Speakers That Changed My Life

maxward

This is the title of an article in the current issue of The Absolute Sound (#296). In it, many staffers describe theirs. For Robert Harley, it was the Polk Monitor 10. It’s an interesting article, in that it gets one thinking about which speakers, if any, quality on a personal level.

teekay0007

Like Mr. Harley, the Monitor 10s were the first to draw me in, back in ‘89!

Jimbo18

Mine were a pair KLH 5's. Not great speakers but after the Zenith system I first bought........

verb

SDA 2B's were my first set of Polks. Been a fan ever since!

daddyjt

Infinity RS6b in the late 80’s - completely blew me away, especially for their size.

*stock photo

mhardy6647

I am surprised that Harley's hifi loudspeaker epiphany was the Monitor 10. That's cool, though.

Polk Monitor Series Model 7A (and The David Grisman Quintet) for me. (edit) Early (?) 1977. Soundscape. Baltimore.

Still got 'em; although I couldn't actually afford to buy a pair 'til 1978 -- and even then had to go with demonstrators in "rosewood" vinyl.

... and y'all know how that all turned out...

mhardy6647

Jimbo18 wrote: »

Mine were a pair KLH 5's. Not great speakers but after the Zenith system I first bought........

Oh, I dunno -- the KLH 5 was pretty darned decent IMO/IME.

The Quad ESL-57s probably made the biggest incremental impression on me, FWIW.
I have a flashbulb memory of the first time I heard them. I literally wanted a pair upon first hearing (playing Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here on Quad ss electronics) and did ultimately acquire a pair (albeit only decades later).

Some of the least colored sounding loudspeakers extant, then and even still now. Just astonishing (within their limitations, which are admittedly rather significant).

Everyone who is interested in hifi sound reproduction should, ideally, own a pair (with appropriate amplification available, of course) -- or at the least spend a good chunk of quality time listening to them, I'd opine.


quadsnvinyl0609 (1) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

BlueFox

Not sure if they changed my life, but my Pioneer CS-A700 speakers I bought in 73-74 established the sound I had to better with every subsequent purchase. Actually, I guess they did change my life when I think of all the dinero I have spent on speakers since then.

OleBoot

My revelation were Leak Sandwich speakers that were purchased for a song by my Dad from an audiophile friend of his (who upgraded to speakers embedded in concrete in the wall of his house - the ultimate in those days) and given to me for Christmas to be powered by my 20 wpc Teleton amp.

gyosa

As good as my SDA 1c’s ave always been , my new Salks have blown me away ....
That Raal ribbon tweeter is unbelievable - mids and highs are orgasmic.

Bk

nooshinjohn

Magnepan Tympani mated with AR amplification and front end... I would go listen for my lunch breaks when I worked there in 1985 prior to leaving for boot camp.

maxward

For me, two speakers qualify. The first was a pair of AR 2ax, in my freshman dorm (1968). Owned by a kid who built tube Dynaco kits to drive them. He had them facing each other on the tops of the built-in bookshelves in the corners of the room. Yeah, way too much bass, but when you’re 17, what else is there? This, and other like-minded residents of the dorm, is what started an interest in stereo. Then, in about 1975, on a trip up the California Coast, I stopped in a cafe in Mendocino and heard some jazz playing at relatively mild levels and couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. A waiter pointed out the Quad ESL-57 pair sitting up on a low room divider. I found a table nearby and was amazed at the natural sound of the music while I ate my lunch. I have ever since thought about getting a pair of Quads or other electrostatic speakers.

kharp1

I'm not sure "changed my life" would be my exact words, but, I remember several different phases of life where different speakers/setups wowed. I remember my first Klipsch Khorns with Mac tube mono's...the clarity and detail. I remember the first time I heard the SRS's, that was life changing...I knew there was a different level of sound stage and dimension available. I remember the first time I heard Maggies. That was a watershed moment.

Tony M

KLH model 8's wowed me. I used them for years. I think I had a small Pioneer silver face powering them.

Then the ESS AMT1B's. super wow!

Then the Polk Monitor 10's had a sound that made my classic rock sound oh so good!

You all know the rest. I'm still getting wowed by road side finds or free speakers from my local Craig's list ads.

mhardy6647

gyosa wrote: »

As good as my SDA 1c’s ave always been , my new Salks have blown me away ....
That Raal ribbon tweeter is unbelievable - mids and highs are orgasmic.

