Favorite Speakers

[TNRabbit 371]

http://thecarversite.com/yetanotherforum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=9238

 

I've owned & heard many speakers in my 53 years on this blue ball. Favs include the Klipsch KLF-20, JBL 4312 Studio Monitor, Carver Amazing Platinums & AL-III, Legacy Whispers, Polk SDA SRSs, the BIG McIntosh line source speakers, Sunfire Amazing Line Source & James Sauter's newest speakers based on the Sunfire Amazing Line Source (really incredible effort). I'd have to say the BEST setup I've ever heard were the Tidal Audio "Sunray" speakers I heard at the Capitol Audio Fest in Washington DC summer 2013. Retailing at @ $154,000 per pair, none of us will ever own a pair, but they were simply astounding in all respects (link above).

 

 

Weight? 1,150 lbs.....

[AndrewJohn 10,449]

tough[ tuhf] 

adjective [tough·er, tough·est.]

1.

strong and durable; not easily broken or cut.

synonyms

dense, durable, firm, fit, hard, healthy, inflexible, mighty, resilient, resistant

This is a fun, and challenging, question.  

1. I'm partial to both my current Carver speakers. Love the stage that my original Amazings with the ribbon upgrade sound - they get the most use.  I've set up a surround with AL-III+ in the rear channel.   Very versatile for Rock, Jazz and Blues, all sound good.
2. I still have a pair of Fisher XP-15 consolettes.  These are furniture.  I let my Fisher tube receiver go, that matched it. I really like these for old music, and orchestral. 
3. My favorite modern (10 years old) speakers are a full set of Sonus Faber Piano's all 7 of the models, for 7.1 HT.

I like wood, unique design, rich room-filling reflected sound.  Often, these are "big" speakers.  Picking just one, or even just 3 favorites, would be next to impossible.

 

[dr_gallup 42]

One of the best speakers I ever heard was the Ohm Walsh F.  Simply amazing sound.  They required vast amounts of power though.  I did not hear them on Carver amps but I'm sure an M1.5t would do a good job.

 

One of the best speakers I have owned is the Electro Voice Interface C.  These are quite efficient, handle lots of power and image really well.  They have taken everything my M1.5t can put out.  They also hold up quite well, mine are over 30 years old and still play just fine.

[PMAT 2,038]

This is a really fun subject but I cant pick a favorite. Here is a timeline of great speakers I've had the pleasure of hearing.

First speakers to catch my attention and start the audio journey were the original Advents.

 

Next were ADS 810 three way sealed. I remember the demo clearly. What a great feeling.

 

Polk 12b floor standers. First passive radiator design I heard. Loved them.

 

Yamaha NS 1000 Beryllium speakers. Demoed by a rep with DBX processors. A Thorens TT  with a Grace F9E cart and Mcintosh amps. Dark side of the moon delivered with stunning dynamics. Everyone was speechless. My first "holy phuk" experience.

 

Polk SDA "Big Boys" Wow and more wow. I set up these amazing speakers for an old lady that had developed phobias and couldn't go to the San Francisco Symphony anymore. She cried tears of joy. She closed her eyes and she was there. So was I.

 

B&W 801's

Carver Amazings

VMPS RM-40

All great speakers. 

 

And last, Wilson Sashas ($32,000) heard last week in Chicago. No weakness I could detect. Simply incredible. 

 

 

[Gene C 1,748]

 

 

This is a really fun subject but I cant pick a favorite. Here is a timeline of great speakers I've had the pleasure of hearing.

First speakers to catch my attention and start the audio journey were the original Advents.

 

Next were ADS 810 three way sealed. I remember the demo clearly. What a great feeling.

 

Polk 12b floor standers. First passive radiator design I heard. Loved them.

 

Yamaha NS 1000 Beryllium speakers. Demoed by a rep with DBX processors. A Thorens TT  with a Grace F9E cart and Mcintosh amps. Dark side of the moon delivered with stunning dynamics. Everyone was speechless. My first "holy phuk" experience.

