Such a lively thread! My contribution has to do with not “what’s best”, but with what I like and find most interesting- which involves owning a bunch of very different systems, each with very different vintage speakers:
-Quad ESL 57’s
-Monitor Audio MA2’s
-Altec 604’s in 620 cabinets
-ADS 801’s
-Linn Kan’s
-Yamaha NS10’s
-Bose 901 series IV with equalizer
They all have their “place”. I don’t listen to the Yamahas for fun- they’re great tools for mixing and sound design, as befits their rep. The Quads get the best upstream gear I can afford, and have pride of place in my home living room- solo, couch-based listening at its best. The Monitor Audios are great in my art studio- well-balanced, forgiving, good off-axis in a large live space. Linn Kans are fine for film sound when projecting movies (w. sub). The ADS 810’s are comfy in a social/game playing space in my vacation home for mostly non-critical rock, r&b and jazz listening with family and friends. Finally, and most recently I bought a used pair of 901’s for my new screen porch, positioning them against a solid wall, hooked up an old Creek integrated I had lying around, and finally heard them in all their good, bad and ugly glory. Everything written above is true- except that the EQ is at best optional. No- it’s necessary. Unless you take the eq out of the signal chain as a “special effect” applied to stripped-down dub- the sort of trick-in-the-mix Lee Perry might have come up with . . . And yes, they still sound great heard from an annoyed neighbor’s house across the lake!
