Whats your speaker Journey??

My speaker journey ended recently with the purchase of the truly splendid IPL STL 5 speakers.

These large 3 way speakers sport a well regarded Morel tweeter, and Vifa mid range dome and 10" bass unit. It's said that they are truly full range and neutral speakers, as you would expect in the £3.5-£5k price range.

Most crazy of all, some crazy mentalist is selling a pair in the classifieds for a mere £600!

What fool he.

 

Ok then....here it goes...

Started in 1986:

Vifa Korrect 3.0 (DIY speaker with Vifa units)
B&W something (big, bulky floorstanders)
Magnepan SMGA
AudioStatic ES300r
Xanadu DS14
Mission 760i
Translator Jade
Acoustic Energy AE1
Royd A7
Monitor Audio MA1 (2 times)
Monitor Audio Studio-2
Lambda Granaat
B&W dm302
Sonus Faber Concertino home
Diapason Micra mk3
Naim n-Sats.

That's about it.... (so far )

 

wharfedale linton's 3xp, leak sandwitch 3's, tannoy devon, berkley, gale 601,
and the beat goes on;
nando

 

what ever heppen to jr's? and langsings, goodmans 12dc's, gauss,
? nando

 

Leak Sandwich Speakers
Celefs
Kef 104AB (modified)
IMF Studio (3?) - transmission lines..we reallyliked these in the (student) house..still remember playing Joni Mitchell on these..loads of bass. My front end was a marbled 401 (home cut) with an Audio Technica arm (1120?), dynavector cartrdge, amplification Elite 600c and Meridian 103s.
Snell J
Surbiton Acoustics SD1
Snell Es (fabulous) - sticking with these unless Impulse H2s pop up..

 

Heybrook HB1
Rogers Ls7t
Triangle Comete
Royd Doublets
ATC 20 active towers
ATC 50's active
ART Emotion Monitor Signatures

 

Sony bookshelf
TDL Nucleus 2
TDL RTL3
Wharfedale Pacific EVO (blew them up, utter crap)

and currently

Meadowlark Kestrel Hotrods - Awesome speaker and i have still not heard anything to rival them under £1500, and they will embarass many speakers double if not treble this amount.

 

Massive 70'S Sony's - 10 inch Bass drivers, sweet

Teac Mini systems - What a come down

AVI Positrons - Awful in 2 rooms with 3 amps, worst ever

Dynaudio Audience 52 - Okay but bit sterile and harsh at times

Revel Performa M22 - Detailed and flexible with decent bass extension

Harbeth SHL5 - sweeeeeet, best by a long way

 

pioneer mini systems - I actually liked it. Freebird rocked on that thing
Tannot DC2000 - sealed cab, had them for donkeys yrs.
Amphion Xenon2's - current, and chosen after many a demo of other more 'conventional' brands (b&w etc)

Actually getting the upgrade bug right now!

 

Your last three selections represent the kind of journey that I dream of, I've been sold on ATC for years but please tell me about ART Emotions, they seem a natural progression from ATC, can you describe them?
Thanks.

 

In the past I had,

B&W DM601 S1
B&W DM602 S2
Jamo D266
Eltax Studio Pro 350
Kef Q10
Bose 301 V
Rega Ela MK2
Mordaunt Short Avant 908
Linn Keilidh
Linn Sara



Now I have a pair of TDL Studio 0.75M speakers. A very good rare speaker to keep. I'll never sell these babys.

 

Atc - ART's

Hi Chevvies,
I was sold on ATC's for ten years but really just fancied a change. Glad I did because I'm really enjoying music more than ever.
The ATC's are very good speakers but they are not perfect but what is. I see you have passive ATC's which I never heard. The ART's I have now are passive which is lot more enjoyable in a domestic situation. The main trouble with the active ATC's is that the voices and instruments don't seem to sound real. I think this is possibly down to the amp packs or the crappy tweeter. Another downside is they need to be played loud (Neighbours hated me).
The ART are the more pleasing and enjoyable plus they are valve amp friendly.