 

Polk SDA "Big Boys" Wow and more wow. I set up these amazing speakers for an old lady that had developed phobias and couldn't go to the San Francisco Symphony anymore. She cried tears of joy. She closed her eyes and she was there. So was I.

 

B&W 801's

Carver Amazings

VMPS RM-40

All great speakers. 

 

And last, Wilson Sashas ($32,000) heard last week in Chicago. No weakness I could detect. Simply incredible. 

 

 

Let's try it this way. If you had all the speakers you ever owned sitting in your living room right now (house was on fire and you had enough time to rescue 1 pair) which one would it be and why? Give us something here......... geez!

[AndrewJohn 10,449]

[...]
Let's try it this way. If you had all the speakers you ever owned sitting in your living room right now (house was on fire and you had enough time to rescue 1 pair) which one would it be and why? Give us something here......... geez!  

 

 

Good way to put it.

 

I'd rescue my Carver Amazings. 

[dcl 3,276]

Way to funnel it down, Gene. Answer: My current set-up, Sunfire CRM-2s & SubRosa. Even with ALS Silver MK IV & Polk SDA SRS 1.2t in reserve I have never looked back, the current system "fits" the space. And for that I am appreciative. My wife could care less what is in place as long as she appreciates the sound, she digs them all but favors the latest. 

[kve777 6,888]

I wish I could hear a pair of CRM-2's. Anybody own them near NJ?

[Ratamahatta 437]

Best I ever heard were Avalon Acoustics Sentinel, they are local and I tried to get a job there, they had some set up and they blew my mind but 85,000 price tag is hard to swallow. http://store.acousticsounds.com/index.cfm?get=page&PID=550&store=acousticsounds&keywords=NL041312

  The Vandersteen  model 7 was a close second but 52,000 http://vandersteen.com/products/model-seven

  The best I personally have ever owned are these still, Sony ES SS M7's  

 

They do just about everything right with the right amp cables etc. Huge, deep sound stage, fast, accurate, pinpoint imaging,  only shy on the bass side a little bit but that's what subs are for. 

 

[PMAT 2,038]

Sorry Gene, I got all glassy eyed reminiscing about past speakers. Great memories. Ok, my house is on fire! I've sent my wife back in to rescue my .............. Silvers! Here is the thing, goosebumps. I get them a lot listening to them. I've only gotten them half dialed and I know there is a lot more to squeeze out. They do the mid range really really well. The detail retrieval of the bass through the mids is astonishing. They get the tone of stringed instruments right. I recently heard the Maggie 3.7's in a killer system. I like the Silvers better from the mids down. The bass is great as long as I'm not trying to rock out. The bass strings of the piano are remarkable and percussive. The Silvers are the only speaker that gets the tone of the drums in SRV's Tin Pan Alley right on one passage that everything else I've heard fails on. I also think they are WAY cool looking. I can't wait to go active and replace all the bass drivers. The suspensions are worn. The ribbons sound better than my AL IIIs.

[dazed_and_confused 194]

Were the house on fire I don't think I'd try and wrestle the Amazings out the door and to safety. I'd probably grab the Talons, one under each arm, and leg it.

 

I know, it's only a concept

 

If someone said to me 'you can only own one pair of speakers, for the rest of your life, pick one, heard or unheard' - then that decision would be made in an instant - Apogee Grand (The grand daddy of all speakers) - Never heard 'em but I think I know how they sound...

[brian darflinger 13]

I've had more expensive,- but my  favorite-Klipsch Forte's! They seem to make listening more enjoyable than any others. And I know it may sound crazy, but my Cerwin Vega D-9's have always been a great workhorse and always seem to surprise me whenever I listen closely.. To me owning a speaker is a lot like owning a vehicle.- I'd MUCH rather have F-350 truck, that can take you ANYWHERE,- than a Ferrari that only pays off within a limited range of music, and ONLY if all conditions are near perfect. IMHO

[Gene C 1,748]

 

 

Were the house on fire I don't think I'd try and wrestle the Amazings out the door and to safety. I'd probably grab the Talons, one under each arm, and leg it.

