10 BEST Loudspeakers of ALL TIME
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- Опубліковано 17 чер 2024
- ✅ 🛒 Some of Our Current Favs: bit.ly/shopwithAR
► 10 Best Loudspeakers of ALL TIME *according to me
KLIPSCH LA SCALA: bit.ly/klipschlas
JBL L100 CLASSIC: bit.ly/3bPYrBt, bit.ly/3tNNZlQ
PARADIGM ATOM MONITOR SE: bit.ly/PMonBS
MAGNEPAN 1.7i
MartinLogan CLS II/a/z
Bowers & Wilkins 802D: bit.ly/3QBiZzD
Tekton Design Pendragon
Bang & Olufsen Beolab 4000/6000/8000
Wilson Audio Sophia
Bose Acoustimass Series: bit.ly/Bose10
10 BEST Loudspeakers of ALL TIME (according to me)
The 10 Best Loudspeakers of all time are a mix of affordable speakers, high end loudspeakers and even home theater speaker systems. From lifestyle audio brands such as Bose to high end hifi speaker manufacturers such as Wilson Audio, this 10 Best List has it all.
By the way, this list is meant to be fun. Of course, it doesn't include EVERY single BEST speaker ever - after all, there are only 10 spots in a list of 10. Did your favorite make my list?
► MY REFERENCE AUDIO AND HOME THEATER SYSTEM
POWER
Audiolab 6000A Play: bit.ly/3AiW43w, amzn.to/398qSrJ
Marantz 40n: bit.ly/3N89HI7
Decware Zen: bit.ly/3iJbw1D
LOUDSPEAKERS
Polk R700: bit.ly/3LtiF1N, bit.ly/3RcQR5Z
Sonus Faber Lumina II: bit.ly/3QlTiCR
SPEAKER STANDS
Budget Stands: amzn.to/3DD0UJX
Reference Stands: bit.ly/3xsoe9M
TURNTABLES & ACCESSORIES
Audio Technica LP140XP: amzn.to/33OfgXO with amzn.to/3zcPqKM
TVs
OLED: bit.ly/3twsun8
LED: amzn.to/3zFCCN1
QLED: amzn.to/3biyRXu
HOME THEATER
Budget Receiver: bit.ly/3n2lTje
Reference Receiver: bit.ly/3sntDj0
Sony A9: bit.ly/3AIoyno with bit.ly/3tZcI5F
Samsung Q950A: amzn.to/3bt6HpT
DESKTOP SPEAKERS
Tannoy Gold 5: amzn.to/3damM5r
Kanto YU: bit.ly/2YrRzoX
HEADPHONES
Sony WH-1000XM4: bit.ly/WH1000xm4
Apple Airpods: amzn.to/3IOxE5m
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#audio #hifi #loudspeaker - Розваги
✅ *🛒 some of our current favs: **bit.ly/shopwithAR*
✅ *What speakers are in YOUR top 10?*
✅ *This video was created over 2 years ago. If I had it to do over again, I would have included more images.*
Based on nothing other than what I have personally owned:
1. ADS L-series from the 70s/80s (particularly L-1290 and L-1590)
2. Paradigm Performance Series (Atom, Titan, seMKIII line) incredible bang for buck
3. Soundwave Point Source 3.0
4. DCM TimeFrame & CX series (particularly CX-17 and CX-27, like the Paradigms amazing bang for buck)
5. Infinity Crescendo series (particularly CS-3009 which I owned)
6. Phase Technology Premier Collection series with the RPF (rigid polymer foam) woofers, I owned the PC 8.5
7. Magnepan MMG
8. Castle Trent (personally think Castle speakers are overall better sounding British speakers than B&W)
9. NHT SuperZeros or SuperOnes (matched with a sub they sound fantastic)
10. Realistic Minimus-7 (everyone's favorite cheap mini-speaker).
Acoustic research or kef.
I have Dali MS4’s which were preceeded by B&W 805d’s. I have been very impressed by ProAc Supertowers, Sonus Faber Electa Amators & Aidas, Quad ESL989 & 63, Dynaudio Special 25, Vandersteen 7, Piega 60, and Joseph Audio Pearl.
Legacy Valor and V, PBN Montana Master Reference III, Legacy Whisper XD and Paradigm Persona 9H,Legacy Aeris and Focus SE, Canton Reference 1.2 DC and Magnat Quantum Signature.All this speakers - absolutely superior quality speakers! 👍 True High-End speakers! And for price, absolutely unique speakers - SVS Prime Pinnacle!👍Price only 1600 $,but quality very very high! 👍
Altec Lansing Voice of the theater model 13 all cherry exterior. I have a set I bought them around 1980 I bought them because we were at the Chicago theater they had two speakers and that whole theater Altec Lansing model 13 voice of the theater. When Dracula died I never had my skin crawl so much in my life the next day I own them.
I thought I heard him say if there was a list of 10 I couldn't find it.
I blinked and missed the picture of the speaker. 😂
Yes, but you can pause and rewind which is what I did. CIAO
@@albertsword2560 you didn't get it
I grew up with my father's system. He was a home audio enthusiast and he taught me electronics at a very early time in my life. He set aside time to show me how voice coils worked inside the speaker cones and how the enclosure suspended it. I remember going to his friends audio shop and my father buying a set of Bose SE-5 speakers and I helped him set them up. We were blown away by how much sound they made at such a small footprint. Years later I have moved through the rack systems, Paradigm speakers which were my first real speakers(monitor 7) and onward. My first separates were Adcom which i still have one of the amps powering my rear channels. I even worked in higher end audio in the 90's managing and store in my home town. Now I own Spatial Audio open baffle speakers, Pass labs amp, Hegel Preamp, and etc, so I have moved way passed my fathers level but I will still always remember the fun I had learning audio with my father.
