I have recently read Ken Kessler's old but still wonderful review of Sonus Faber Extremas. He ends the review by saying that "It is one of a handful of loudspeakers which qualify as legends."
I own a pair of Extremas, and I agree with Kessler's statement. Now, I am curious to know what other audiophiles consider "legendary speakers" based on their own experience. I would define legendary speakers as ones that are path breaking, that redefined the frontier of sound quality that is affordable by the average audiophile (I know, it's a vague definition). Let me give my list of 5 legendary speakers. These are all old speakers I would live with today.
How about 2 hands full? Parentheticals reflect my first personal encounter w/each
Quad 57 (first 'stat) Wilson WAMM (first SOTA assault) Advent Large (first "highish end" encounter in best friend's older brother's system) Vandersteen 2 (early high end audition that blew me away) MBL 101 (First "show-stopper" at audio show) Rogers LS 35a (BBC legend at local store) Maggie Tympani (main attraction at Lyric, NYC's better than the customer boutique of it's day) B&W 801 (as above - substitute Sound by Singer for Lyric) ProAc Tablette (first demo of 3d imaging from a minimonitor) and..... Kef Corelli (my first high end speaker - the prototypical English design of midband uber alles)
Ten speakers that I first encountered 10+ years ago. I can recall the exact time/place that I first heard each. IMHO, each made a significant design statement that stands to this day.
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