The 12 Most Significant Loudspeakers of All Time

[Gregm]

I finally remembered the TLs: it was TDL, an English company. I had a pair of their speakers promising f3 17Hz!! Not that I had much content so low

QUOTE="christoph, post: 658707, member: 7611"]What amps did you try?
I had excellent results with Lamm M1.1 hybrids [/QUOTE]

I used Krell ksa 100 (An old, discontinued class A amp). I wanted to listen at concert levels , regardless of the fact that the poor Scintillas couldn't do 120dB anyway! I ended up blowing fuses on the Krell and having to replace components on the speakers -- but, what fun!
Plus I was the cool kid!

 

[christoph]

I used Krell ksa 100 (An old, discontinued class A amp). I wanted to listen at concert levels , regardless of the fact that the poor Scintillas couldn't do 120dB anyway! I ended up blowing fuses on the Krell and having to replace components on the speakers -- but, what fun!
Plus I was the cool kid!

I guess you Krell KSA 100 must have been faulty and took out your Scinnies in the process

My completely overhauled ex-Krell KSA 100 MK2 still drives my ex-Scinnies to abnormous volume levels at a friend of mine
The Lamm M 1.1 hybrid monos sound quite a bit better but there is definitely no lack of volume level with the Krell

 

[Gregm]

Interesting! My KSA's probably needed recapping, who knows. Someone actually still uses them, I hear (from the dealer), but listens to chamber & acoustic music.

 

[christoph]

Interesting! My KSA's probably needed recapping, who knows. Someone actually still uses them, I hear (from the dealer), but listens to chamber & acoustic music.

Oh I forgot.
Your Symphonic Line Kraft would have probably sounded great with your Scinnies

 

[bonzo75]

Oh I forgot.
Your Symphonic Line Kraft would have probably sounded great with your Scinnies

There is a guy using this combo in Virginia

 

[Gregm]

There is a guy using this combo in Virginia

I really got my timing really wrong, didn't I

 

[christoph]

There is a guy using this combo in Virginia

And? How does it sound?

 

[bonzo75]

And? How does it sound?

I haven't been to Virginia. But he was on my list if I ever did.

 

[Addicted to hifi]

Getting a better match with plasma

View attachment 1367View attachment 1368View attachment 1364View attachment 1366View attachment 1364This is what was done to alleviate the mismatch between the plasma transducer and existing woofer. Replace the midrange and woofer on Hill Plasma speaker with (Apogee Stages, from 700 hz down to 200 hz, and Apogee Scintillas from 200 hz down to 25 hz. A Eminent Technology Rotary Subwoofer was also added to extend the frequency
range to below 1 hz.

Never seen plasma speakers before.they are interesting.

 

[Fedie]

I own the Gradient 1.3 for more than 25 years , still listen to them ,I been looking for a new speakers ,OB style . Any help would be nice , around 4000 dollar mark.Thank You

 

[Argonaut]

I own the Gradient 1.3 for more than 25 years , still listen to them ,I been looking for a new speakers ,OB style . Any help would be nice , around 4000 dollar mark.Thank You

If there is any possibility of stretching that budget then have a word with @the sound of Tao about his Pure Audio Projects

Trio15 Classic Open Baffle Speakers - PureAudioProject

General All prices are for a pair Outside USA prices are excl. VAT and Import Duties EU Customers, please contact us for a quote incl. VAT and Shipping Shipping is planned to be completed within up to 3 weeks from order Description Trio15 Classic are Open Baffle Speakers for medium to large size...

www.pureaudioproject.com

 

[Alrainbow]

I own two sets on the lists.
IRS V and a set of Maggie’s 3.6r
each have a similar sound but the Maggie’s play better at lower volumes and to me have a better low level detail.
Now my Maggie’s are In 15/15 room 9 foot high
so I sit 6 to 7 back.
the IRS V are in a much larger room 20 / 55 9 foot high . I sit 9 feet back.
Each have a varying degree of sounds in some ways. But each make me feel I’m at the venue or studio.

 

[morricab]

I would take Magico Mini II and Wilson Watt off this list! THese are relative simple 2-way conventional speakers. No big deal other than they were hyped a lot.