Hi may I ask which Hegel preamp model do you have ? i have the old and cheap P2A
Quite transparent but a little sharp
Regards gino
@@gino3286 I have the P20
@@harleyguy071 hi thanks Much better unit I see Regards gino
Spatial’s have according surrounds right there you are way ahead of the Q. If you look at most drivers
they all have these large surrounds. Right there it’s over they can’t be fast enough. I like your choice
if speakers. You in the 1% that can actually play music. Everything else plays HiFi which is fine. I prefer
to listen to music, a speaker must be able to reproduce Pace- rhythm- timing very few do…
What a joy this was to watch. I was taken back to an experience in the '70s when a salesman took this teenage kid and plopped him down on a sofa in front of a McIntosh-Klipschorn system. I was gobsmacked. A couple of years later I had saved enough for my first set of good speakers,Klipsch Heresy, purchased from the same man. I spent a lot of disposable income in that shop over the years, and that first exposure to quality audio was a formative event in my life.
Those were the good times, when those salesmen knew their business and what they were doing and speaking about, and had the disposition to show interested and potential customers the really good stuff.
1:00 Paradigm Atom / Mini-Monitor
1:50 Magnepan 1.6
2:58 MartinLogan CLS II
3:56 Klipsch La Scala
5:07 JBL L100
6:07 Bowers & Wilkins 802D
7:38 Tekton Design Pendragon
10:23 B&O BeoLab Series
12:35 Wilson Audio Sophia
14:32 Bose Acoustimass Series
Klipsch. I 've owned Heresy's, Cornwalls, La Scalas, and a set of Horns. They are like being outside at a perfectly-mixed jazz festival with Weather Report or Steely Dan playing. The catch is, you're not outside. As a gigging musician, they are amazingly accurate. Thank you. Great video
You should have kept the picture of the speakers on screen for longer so we can have a look whilst listening to you rather than forcing us to pause the video.
That’s awesome on your Bose story! Growing up my grandpa had a Bose Acoustimass system in his living room which led me to my love for speakers and along the way I’ve collected a few myself!
Seriously yeah, and you can turn them up.
Bought my last "set" ten years ago as I became…Disabled and in chronic pain. Still have it.
Klipsch and ONKYO in basement.
Klipsch La Scala. I purchased many speakers over the years out of curiosity. My La Scalas have been in my house, ready to go since I bought them in '83.
I had three Bose units around my apartment with the bass under the couch. My friends couldn’t believe those little speakers were so throaty. Lol. Thanks for bringing them up, classics for sure.
In the early 60's my dad (a physicist) designed and had built a custom horn speaker system. The horns were vacuum cast out of magnesium by the honda motorcycle company in Japan where we lived at the time. The center base horn was 4' high and driven by a 600 watt tube amp that my dad made by hand. The midrange horns were three feet square with two horn tweeters mounted above each. The cabinets were custom made by the Y L Acoustic Company in Tokyo. To my knowledge, there were 6 sets of these made. One to Tocheira Honda for doing the casting. We had to remove a wall to get the system into our house. I would love to track these down as my dad sold ours when we moved into a house here in the states where they would not fit.
Great story. It put another audio hardware treasure hunt image in my head, had to tear down a wall to fit it in.
The Klipsch La Scala. It can do anything. Great stereo speaker, but we used a pair of these along with some sub woofers as the mains for our band. The JBL L-100 is a studio legend. My favorite two.
I still have the Bose Acoustimass Series, which I bought about 18 years ago! Still sounds amazing! Will be upgrading to something else when we move some day soon.
I was at a Stereo show in San Diego 40 years ago and I went into the Cerwin Vega room. They shut off the lights and played a recording of a steam training coming into a station. The recording was fabulous including hearing people walking around, buying tickets for the train, children, etc. The sound just blew me away with the volume and clarity. They then turned on the lights and the speakers were relatively small for the size of the room and the performance.
Cerwin Vega's! One speaker system I would love to own IF they were in REAL WOOD enclosures. By far loud & pristine clear regardless...
@@michaellloyd4413 At that time they may have been in wood. There was one system that used linen folding room dividers as the speaker. Very cool at the time but not the best sound system.
The absolute best system that I have ever heard was put together by a concert violinist from the Philadelphia Philharmonic. Powered by a 220 watt Marantz amp and SAE Equalizer driving some JBL C50 Olympus S8R-2s. Because the sound was so intense, it had to be on a concrete floor, as it would shake the entire house. Listened to Emerson, Lake and Palmer's Picture at an Exhibition and the presence was beyond words. This was back in the early 70's.
Loved the Acoustimass part as that hit home! When I was 12 I was introduced when my grandpa got a system setup In his living room and I’ve been hooked ever since!
Interesting review. I liked your descriptions and reasons for your choices. I've been using the same JBL 4311B monitors since 1981 and still going strong.
So glad you mention the Acoustimass system. I've had two since they became available and have loved every minute of them.
I appreciate your willingness to share that!
Bose 901 in 70's was pretty amazing, the Acoustimas also for its size, interesting no mention of the Advent speakers.
I owned JBL "Century" L100's for many years, back when I had my first Pioneer, the SX-750. (I'm old.) Loved them and still do.
