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What are the best speakers you have ever owned and why?

I just recently recieved my long awaited Shahinian Diapason 2’s from Vasken And they are absolutely spectacular! This got me thinking about my long journey to get here. Bless my wife for putting up with the many many many speakers that have passed through. The lifelong saga began with Magneoan MG 1’s back in college which were replaced by Dahlquist DQ 10’s. Then we traveled down a long road of speakers and systems. Magnepan Tympanis, Misson 770, Randall Rsch DQ10’s, Quad ESL single and stacked, Acoustat II, rogers LS3/5A’s, Linn Isobarik’s (2 pairs) B&W 801 Matrix, Hales Signature, Martin Logan Monolith2, Apogee Scintilla (1 ohm) Apogee Full Range, Theil SC 5A, Egglestonworks Andra, B&W Nautilius 801,Quad 63 and some I’m sure I forgot! Each speaker had its virtues and flaws but oh what a fun and a times frustrating trek! I think I have finally found my speaker to take me to retirement they do everything that I value wonderfully . They are detailed without sounding so, very dynamic, they have great low end reach, power and detail, are open sounding like a planner, their tonality and timbre seem spot on and they sound wonderful on any kind of music. Tell me about your journey!
hamr
prof
3,474 posts
 
richopp


Ok, thanks for the details.

I like the sound of maggies and used to hear them a lot, but admittedly it's now been years since I've been able to hear them.

It can be tough trying to figure out among audiophiles which speakers are most accurate in terms of reproducing live sound, because all speakers compromise somewhere, and someone may be more sensitive to that area of compromise over another.

I've been interested in live vs reproduced sound for as long a I can remember, so I've always been comparing them.   (I work in post production sound and record live sound all the time).   I've mentioned before on the forum how I made recordings of instruments I play, that family members play, and of family members voices, which I'd use to do direct live-vs-reproduced comparisons through various speakers.  It was always fun and illuminating.


invaderzim's avatar
invaderzim
13 posts
 
I haven’t owned many speakers, but hands down, my favorites were Apogee Duetta Signatures. I coveted Apogees for years after first hearing them at Paris Audio in Los Angeles, and after moving to a big-enough house in Texas and getting my lovely wife to agree to give up 1/3rd of the great room, I finally was able to buy them in the early 1990s. In the early 2000s, I needed something more home theater-friendly when my system had to start pulling dual-duty, so I reluctantly sold them about 12 years after I got them -- the buyer drove his minivan from Atlanta to Texas non-stop to pick them up and paid just $1k less than I originally paid for them. I then got B&W Nautilus 801s which I’m still enjoying today. They sound great, but <sigh>, I will forever miss the Apogees.
silvanik's avatar
silvanik
74 posts
 
Thiel CS 3.6 for me, still  with me and I'll never get rid of them.
audioman74
21 posts
 
I have owned in the past, but no longer have these four favorite speakers:
#1) (fav)  B&W 802's S2

#2) Snell B-Minors

#3) Totem Acoustic Hawks

#4) Klipsch LaScalas
richopp
760 posts
 
@prof1Now your're talkin'!  This is exactly what we did and even though the sounds produced by amplified instruments were controlled by the musician, the sound live and the sound recorded was compared and found either lacking, changed for the worse, changed for the better, or pretty much identical.  Non-amplified instruments sound differently depending upon mic placement, of course, but in a recording, as you know, one is trying to capture the ensemble as heard mid-far center, so it can be a challenge.  Obviously in a studio, one has elaborate mixing equipment to end up with the dynamic range and mix per instrument on the final recording, but just using a Stellavox and a couple of good mics, our Miami dealer, Peter, was able to do some pretty impressive live recordings back in the day.

Keep doing what you are doing, go down to your dealer and listen to a pair of Maggies--the new ones are all over the place with the number of panels, etc. (I personally prefer multiple panels per side) but make your own decisions.

Finally, funny how all high-end speaker manufacturers are now making 6' tall speakers all of a sudden.  I WONDER where they got that idea???

Cheers!
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