The only speaker I’ve really bought totally blind were the Klipsch La Scalas. I knew I needed to hear a pair, and in the UK they are so absurdly rare that pretty much meant buying a pair when they cropped up. I enjoyed my time with them, they are I guess equally amazing and flawed, as are many great speakers. Not for me long-term, but I’m very pleased I did it.
I can’t think of a lot that I’ve not heard now that I would want to buy blind, though there is a fair bit I don’t think I’ve heard properly, and a good few I’d love to live with and really explore. The obvious ones:
a) 15” Tannoy Reds. I’d really like to find a close to mint pair as they are really what should be in my Lockwood cabs rather than Golds. To be honest I won’t consider I’ve ‘done’ Tannoys until I’ve sorted this. It won’t be cheap, but if I didn’t overpay it would only be investment that could be recouped later.
b) Quad ESLs (57s). I have heard them many, many times, even had a pair here briefly, but I do still want to buy a pair at some point and really get to know them for a few years. I have wanted a pair since I was about 14, so I do need to do it at some point. I’m just overly cautious as I’m so obsessive I’d want an absolutely mint boxed perfectly functioning pair and I realise it can be a bit of a cash black hole to get there, especially as I’d not really want the OTA treble mods etc, I’d want Walker stock performance.
Stuff I’m still curious about:
The huge blue-face JBLs, the ones with 2x15 bass units, the Hartsfield, Everest, things like that. Altec VOTT too. I could never house a speaker like that (I can only deal with Tannoys as they are a point source), and I’m not a huge fan of far-field listening anyway, but I’d love to learn what they are really about.
I’d also love to spend some time with proper ‘60s Lowthers, i.e. in the larger Acousta cabs, not anything modern. Just to learn about them, nothing more. I have a feeling I really couldn’t live with them, but whenever I’ve heard them (with an appropriate valve amp) they have had a life and dynamic agility that really left an impression. Jazz drummers would love them as they really get the dynamic shading and timing of their instrument right. The problem is I’ve never heard them not be coloured and I’m curious whether I could tune that out.
MEG RL901K active monitors. I suspect they would do what I like so much about Tannoys, but with the midband clarity and air of a modern monitor, and still retaining a natural ‘classical /grown-up’ balance that I like so much from Quads, BBC monitors etc. I had the much smaller RL-904s for a while and they were spectacular aside from I really didn’t like the (quite aggressive) port-loading which set my room off in a way the massively bigger Tannoys never do. My guess is the RL901 would behave very differently as it is a very different (and larger) speaker.
PS To be honest everything now is just for fun/entertainment, I could actually be perfectly happy with a really nice system upstream and the LS3/5As or JR149s, and I’m sure that is where I’ll end up. I just don’t need anything more than that at all. I have certainly learned a lot, mainly that I like point-sources or very close to them. I’ve actually spent many decades pretty much ending up where I started off!