Classic and time tested setup that gets you all the way there for a fraction of
Modern prices. Plus old sx 50 series Pioneers and those JBLs are kings of design style.
Love that you put the Bose AM into the conversation. I’ve bought and sold more of those systems than I can recall and still have an old set of redlines floating around. I’ve moved on to bigger and better but easily the best starter sound you can ask for
A couple favorites- Klipsch Kornerhorn, Altec Lansing A7 Voice of the Theatre, AR 3a, ADS L700, Snell
My best list. Personally own/owned. Duntech Princess, Thiel 3.5 with eq, Klipsch LaScalla, Magnepan MGIIc, Thiel 1.5, Dynaudio Audience 80, JBL L7, Altec Lansing Voice of the Theatre,
Vienna Acoustics Bach.
I had a pair of Cannon loudspeakers in the 1970 s twelve inch woofer paired with an Akia 400 watt amplifier. Today I have a pair of Cerwin vega loudspeakers, 15 inch woofer incredibly heavy speaker box like 74 lbs each. They have max input of 400 watts they are paired with a 400 watt Yamaha amplifier. The bass is amazing, the highs and mid range is very clear. I'm glad I live out in the country , no neighbors for miles. I enjoyed your video, I'm still old school grew up in the early seventies. To be honest have not heard of some of the brands you mentioned.
In 1990 I bought my Bose Acoustimass 5 Series II Speaker. Many years later I bought a used second pair for my large living room. Until today I use them with a Marantz Stereophonic Receiver Model 2275. I put both subwoofer together in a corner to get more base.
ESS Hiel with the AMT air motion transformer playing Pink Floyd Time on a Phase Linear system in the late 70's. That started my journey.
The ESS speaker were made in Sacramento, CA. Fine brand.
You my friend are my brother from another mother"with no offense", I was there with my Sansui 9090, my buddy was running his Phase linear and we both had ESS Heil ÀMT 44yrs. ago playing Dark Side of the Moon LP, vinyl.
Had the same speakers, same experience!
Oh yes love Flame Linear .. if I need to I could arc weld with one of those amps
I agree 100%..don't even know how many pairs of speakers I've owned.. and 2 this day none have sounded as good as my first pair I bought.. ESS.. made every album sound great.. pink Floyd dark side of the moon.. and there album animals along with countless others...
I remember first time hearing the Bose brand at my friends place, I was so amazed by the sound specially that small speaker.
Good video for a new subscriber. I went into a local (Albany, NY area) stereo shop in 1973 with the absolute intent of buy the JBL L100s. I mean I was walking out of that store that day with those speaker. I conveyed this to the low key salesperson and he said great choice, but do me a favor, 10 minutes of your time. He introduced me to the ESS AMT 1Bs. The ones with that silly little Heil air motion transformer. I became the guy in the L100 ad, blown away. I give him much more than 10 minutes and about 2 hrs later walked out with the ESS. I’m not sad to see if they made your list, but pound for pound and $, they owned my world for the 15 yrs. thought I’d share. I enjoy what I’ve seen so far and look forward to more. Bob G
The "L100 Ad" was actually and ad for Maxell Audio tape. Strange how so many people remember the speaker pictured in the ad. I am sure JBL was happy.
Oh man, the Sophias... I too had a period of going to a local audiophile shop where I was living at the time (The Thirsty Ear, now long gone in that city) with that same setup you describe: The pair of white Sophias (first series) on a Krell. Moving from so many other setups (Some of which are on your list) and continually coming back to those Wilsons and being stunned by the detail, nuance, clarity, emotion... just all of it. Such a moving experience no matter what music you put through them. While I probably did not go in there as often as you did in yours, it was still that moment when I realized that should I ever be in the market to spend that much for a stereo setup, Wilson was going to get my money. Thanks for bringing that memory back to me!
Klipsch Klipschorn AK6 is my "If I win the lottery" speaker set. I've only heard them one time but they sure made an impression on me!
I love my Maggie 1.7i's. And after hearing your praise of the Crown XLS, I run them now with a pair of bridged 1002's. I'm blown away by the price/performance ratio of both products.
Tim Bathras Having owned and modified multiple Maggies... I agree with you. The performance of Maggies are amazing!
My brother bought a pair of La Scala back in the late 80s or early 90s and still has them today. Can't wait to tell him.
Your videos are great. No big words you are talking to the ones are just starting. I bought my first rack system in the 70's. The system was a Fisher Studio Standard. Still have the receive and turn table. Just got them repair. Thanks for being you and down to earth. Thanks Al Hartman
Thank you so much, Albert Hartman! We appreciate you watching.
I did not had contact with a lot of these speakers mentioned but some of the outstanding ones that I have heard over the years and made a big impression were:
Meridian M100
Linn Isobarik and Linn Sara Driven by Naim NAP250/NAC 32.5
Acoustat Spectra 2200 (owned)
B&W Nautilis driven by Mark Levinson No.33
B&W 800 matrix series (Still own the 804 matrix)
Celestion SL600 (owned)
Thiel CS2
Magnapan Tympanis'
AR-98LS (My first set of speakers)
Proac Tablette
The ESS AMT1 was the speaker that woke me up as an audiophile and I began my journey in 1977. It is still a speaker that I would enjoy today, but difficult to get (in pristine condition that is). Thank you taking me down memory lane today. Best wishes to you.
John Bartel I had the ESS monitors ,huge 110 pound with the amazing air motion transformers . My woofer surrounds rotted and I sold them for parts instead of just replacing the foam. I so regret it
Ess amt is in my top 10 list also, hard to beat except midrange is light.
