ES11's, ES14's and Matrix 805's- a veritable list of British classics! I demoed the 805 and the ES14 and wound up buying ES11's which I used for 5 years. B&W went downhill after that 90's Matrix line IMO, especially in the looks department. They were never pretty, but the newer 8 hundred series has to be some of the ugliest speakers I have ever seen.
Your Loudspeaker history...
- Thread starter Jonathan Ribee
- Start date
ES11's, ES14's and Matrix 805's- a veritable list of British classics! I demoed the 805 and the ES14 and wound up buying ES11's which I used for 5 years. B&W went downhill after that 90's Matrix line IMO, especially in the looks department. They were never pretty, but the newer 8 hundred series has to be some of the ugliest speakers I have ever seen.
yeti42
pfm Member
1980 mission 700s
1985 one new tweeter after amp (AU217) clipping
1987 Crossovers rewired as both 1st order using existing large coil and cap, foam removed except for at back, solid core lighting circuit cable internal wiring.
1990 New bass drivers after surround disintegrated from age, crossovers redone with home wound coil (using an LCR bridge to get the value) polypropylene caps from Maplins, still 1st order, crossover point 4800ish.
2007 Theil CS1.6
1985 one new tweeter after amp (AU217) clipping
1987 Crossovers rewired as both 1st order using existing large coil and cap, foam removed except for at back, solid core lighting circuit cable internal wiring.
1990 New bass drivers after surround disintegrated from age, crossovers redone with home wound coil (using an LCR bridge to get the value) polypropylene caps from Maplins, still 1st order, crossover point 4800ish.
2007 Theil CS1.6
AR... forget the number (1978 - 1981)
Rogers Studio 1 (1981 -1991)
Castle Howard (1991 - 2005)
Audiovector M1 Signature (2005 - 2006)
Audiovector M1 Avantagrde (2006 - 2007)
Audiovector M3 Avantgarde Arrete LE (2007 -2009)
Proac Response D18 (2009 - ?)
These Proacs are here to stay!
Rogers Studio 1 (1981 -1991)
Castle Howard (1991 - 2005)
Audiovector M1 Signature (2005 - 2006)
Audiovector M1 Avantagrde (2006 - 2007)
Audiovector M3 Avantgarde Arrete LE (2007 -2009)
Proac Response D18 (2009 - ?)
These Proacs are here to stay!
Colin L
High-tech low-life
Solavox 25?
ARC 101 - passive then active
Linn Sara's Active
then Sara 9's passive
NHT 2.5's (living in Canada)
B&W 804's
B&W 802's ( for the last 8 years)
Next... WB Trinity with Torus, or
Maggie 3.6 or 20.1, or
B&W 800D....depending on the room, or maybe some other speaker yet to be heard
ARC 101 - passive then active
Linn Sara's Active
then Sara 9's passive
NHT 2.5's (living in Canada)
B&W 804's
B&W 802's ( for the last 8 years)
Next... WB Trinity with Torus, or
Maggie 3.6 or 20.1, or
B&W 800D....depending on the room, or maybe some other speaker yet to be heard
Maxbertola
pfm Member
1991 - 1999 Mission 760i
1999 - 2000 Paradigm Monitor 7s
2000 - 2002 Nothing, no hifi, no speakers no music, nothing, everything had just been stolen over christmas 2000
2002 - 2009 Rega Elas MK1 although modern Bass driver
2007 - ???? Rega Ela MK1s Oroginal Research and Design Pair from Rega
2008 - ???? Rogers LS/4as x 2 pairs.
although not owning the following units, I have also used in my set ups;
Ls3/5as
Ruak Talisman MK1
B & W Matrix 805s ???? ( the black 80s style square box fllorstander with kevlar cones and boxed tweeter on top of cabinet)
Would like to own a pair of PMC EB1is. Heard these with a six pack naim set up a year ago and have always wanted to hear them on a full exposure Rig, Theo may need your help one day. The speakers really dig deep and are sublime in the high frequencies, got a lot of saving to do to get £6K ready, but I can keep dreaming
1999 - 2000 Paradigm Monitor 7s
2000 - 2002 Nothing, no hifi, no speakers no music, nothing, everything had just been stolen over christmas 2000
2002 - 2009 Rega Elas MK1 although modern Bass driver
2007 - ???? Rega Ela MK1s Oroginal Research and Design Pair from Rega
2008 - ???? Rogers LS/4as x 2 pairs.
although not owning the following units, I have also used in my set ups;
Ls3/5as
Ruak Talisman MK1
B & W Matrix 805s ???? ( the black 80s style square box fllorstander with kevlar cones and boxed tweeter on top of cabinet)
Would like to own a pair of PMC EB1is. Heard these with a six pack naim set up a year ago and have always wanted to hear them on a full exposure Rig, Theo may need your help one day. The speakers really dig deep and are sublime in the high frequencies, got a lot of saving to do to get £6K ready, but I can keep dreaming
westsounds
pfm Member
Heres the ones I can remember in no particular order.
