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Your Loudspeaker history...

Celestion Ditton 44
Some Denon bookshelf things
Monitor Audio Silver 600
Audio Physic Virgo V
Audio Physic Scorpio 25
Audio Physic Codex

Over a 35 year period.
 
Starting around 1992...

Mirage M-490
Energy C-2
Totem Model 1 Signature
Klipsch RB-5*
ProAc Studio 140*
Totem Fire
JBL 4311
Neat Momentum
Focus Audio FS-688
WLM LaScala
ELAC 310ce*
ProAc D38*
Davis Olympia Master 1*
Sony SS-NA5es*

*still in house
 
Some cheap Gale speakers from Richer Sounds I bought as a 16 year old (crap, but I didn't know any better) >
Acoustic Energy AE109 (decent enough! Not much bass) >
Onkyo Liverpool (liked these a lot. Very handsome, too) >
Rogers JR149 (excellent, but too small for me, and couldn't play rock) >
Neat Motive 3 (not all that, to be honest) >
KEF Reference 105/3 (waaay to much high end, even with valves. Could never listen to more than 30 mins) >
Tannoy 15" MGs in Lancaster cabinets (wonderful, but lacked a smidge of detail that I wanted) >
Audio Note AN-E HE LX (my faves. Excellent balance of great detail, 'warmth' and low end. Can listen to them for hours)

The longest lasting, and best, were the Tannoys and my current Audio Notes. The shortest were the KEFs. One thing I have learnt from speaker ownership is that I absolutely CANNOT abide by slim floormounts or standmount speakers - they just never have enough bass for my liking.

I suspect your 105/3's must have been faulty. I still have a pair (unfortunately now defunct.. for the time being) and they are by far the best speaker I've ever owned and amongst the best I've ever heard. The absolutely seamless integration of mid and treble from the co-axial driver and excellent treble quality were some of their notable features.
 
Amstrad speakers. Can’t remember what but were better than a music centre speakers at the time.
Mission 737
Linton xp2 (my wife had these when we got married but gave them to my dad. I got them back years later when he passed away)
AR bookshelf (can’t remember model)
Celef mini professionals passed onto me from a family member.
AE 109 first model
Kef Q95c
MA silver floor standers and centre speaker.
Martin Logan clarity
3 Martin Logan frescoes
PMC fb1 i
Living room now just using the frescoes for left right and centre.
I have played around with ditton 44 and a couple of castle speakers in my other room. Currently got:
Q acoustics 3020 in basement.
For studio I originally used the Celefs with a pair of old Linn speakers on top. Moved to
Genelec 1029a plus an IPL sub
Now using Adam A7X
Subs I’ve had the IPL, Rel strata 3, monitor audio radius 720 as well as a m-audio sub.

Favourite speakers were the Martin Logan Clarity’s by a long way. When I move house next I think I will go back to els speakers. I did audition quads but far too soft sounding for rock music. Maybe a 2nd hand pair of summits.
 
ARC 101's
Linn Sara's
NHT 2.5i (still have on TV system)
B&W 804
B&W 802
Wilson Benesch Tritinty with Torus subs
B&W 800 D2
MBL101e mk2

Not too bad for 40+ years, a steady increase in SQ with not too many mis-steps
 
The Scala Evo’s have arrived and I am in the process of putting some hours into them…
That being said, straight out of their boxes they are several levels ahead of where my 8yr old V1’s had settled at, and knowing how the frequency extremes of the V1’s enhanced over time I’m in a great hurry to put those hours on the Evo’s…
Will add more in the coming weeks.
 
Well spanning many years:

Royd A7
Rega Ella

ten year gap in hifi

Royd Doublets
Shahinian arcs
Shahinian Orbs
Shahinian Orbs2
Shahinian arcs
Shahinian Hawks

The hawks now need to good due to reducing my listening room size later this year and i may try elfs
 
I keep seeing this thread, but I can't sorry. I have 17 pairs of speakers just at the moment and listing those over the last 32 years I'd be here all weekend - and those would just be the ones I can remember :D

At one time we had lots more for test purposes, but to be fair I'd started off with 11 of my own then, even before be we started. o_O
 
Starting at the point of buying my own.