John - agree, I listen to a pair of AMT 3's every day. Heard them played in a demo in a store (HiFi Buys) back in 1978 and impressed then and still am all these years later.
ESS still makes a range of AMT loudspeakers as does ELAC.
I have a pair of LaScala speakers - bought them in the mid 70’s for $760 each - back then had them connected to an SAE system - beautiful. I now have them as the front speaks for a digital organ Hauptwerk and have a pair of Klipsch bookshelf for the read speakers. WOW WHAT A SOUND.
I really love my Polk Audio Monitor 5 from 1991. I drive them with my vintage Denon PMA 520. 70wpc. I also have a Denon dcd1560. The imaging is incredible. I've heard stuff beside me and behind me. They accurately reproduce instruments with such detail I can actually hear if the piano is a Yamaha, Steinway, or something else. I hear resin on bows, and wind instruments mechanics open and closing. For me, the Polk Audio M5's are a forgotten gem that really fits in all environments and provide the ultimate in music therapy. ( Deep relaxation). 😄
My favorite loudspeaker system I had was the Apogee Duetta Signature's driven by Krell mono blocks. Nothing ever came close to that. It all had to go when we had kids.
I still have my JBL L100’s I bought in 1974. I still love them after all these decades.
They’re great. Thank you for watching.
In 1981 I bought a pair of celestion ditton 551, and have had a love affair since then. A lightning strike blew a tweeter and burnt a hole in my crossover. They have been fixed and still bring me joy.
My first acoustimass are the original series back in 85. As an experiment and on advice from my local high end store I swapped the Bose bell wire cables for some heavy duty Naim cable from the amp to the bass cabinet and QED qudos to the cubes. Wow! What an improvement, the system came alive like never before and blowing up the Death star from Star wars was incredible, still run that setup today. Also looking for a higher end setup for music but its got to be better than a Nad 3020 on the 901's
Acoustic Energy AE-1, Yamaha NS-1000M, Totem Arro, Martin Logan CLS-2, KEF 105-2, Wilson Grand Slamm X1, Living Voice Vox Olympian, Infinity IRS-V, Apogee Scintilla, Tannoy Kingdom 18.
awesome speakers. I've owned bose 901 and klipsc heresy 2. have to say I liked the klipsc more. they just always wanted more power
just found this channel - it is great. Brings back the true appreciation of stereo equipment. So regarding my Bose story: I walked into a stereo store back in 1981, when i was in college, and heard an entire lineup of all Bose made at the time. I also listened to other great speakers of the day. Without a doubt, the Bose 601 Series II blew me away. They sounded so full at a loud and low volume. I bought a pair in 1984 and I still have them. Still totally satisfied with the sound; but you need the proper room to put them in.
My first memory with Hi-Fi is Bose acoustimass. Second is the Sony home theater system my dad got when I was maybe 14 years old and I would sit in front of those four-way towers all day listening to 1990s pop and hip hop music and watching the woofers do their work. They were actually really good sounding speakers, really warm, the highs were not too crazy and you just didn't get tired of them. I miss those.
Excellent review! Can you do 10 best vintage speakers of all time and 10 best amps of all time?
I still have 2 JBL L100 studio monitor speakers. 40+ years old (bought in the early 70's). Still sound great.
Loved this video! I am currently using the Klipsch Forte III for my primary analog and digital audio setup and I can't say enough about the "live" sound they produce. I had the Dynaudio Excite X38 in the same setup but had to move it to my home theater because it just didn't provide the same wow factor.
That B&O experience was similar to mine....except in San Francisco. My brother in law had a Beosound 3000 player and I was so impressed that I walked into the San Fran B&O store and was just blown away by the design and performance of the Beolab speakers. Beolab 5's being my favorite.
Beolab 5's wow !!! + Beolab 20's O My !!
Had a pair of JBL 300's. Great sound and real nice wood work.
Great list.
I sold Bose. 301's never ever broke and never ever sounded bad. Not great, but never bad.
I started with a pair of AR 4ax two-way speakers while Henry Kloss was still at AR. My friend had four KLH monitors in a quadraphonic system.
I would agree with all of your choices. I have heard most of them. I sold JBL and Klipsch. The La Scala's are truly magnificent. I almost bought a pair of Forte's - alas I should have.
Celestion Ditton 66 and 662's were very enjoyable and I listened to them for a long time every day at work. When you work in a hi-fi shop you may or may not listen to the very best every day, but you tend to listen to what you like every day.
In competition with the Paradigms I would suggest the first Psb Alpha's. I met Paul Barton, their designer, and I owned a pair of them longer than any other speaker I have owned. Like the Paradigms, they didn't do everything, but everything they did was right.
One very fond memory comes from being able to pair Wharfedale TSR's with Denon components - particularly some of their class A/B amplifiers, their superb turntables and their giant-killer moving coil cartridge the DL-103. The TSR's made everything sound beautiful.
Currently I own a pair of Tannoy Revolution XT 6f speakers which please me very much. They have the high efficiency that brings truly live dynamics to the fore and their dual-concentric design gives them imaging rarely found in dynamic speakers.
Thanks for the video.
Perhaps let the pictures of the products you are talking about linger longer onscreen. I found the quick glimpse of the B & O's to be a bit frustrating as i wanted to try to drink in the design you were describing.