I would add to the list:

JBL Hartsfield and/or JBL Everest DD55000

Altec 604 coaxial driver.

 

[tmallin]

At this point, open baffle speakers are "old tech." The newest significant trend in speaker design is fully DSPed (equalized, room corrected, and time aligned) actively amplified and actively crossed over speakers. My two most recent speakers, the Dutch & Dutch 8c and the Sanders 10e, both fit this mold. The Sanders even combines this with open baffle electrostatic panels above 172 Hz and transmission line woofer below. The D&D has almost everything within the speaker boxes; add a Roon core and you're basically done for a streaming-only system.

At a price point fairly near the $4,000 Fedie is looking for, I'd suggest auditioning the new KEF LS60. It, like the D&D 8c, is fairly self contained. It meets a lower price point by limiting bass extension and SPL eschewing time alignment, and by having less flexible equalization on board. The reviews are starting to come out and it is garnering high praise. I've heard it in casual audition and indeed it seems worthy of audition. Like the Gradient 1.3, it is small with a rather unusual form factor. And if you care about such things, it rates at or near the top in Spinorama tests, which is also a new trend in speaker design.

 

[Loheswaran]

I would take Magico Mini II and Wilson Watt off this list! THese are relative simple 2-way conventional speakers. No big deal other than they were hyped a lot.

I would add to the list:

JBL Hartsfield and/or JBL Everest DD55000

Altec 604 coaxial driver.

Completely agree.

It's an odd mixture of significant mixed with favourite.

In terms of technology advancements and relevance:

1. A & R - might not be the best but arguably most relevant to our homes
2. Quad ESL 57
3. BBC LS3/5A - used in studios and stations the world over
4. YAmaha NS1000m you never see a studio in which there ain't a pair for mastering. Beryllium tweeters and mid.
5. Klipsch horn
6. Infinity IRS - to show what was possible
7. The Magnepan Ribbon
8. MBL 101E

sorry can't think 9 and 10

 

[the sound of Tao]

If there is any possibility of stretching that budget then have a word with @the sound of Tao about his Pure Audio Projects

Trio15 Classic Open Baffle Speakers - PureAudioProject

General All prices are for a pair Outside USA prices are excl. VAT and Import Duties EU Customers, please contact us for a quote incl. VAT and Shipping Shipping is planned to be completed within up to 3 weeks from order Description Trio15 Classic are Open Baffle Speakers for medium to large size...

www.pureaudioproject.com

Thanks Mr Moon… I think there’s a lot of good things to be found in these speakers… here’s a thread with some videos and pics I prepared earlier… the first half of the thread is with the Pureaudioproject Trio horns… still discovering more as I work on mods for the crossovers and hookup…

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/the-sound-of-tao-some-video-shares.31127/

 

[Argonaut]

Thanks Mr Moon… I think there’s a lot of good things to be found in these speakers… here’s a thread with some videos and pics I prepared earlier… the half of the thread is with the Pureaudioproject Trio horns… still discovering more as I work on mods for the crossovers and hookup…

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/the-sound-of-tao-some-video-shares.31127/

I like the flexibility and they seem to be tremendous value for money.

 

[Gregm]

The newest significant trend in speaker design is fully DSPed (equalized, room corrected, and time aligned) actively amplified and actively crossed over speakers. My two most recent speakers, the Dutch & Dutch 8c and the Sanders 10e, both fit this mold.

Recently I auditioned a pair of Cabasse "Pearl" speakers. They are likewise full extra: 3-way, active, sveveral line-level inputs, dsp, dac, streamer, bluetooth... and auto-adjust to the room with preset response curves & possib to tune your own.
They sound good, too (IIRC priced around $6k)

 

[Birdwatcher]

Maybe we should mention the first creation and biggest PMC monitor, the BB5 or now BB6.
BB=big box, and it is really big, especially in the depths…

 

[DasguteOhr]

is not the most widespread speaker, but a milestone. was brilliant at the time and is still one of the best musically time-coherent reproductions today. many expensive loudspeakers today will have difficulties keeping up.
Cabasse albatros V, 4 way active speaker 220lbs each. (Year1986)