1983, Sony three way stereo pair made in Germany. Actually very good for the price and time.

1999, Castle Harlechs. Both wonderful in many ways and flawed in others. I enjoyed them for three years.

2002, Naim SBLs. As different as you could be for a medium sized floor stander. I enjoyed them very much in several different situations.

2005, Royd Minstrel SEs. Strangely even more enjoyable than SBLs. I would have kept them for a long time, but ... circumstances ... parted with in 2007

2011, Quad ESL 57s. No comment needed. These were a pair in name only, as one was from the early sixties and the other a few years younger. The owner went stereo ...

2016 [to date], 1957 made ESL, and used in mono. I bought this speaker very well, just after a full service at Huntingdon. It was off course designed as a mono speaker in the first place, and as such it is in my view the best mono speaker ever made. I like mono better than stereo. I found the grail speaker with it.

Best wishes from George

PS: In 1979, I made an open baffle speaker using a 7 inch full range Goodmans driver out of a valve radio from the late fifties or early sixties. This worked very well and required very little power, working very nicely on the end of high quality Benksson transistor radio headphone output. The radio itself was a four band device that was exceptionally good on VHF, as well as making a very listenable job of LW and MW. Radio Three was on 464 metres [MW] very far from any other broadcast frequencies in those days, and it was sometimes almost as good as R3 on VHF. Halcyon days ...
 
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I keep seeing this thread, but I can't sorry. I have 17 pairs of speakers just at the moment and listing those over the last 32 years I'd be here all weekend - and those would just be the ones I can remember :D

At one time we had lots more for test purposes, but to be fair I'd started off with 11 of my own then, even before be we started. o_O
Excellent work. I’m an ex speaker hoarder myself. There’s no way I can remember all the speakers that have been in my life. Some were long and stable partners, others a mere fling.

I’ve been ‘seeing’ the same speaker now for the past five years. We’re pretty much going steady.
 
From mid 80’s

Musical Fidelity MC2 (Plus the smelly MF bright blue speaker cable)

Meridian M20 (still got these, dodgy RCA on one, which I need to fix) plus original stands

Epos ES14

Epos ES22 (still got these)

ATC SCM9

ProAc DT8 (Current)
 
"Main" speakers:

Bang & Olufsen RL 60
Tannoy D20
Meadowlark Kestrel
Rega Ela Mk I
Shahinian Obelisk Mk I
Snell Type E II
Meridian M20

Still have the last three listed; daughter is still using the Tannoys.
 
60s Coax speakers given to me by my Father
Jensen Bookshelf with 8" woofer
Snell E II
Boston A40
Linn Tukans
Linn Isobariks passive
same Isobariks active
 
As a schoolboy I started with EMI dual concentric drivers in home made boxes. [1974 ish]
Next Celestion Ditton 44 on stands.
Then a pair of 'The Quad Electrostatic' which I still have. [Circa 1979 paid for with my first money from work]
Next Quad ESL 63 which although having better frequency response, power handling and dispersion characteristics never had the charm of feel of the originals probably because of poor build quality which let down a very clever idea.
Quad 2805 which is a properly built slightly modified version of the 63 and shows the limits of the build quality of Quad on the 63. They are physically solid and sound much better than the 63 to me.
Velodyne EHT12 sub bass crossed over from the 2805 through a Meridian 561.
My computer sound system is a pair of Tannoy Actives.
I'm not planning on any changes until/unless I downsize my home and who knows how that will play out.
PS : Stax Sigma ear speakers.
 
Probably missed something but in the main system...
Wharfdale Linton xp2
Bose 601
JBL L110
Bose 901
JBL L110
Heybrook HB1
Linn Kan
Linn Sara
Audio Note K
Epos ES14
Wilmslow SM2
Naim SBL
HiFi World KLS3 mk2
IPL S5TL
Naim SBL
Linn Keilidh
HiFI World KLS3 mk1
Swapping between Stirling LS3/5a...JBL L110...HiFi World KLS3 mk2.5’s
Settled for now on the KLS3’s. I can’t better them.

A few glaring errors along the way but it’s been fun.
 