Shalom
I will never forget as a teenager the first time I auditioned Quad ESL speakers, 18 years ago (vintage 57 and newer models 63 , 2912), to this day still blows my mind (as a magnepan lover and experienced with focal, b&w, klipsch, tannoy, harbeth, kef, jbl and more). I wish I could own a system and a room to facilitate them fully, I would be perfectly happy with the 63's ^__^ .
2 weeks ago I bought both the Pendragon (for my mains) and the Lore Reference (surrounds). I fell in love with the Pendragon's so much, that I haven't yet bothered to set up the other speakers.
Owned Heresy in early 80s. Then La Scalas. Finally Klipschorns. Most gigging musicians don't own high-end stereos. 50 bucks a night, go figure. I'm lucky in that I've worked steadily for years. Great speakers. Great video. Thanks
In 1978 I bought a pair of I M F monitor speakers. I have listened to many top end speakers from then until now. I wouldn’t change them for anything. The greatest music experience you could wish for.
Peter heywood Me too. Last gen Professional Monitors (they were the tls 80 to the RSPM VIIs). Decades of happiness.
Klipsch Forte II, Klipsch KG 5.2, Phase Technology PC10.5, Dynaudio Audience 72 SE, B&W 802, Hales Revelation 3, Hales Transcendence 1 and Dynaudio Focus 140. I've had other speakers but these are my all time favorites. Still have both sets of Dynaudios. Wish I had the Hales as well.
Thanks Andrew. it would be more enjoyable to see the pictures or the speakers for longer time.
Finally an Audiophile who doesn't sneer at B&O
Great List.... Purchased 3A Speaker in the 80s,. Kevlar back then, no longer available, but mine still sound great. I also have the JBLs, Bowers & Wilkins, and Martin Logan monitors. Makes the 11.2 surround sound perfect....
One of my old favourite speakers were the Energy Connoisseur. It always amazed me what a 6" driver and tweeter could accomplish while in a very sleek floor standing ported cabinet
Rogers ls3/5 pre 1982. The best loudspeaker I have ever heard. No earth shaking bass no cracky crispy highs but pure emotion and a mid range to die for. Till now my number one.
I completely agree. I had a pair with Satterberg Woofers. They made bad recordings listenable and good recordings come alive.
When I was 10 my dad built us a new house and we got a Bose surround sound and a 40" Sony XBR crt it was one of the first HD TV's (to my knowledge) it had a either 3 or 4" thick solid glass screen- that thing was insanely heavy- the heaviest TV I have ever picked up lol. At the time it was the shi+ and all of our neighbors would come over and watch newly released DVD's (when a DVD cost like $50 or more). One of the first movies we watched was Jarrasic Park, wow was it amazing. Like you it was what turned me into an audiophile. I always loved playing the Bose demo cds. Also the Whitney Houston Bodyguard soundtrack it was definitely next level. Bose are awesome I don't understand why audiophiles don't like them. Yeah I'm sure they aren't the best sounding speakers available but they still sound much better than most, in my opinion.
I have the Bose Acoustimass setup and I really like them. For pure audio, I listen to my Sennheiser 6XX Headphones through the iFi Signature DAC and Signature Can (separate headphone amplifier). Really like your channel. Thanks for the quality production.
i am sooo glad you know the Klipsch. Even better than the LaScala was the Klipschorn. 12" folded horn woofer in a 5 sided corner cabinet. couldnt blow them up at all !
you should also investigate Norman Lab speaker systems. i had them in my bar in 1978 bcuz the bar with the best sound got the most customers. + i played real rock not disco crap !!!
ty for the JBL shout out also. they were the best PA speakers for live music for a long time.
right now i just use 4 Marshall tall boxes with old style tube amps.
+ late 70s Cerwin Vegas put out bone ratteling tunage !
Tanx muchly 4 ur reveiws. i think i learned something. SanSui were also good
My personal favorites:
1.) The Infinity Reference Standard. Way out of my price range but the best sounding speakers I have ever heard. Back around 1980 I had gone to the house of a guy who's father owned large company (thus the deep pockets) and was amazed when I first laid eyes on those gigantic columns. I was even more astounded when he cranked them up. I don't recall exactly what he was using for components but I do remember it was all high end separates. Probably McIntosh or Carver. They needed a lot of power but the precision and clarity of those speakers stood out instantly.
2.) The Klipsch Forte II. Around 1991 when I was finally earning enough money to purchase a decent pair of speakers I spent quite a bit of time going around to the high end audio stores listening to various high end speakers. After much sampling I chose the Klipsch Forte II's, preferring them over even the Klipschhorn. They provide rich, deep bass thanks to their rear mounted 15" woofers and crisp, clear mid's and high's that are precise and yet easy on the ear. I still own them and they are still my primary L R Front speakers in my home theater set-up.
I'm sure what you've heard was the Infinity 1b reference standard. Each channel has 2 towers (total of 4 towers) One tower for each channel has 5 10" woofers the other tower for each channel has ribbon type mid-ranges and tweeters and super tweeters in the back. They're great sounding speakers but very power hungry. I still got those and paired them with Emotiva amps and Bryston amp.
True. I loved Infinity speakers.
Of all the speakers I've experienced here are my favs:
1) Focal Sopra No. 2
2) Paradigm Persona 3f
3) Martin Logan ESL Impressions 11A
4) B&W 802 D2
5) B&W CM6 S2
6) Martin Logan Motion 40 (this sounds the best to my ears in the entire motion line)
7) Dali Rubicon 8
8) Tannoy Canterbury
9) Polk Audio LSiM 707 (just an easy to listen to speaker, and at the 75% off clearance sale, unbeaten value)
10) Bose Acoustimass (for being the game changers they were)
I feel that your commentary’s are really great. I’ve had experiences like yours with snell type E2’s and mission speakers that I’ve owned in my house fi journey. Thank you
You sir, are the real deal. Your range of experience and candor is appreciated!
