The 12 Most Significant Loudspeakers of All Time

Gregm

Well-Known Member
Mar 14, 2019
525
381
155
France
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 :cool: [/QUOTE]

I used Krell ksa 100 (An old, discontinued class A amp). I wanted to listen at concert levels :eek: , 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 :oops: -- but, what fun!
Plus I was the cool kid:cool:!
 
  • Like
Reactions: christoph

christoph

Well-Known Member
Dec 11, 2015
4,659
4,058
825
Principality of Liechtenstein
I used Krell ksa 100 (An old, discontinued class A amp). I wanted to listen at concert levels :eek: , 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 :oops: -- but, what fun!
Plus I was the cool kid:cool:!

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

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

Gregm

Well-Known Member
Mar 14, 2019
525
381
155
France
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.
 
  • Like
Reactions: christoph

christoph

Well-Known Member
Dec 11, 2015
4,659
4,058
825
Principality of Liechtenstein
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 :D
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,434
13,467
2,710
London
Oh I forgot.
Your Symphonic Line Kraft would have probably sounded great with your Scinnies :D

There is a guy using this combo in Virginia
 

Gregm

Well-Known Member
Mar 14, 2019
525
381
155
France

christoph

Well-Known Member
Dec 11, 2015
4,659
4,058
825
Principality of Liechtenstein

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,434
13,467
2,710
London

Addicted to hifi

VIP/Donor
Sep 8, 2020
4,610
2,039
265
52
Australia
Getting a better match with plasma

View attachment 1367 View attachment 1368 View attachment 1364 View attachment 1366 View attachment 1364 This 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

Well-Known Member
Jan 19, 2020
8
7
68
70
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

Well-Known Member
Jul 30, 2013
2,379
1,615
530
N/A
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
 

Alrainbow

Well-Known Member
Dec 11, 2013
3,189
1,387
450
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.
 
  • Like
Reactions: christoph

morricab

Well-Known Member
Apr 25, 2014
9,391
4,986
978
Switzerland
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.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Loheswaran

tmallin

WBF Technical Expert
May 19, 2010
966
375
1,625
71
Chicagoland
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

Well-Known Member
Dec 19, 2014
432
99
258
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

Well-Known Member
Jul 18, 2014
3,620
4,838
940
If there is any possibility of stretching that budget then have a word with @the sound of Tao about his Pure Audio Projects
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/
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: christoph

Argonaut

Well-Known Member
Jul 30, 2013
2,379
1,615
530
N/A

Gregm

Well-Known Member
Mar 14, 2019
525
381
155
France
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

Well-Known Member
May 29, 2018
218
98
135
EU
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

Well-Known Member
Sep 26, 2013
2,352
2,510
645
Germany
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)
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing