advertisement


Your Loudspeaker history...

Not many for me.

Kef Cantor 2
Epos ES14
Naim SBLs

The ES14s were a 20 year stretch and still in the orig boxes in the loft.
 
Speaker history, shit my wife would have something to say about this one. Let's just say, I don't think anyone on here has owned more speakers than me. Just talk to my attic if you don't believe either me or my wife. The most musical loudspeaker I have ever owned would have to be the akiv kabers. Stick 'em against the wall, level them, feed them some good stuff and they did the trick for me. No real deep bass but that Dapolito config timed like a bastard. Like everything in those days, I really couldn't afford them, you know creditors like to have their money back so off they went at a small loss to me not to mention a few tears but I got over it. Threw some older Index up against the wall.
 
£20 Wharfdale Linton copies
Videotron Minimax2
Monitor Audio MA5
Quad ELS57
Yamaha NS-10M
Nad 300 floorstanders
Solid One
AE100
ProAc Tablettes 50 Rosewood
B&W 805s
Naim Allae
Naim Allae & nSub
Naim Allae
Tannoy Cheviots
 
1978- KLH 102 My first quality speaker purchased at age 14, even knew who Henry Kloss was from reading Stereo Review

1983- Polk audio Monitor 7, these saw many hours of service, played them loud as hell for college dorm/house parties too. Polk was real good about replacing blown drivers!

1993- Epos ES11 Always liked the Epos sound. Proved too warm when I moved to a tube amp. Should have just stuck them in the closet intead of selling, guy I sold them to I badgered for awhile to sell back to me which he would not do eventhough he had stuck them in his closet.

1998- Monitor audio studio 2SE A really nice mini. If ever there was a speaker with "warmth and depth out of all proportion to it's size" (grammophone) this was it. This time I stuck them in the closet!

2009- Rega RS3 My first floorstander and loving it!
 
Rogers LS1's - in my first system with Quad 33/303 amps

Linn Kan Mk1's - got bitten then smitten with the Linn/Naim sound

Celestion SL600's - complete system change and loved the amazing clarity and detail from these little boxes.

Spendor Prelude's - after having to sell my other gear to finance a house I was very very impressed with these in a CD only system. Wasn't restricted with placement and had a dedicated hi-fi room

Linn Kan Mk1's - again! With a good powerful amp (like my NAP 250) these speakers can really sing, at least to my ears
 
Some Technics 2 way jobbies from the 70s
JPW Sonatas (still have these, I take them on holiday and can listen to them for hours)
Eltax Symphony 6 (I wanted some floorstanders)
Epos M15 (my first proper speakers)
Epos ES22 (main speakers and my favourite so far)
Royd Minstrels (on loan to my girlfriend, nearly a good as the ES22s and easier to position)
Celestion Ditton 25 (bought for a bit of fun to experience a 12in bass driver, not enough in the mid-range for me, I prefer the ES22s and the Minstrels)
I'd love to try some IMF transmission line monsters but don't have the space or cash.
 
Homemade versions using drivers from old 1960s TVs (1976-1981)
Mission 700 (1981-1989)
Musical Fidelity MC4s (1989 - 1997)
Quad ESL63s (1987-2003)
Quad ESL989s (2003-2009)
Fully refurbished as-new Linn Isobarik PMS (active) 2009-
It's been a 30 year wait to get the Isobariks but worth it in the end!

Richard
 
Mordaunt-short ms55ti
Mordaunt-short pearl i thingys
Mission 732
Mission733
Mission752
Epos Es11
EposEs12
eposEs14
Naim Credo
 
Updated:

Wharefedale Chevin
Marantz Somethings
Heybrooke HB2 (nice)
Linn Kan II Passive (OK)
Linn Kan II Active (FKing amazing)
Naim Credo (OK but never excellent)
Zu Essence - OMG - never knew what I was missing
 
Panasonic (came with the record player)
Some generic metal-cased speakers
Design Acoustics PS-10 (nice paper cones)
Cambridge SoundWorks (don't remember the model)
Paradigm Studio 20 (somewhat "shouty", soon gone)
Joseph Audio Rm7-si (kept for 10 years)
Harbeth Compact 7ES-3 (for the next 10 years, most likely)

And that's it.
 
First speakers were Dynaco A-25XL.

After that were some DIY efforts --

KEF B110 + T27 LS3/5A-ish sort of thing;
KEF B200/1039 + HF1300 + 4001G in a DM2A-ish t-line;
another B110 + T27;
Then I tried a 14-liter ported box for the B110 plus an Audax tweeter that actually worked pretty well;
Then some Quad 57s came along, and stayed for about 27 years.
This past summer I retired the worn-out ESLs and found some Rogers LS7Ts on ePay.
 
Videotone Minimax (Originated from Hungary - distributed from South London)
Tangent TM1
ARC 101
Rogers LS8e
Tannoy Revolver R3's
Harbeth HLK6
JPW Sonata
Mission 752F
Quad EL57 (Modified)
AURUM CANTUS LEISURE 2 SE
 
Home made Wharfedale Kit 2 way design (Linton equivalent?)
Small 150mm Cubes from Tandy (full range driver - well no crossover anyway)
Home made Wharfedale Kit 3 way design (Dovedale equivalent?)
Mission 760i
Epos 11 (on loan for a year)
Home made Jordan JX92 (full range driver) with Jordan JX53 Linear 4x array with JX125 2x array
 
Wharfedale Denton (moulded plastic boxes)
Videoton Minimax two with HiFi Answers kit subwoofer
Pair of cobbled together speakers with KEF B200 bass and Scanspeak 2008 in a Goodmans cabinet.
Epos ES14
WAD KLS8
Focal Maximus Onkens
Oris 150 horns with Audiom 7K2 mids,Focal Audiom 15 inchers in an Onken enclosure for bass,compression driver up top Ashly XR2001 dividing it all up.
 
Speakers built by my dad from a kit (in my teenage years)
Mission 760i
Mission 753 (briefly, good speakers but too much bass for my then home,
did not have the essential neighbour acceptability factor)
Epos ES11
Epos ES14
Royd The Abbot
Ruark Talisman II
Tannoy D100
B&W Matrix 805V
ATC SCM 10-2 Active

The B&Ws enjoyed the longest run, from approximately 1994 until 2004 (I still own them although they are no longer in use). I had (have, no longer in use for hi-fi purposes although my NetGear broadband router now sits on one of them!) custom made, dedicated solid slate stands by Peter Soper of Slate Audio. Slate Audio also made stands for B&W which were sold as an integral part of the similarly 805-sized B&W John Bowers Silver Signature model.
 
B&O
Coral Flat 8 - ace horn
Coral Flat 10 portet box .... (until about 1985)
Pause - long pause with crap compact speakers and kids :)
and then from 2005
Coral beta 8 - in different horns
Focus 3 by F3 (to day known as Audiovector)
Mission 700
Pioneer CS E 900 & E 700
Sansui SP 2 omni
at present I use
Revox BX 4100 with my revox gear
Rogers ls3/5a with a vintage setup wit quad 303
Sansui SP 30 with an vintage setup with Sansui au555a
Tannoy 12" DCs in 450 litres/150 kgs backloaded Duelund concrete horn driven by a EAR 861

On the way in are two pairs of diy speakers using Tannoy 15" DCs and one set AR 2AX with orinal fried egg treble and textile surround bass

To me the rogers are little miracles and the tannoys ar big miracles

on the way out the pioneer speakers - really great looking brown cone vintagespeakers but the sound is not really all that great
 


advertisement


Back
Top