I appreciate that!
The Bose 901s, may not have been the best sounding speaker of all time, but it certainly was a revolutionary design. I think like "pound for pound" for boxers, dollar for dollar speakers, it's gotta be up there! You have to respect the science behind the design, the the emphasis on psychoacoustics of the real world vs the theoretical anechoic chamber measurements, made them great in real life and less so in the lab... which is all that matters, and that's no small feet.
I've heard a set of 901s. They were quite loud. Right up there with Cerwin Vegas I think.
Bose, they always had an interesting approach. Save money on materials, throw money at engineering. At the very least, they're unique. Often quite good. And honestly, if profits are the goal... can't go wrong with affordable materials once the R/D is done.
I have a pair of 901 bought in Germany when in Army . Power them with DBX Power amp that really pushes em there flipping amazing even to this day they love power
@@fiveday592 Profits have to be the goal or you go out of business! Engineering is about optimization. What they deliver is the optimal components in terms of price and performance. I don't want to pay 10 times more for a component that gives me 5% improvement.... some people do... and that's fine... for most, price performance optimization is what's desired.
@@marccastle8326 The German 901's are the best of all, made with exacting tolerances, German capacitors and cabinets made with wood from the Black Forest.
ESS AMT-1B speakers with the Heil Air Motion Transformer tweeters. The sound stage from these is incredible. When I heard them for the first time in college in the early 1970's, they were way out of my price range. Ironically, a number of years later I came into possession of four Cannon TLS (Translinear Systems) Model 1032's and recently found out that this brand of speaker was designed and manufactured by ESS. I have owned them for over 30 years and had to redo the foam surrounds on the woofers a few years ago. They were made in the USA and after finding out they were made by ESS, I noticed a little red sticker on their backs printed "ESS 1."
A friend has owned a pair of ESS AMT-1B speakers since the mid 1970s. Unbelievable speakers, everything sounds better through them. I've wanted a pair for decades. Well in 2021 I bought a pair of ESS RMII-6 LE. I can't find anything to fault them with, well they're not bi-wireable.
Good top ten review. Very informative and well chosen.
I have the first line of B&O Active speakers. I have a pair of Penta MK- 2's and I love them.
These began it all for B&O active systems and they are the Icon's of active speakers for B&O.
I have never heard speakers with no distortion before and at all different volume levels. They actual sound better cranked up.
My all time best loudspeakers I built myself. As a teenager back in the 70's. It was a transmission line speaker with only one driver. Very low budget.
My amplifier was a Quad 33 + 303. A match made in heaven.
Don't pay attention to the negative comments! I really enjoyed this! I have been a musician for 54 years (drummer since I was 7) and have always enjoyed great sounding music! As a kid, I had a few sets of cheap speakers, but my first "real" speakers was a set of Bose 301 bookshelf speakers! Wow, they blew me away! I went to a set fo Bose 802 PA Speakers on my stereo, then Klipsch, back to Bose. Thanks for the info.
Everybody knocks the Bose 901s...i remember setting up a system with the 901s and one of the more powerful SAE amps of the day, the rich guy I set them up for had the big scala klipsh and we A+b them loudness the scala were loud but the 901s fidelity wise were far superior..he did have the proper wall to bounce the 901s into proper atmosphere...they sounded so beautiful...i used to manage a high end hi-fi store back in the 70s
Good list, well thought out....I think that ignoring AR, specifically the AR 3 is a miss. Back in the 60's, 1 of every 3 loudspeakers sold was an AR speaker so, like the Bose, you may not like the AR 3 but you can't ignore it's signifigance. I'd also make a similar argument about Quad...either the 57 or the 63. Also tough to ignore the Vandersteen 2 series just on the basis of longevity. Others you could make a good argument for, Thiel 3.6's, Dynaco A25 and the Dahlquist DQ-10...
I bought a Bose Acoustimass 5 set when they first came out in 1987. About 800 bucks back then. I still have them and while other speakers have come and gone, they still sound good to this day. Looking to replace them with a Dolby Atmos set now.
What a great list. The only one not really familiar was the tecton. Nice.
Thanks for a great video! What is your opinion of the Bose 901 Series of speakers? My dad has a pair of 901 Series 1 paired with its original Bose equalizer and a Rotel Amplifier. They sound absolutely insane to me.
No highs, no lows.......must be Bose. I saved a guys house from freezing up in below zero weather, next day he gave me 4 901 VI , so I went out and bought a 1000 watt Yamaha .
The Bose ate it up eventually . it was fucking amazing for me since
I'd never had the privilege of hearing a high end system before.
I still have them and my wife still bitches , I tell her " THIS IS LISTENING LEVEL!!!! ITS NOT TOO LOUD!!"
wanna buy some pristine Bose 901 series 6 with eq?
JBL 4311B, Cerwin Vega LS10, Bose Interaudio 4000.
I love my KRK Rokit5 v1 studio monitors.
