6647

The Ohm Walsh 2 is a very nice little "omni" speaker; I own a pair of these and use them occasionally - the "xo" flavor, I don't know, but I'd assume likewise.

The Polk Monitor 12s are also very good - I tend to prefer the smaller/earlier monitor series speakers (e.g., 7A), but that's not meant to be objective fact.

The Klipsch Fortes are OK but aggressive - if you want to go that route, extremely high quality source material, players, and amplification - ideally vacuum tube - will yield the most palatable results. I'd opine that the all-around 'best' Klipsch speakers were the Chorus II (disclosure: I owned a pair of Cornwalls for a decade)

The Vandersteens are shrill relative to my tastes; lots of folks hold them in high regard though.

Rectilinears are likewise held in high regard, but I have no ears on experience; ditto the Frazier.

I won't offer comment on the Infinity since you have them already.

You might want to add DCM timewindow 1, vintage ads/Braun, vintage KEF, vintage EPI/Epicure, Allison (the original company, under Roy Allison) to your laundry list :-)

I also very much like Quad electrostatics and Altec theatre horns and monitors, but they're cut from a somewhat different cloth than the OP's laundry list.
HTH

Joe08867

Mhardy has said most of what I wanted to say. I agree with him on the Vandy's, Klipsch and Polks,

I have heard Fraziers and they are very old EV sounding to me. Not quite as shrill as Klipsch's but are horned speakers so it is all about taste.

I would also add Dahlquist to the list plus what Mhardy suggested.

mhardy6647

Joe08867 wrote: »

I would also add Dahlquist to the list plus what Mhardy suggested.

I knew I'd miss some good candidates :-)

Heck, Cizek Model 1, too... but they're kind of scarce.

Timothy Smith

Had and loved Vandy's, Ohm Walsh 2's, various Polk Monitor series. Liked the Vandy 1's better than the Vandy 2's due to some tweeter harshness mentioned above.

I would second the Dahlquist DQ-10's and 20's, and anything from A/D/S.

You may also want to try Snell and Energy.