advertisement


Nominations for a PFM list of 25 top speakers of all time.

My Neat XL6 Ultimatums do it for me. I listened to a lot and they were the only speakers which persuaded me to upgrade my Mission 754's, which are also a fabulous speaker, albeit at a different price point.

At the other end of the size spectrum, I love my ProAc Tablette 50's, although sadly have nowhere to use them now. Fantastic small room speaker.
 
I really must be on this 20 page thread but I will say this year I bought Harbeth P3 ESRs.

Amazing little things.

Still on the list is MK I Kans.

I liked my KEF LS50s too.
 
Of those I have actually heard. Dealing with absolute subjective experience here not value for money - just blow me away sonic performance.

Horns:

1) GIP Acoustics / Western Electric horn set ups with the aid of Silbatone.
2) Avantgarde Trios and basshorns.
3) Musique Concrete Le Grande Castine

Panels

1) Analysis Audio Omega (Amphytron probably better)
2) Apogee Acoustics Duetta Signature (Diva, Full Range and Grands probably better)
3) Martin Logan Neolith and CLX (easily beat any Quads, but restored 57s excellent for the money)
4) AudioNec "The Answer"
5) Wisdom LS75 plus huge Wisdom sub. Excellent and little known. They do better models.

Omni

Only 1 - MBL 101E Xtreme

Weird

Cabasse La Sphere

Box speakers

Zzzzz. I do like some though. Linn Isobarik probably my fave mid-sized box of all time.

I reckon some huge vintage JBLs, which I have never heard, might be good enough to be in the list. I have probably missed out some very worthy speakers these are just the ones that came to mind tonight.

Note the distinct planar bias:D
 
NBL'a are my current fave but at only 200 samples they'll never win!

Seconds must be SBL's

Thirds must be Linn Kans

But worthies of mention include

Ruark Crusaders of any variant

Everything ATC active or Genelec.

Some mission models like the 737R and 760i

run out now...

If I had a room that was big enough ATC's would be a lot higher up, maybe even 1st!
 
God there are some technically appalling loudspeakers getting a mention here.

Just goes to show.
 
Allison 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6's are among the best I've ever heard, some Focals and some Tannoys would be worth a listen IMHO.


Cheers Al
 
This year's stuff is massively better than last years, which must be hugely better than the years before. Therefore the answers are here:

http://www.whathifi.com/best-buys/best-hi-fi-speakers-2015


On a more serious note, I would go for:

LS3/5A (limited capability but still the original "forget you are listening to a pair of speakers" speaker)
ESL57 (989s are loads better, but the 57 was the ground breaking one)
Magneplanar MGIII
JBL 250Ti (Original US "hi-end")
ES14 (one of the best simple 2-ways ever) (or perhaps Mission 770 instead??)
Gale 401 (proper musicality, how can they possibly sound that good but look like a collection of jumble sale drivers?)
Acapella Horns (possibly the best sounding pair of speakers available?)
B&W 800

I should probably include NS1000s on the basis of great sounding (in the right circumstances) high tech classic
 
Properly implemented ,front loaded, five ways horns in a suitable room will bring you closer to live music than anything else, that I have heard.
Keith.
 
And the truth is IME that a modern equivalent of many an old design is simply better. Technology has moved on.

The problem is that the cost of replicating some of the older practices has become astronomical and so such improvements are often reserved for the ultra high end buyer - much as Keith is suggesting with something like a Cessaro.
 
Is this thread for the best ANTIQUE speaker of all time?
Get out and listen to some modern technology!!!
 
diybry said:
Is this thread for the best ANTIQUE speaker of all time?
Get out and listen to some modern technology!!!
Click to expand...

I have, and do, and 'great' isn't the word that springs to mind. Speakers design hasn't improved one jot in terms of ultimate sound quality. In fact many expensive speakers, loaded with 'technology' don't sound as good as an old pair of Quad 57s.
Actually, to my ears, they don't sound as good as my 1934 Voigt Corner Horns.....
 
Tony L said:
Do you not like the 63? I heard both 57s and 63s up against each other at Rob's recently and I'd take the 63 every time. It does all the same good things, but without the treble beaming and slightly tubby and thin bass. The 63 has proper 'big speaker' bass lacking only a little real LF heft that's probably only noticeable as missing if you are used to huge great full-range monitors.
Click to expand...

The 63 may be better, but the 57 was a 'first of its kind' at the time and the one that we all lusted after.
 
merlin said:
The problem is that the cost of replicating some of the older practices has become astronomical and so such improvements are often reserved for the ultra high end buyer - much as Keith is suggesting with something like a Cessaro.
Click to expand...

Here's the rub. Some of the most impressive speakers I've heard have been large and very expensive horns that are often too big for the rooms they are in, so not only do you need a huge budget, you need the real estate to house them.

But for the middle classes, mid-budget, I think vintage puts up a very strong fight. Having listened to numerous modern speakers up to about £8k in the last year in an attempt to find something more domestically acceptable than ESL 63s, I haven't heard much with comparable clarity, neutrality, and naturalism.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top