Thanks for sharing,
mvh
Awesome review! It’s easy to see you live and breath this stuff! I’ve always liked home theater stuff, I had a guy do a home theater project and gave me one this control4 systems with a denom passive soundbar and snap av components that were not the best in my eyes, now I am trying to add height front speakers and surround to it, I was seeing brands like klipsch and others but the ones you mentioned I have not seen anywhere else! It seems these brands you mention are truly the best but now people want soundbar based systems or wireless stuff like Sonos. What front height speakers and surround can you recommendv to add to my denon AVR-s920w? It goes up to 7.1 I think
I still own my 802d. Loved them every minute I have owned them. Sadly I moved house and I still have them in storage. I have been torn if I should sell them or just keep them in storage.
What about the Klipschhorns? Or volti audio? I have some of the original Belles and still love them
I have a pair of Klipsch RF7III's and I'm very satisfied with them. Pushing them with a fully restored Sansui 9090db and they sound amazing
Glad you mentioned the Acoustimass, I got the AM-5 the first in '89. Still works like the day I purchased it in an odd-shaped room listening almost near-field. At the time when sub-outs were non-existent, this worked great & has a small footprint. By itself, it's kinda bright but could handle a lot of power. It's good for background non-critical soft-volume listening bec of its clarity. However, it's better in 3.1 or 5.1 application to address the gap both in music & movies. I tried my Paradigm Mini Monitor v2 in that room, epic fail. Wharfedale Diamond IV worked better more balanced but couldn't handle more power. I've had the Thiel CS1.2 in the living room for 10 yrs of bliss until distortion set in. Now, back to Paradigm.
While my comment is not speaker specific it relates to an experience that I had in 1969. I was in an audio dealership in North Carolina for a demo of Klipsch speakers and the guest of honor was none other than Paul Klipsch! Wow, what a privilege to meet this guy, but what a strange guy he was. He did not seem to be interested at all in things audio, but he had, gosh, I don't know how many wrist watches on his arms so he could tell what time it was in any time zone it the world!
Klipsch.........the most iconic brand of speakers to this day!
Andrew, nice list. From my experience I would add the Rectilinear III, IMF Studio, KEF 105 Series II, OHM F, and Canton Reference 5. Keep up the good work.
If I had done a top 25 list the Canon would've been on it for sure! Thanks for watching Jim!
@@robinsonbrand if you get the chance, try to hear IMF speakers from the late 70s early 80s. The larger ones were Transmission line speakers with unbelievable accuracy. The cabinet was designed to be the length of 1/4 wave guide so the bass was sonically in cadence with the mid and highs. If you closed your eyes with these playing a quality recording it seemed as though the room became the cabinet. Very interesting and different. It was not only surreal but true to the acoustic engineers intent. The mids that were used on the larger units where the same mid drivers used in the legendary BBC Kef monitors that where specifically designed to be tonally accurate to a humans voice. These were used alot in studios. The tweeter drivers where silk and also the same T-27 drivers used in the BBC Monitors. They also had a super tweeter that would keep the highest audible sounds precise when used with the chosen Tweeters.
Dr Fried was a really eccentric visionary that truly doesn't get any recognition for his achievements and it's truly a shame. After years of experimenting and engineering under the name of IMF he also developed another brand called simply Fried. He has some interesting designs such as building a house around a TLS cabinet, he designed a system that consisted of a coffin shape that used an 8 in driver with 2 satellite speakers that would do things that were unreal.
As a fellow audiophile that enjoys learning as much info as I can, I would highly recommend you at least take a look at this as it consists of seriously impressive achievements and if you can pick up a pair of larger cabinets on the cheap ,you really should give them a go. Review and sell if your not impressed. I am going to predic that a pair of the RSPM or TLS 80 ii will Possibly best most of your list
My first set of speakers were Advent legacies at the age of 15. I replaced them with Bose Acoustimass 5 series 2 when I was 21 and I just upgraded to Klipsch RP 8000F three months ago. The Klipsch are my favorite. I use an Onkyo TX-SV727 and a Sony 5 disc CDPC715 that is 35 years old the Onkyo is 26 years old and looking to replace it soon. Still have the Bose.
Wow, I have about 35 years to cover as I, like you, got into this about age 15/16. My first listen was a friend had some Polk Monitor 4 bookshelfs. Loved those, I later bought and still have the 5jr+. That same friend would take me to hiFi shops as he upgraded gear over the years. My first real "woah" was the Energy 22 Reference Connoissuer , man those blew me away, listened to on a Counterpoint Amp and a Thorens turntable. Then Theil CS2, those were pretty amazing. Had a set of Bose Acoustimass from 1993 until 2010. A few years ago I listened to a set of Revel Salon2's...probably my favorite speaker I've ever listened to. Also blown away by B&O Beolab system in the late 80's. The first NHT Model 1a separates and bass module. That was before the acoustimass from Bose. Sounded awesome. Also Polk Audio RTA 11t, had those for years, loved them, sounded very good for the money. Another favorite was a pair of bookshelf from MB Quart around 1990. Such a full sound.
Quick suggestion for future videos like this. The speaker ypu are talking about should stay on screen for more than a second. No disrespect but I don't think people tune in to se your face 95% of the duration of the video. Leave images of the speakers you're talking about. Thanks
Was thinkin the same thank you
Tannoy Westminster’s or tannoy Canterbury. You really can’t beat vocals through the latest 15 inch concentric driver. With the right pair of mono blocks absolutely spine chillingly good.
Thanks for the recommendation on the Klipsch La Scala.
