Name 3 classic mini-monitors worth keeping- Why?

Most of the above speakers are nice but not classics. To start with most above are not 'mini' monitors and to be clear I'm not denigrating any of them.


Arguably the Rogers LS35a *does* fit that description though.


Possibly also the Radio Shack Optimus ProLX5, which used the Linaeum tweeter and played *well* outside its price bracket as a result.


To be fair, it might help to know what is meant by 'classic'. Older? or something more than just old?

Yes + for the Celestion SL6 and especially the Spica TC-50.

My KEF Q10s are great sounding little things...old, they're old.

Celestion SL6 are really good monitors but needs power.Sensitivity is like 82db so you need at least 100watt amp to drive these.One of the few  monitors that sounds better as it ages.

I have had most of the great small monitors over the last 45 years: LS3/5a, Double LS3/5a, Braun Output-C, KEF 101, Celestion SL6, Spica, ProAc Tablette, Reference 3a mm de Capo, Silverline SR-16, and I must be forgetting one or two more. Any of these are "worth keeping" if you have them matched to appropriate amplification, but I also must point out that if you want or need a small monitor, there are a few modern alternatives that outclass every one of these in every way. Well, the current Ref 3a deCapo is in the realm.

1/ Audience ClairAudient 1+1 v3. Simply the best truly small monitor ever. No crossover, so it sounds impeccably coherent. Neutral but rich in tone; fast, transparent; expansive imaging and can output reasonable bass alone. Everything vintage will sound by comparison choked and small, however tonally neutral one might sound.

2/ If you don't have the $2800 or so for the above, the ClairAudient The One gets you the same basic attributes, with less scale and foundation, for a less than half that. And it fits in your palm.

3/ Zu Cube. A full Zu FRD with coaxial supertweeter, no crossover, stuffed in a 10.5" cube. Also intrinsically coherent. Very high resolution. These cost, depending on finish, between $1000 - $1400 pair but they demand no skimping on the amp. All the Zu essential virtues in a compact, sealed cube, with bass rolling off below 60Hz. 98db and robust, so power them with 2 watts or 200. They'll rock either way and won't break the bank.

Phil