What are your current reference speakers?

[DonH50]

Magnepan MG-IIIa, vintage 1984, $1950, still stock, less than my car then and now.

I also have an old pair of Sennheiser HD-424's I like.

My "reference" speaker has changed over the years but since essentially getting out of hi-fi in the 90's I haven't listened enough to choose a new reference.

 

[andromedaaudio]

_DSC0333 by andromeda61, on Flickr

a cheap carr.

2 way system to the maxx , no resistors , duelund vsf cap which is a good cap but also expensive
2 200 mm woofers and a low filtered tweeter , i love hexacone material for membranes
+- 1,5 db bandwith from 200 hz up measured at earheight at listening spot .
controlled by krell industries.

they are not my reference , those are under construction, but i like them anyway

 

[JackD201]

Von Schweikert Audio VR-9 SE Mk2 w/custom BMW Sepang Bronze finish
4 years old but upgraded to Mk2 status on site personally by Albert and Damon Von Schweikert late last year
Made the Mk1 sound broken by comparison
If talking US MSRP....should've cost more than my car
Due to import taxes on automobiles here however, my personal car (2011 MB C63 AMG) cost quite a bit more.

 

[rbbert]

VMPS RM-40's, less than 1/10th the cost of my car.

 

[NorthStar]

This thread is very cool! ...Thanx Peter for starting it. :b

 

[Mosin]

Back in the day, I bought a fairly decent '57 Chevy for $35 from a guy who needed money fast. These days, the company buys my car, which is a good thing because I haven't seen anymore of those $35 deals.

My main system has RCA LC1A speakers with "C" tweeter upgrades, so I guess they are RCA LC1Cs. Anyway, they stand the test of time against some of today's best, and they need only five watts to hit orchestral levels. They are pretty ugly, however.

I also have a pair of Magnepan 2.7 planars waiting in the wings for some serious modifications. Who knows when that will happen?

To be honest, I probably watch YouTube videos almost half the time. For those I have a pair of KEF 103.2 speakers that are currently worth maybe $400, if that. They aren't bad if you like a rolled off English sound.

I digress, so...

Summary: Old RCA speakers

 

[DaveyF]

Sonus Faber Guarneri Hommage... no relationship to my car

 

[jap]

DeVore Orangutan 0/96.

They cost about $1K less than my truck.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

Damn, there are some nice rigs in this crowd.

Tim

 

[MylesBAstor]

DeVore Orangutan 0/96.

They cost about $1K less than my truck.

Really under rated speaker! So musical....

 

[jazdoc]

Really under rated speaker! So musical....

Completely agree. John DeVore is also one of the great gentleman in the industry.

 

[microstrip]

Sonus Faber Aida's. My car will have to last for the next five years ...

 

[FrantzM]

Sonus Faber Aida's. My car will have to last for the next five years ...

Hi

NO in-room speakers, yet but i seem to be collecting Headphones, HiFi Man 500 and Denon 5000 ... Previously MG 20.1 ...

 

[Husk]

MBL 101Mk 2 with Vac 450 Monos.

 

[Peter Breuninger]

Husk and Dev have the same system. Same cars too?

 

[welwynnick]

Room 1: Meridian DSP 6000. More than car.

Room 2: Final 700 electrostatics. Less than car.

 

[Husk]

Nope, Dev drives a AMG MB. I drive a 5 year old Lexus.

 

[mep]

I have Definitive Technology BP7000SC speakers with a pair of Definitive Technology Super Cube Reference subs. That adds up to a total of 24 drivers with 12 of those drivers being 14” subs. 8 of the 12 14” drivers are passive radiators and the other 4 are each powered by an 1800 watt amp. The total retail cost is under $10K and weighs just under 500 lbs.

The cost of my speakers is way less than my vehicles. I have a 2006 VW Passat with the 3.6L engine and the sport package and it has right at 30,000 miles on it. My other vehicle is a 2011 Ford Edge Limited AWD that I custom ordered with every option you could get except for the roof rack.

 

[dan31]

Harbeth M40.1.

I have a pair of Dynaudio Special 25's in storage along with a Nagra PL-L.

Listening on Senn HD600's through a Ray Sammuals Raptor while my preamp is out for an upgrade. Word from the dealer is that my preamp is back and ready for pick up. Last night on the headphones for a while.

 

[ack]

I make a distinction between 'current reference' and 'currently owned'. My current reference is a little bit of the Magico Q3 (size, price/performance ratio), the Q5 (overall performance, dynamic) and the CLX (overall performance, electrostatic). So since last September I have been morphing my MartinLogan Odysseys + REL sub as much as I can towards those other speakers, with a full all-Mundorf crossover overhaul (starting at the binding posts) and structural re-inforcements (which are about to conclude this week) - total cost much much less than my car. From what I have seen, there is more performance to be had from any ML out there. The crossover mod was mostly a learning tool to be able to better judge the next speakers I will buy, some day; but also in itself, a sensational upgrade. I've had these speakers for 10 years now.