JBL! Yep. My neighbor had a pair for sale during her garage sale. At the end of the sale, they didn't sell. She ended up just giving them to me for FREE. All they needed was a cabinet refresh (sanded, stained, and Minwax finished) and new woofers/midranges. I found some OEM direct replacement mids...no issues. The tweeters and crossover were in perfect shape. I worked with Dayton Audio and Simply Speakers to find a perfect match for the woofers (or a recone kit). I ended up using Eminence Legend bass guitar drivers in them (perfect fit and REAL copper voice coils). They sound amazing and look great for 40+ year old speakers. The presence and sound stage is life-like.
I bought a set of Klipsch KG2 small two way speakers for $200 built in 1985 that are so freaking awesome I just can't explain how good they sound. I have several other speakers and non of them come even close to sounding as good as these little gems.
Kg 5.5 here, will never ever sell them. I absolutely love them. Im in the proces of refurbishing the cabinets an after that will upgrade the crossovers and diafragms
I bought a pair of jbl l 100s in 1978, that I still own and listen to daily. Great speakers.
Hate to say it, but the L100's are ok for heavy rock, but they happen to have more of cultic following despite their mediocre performance especially when it comes to anything that contains any detail such as jazz or symphonic music. Just don't know why it is mentioned here. It is "Iconic" but that is about all. Put it up against a Large Advent (Bullnose) with the non-fried egg tweeter and there is just no comparison. Sorry.
@@jimmy6501 sorry about what...I have no interest in your unsolicited negitive comments. Like I said, i have had them for 40 years and love them,.... I'm sure they have their faults and there are much better speakers out there. Other than that, you can shove your oh so knowledgeable opinion, that no one asked for.
I have a pair of B&WM801s2 speakers and love them. Apogee Diva were some of the best speakers I ever heard. Quad ESL -63 speakers are special. I heard the Infinity IRS system and it was excellent for the time. I worked for Bose Corporation and never got the 901 Series V to sound good in my house. The Bose 10.2 series 2 were my favorite. The Martin Logan CLS were great. The KEF LS50 Meta are excellent in today's market. I always loved Magnapan and their new speakers are excellent. The big $18,000 B&O speakers are excellent. I could name many more.
I nominate ate my KEF 104/2 Towers , purchased in 1987, and still going strong. Playing in my LR 18 X 22 without any Sub Woofers or Equalizers. They are connected to NAD 1300 Preamp and NAD 2600 Amp of the same vintage , 1987. At the time I purchased them for what it's worth, the Sunday NY Times which had an Entertainment Section every Sunday, had them rated as the No. 3 Speaker in the World. I had never heard of KEF in 1987, but when the HifI Stereo store put me in the sound room with other competitors, and I heard the Clarity and Clean Bass / and Mid range - I was sold . They replaced my JBL 100s whhich I gave to my Brother in law. Those JBLs were purchased in 1976, and lasted probably close to 30 years.
Have you ever heard the JBL Paragon System? I remember hearing it in 1958. It was driven by two Mc Intosh 60W tube power amps, one for each channel,; a Mc Intosh stereo pre- amp and a high end turntable and cartridge. It was as good as anything today
Yep...I too tend to think the "best" gear was the tube driven systems are/were the best was to go.
The Bose 901 back in, what 1968? The Speaker that woke me up to better audio. So that has to be on my list even though I wouldn’t choose it today. In the 80s I found Magnepan. Loved them, so transparently detailed! And each of the Klipsch Heritage models.
I’d happily own any current day version of Maggie’s or Klipsch Heritage, But.
Now I’m trying to figure out which Tekton model makes sense, but that’s another chapter.
I followed the same path of loudspeakers. I think there is something interesting going from the extreme warmth of the 901 to the extreme accuracy of Magneplanar speakers. 1.7i. I heard elements of detail in music I never noticed before. From huge honey like wall of sound to pin point accuracy. Is it also due to changing tastes and ear aging?
The Paradigms definitely are amazing little speakers. Wish I had a room full of Atoms instead of my current set up.
Great video.
My favorite sound was a pair of Infinity 1001A and Bose 301 powered by a Pioneer SX 1010. Still sound good decades later.
You missed out on maybe the most iconic speaker company ever TANNOY.
Their duel concentric drivers are pure magic and have stood out for over 50 years.
B&W make great speakers but their progress has slowed over the years. Their Silver signature speakers from the 80s was their best speaker they ever made and is still better than their current models except for their 90s nautilus that they still make today.
The Arden and Cheviot have stood the test of time.
I’ve owned three pairs of Tannoys over the decades.
All been excellent, currently running a pair of Tannoy Revolution XT6F. Best speakers I’ve ever owned.
Your absolutely right !
now is this the Realistic , co. If so they made some affordable receiver's and not all but pretty good Speaker's too. not all though. just some, back around mid to late 70s and early 80s too.
The best speakers I've ever heard were B&W's. This was in the mid 80's in West Germany. The man and his wife were young, no furniture, not much of anything, they were both audio junkies. They put all their money into their speakers and a power amp. No preamp, no cd player or tape deck, they just had a portable boom box with a cd player. They refused to buy a component until they could afford the one they absolutely wanted. We went over to his house and kind of laughed to ourselves (we were all military) at how this guy thinks his boom box is going to put a decent single through his system. We were all floored. It literally sounded like a grand piano was in the middle of this guys living room. The Speakers were about the size of Heresy's and the Amp I can't remember, it was around 2,000.00. I want to say Argon, something like that. And I remember that the speakers and amp were 4,000.00 together. This is mid 80's. It was amazing. To this day I've never heard anything like it. They didn't even have a TV, no vcr or laserdisc or Nintendo, no commodore computer :) just their 3 components and a bunch of CD's. There was no American TV at the time or internet, audio was a big hobby for many.