I know, it's only a concept

If someone said to me 'you can only own one pair of speakers, for the rest of your life, pick one, heard or unheard' - then that decision would be made in an instant - Apogee Grand (The grand daddy of all speakers) - Never heard 'em but I think I know how they sound...

 

I only used the fire analogy to get a response so this didn't just turn into only what speakers we had. Was looking for feedback on the many speakers we had owned.

 

[hewlew1 258]

Plus 1 on the Cerwin Vega remark I love mine what they do they do well. I have about 8 pair left 5 pair of 15's 2 pair of 12's and a pair of 8's. At Carverfest 2013 I took 2 pair of D9's played on 2 M500T's  playing heavily laiden bass tracks it was fondly described as the roller coaster ride.

• 

[Gene C 1,748]

Almost forgot.... Like Mark I'll have to plug my RS Kappa 9a's. They don't disappoint and are capable of creating an intimidating sound stage much to my liking.

[jerry66 7]

I would save my Celestion 662 , they really were great , but were a bit big for my apartment so had to sell them . God sound stage , plenty of bass , no need for subs . My 1.5t gave them a workout , walls and floors were shaking in fear when I turned on the system.

[6cylrider98 5]

Best I have ,are DCM Timewindows. love them a lot. I have DCM TF 600 too which are nice. Like the DCM stuff. There are many I want/like but $$ is the stopper. The Polks are very nice, Vandersteens too. Too many to list, too few $$ to own them all.

[kve777 6,888]

My new favorite- Sunfire CRM-2. With seven in my HT set up, they just blows me away! They disappear!

[Ratamahatta 437]

Old thread but these are on their way to being my favorite of the ones I have owned the more I listen to them. Quad Z-4 piano white.  I love the curved cabinets and silky piano finish.  I put one of my own picture so you can see how beautiful the woven carbon fibre cones are when you blow it up.     https://www.quad-hifi.co.uk/z-4/

 

 

Edited April 18, 2020 by Ratamahatta
added pic

[Rob 5,977]

I know there are always better speakers out there but when you are limited to space in a military barracks and you are sick of listening to all the rap being played in a 4 man room then you go to the local AAFES store on base and you buy the biggest baddest integrated amp and speakers that are available. 

 

Cerwin Vega's were just that and I bought V15E pro's and D5E to be pushed by my MXR150. I could definitely drown out anything I wanted too.

[fxbill 471]

The carpeted Vegas are great speakers.... I had a pair that I got a bargain on and hung them from the rafters in my barn/garage workshop angled slightly down and inwards towards the workbench. They sounded great and could take a real beating!

  If I could only save one pair though...it would be the Altecs that I've owned for 40 some odd years.

Edited April 16, 2020 by fxbill

[Ratamahatta 437]

3 hours ago, fxbill said:

The carpeted Vegas are great speakers.... I had a pair that I got a bargain on and hung them from the rafters in my barn/garage workshop angled slightly down and inwards towards the workbench. They sounded great and could take a real beating!

  If I could only save one pair though...it would be the Altecs that I've owned for 40 some odd years.

I remember those behemoths, 15" woofer right? a friend of mine's dad had a pair.  One of the first speakers I lusted after. 

[PhilDent 1,962]

I was drawn to the Carver world because of its power to dollar ratio. I am drawn to speakers that exhibit that same ratio. Of course one could buy 100k+ speakers that are mind blowing. But I can also buy $600 speakers that knock my socks off. At the moment I'm absolutely loving my NHT 2.9 speakers. Value for the dollar I can't imagine that I could get much better.

Edited April 17, 2020 by PhilDent

[kve777 6,888]

Imagine no more. Tekton Pendragon's... Insanely better than their pricetag!

 

[4krow 6,584]

Mine will be finished soon as the weather allows, but it is cool make something and then not be disappointed.