Hope that helps.

Jonathan.

 

Wharfedale Denton - student bedsit Garrard SP25 land 1972
AR7 going upmarket
Kef 104 original early 70's - still working apart from dead tweeters replaced with alien models, from the days when you spent half your budget on speakers...never did find an affordable integrated amp to work properly with them though
PMC FB1 - still going strong - should I get the new tweeter units fitted???

 

My speaker journey...a stateside view

EPI 100's....very nice, very neutral

Hed by Cerwin Vega...much more punch, too much, in fact, i
i still hear a bass note from more then 20 years ago

Back to the 100's

B&W DM5's...NOW we are talking, superb speaker i used in my
dorm and i wish i still had

Magnepan SMG's...nice soundstage, decent bass and superb with
Vangelis recordings!

Design Acoustics 3 piece system...when the divorce took the
SMG's not bad and since small they fit in well
in my apartment

Acoustic Research AR-9's...superb sound but waaay too big for
the listening area

Magnepan 1.6's....ditto to the AR-9's

Then another marriage, house bought and the chance to have 3
systems...garage/home theater and computer room.

After going through numerous KEF offerings such as 101.2's, 102.2's, 103.4's the home theater is Tannoy Saturn 8's all around, very very nice sound, focused/stable but can rock very hard when needed----Eisbrecher

Garage system...went through Nht's, Paradigms, Pinnacle's, Speakerlabs but now have a set of Yamaha NS-200m's, little niece to the 100's...backup provided by the NS-10m's. Very efficent, very loud..just perfect for a garage

Computer system...had some Castle Warwick's for a bit, superb sound....tried some Wharfedale 9.1 Diamonds and if these were anymore laid back they would be part of the wall...the JPW's were nice as were the JM Labs but now have the Green Mountain Audio Europa's and they are fantastic! Detailed but with subtlety, alive but not shrill, simply superb!

 

Not sure if this thread is still active, relevant or of interest to others - but -

I've LOVED following it all the way through - a great read if you're audio, & especially SPEAKER, crazy!

I'm 're-peaking' in my enthusiasm for listening after some errant years when I got a bit sidetracked by A/V, Dolby, HDMI, etc., with too little listening as a result -pure old fashioned 'HiFi audio' is for me, however, unbeatable -

I'm not young (must be obvious from the intro) & my music is & always has been Classics (primarily opera) & jazz, having been kick started in this direction, as a real teenie, by a love of musicals.

MY Speaker history is thus entirely biased that way & 'Bass' quality, etc., does not mean a thing to me in speaker terms - no prejudices here, just MY preference - to each their own thing & all enjoyment from it, whatever that may be!

I see plenty of Speaker Advice & First HiFi threads & I hope that perhaps there might be some helpful spin-off from my remarks for those in the same musical arena as myself?

Firstly, we now are in a great era when, for the majority, 'new' & 'small' is plentiful & mega advertised by the plethora of media - INet, magazines, etc., - which leaves plenty of 'old' for those of us who recognise & appreciate it - AND can NOW afford it!

Speakers are one facet of audio which definitely does not demand the latest technology for the best results - especially true of classical & non-booming music -thus what WAS the best years ago, & completely unaffordable to most minor mortals such as myself, is STILL probably the best & now eminently affordable - youthful dreams & equipment 'lust' can NOW come true!)

So, perhaps quirkily, I think I'd like to recount the 'history' backwards -

I have arrayed in my modest living room, strategically positioned to suit each pair as far as possible -

KEF 104ab & 101
JR-149 & 150
M-S Pageant 2s (2nd over the years - the 1st my original 'Starters')
Wharfedale Diamonds (3rd ditto)
Gale Silver & Mini Monitors
JBL 2 Monitors (2nd ditto - 1st cones rotted & blew)
Boston A60s (Re-coned)(2nd ditto - both pairs 'blew' - desperately sensitive)
Castle Richmonds (2nd ditto - 1st blew, as Bostons)
Hungaraton Videotons !!!!! (?????)

