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Your loudspeaker history...?

Moppit

Moppit

pfm Member
I'd be fascinated to hear some fishes' loudspeaker history.....what was your journey? Have you finally arrived and now found your nirvana ? Or is something not quite right that you need to fix?
Let's face it, most speakers are a 'compromise', but what are the things that are the most endearing given your room constraints...Midrange? Full range scale? Detail? Warmth? Transparency? Bass extension? Etc.

Yes, you all loved those big Tannoys or ESL's BUT you also love your partner and the two were not mutually compatible perhaps...

Mine is a very modest and underwhelming journey so far. Largely driven by lack of budget, but I'm now after inspiration (the kids have left and hifi is becoming more of a hobby) ...

My journey...
1.80's - shockingly bad Wharfedale's that used to buzz and distort. Enjoyed the trip to the dump..
2.Late 80's - 90's - Rogers Ls4a - major improvement but a tad soft and dull, still in the garage
3.90's Wilmslow audio diy mini monitors - my son has them now..
4.Late 90's Wilmslow audio again - big transmission line floorstanders with Morel drivers...in the shed. Very transparent, exposed all the problems upstream.
5.Naughties- Goodmans Imagio floorstanders ..also in the shed ..good warm bass but veiled top.
6.Current - kef reference 2 (used) ..best sound I've had,.great scale, possibly too big for my room, more detail would be great
...not sure where next...hence...what about the rest of you?

Special points will be awarded for the most extreme box swapping...c'mon you can't resist...;)
 
Moppit said:
Special points will be awarded for the most extreme box swapping...c'mon you can't resist...;)
Click to expand...

Cool, I’m in! From 1978 to now, and I may have forgotten some. I have moved around a heck of a lot over the year so often changed speakers to suit a different flat (hence there being so many Kans, they work in tiny rooms!). Also worth noting that since 2000 or so I have run more than one system, e.g. I have three in use currently in different rooms.

JR149
Kef Reference 101
Tannoy M20 Gold
Gale 301
Linn Kan II
Mordant Short MS700 (for recording studio)
Linn Isobarik
ProAc Tablette 50 Sig
Linn Kan I
Linn Kan II
Harbeth Compact 7ES
Heybrook HB2
Tannoy Monitor Gold 15”
Klipsch Heresy
Harbeth SHL5
ProAc Tablette Reference 8 Sig
Tannoy Monitor Gold 15”
Tannoy Monitor Gold 15”
Klipsch La Scala
JR149

Current is 15” Golds (Lockwoods) in main system, 149s in ‘near-field’ system upstairs and La Scalas as the TV room system.

Wherever I’ve mentioned a speaker more than once it is more than one pair. Sometimes due to regretting selling or much later wanting to revisit, often due to changed location, sometimes just to find the ‘right’ pair. I’ve not actually changed anything for a good while now and view where I am now as pretty static.
 
Ex pub Bose in the 80’s
Acoustic energy AE209 floorstanders
Bose acoustimass 10 (surround sound)
Monitor audio GR60 (silver) too in your fave sonically and physically
Spendor D7 lovely high gloss dark finish
Shahinian mki introduced me to omnis
Shahinian mk2 oak big improvement over mki but wrong colour
Shahinian mk2 walnut swapped oaks for these
Sonus faber olympica iii stunning cabinet making and great imagining abilities
Avalon idea disappear and great midrange
Boenicke w8 brilliant all rounder especially for their diminutive size
Wilson watt puppy 6 amazing in the right room, with stunning imaging and bass but not in my room though (fore sale currently)
Boenicke w11se stunning cabinets and stunning sound. Best passive speakers I’ve ever heard. (For sale currently)

Arriving next week.... Dutch & Dutch 8c’s.

No wonder my other half’s sick of our living room changing with kit, fingers crossed the d&d’s will be here for a while.
 
Mine is relatively tame:

British Fidelity
Magnepan 1.6
Magnepan 3.5
Quad 988
Quad 57
Eminent Tech 8B
HSU Research Dual Subs


That's it in over 30 years.
 
wharfedale denton warm muddled nonsense ...gone
mordant short carnivals...lovely lean and musical but a a mate borrowed them and blew them to shreds....gone
ARC 050 ...still have with nytech active in second system which my youngest plugs her iphone into...sometimes surprise but mainly even handed with little drama...still have
tannoy mercurys...meh....gone
mission 760se ....lean dry and musical...relegated to upstairs in second system with charming marantz receiver for r4 and r3 duty
kans...mk1....still have and unearth them every now and then
tannoy eatons....lovely worked at low volume so very well...gone but no idea why :-( I want another pair
proac sig8 tabs...never offend and are occasionally transfixing....not my usual cup of tea but on xmas evening, me and my eldest daughter sat open mouthed listening to the unthanks ...first time she (just 20) got what hifi was about...a bonding moment :)
 
1980 to present.

Videoton Minimax
KEF Cantor 2
ARC 050
Linn Kan
TDL Studio .5
Naim Intro 2
Royd Minstrel
Proac Studio 150

The tdl and naim being serious errors but I had more important stuff to do at the time.
 
