Personal speaker evolution

82 or so… round panasonic speakers, c. 1975 with one driver that my father gave me
83 Tandberg 113/106
87 some massive Bose speakers and soon after some kind of homebrew speakers
89 Koss M60
91 a cerwin vega sub which lasted until the cone wore out
00 B & W 601
08 B & W 603 S 3
10 added a B & W ASW 608 sub
12 added a second 608 Sub
13 Vandersteen Quatro

soundesign clock radio WITH external speakers! (big step up!) ;)

Kenwood rack system, no idea of the part numbers, who cares

Infinity KAPPA 8's, later traded down to the 7's because I didn't have the amp or the space for the 8's anymore.

I still have those, 25 years later, and am hoping my amp upgrade will keep the upgrade virus from flaring up again for a while...at least til I can afford the damn thing!

'96 - Advent Laureates - $125 New
'97 - Vandersteen 2ci - $400 Used
'00 - BC Acoustique Seine - $1500 New
'02 - Audio Physic Virgo 3 - $5500 New
'04 - Joseph Audio Pearls - $16000 New
'07 - Gamut L3 - $4500 New

The Advents I got on a buy one get one free sale - they really weren't too bad - I was auditioning the Heritage also and with the bigger woofers
they were far too bass heavy and dark. The Laureates had far better balance top to bottom.

The Vandersteens came with Sound Anchor stands included for the $400, so were an absolute steal. Big improvement over the Laureates for next to nothing.

Had never heard of the BC Acoustique, but they had an interesting little horn tweeter (I normally HATE horns) but these had a nice smooth sound to them.

I had heard the original Virgo 2's some time before and had never forgotten them, so when the money came around I picked up a pair, but in reality I didn't
care for them as much as my memory of the originals.

Then came the Pearls - the first time I heard them was the first time I was ever stopped dead in my tracks by any piece of audio equipment. They were
absolutely spectacular! I walked into the shop and they were playing in the back room - I couldn't see them and had no idea which speakers were playing,
but I could hear them and had to ask the owner what was playing back there - they made that much of an impression on me. And the dealer gave me 20% off
and my full purchase price of the Virgo's in trade for them without my even asking!

Unfortunately, and to my great sorrow, then came the divorce - I needed the money and knew I was going to end up in a small apartment, so the Pearls had
to go. It broke my heart, but divorce is VERY expensive. My heart wasn't really in it, so i ended up buying a pair of 2-way standmounts. I had them for
about three years during which I rarely played any music - in fact I resented just looking at the damn things - they reminded me of what I used to have.
But after a while, I started playing music again,,,,and started to critically listen to them....and what do you know, these things weren't too bad. Actually,
not bad at all......wait a minute.....these things are pretty good! Damn good! Dare I say spectacular in their own rights? If I am being honest, with the
exception of the very lowest octave, I am not missing anything from the Pearls - they are truly that good - and this from a person that wanted to hate them!
I had planned for them to be the last pair of speakers I ever owned, but then Magico came out with the Q1's - although I probably won't ever be able to afford
those - but even if I don't ever get the Q1's, I am happy with the Gamuts.

My first speaker (singular!) back in the days of monophonic sound was a JBL D130 in a home made corner cabinet, driven by a Bozak 20 watt tube amp. Many more after that and finally a better quality sound when I got a pair of AR 2AX's. After that, a pair of Paradigm Reference Studio 100's v.3 which I hated, then a pair of Dynaudio Contour T2.5's which I found to be rather thin sounding. Then, finally, a pair of Von Schweikert VR 2's and wonderful sound was again to be had at my house. I recently upgraded to a pair of VS VR-33's driven by Anthem Statement Amp and Pre-amp. I'm now in heaven.

Review- SVSound Ultra centers, being used as fronts:

Original system…. Adcom GTP-600, Audiosource Amp-100, Klipsch Heresy II’s. By all accounts, a respectable 2-channel system.

Replaced Heresy’s with MBS-02’s. HUGE improvement.

Replaced my MBS-02’s with these Ultra centers. At first I thought they were only a little better. With advice from SVS, I replaced my Audiosource amp with a better one. I chose an Emotiva XPA-200. WOW, what a difference.

First sound through the system was from an old VH1 CD from the 90’s (lots of acoustics and vocals), then a couple of episodes of “Live from Darryl’s House”, Cee Lo Green and Rob Thomas. I did not think SVS could improve on the MBS-02’s THAT much. I was wrong.

Next, a movie, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Phenomenal. Again, just 2 channels, but what a pair of channels these are. Even at higher volumes, my Beautiful, significant other does not complain. She NEVER liked watching movies through my Klipsch. She would actually put in ear plugs because some of the sound would, according to her “spike”. She enjoyed the MBS’s more, but these…. I can play these louder and she doesn’t notice it is louder. No high-high’s or drop offs in midrange. The db level across the freq range is the flattest I have EVER heard.

Beautiful sound. Transparent. Musical, but still great for theater. I was always going to have two systems. One theater; one music. I don’t think that is necessary any more. In the long run I am going to save significantly. So I have convinced her that I can just add on to this one instead of having two systems. I also threatened to buy another pair of Klipsch.

Next step: One more Ultra center (It will be used in it’s intended position) and two of the Ultra surrounds. Emotiva’s 7.2 channel preamp(when it becomes available) and the appropriate power amps.

Final step will be two SVS subs. Gotta make that (.2) useful. I am not sure which two subs. I will burn that bridge when I get there.

Hope this helps you make that leap. Once you have true HI-FI in your home, your life is changed.

James O.
Pittsburgh, PA