The oldest date from 1970 something - the Videotons - & the ONLY pair bought NEW are the JBLs - most recent are the 2 KEF pairs, both from E-Bay, the 101s not so cheap but truly remarkable. None cost over £300 (the KEFs) & the rest under £100, mostly MUCH less!

(Another advantage for Best for the Least hunters these days, in the UK anyway, is the plethora of 2nd Hand electronics shops (especially in university towns)where you can find great equipment traded in for mini systems, Playstations, or whatever - or, regrettably, often just for desperately needed cash!)

The similarity between the 104s, 101s, Pageants, 149s & 150s should be obvious - they were all contemporaries & competed in all UK 1970s run-offs for best mid-size classical (primarily) speakers - the only missing candidates from my array are the Rogers LS3/5a & Yamaha NS-100 (TOPS rated!) & NS-500. The latter 3 were then not only top rated but also top priced & unimaginabable for me!

I've also been through - Missions - M-S 30s & something else (the latter lousy successors to the Pageants) - a fairly recent (90s) KEF tall, C or K-something pretty poor pair - some B & Ws (very old & brilliant, which I hugely regret virtually giving away here, in the early days, at a 'boot sale' in the interests of space) - some Kenwoods, mid-sized & surprisingly good for my music, by Japanese non-Yamaha standards.

In case you were wondering, I live in a small solid, 'acoustically discreet' French stone village house, with tolerant young neighbours, so full rein to each pair of speakers is no problem - & I am NOT faced with a 'speaker wall' since they are so positioned as to be, in the main, invisible without any real sacrifice of their qualities.

All in all, it's audio heaven for me, of which I could only dream as a young guy in the 70s - & it's available to anyone who wants the best for the least -

Just read the reviews & forums - Google away - & you'll find that these (my current crop) are still up there, as good as anything produced within their 'range'
over the past 30-40 years.

I hope this long ramble is not too tedious & of help & encouragement to someone! Thanks for persevering if you've got this far!

 

I've been a bit up and down , but I seem to recall the following order :

Mission 760
Royd Minstel
Royd Abbot
Audio Physic Virgo III
AP Libra
Neat Motive 2
AP Virgo III again - bought same pair back
Harbeth 7se
Mission 760ise
Fancy pants Audio Note

I still have no idea why I sold my AP Libras for £800 , I keep expecting to wake up from a nightmare and find that they are back in my room. Having said that, the Audio Notes are currently floating my boat

Cheers

Tony

 

I don't remember the first one: nothing important
AR (I don't remember which one)
ESS AMT1b
Nestorovic System 16 since 1990 (updating the version in 1998 and 2003)

For my family and my son I have also 2 pairs of Nestorovic 5.

 

1971 - 1976 - Goodmans Magnum K2
1976 - 1980 - Celestion Ditton 66
1980 - 2000 - Linn Isobarik DMS
2000 - Present - Linn Isobarik PMS

All enjoyable, & I could happily live with any of them.

Chris

 

First real hifi speakers Tannot 611's (looked like a coffin)

Swapped them for a pair of Roksan ojan 3's but took them back as I didn't get on with them in my room at the time (I would love to hear these in my current room)

Eventually replaced the Tannoy's for some studio 20 SE's which I kept for a long time

Moved on to a pair of gen 3 Quad electrostats which had always been a love afair since hearing them years previously.

I then sold everything and was hifiless for a couple of years before beingf given some Kef coda floorstanders.

Picked up another pair of MA studio 20SE's off ebay and thats where I currently stand

 

Dynatron (supplied with system!!!)

Wharfedale Diamond MKI (Superb little boxes)

Linn Helix LS150 (coloured but fun!)

Tannoy Revolution R2 (accurate but somewhat stale)

Tannoy Eyris DC3 (very detailed and good bass, a tad bland)

Linn Sara (fun with a capital F)

Epos ES14 (neutral and revealing of my enjoyable system!)