Ohh, err
Heybrook hb1
Gale 301
SBL
Totem Forest
Focal 1008 be
Focal1028be
Focal Kanta2.
To be honest, not sure the Kanta2’s are working to their full potential due to the small size of my music room.
I’ve dabbled with some Kudos Titan 505’s but they didn’t quite do it for me.
Recently heard ATC SCM40’s & was very impressed, but unsure whether they’d work with my Graaf amp as it’s only rated at 50wpc & the ATC’s are very inefficient. Only one way to find out I guess!
 
1981 to present:
Omar Wendover
Linn Kan
Linn Isobariks
Naim SBLs
Spendor S8e
Proac SM100s

The Proacs are keepers but when I move I'll be looking for some Avantegarde Zeros
 
From 70s to present...

Kef Corelli
Celestion SL6
Musical Fidelity Reference 4
THIEL 1.2
Quad ESL 63
Meridian M2 actives
 
Also 1981 to present:

Celestion SP20s
Heybrook HB3s
Linn Kans
Naim Credos
Naim Allaes

And on Saturday ... Naim SL2s

My other system has had Wharfedale Diamonds, Linn Kan 2s, Royd Minstrels, Mission somethings (can't remember - not great), Epos ES14s and today has Linn Ninkas.
 
Quite boring from me:
Castle Trent 2s in rega p2, brio system
Linn Kelidh had these for 4-5 years, great speaker & saw me through a lot of upgrades
SBLs, sit on the end of a 'classic' Linn/Naim system, best speakers I've had by a mile as they are so clean with no boom/tizz. I am hoping to try some active ATCs this year but the SBLs have been in place for over 10 years so they will take some shifting.
 
Main rig:
B&O bookshelf ones that came with my mother's B&O Beomaster 900
Coral 2 ways (c. 1980)
Mission 737R (1984)
Linn Ninka
Amphion Argon 3L
Quad ESL 57 (current)

Secondary rig:
Rega RS1
Magnepan MC1 + Dynaudio 250 subs (x2)
47 Laboratory 4722 Lens
Magnepan 12
Magnepan 1.7i
System Audio Pandion 2
AudioSmile LBM (active) - (still in the house)
JBL LX310 (my wife's speakers - still in the house)
 
70s
- KEF Coda (still in an attic)
- Zachry EM8
80s
- Philips MFB 544 (still own them, refurbed)
90s (no interest)
- none
2000s
- Tannoy SGM-10B (ex uses and loves them)
2010s
- Quad ESL-63
- Sonab OA-116 (temporary flat not suitable for ESL-63s)
- Quad 988 (current)
(also had a pair of JBL L100 and active Yamaha NS-1000M as refurb projects but sold them on)
 
Since the mid 1970s

Richard Allen full range drivers mounted on strings hanging against the wall - no baffle, but some fibreglass insulation behind them. Backed up with some random woofers put into large boxes and screw to the ceiling above hanging drivers. 3W amp drove them all.

Home built Kef B200 + T27 box - oversize bookshelf and rather bulky in a student room

Rebuilt same in stronger box (double thick walls). Weighed a ton. Finished in upholstered black fabric (thanks to Mother!) with bright orange fabric grills (it was the 70s!)

Same boxes but with some other tweeter mounted (using Meccano!) on the top of the cabinet (cos I blew the T27s at a party)

Got a job - Bought some AR 94S floorstanders. Ran these for years and years

Bought some Gale 401a's - but my puny A & R A60 could not deal with 'em so they sulked in a corner and rotted.

TDL Studio 1 in Black Ash (hey it was the 90s!). The Gales carried on sulking. The AR94S had rotted suspension by then - never did get redone.

Intermittent use of MS Pageant 2 (left behind by a housemate/tenant when he moved out

Had the Gale 401a professionally rebuilt - am now happy - and the wife likes their appearance!

Dream of some big Tannoys or some Quad ESL63- but room probably not big enough for either.
 
Wharfdale Linton copies
Videotron Minimax
Monitor Audio MA5
Quad ELS 57
Nad 8100 ??
AE 100
ProAc Tablette 50
B&W 805s
Naim Allae

All the above have moved on.

Cambridge Audio Aero2 in storage

Tannoy Cheviot for the last 9 years
 
Goodmans eight inch full range paper driver mounted by me on a piece of pine -1970s.

1982 - Sony three way driver pair in walnut cabinets [new] - okay.

1999 - Castle Harlechs [new]. More than okay but still very wrong.

2003 - Very early Naim SBLs [13nth pair made so by then old]. Better than the Harlechs, but still very flawed.

2006 - Ancient Royd Minstrel SEs. Almost very good [old already].

Sennheiser HDS 600s [new] - thing were getting bad! But the best speaker set to date. About 2010.

2011 - pair of One Thing Audio rebuilt ESLs. Almost quite good.

2015 - a single 1957 made ESL, serviced by Quad a few month earlier - good enough.
 
Still have all my speakers

Monitor Audio Silver Rx6
Kef iQ90= x4
Kef iQ60
Totem Forest Signature
 
Here goes...

Goodman's Maxim 2
Above modded to have bass drivers wired direct.
Royd A7
Royd Minstrel
Shahinian Arc
Royd Coniston, Royd A14, Rega Ara all used as second speakers at various points.
Cabasse Eole 2.1 and MK M series used for AV at various points, with their respective subs.
Waterfall Hurricane sub occasionally used in second systems.
Main system have used Shahinian Hawk bass modules with Super Elf tops for the last 5 years, roughly.
 
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