1981 - Mission 700
1993 - B&W DM610?
1995 - Castle Severn MkI
2007 - Rega R3
2010 - Linn Kan MkI (originally bought in 1983'ish by my dad)
2017 - Castle Knight 3 (thanks @Ponty)
2020 - Tannoy Cheviots (thanks @roy)

Kans in storage and Knights as part of dinning room system.
 
Can't believe I haven't done this before (maybe I have?), but here goes. I'll discount the first systems I had from this list (a Fidelity portable player, a Ferguson system with crappy speakers, Pye Black Box with nondescript speakers). I'm sure I will have forgotten a few too:

1979-ish: Wharfedale Denton XP2: a truly hateful speaker, bought as a Comet special. Poor student, etc.
1980-ish: Mission 710. These were lovely, and lasted many different amp upgrades and 2nd system home. I had these for over 20 years until cone rot did for them.
1985: SD Acoustic SD2. Jimmy Hughes gave them a good review and he was right. They were great, with real presence. However, they were not pretty...
1987: Linn Isobariks. Probably from early 1982 (single Cannon sockets). It took me many amp combinations to really get these to sing. Loved top range Exposure (Farlowe) amps, and NVA. Didn't cry when I sold them.
1995: Acoustic Energy AE1. 2nd system speaker. Loved Densen amps, hated almost everything else.
2004: Linn Kan Mk1: a mistake.
2005: Neat Ultimatum MFS. The first really wonderful speaker in my possession. I still regret letting these go.
2007: Neat Ultimatum MF7. Even better. On the end of 4 x Exposure XVI monos, truly sublime.
2010 - present day: Jamo R909. My first dipole speaker. They may well see me out.
2012 - present day: B&O 6000 active speakers. Lounge/TV use. Ideal for the purpose.

I've borrowed/loaned more, but chose not to buy these. There are speakers out there I wouldn't mind trying, but cost means some kind of lottery win would be required.
 
1970's: Kef Concord's
1980s: Castle Clyde, Rega Ela
1990's: Rega Ela, Linn Kan Mk1, Epos ES11
2000's: Epos ES11, Rehdeko RK115, Posselt Albatross
2010's: Posselt Albatross, Vaessen Box and Microbox, Accuton Collette, Quad Musikwiedergabe ESL 57, Boenicke SLS, Thoeress FR20CD MKIII, Jon Espley Jordan JX92s in concrete enclosures.
2020's: Mostly 57's and Thoeress, recently acquired gradient subs have helped the Quads.
2022: Aiming to finally get the Quads stacked in a room big enough to do them justice and a pair of Jon Espley Matteis clones made up with Eikonas.
 
Hmmm . . .

Speakers are difficult.

With the usual caveats about probably forgetting a couple, excluding borrowed speakers, and sequencing not guaranteed to be correct:

Linn Index
British Fidelity MC2
Linn Kan (with stands, both Mk1 and Mk2)
Linn Index 2/ku-stone stands
Linn Helix 2/ku-stone stands
Linn Kabers (passive)
ProAc Response 2.5 (the speaker I most regret selling)
Epos ES14/Epos stands
Naim SBL (passive and active)
Celestion SL700 (should have kept them!)
Linn Helix 2/ku-stone stands (still have them in basement)
ATC-SCM35 (edited to add)
Monitor Audio GX300 (current main system)
Thiel CS2.2 (basement system)

Out of all of them, I think the Monitor Audios are the "best," recognizing that a speaker is completely dependent on the room. The Response 2.5s are the speaker I most regret selling, and I'd be curious to hear them next to the Monitor Audios. The Celestions were terrific but I don't think they'd come close to providing the frequency extension or dynamics of the MAs or the ProAcs. And while I can rattle off all the shortcomings of the Helix 2s, I (perhaps somewhat irrationally) really like how they sound and play music. They have a certain liveliness to them that makes them fun to listen to and also reveal improvements further up the chain.

I probably own my last speakers in the Monitor Audios, they're good enough that to get something better enough would be prohibitively expensive for me. I haven't heard a speaker that I'd target - perhaps the current MA Gold 300s, or, if I won the lottery, perhaps the Platinum 300s (though I prefer the cabinet appearance of the GX300s).
 


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