Bk

Does that mean that the bass... is not?

mhardy6647

nooshinjohn wrote: »

Magnepan Tympani mated with AR amplification and front end... I would go listen for my lunch breaks when I worked there in 1985 prior to leaving for boot camp.

a classic combination (assuming by "AR" you mean Audio Research) -- I remember hearing the 1B morph of the Magneplanar Tympanis (which were marketed by Audio Research, not Magnepan, interestingly enough) with Audio Research amplification. Very, very nice.

My only "issue" with them (and this only in retrospect) was an un-natural bigness to some recordings -- I vividly remember the impression of the 12 foot wide piano that they presented. It was impressive (and I was young and impressionable!) but not exactly realistic (although the tone and weight of the sound was good).

Not much will beat the reproduction of 'real' sounding piano from the aforementioned ESL-57 or the Altec Duplexes IMO and IME. Indeed, I am not sure anything will. I certainly haven't heard any better (in terms of real sounding) piano reproduction than from those two units. They remain my reference for real (as opposed to realistic) midrange reproduction.

gyosa

No the bass is there .... plenty.
Doesn’t go as low as the 1c’s , but it it is way tighter , more defined.
Transmission Line cabinet vs passive radiator.....
Bass is “mushy” on the 1c’s compared to the Salks.
The Salks are a very “accurate” speaker .
Still love the 1c’s though .....

Bk

mhardy6647 wrote: »

gyosa wrote: »

As good as my SDA 1c’s ave always been , my new Salks have blown me away ....
That Raal ribbon tweeter is unbelievable - mids and highs are orgasmic.

Bk

Does that mean that the bass... is not?

Polkitup2

After a long Hiatus from audio, the Polk RTi150s sucked me back into audio. Not sure I'd be too impressed with them now, but at the time I thought they were the greatest thing my rookie ears had ever heard. They could rock! My listening tastes are completely different now (14 years later), but I must say that the first couple years of getting back into audio with the Polk's were the most fun.

motorstereo

Properly set up sda's would be mine. The next day after I heard what Polk 1.2tl's were capable of in December of 2011 I disassembled my entire rig in a quest that continues to this day to retrieve and refine that sda sound.

dromunds

They didn't change my life, but they stopped me in my tracks. Acoustic Research AR-9's playing outside - Deep Purple Made in Japan had just come out - and I'd never heard it. A stereo shop was playing the AR-9's behind their shop hooked up to some good separates (maybe S.A.E.), and I was literally stopped in my tracks when I heard those speakers - I thought a live band was playing over there. I didn't even know there was a stereo shop there so I walked closer to see the band and I was flabbergasted to see only those AR-9's and a small group of people mulling about.

Tony M

That's a fantastic experience and cool story.

Tony M

Reminds me of my brothers' story in a way.

He went to an outdoor party and the people had huge Klipsch Cornwalls or La-Scala's or what ever model bigger BOX Klipsch speakers and he said it was like a live band was up on the platform they had made to put the speakers on with a DJ.

He'll never forget them he said!

ken brydson

Klipsch C Horns, Pink Floyd's The Wall and possibly some acid involved....

codycatalist

SDA SRS2

First real speakers I ever listened to. Due to that experience I searched and now own an upgraded pair of 2Bs that would probably beat the snot out of those unmodded SRS.

Mikey081057

I saw Carl Sagan speak at a seminar

kharp1

Mikey081057 wrote: »

I saw Carl Sagan speak at a seminar

Ding ding ding ding ding...we have a winner!

nooshinjohn

I'm sorry, but are there speakers in that last picture somewhere?

halo

Von Schweikert VR2's

hochpt21

About 10 years ago, I had recently joined the forum due to a pair of Monitor 70’s and as we do well around here...was quickly encouraged to buy a pair of LSi15’s.

The LSi15’s blew me away. They were so clear and “real” sounding compared to anything I had heard previously. I honestly remember being at work and tweaking about getting home for a listening session. It was like an addict situation.

I’ve enjoyed my brief journey so far, but to this point, that has been my “wow” moment.

joecoulson

ken brydson wrote: »

Klipsch C Horns, Pink Floyd's The Wall and possibly some acid involved....

Great Karma! In with 69

Clipdat

Snell Acoustics.