Top Three Speakers you have owned.

Joe08867

Mhardy, you have owned some cool stuff. Altec 604e Duplex are awesome speakers. Never heard them with the Mastering labs Crossover but I am sure it was amazing.

Some really good speakers in these lists, wish I had a chance to hear a few and truly wished I owned a lot of them.

mhardy6647

Thanks - I'd like to think they're kind of cool :-)

The ML XOs (or Jeff Markwart's phase corrected Altec XOs, see http://home.earthlink.net/~jmarkwart/ ) apparently right the ostensible wrongs of Altec's XOs for those fine drivers - I can't really vouch for that... but I can tell you that my 604Es are not harsh, shouty, or aggressive at all (which are traits often ascribed to Altec Duplexes with Altec factory XOs).

Everyone who is serious about this hobby should own a pair of Quad ESLs for reference if nothing else. Based on my own experience, I'd vote for either 57s or 63s, but I think any and all up to their current offerings would all be fine.

If we could've named more than three, I'd have also added my dump find Allison Ones, dump find ads L-710s, and my $10 charity fleamarket DCM timewindows to the list :-P
(EDIT: The Monitor 7As would be in the top six, though!)

erniejade

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Klipsch Palladium
Polk LSIm
Definitive Technology Mythos

what model Klipsch Palladium? they have a few models to like 30,000$ or so.

leroyjr1

erniejade wrote: »

what model Klipsch Palladium? they have a few models to like 30,000$ or so.

I bought the P-17B's which I got for a great price thinking when funds came available I could move the bookshelves to surround sound duty and buy the floorstanders. I was using them for HT and they sounded great but just couldn't stomach spending soooo much on the P-37F's ($8k) after hearing the ST's.

polkfarmboy

leroyjr1 wrote: »

I bought the P-17B's which I got for a great price thinking when funds came available I could move the bookshelves to surround sound duty and buy the floorstanders. I was using them for HT and they sounded great but just couldn't stomach spending soooo much on the P-37F's ($8k) after hearing the ST's.

What a system that would have been

leroyjr1

polkfarmboy wrote: »

What a system that would have been

I'm happy with my LSIm's and at a fraction of the cost.

mole'

its a toss up for me in what order.....

POLK SDA SRS 2.3 TL/LSi15/LSi25

brianle

1. Usher Mini Dancer 2 Diamond (current)
2. Usher Tiny Dancer 718 Beryllium (sold)
3. B&W 805 Nautilus (sold)

cnh

mhardy6647 wrote: »

I could give you about six that I own and really like.
Top three would probably be:

* Altec 604E Duplex (with Mastering Labs crossovers)
* Altec Santiago (I do, in all honesty, prefer these to my 846A Valencias - heretical though that may be)
* Quad ESL-57

There would be one Polk loudspeaker in my top six...

What would those sound like "without" tubes? Would that "change the order above". I'm curious because, aren't most Altecs "horn" speakers that might find their sound affected by less mellow SS amplification?

cnh

VR3

OWNED? Hmmm

Tyler Acoustics Super Tower (Modded)
Tyler Acoustics Taylo Reference II (Modded)
Tyler Acoustics Taylo 7u (Unmodded)

Honorable Mentions - Def Tech BP10B

Least favorites -
Tyler Acoustics Decade D2, D3
Polk RTi70
Def Tech BP6B
Every center channel I have had the displeasure of purchasing

mhardy6647

cnh wrote: »

What would those sound like "without" tubes? Would that "change the order above". I'm curious because, aren't most Altecs "horn" speakers that might find their sound affected by less mellow SS amplification?

cnh

I couldn't imagine listening to them "full time" with soiled state amplification.
That said, I did once try - just for shoots and Googles - the 604s with the cheap-jack $20 Lepai "T amp" Parts Express is selling - and it was perfectly listenable. A little bit tizzy, but not at all bad.



The Monitor 7As I have did not sound very good at all with vacuum tube amplification the one time I tried 'em (a couple of different PP EL84 integrateds).

cnh

mhardy6647 wrote: »

I couldn't imagine listening to them "full time" with soiled state amplification.
That said, I did once try - just for shoots and Googles - the 604s with the cheap-jack $20 Lepai "T amp" Parts Express is selling - and it was perfectly listenable. A little bit tizzy, but not at all bad.



The Monitor 7As I have did not sound very good at all with vacuum tube amplification the one time I tried 'em (a couple of different PP EL84 integrateds).

A T-Amp? that is impressive! You seem to prefer the EL 84 based amps?

