Which pair of speakers changed your Hifi life?

The Quad 57s! Bought my first pair in the late 80s. I remember the dealer, who was also a personal friend, told me that, even if I wanted to try a different speaker, to never sell the Quads. I didn't listen and sold them in the mid-90s. Bought my second pair the early 2000 and kept them for about 10 years. For me, the big problem with the Quads was the very narrow listening window - Quads are not a social speaker - and I like listening to music with friends. However, the Covid pandemic has put an end to group listening, at least for the foreseeable future. So, I will be purchasing my 3rd pair of the 57s and this time I will heed that early advice and never sell them.  

For me, it’s Usher. I heard a demo of the BE-718 years ago and was mightily impressed. I bought a pair, and have since gone upward in their line. From Mini One Diamond to Mini Two Diamond.

I am yet another who joyfully lived with Quad 57s for 10 years in the ‘90s.

And sold them to get dynamics, bass and treble. I had also taken off the screens and was tired of the look. And always missed them.

Now, when an Electrostatic Solutions rebuilt pair came up for sale, I snatched them up. There is no question that they are far from perfect. And that their presentation is very unique and different. I have great dynamic speakers from which I have moved.

And yesterday, I heard a friend’s fantastic dynamic speaker based system.

That system is among the best aI have heard. But my former speakers, my friend’s, and all dynamic speakers I have heard, present the music “at you”. The 57s pull you in. Because the midrange is so “right”, there is more of an emotional connection. Granted, they take getting used to. But when you do, they are addictive. And it has been said correctly, that with the right music, there is nothing better.

While I didn't own the following speakers mentioned, they had a lasting impact on me:

Yamaha FX-3. Heard them at a local dealer in 1980 with my brother and father playing the then recently released Pink Floyd double LP 'The Wall' - "Another Brick In The Wall, Part II." I was 8 years old, and at the time already being very interested in sound reproduction they blew my mind. 

Some 4-5 years later, Snell AII's. My first acquaintance with a stage, coherency and timbre of this kind. Lovely speakers. The later AIIIi's were less convincing to my ears. 

Around '90/'91 I heard a pair of JBL K2 S9500, and was astounded by their explosive dynamics and clean, visceral presentation. I was already quite familiar with the sound of larger JBL models like 250Ti, 4430, 4435 and Everest DD55000, but this was something altogether different. To date the most dynamic JBL domestic line speaker I've heard (incl. the Everest DD67000), no doubt aided by the crazy powerful 1400ND (first neodymium magnet) woofers, Bessel tuned. 

S.P. Technology Revelation + dual EV TL880D subs, some 10 years ago. The interesting takeaway auditioning this speaker setup was that I heard the transformation from their original passive configuration to a fully active ditto, which convinced me of the natural attributes of going active and that it was even possible this way

That effectively settled my audio path going forward some years later pursuing active configuration myself, though "married" with a different approach in speakers more in line with and inspired by the K2 S9500's mentioned earlier, which is to say large, dual pro style woofer/mids and compression driver/even large horn as a 2-way main speaker setup, augmented with a pair of tapped horn subs. 

In my 58 years, I have owned about 20 pairs of speakers. The only ones that were purchased brand new were the Sony SS-CS5 bookshelf and the tower version the SS-CS3. So yeah, nothing to write home about budget speakers. Good for the price and for what they are. As far as used ones, they have all been of a wide variety but always floor standers. A couple years ago I scored an almost mint pair of ESS AMT 1B’s at an estate sale for $60.00. All they needed was a refoam on the woofers and new passive radiators. That Heil tweeter was outstanding. I sold them locally for $700.00. Not long after that, I bought a new pair of Tekton Enzo XL’s. I simply loved them. If I could go back in time I would have bought the Double Impact or even Moab and likely would have been done playing speaker buying and guessing games.       BUT WAIT! While walking through my local Salvation Army store, I eyed a unique looking pair of high gloss black speakers in the furniture department. I Googled them and nothing really came up on them (to the best of my recollection). I had never heard of the brand before, but just judging by the cabinet finish and the typical "knuckle wrap" test, I immediately suspected that I stumbled on a really decent, older pair of large speakers. They both had a price tag on them. $250.00 each. I asked the cashier if they were really $250.00 each and not for the pair because nobody is going to just buy one. Nope, they were $500.00 for the pair. I walked around the store for a bit weighing in on the WAF and decided that I was going to do it. That’s a lot of money for a Salvation Army item, but darn it, they had such a nice finish and a serious looking 12 inch woofer. Well to my ears, these speakers ended up sounding every bit as good as the Enzo’s and were a quarter of the cost. I still have them after 3 or so years and I will never sell them. They are Amrita Audio Reference Standard speakers. It turns out that they have a 13 inch woofer with cast aluminum frames, dual 6.5 inch Dynaudio midranges in their own sealed enclosure within the box, and Vifa aluminum dome tweeters. I believe the efficiency is 92db and they are 6ohm. The gorgeous gloss black MDF cabinets are about 49 inches tall, 14 inches wide and 16 inches deep (all approximate). I believe they were manufactured in 1992 and sold for $3500.00. For the pair, not each LOL. I’m not sure what they weigh, but they are stout for sure. The bass is certainly adequate and the midrange is very detailed and forward. Pretty cool that these were not produced in very high volumes. I still don’t see any for sale anywhere and I look fairly often. I would love to be able to A/B compare them to the Double Impact speakers. My inquiring mind is really curious if they are close in sound signature.