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My Top 10 List of Speakers


edwinr

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7 hours ago, Schu said:

Someday...

I am with you on that one, I would love to hear those.

 

To be honest, I have only listened to a couple of speakers.  Heresies, Cornwalls, DIy speakers (Belle bass bin/ EV horn combo and Lascala bass bin/ EV horn combo).  So I really only have four to put in my top ten.  Maybe someday I will add to that.

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I haven't owned 10 different brands of speakers but have tried a few others worth noting.

 

1. Carver ALS Silvers- these are extremely good sounding speakers

 

2. Magnepan MG-II's- possibly the best sounding at low volume playback I've heard

 

3. Sunfire CRM-2's- easily the best "small" speaker when set up correctly and paired with the right subs

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On November 5, 2006 at 5:19 PM, edwinr said:

 

Now it hurts me to do this. But I will. Acoustic Research used to be one of the great loudspeaker brands. Now although it's still around, it's been absorbed into the AudioVox conglomerate. That's really sad. But here goes - their top of the range speaker being the ARXP410 featuring a built in powered subwoofer...

 

 

ARXP410_pair_y.jpg

 

I got sucked into this old thread and was struck by edwinr's prophetic lament.

 

One take away from this interesting parade of audio porn is the staying power of PWK's fundamental products.  So far, edwinr's concerns about the "AudioVox conglomerate" have not seen done to Klipsch what was done to AR.

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On November 13, 2006 at 11:43 PM, edwinr said:

 

I've mentioned Sound Fusion before, but check this pic out...

 

Sound Fusion Omni Speakers.jpg

 

These remind me of the Zenith "Circle of Sound" speakers Aaron Burger had in the dorm in '67, although the wood finish is a little nicer than the Zenith's vinyl.

 

image.jpeg

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On 11/17/2016 at 6:51 AM, jjptkd said:

2. Magnepan MG-II's- possibly the best sounding at low volume playback I've heard

I am with you, I am a former Maggie owner.  When properly set up, the sound is super accurate and non-fatiguing.  I could listen to them all day, but they are not LOUD speakers.

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Oh, nobody cares about what my top ten speakers would be...but I don't care that nobody cares, so here we go! :P  So, in no particular order, and without further ado, I present my top-10 fav-o-rite speakers (that I myself have actually heard and/or owned):

 

OWN or OWNED:

 

klipschorn

Bose 901

klipsch cornwall

ESS amt-1b

New Large Advent

 

HEARD:

 

Magnepan's (various models)

Martin-Logan's (various esl models)

Wilson Watt / Puppies

Sonus Faber 2-way stand-mounts

B&W 801's

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 5 months later...

Pardon my relegation to the bleachers with my current user name.  I used to go by edwinr - but I can't log-in anymore under my old user name. 

 

So that out of the way, since I (stupidly) sold my Belles I've tried several different speakers - including the Magneplanar 3.7i and a pair of Martin Logan Montis.   All great speakers. But they lacked something in the bass.  Not in extension, but in dynamics. (P.S. I still own the Maggies but I'm trying to sell them)

 

So after much deliberation I decided to buy a brand new pair of Klipschorns.  I went cap in hand to my local distributor.  When he told me the current price imported into Australia, I nearly fell over.  So I thought that I should try before spending that kind of money, and I ordered a pair of Heresy llls to satisfy myself that I still liked the horn sound.

 

I have previously owned Heresy speakers before.  My first pair were a mid 1960s model.  They were bruised and battered but still sounded okay given their age.  In absolute terms I have to be honest and describe the overall sound as 'PA' like.

 

My second pair were the Heresy ll.  These were a little more balanced but still sounded a bit dry on certain types of music.  They were very amplifier dependant  and I thought they sounded better with lower powered solid state rather than tubes.

 

Moving on to the subject at hand.  As I said before, because I wanted to ease back into horns a brand new pair of Heresy llls in walnut were the smartest option.  I expected them to sound a bit better than the llls, but not significantly so.  But after taking delivery the first two or three days were awful.  The Heresy lll personified all of the worst things that some people don;t like about horn speakers in general.  Dry, forward and prepared to take any unsuspecting listener's head off with malice.  I really regretted the purchase.

 

So I just let them play without listening for two or three days.  On day three, I came home from work and cranked up the SACD version of Avalon.  You could have knocked me over with a feather.  The sheer power and dynamics and wait for it... BASS impact absolutely floored me!  I never knew this recording had this kind of punch in the bass.  Okay - absolute extension is a kind of limited.  I think I can hear some mid 30's stuff, but it's muted.  Sound staging is brilliant and awash with detail.  I've tried these speakers with a sub.  My take - don't bother.  The REL and Yamaha subs I used just muddied the sound in my room.  The Heresy llls are a genuine option for those that can't afford full size Klipsch horn speakers.

 

Here's a file picture of the Heresy lll:

 

 

Klipsch-Heresy-III-001.thumb.jpg.24a9db01a2dd837cf101e9d381ffae26.jpg

 

 

AMPLIFIERS:  I was considering ordering a Decware Super Zen Triode, but in the interim I decided to give a Temple Audio Bantam Gold 25 watt amplifier a try.  Here's a link to their website: http://www.templeaudio.net/.  Temple Audio are awesome to deal with. They send their products anywhere in the world.  The Bantam Gold is unbelievably cheap to buy.  It sounds unbelievably good with the Heresy.  If anyone has bothered to read down this far and you own a pair of Heritage horn speakers - just buy a Bantam Gold amplifier. Then when you realise how good this little amplifier is, you will sell the rest of your amplification and never look back.  Trust me on this.

 

Here's a pic of the Bantam Gold from their website.  This pic does not show how tiny it is!

 

goldfrontfull3.jpg.2a643fd488eda9eb4134c2331aa2ed54.jpg

 

 

 

The Klipsch Heresy lll should be in any Top Ten Speaker list.

 

Edited by edwinr
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After the Bantam Gold arrived I moved my gear to the other side of the room to better suit the Heresy llls.  Here's a couple of pics showing the Bantam Gold in situ compared with a CD:

 

 

IMG_7571.jpeg.1a926d208608245639a70e05cd76e22e.jpeg

 

IMG_7572.jpeg.4436eb41440ae84470e6e21c2b9f8db1.jpeg

 

Edited by edwinr
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On 12/9/2006 at 10:36 AM, edwinr said:

I thought this thread would die. I don't know what to do. The glitches have returned and the only way to keep them at bay is to keep posting. Maybe I might look at a more affordable Top 10. Something that most can afford. Hmmmm... [*-)]

 

top 10 under $1000 each. that would make people really think. i know i have found some surprising bargain speakers over the years. the last made in england b&w 602s3 bookshelf is one. 599 a pair and they were excellent at that price. i still have a pair in my office. depending on how you do the math the RF7ii could even make the cut which is another speaker i like just edging in at 1000 each if you haggle. maybe get people talking and see what they come up with

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