Well I have two things to do yet with a couple of speakers that I like quite a bit (Polk 5As and KLH 17s)

And that involves running them with tubes. I know the KLH respond well to tubes--even the 8 watt a side Tube amp Jstas built from a kit, but I'm not sure about the Monitors.

I've liked some later EPIs ('80s) like the EPI T/E 360...one heck of a tower.
I've also loved every ADS I've owned and/or heard!
And SDA 2Bs are pretty good on "tubes" as well!

cnh

mhardy6647

The classic ads (and Braun) speakers, despite being sealed boxes ("monkey coffins") are surprisingly sensitive and work well with fairly low powered vacuum tube amps. The L-710s I found at the dump are very good with PP EL84, and were quite listenable even with SE 2A3.




Another stunning little loudspeaker that I had here for a while was a pair of IMF Supercompact IIs (also dump finds). I ended up trading them to an AKer for a cache of Nikon camera equipment for my son (& myself). Great, smooth, detailed and nonfatiguing speakers in the "classic British monitor" idiom. Don't have a handy photo on-line of those...

brasil

Besides subwoofers, I have only owned Polk's to date. Not many areas near my location to demo much else that competes within the same class.

maximillian

New to audio so I have only owned Polk's so far as well. Best speaker so far is the LSi9. This will be modded someday. LSi7's are on the way from Polk direct. Finally LSiFx's are pretty nice surrounds that easily bested my previous FXi3's.

xsmi

Mine are:

1. Polk SDA-SRS 2 (Currently Own)

2. Klipsch KG-4 (Currently Own HT)

3. Polk Monitor 4 (Currently Own)

CCNJ

1) Totem Hawk
2) Harbeth P3ESR
3) Polk LSI9
4) Advent Legacy

thsmith

1 - PA SDA 1C - Still have and use
2 - PA CSR + - My son uses but I own
3 - PA RTA12
4 - PA Monitor 12
5 - PA RT35i - Still have and use

Everything else I owned was junk

CCNJ

Zero wrote: »

CCNJ - You still rockin' the Totem's and the Harbeth's?

Zero - Yes. The Totem Hawks are new. Only had them a couple of months. Nice little floor stander that throws a wide sound stageand really nice tight bass.

The Harbeths are part of the office/computer setup. They are amazing little speakers that just disappear even at near field listening which is how I have them setup. They really shine when listening to vocals and acoustic music.

Chris

David R

1. Crown electrostatics. 4 10 inch woofers and 24 electrostatic panels. Hate martin logan.
2. A7
3. Rti8

Joe08867

David, You have the Crown Electro's ES-212's? Nice speakers. Solid bottom and wonderful highs.

CCNJ, I have heard those Harbeth's many times and have wanted a set for many years. Someday I will get them.

steveinaz

I would have to give honorable mentions to:

Pinnacle Classic Gold Tower
Acoustic Research AR58

Timothy Smith

My honorable mentions are:

1) Quad 11L Classic
2) Magneplanar MMG
3) EPI 150
4) Snell J-III

skipf

Carver ALS Platinum
Carver AL-III
Polk LsI9
AR2ax

Lietuvis91

jawhog wrote: »

2. Paradigm Studio 20 V5 - An excellent mini monitor with no cons except the lack of affordable speakers to build out a full surround set.

I knew someone was going to mention these! I'm looking for a used pair now... hard to find thought.

My top 3 so far would be, in no particular order really.

1) Paradigm Studio 20 V5
2) LSi9
3) System Audio Explorer

audiocr381ve

In order of awesomeness...

1. PSB Synchrony One (Gosh I miss these)
2. Totem Hawk - Current (Ridiculously fun)
3. Have owned many other speakers but never fell in love with them enough to earn the 3rd spot

mhardy6647

Not sure what we-awoke this thread (nuclear testing in the "Ring of Fire" in the Pacific, perhaps?)... but looking back, I am kind of surprised that I didn't at least mention the Allison Ones that I have. They are very, very good loudspeakers - very typical of their era in some ways, but utterly unique in others.

drumminman

Haven't owed that many speakers, but my top three are:

1- SDA 2.3TL, fully modded
2- Def Tech BP 30, rewired with upgraded external Xovers
3- Polk RTA 12C's fully modded

The 12C's do so many things right, they're not far from the Def Tech's.

steveinaz

1. Harbeth Compact 7es-3
2. AR 9Lsi
3. Infinity RSIIIb

Honorable mention: Fritz Speaker Carbon 7

Moose68Bash

1. PA SDA SRS1.2 (mod'd)
2. PA SDA 1C (mod'd)
3. AR 3

Still own and use the first two. I wish I still owned the AR3s so that I could update them to see how they sound with "fresh" components.