Epos es11- ( i had two different sets), lovely speakers lacking in some areas magic in others
Jamo D265 - big disco speakers which sounded pretty good
Jamo D3s - very dated now
Wharfdale CRS9s - I think that's the number these were big floorstanders with big bass driver, sounded pretty good but I wouldnt say audiophile
Ruark sceptre, - these were one of the best all-rounders Ive had
tannoy 631se - ( two sets over the years), lovely little speakers
tannoy m1 - decent enough nothing amazing
tannoy R1 - very decent similar to the M1
Monitor Audio PMC700. - Not that keen on metal cone speakers find them a bit harsh.
Monitor Audio radius90HD - pretty good sounding satellite speaker but it sound very much like all other monitor audios.
Sony brooklands ss-86 - small standmount version cant remember these are a bargain and very decent cheap speaker.
B&W P4s - very realistic with the Cyrus III that I had, good speaker if you got the room.
B&W600 s3 - very nice little compact speaker
b&w601 - good speakers
B&W 601 s3 - an improvement on the 601
kef coda 8s - good little cheap speakers starting to look dated now.
studio power ls50 - I think thats the number (non metal drivers) good sounding retro studio look.
acoustic energy AE100s - AE1 pretenders decent enough quite neutral, no big suprises.
AE109s - these sound really good if you got prenty of clean power pioneer A400 springs to mind and lots of room.
Acoustic Energy AE1s - Need the best source and amp and music, can sound amazing and awful. I couldnt live with them long term.
Mission 733is - sounded great with my pioneer A400, I would say the overall the AE109 were better if you had the room for them. Compared them side by side.
Mission 732i - powerful largish size standmount which has got some finesse, better than the AE100 I compared side by side.
Mission 753 - original version, lots of sound very tight bass solid and detailed sounded really good with well recorded material with my musical fidelity X-A2.
Various wharfedale older speakers
Leak Sandwich - ( cant remember model number) they were ok but didnt have them long
Mordaunt short ms 10is - this still is a great budget speaker like a mini epos es11/12
studio power mc100 - sound ok, retro studio type look akward 80s size.
proac super tablets - had 2 pairs of these, really great speakers lovely midrange and treble.
epos es15s - these were very nice speakers epos midrange is great.
Mission 752 - very detailed tight sounding and very easy to drive great for a valve amp.
Goodmans BBC - twin bass monitors, sounded superb but are looking very dated now.
Proac tablette Refernce 8 signature - had three sets now, Superb speakers and amazing for their size, probably one of the best speakers Ive owned, few problems with quality issues though.
Proac response 1sc, - didnt work well in my room Id take the tr8s over these anyday
Proac response hexa satalitte,- best sounding satilite speaker I have ever heard.
Jamo concert 8, - big ugly standmounts. I wasnt that keen on them.
Wharfedale diamond 9.0 - very good tiny speakers
Wharedale diamond 9.1 - preferred the 9.0
Wharfedale diamond 10.0 - best diamond ever so far in looks and sound.
Rel quake, - I though it was a bit point less. Just a cheap compact sub woofer no serious clout, not much musical about it. Cheap sounding boom box.
Q acoustics 2070 sub - much better than quake add a nice body to small speakers, nice tight bass far from gut wrenching though.
bk xls200 - not up to the hype in my opinion very tight and powerful but you could hardly hear or feel the thing, much prefer a ported design.
AVI neutron III - good speakers not up to proac standards though.
Mission 750LE, - very polite speakers quite good nothing special.
epos els3 - not a bad little compact
Proac response satellite
Probably missed quite a few, and cant remember what some of them were even called but you get the picture. Im hoping ive retired now with a set of wharfedale diamond in the lounge and proac tr8s in the hifi room.
Epos es11- ( i had two different sets), lovely speakers lacking in some areas magic in others
Jamo D265 - big disco speakers which sounded pretty good
Jamo D3s - very dated now
Wharfdale CRS9s - I think that's the number these were big floorstanders with big bass driver, sounded pretty good but I wouldnt say audiophile
Ruark sceptre, - these were one of the best all-rounders Ive had
tannoy 631se - ( two sets over the years), lovely little speakers
tannoy m1 - decent enough nothing amazing
tannoy R1 - very decent similar to the M1
Monitor Audio PMC700. - Not that keen on metal cone speakers find them a bit harsh.
Monitor Audio radius90HD - pretty good sounding satellite speaker but it sound very much like all other monitor audios.
Sony brooklands ss-86 - small standmount version cant remember these are a bargain and very decent cheap speaker.
B&W P4s - very realistic with the Cyrus III that I had, good speaker if you got the room.
B&W600 s3 - very nice little compact speaker
b&w601 - good speakers
B&W 601 s3 - an improvement on the 601
kef coda 8s - good little cheap speakers starting to look dated now.
studio power ls50 - I think thats the number (non metal drivers) good sounding retro studio look.
acoustic energy AE100s - AE1 pretenders decent enough quite neutral, no big suprises.
AE109s - these sound really good if you got prenty of clean power pioneer A400 springs to mind and lots of room.
Acoustic Energy AE1s - Need the best source and amp and music, can sound amazing and awful. I couldnt live with them long term.
Mission 733is - sounded great with my pioneer A400, I would say the overall the AE109 were better if you had the room for them. Compared them side by side.
Mission 732i - powerful largish size standmount which has got some finesse, better than the AE100 I compared side by side.
Mission 753 - original version, lots of sound very tight bass solid and detailed sounded really good with well recorded material with my musical fidelity X-A2.
Various wharfedale older speakers
Leak Sandwich - ( cant remember model number) they were ok but didnt have them long
Mordaunt short ms 10is - this still is a great budget speaker like a mini epos es11/12
studio power mc100 - sound ok, retro studio type look akward 80s size.
proac super tablets - had 2 pairs of these, really great speakers lovely midrange and treble.
epos es15s - these were very nice speakers epos midrange is great.
Mission 752 - very detailed tight sounding and very easy to drive great for a valve amp.
Goodmans BBC - twin bass monitors, sounded superb but are looking very dated now.
Proac tablette Refernce 8 signature - had three sets now, Superb speakers and amazing for their size, probably one of the best speakers Ive owned, few problems with quality issues though.
Proac response 1sc, - didnt work well in my room Id take the tr8s over these anyday
Proac response hexa satalitte,- best sounding satilite speaker I have ever heard.
Jamo concert 8, - big ugly standmounts. I wasnt that keen on them.
Wharfedale diamond 9.0 - very good tiny speakers
Wharedale diamond 9.1 - preferred the 9.0
Wharfedale diamond 10.0 - best diamond ever so far in looks and sound.
Rel quake, - I though it was a bit point less. Just a cheap compact sub woofer no serious clout, not much musical about it. Cheap sounding boom box.
Q acoustics 2070 sub - much better than quake add a nice body to small speakers, nice tight bass far from gut wrenching though.
bk xls200 - not up to the hype in my opinion very tight and powerful but you could hardly hear or feel the thing, much prefer a ported design.
AVI neutron III - good speakers not up to proac standards though.
Mission 750LE, - very polite speakers quite good nothing special.
epos els3 - not a bad little compact
Proac response satellite
Probably missed quite a few, and cant remember what some of them were even called but you get the picture. Im hoping ive retired now with a set of wharfedale diamond in the lounge and proac tr8s in the hifi room.
tof
pfm Member
1986 - 1989: Heybrook HB2 (the orginal) : very good
various flavours of Linn kabers:
- passive LS500 (1990->1997)
- updated with new filters & drivers in 1997
- active with 3LK100 (2001)
- back to passive with 1 klout (2004)
Linn kans MK2
Naim SBLs
and now: Ergo IXs made by James...( http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=44784 ) Which murder all the previous ones!
various flavours of Linn kabers:
- passive LS500 (1990->1997)
- updated with new filters & drivers in 1997
- active with 3LK100 (2001)
- back to passive with 1 klout (2004)
Linn kans MK2
Naim SBLs
and now: Ergo IXs made by James...( http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=44784 ) Which murder all the previous ones!
FangfossFlyer
pfm Member
1980'ish -1988 Leak 3030
1988-1992 Monitor Audio floor standing (forget the number)
1992 -2006 Naim SBLs
2006 - B&W 802Ds
FF
1988-1992 Monitor Audio floor standing (forget the number)
1992 -2006 Naim SBLs
2006 - B&W 802Ds
FF
Helge Gundersen
Active Member
Late 1980s-1994: Some 3-way (I think) KEFs on short stands
1994-2009: Epos ES11s
2009-: Royd Albion
Bedroom:
The next-cheapest from System Audio from 1999
A couple of years ago: Tekton 6.5 (with Fostex 167E)
1994-2009: Epos ES11s
2009-: Royd Albion
Bedroom:
The next-cheapest from System Audio from 1999
A couple of years ago: Tekton 6.5 (with Fostex 167E)
naimnut
Deep in the Mines of Soul
mid-1970s - KLH model 17s
1992 or so - Apogee Centaurus minors
1997, moved house and SWMBO decreed the Apogees too ugly so replace with Sara 9s. Good excuse to move from 140 to 250. OK but rather rich, sort of like mashed potatoes with turkey gravy. Apogees in storage.
1999 - Saras replaced by the Apogees which remain to this day.
Along the way compared the following to the apogees - proac response 1SC (very similar sound, but $700 more), sbl's...different but not better. Just different and not worth the cost.
1992 or so - Apogee Centaurus minors
1997, moved house and SWMBO decreed the Apogees too ugly so replace with Sara 9s. Good excuse to move from 140 to 250. OK but rather rich, sort of like mashed potatoes with turkey gravy. Apogees in storage.
1999 - Saras replaced by the Apogees which remain to this day.
Along the way compared the following to the apogees - proac response 1SC (very similar sound, but $700 more), sbl's...different but not better. Just different and not worth the cost.
