Thinking about the speakers that I've owned and the ones I wish I had back.

BruceLet

BruceLet

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I started thinking about all the speakers that have passed through my listening room and came up with a list….a pretty long list. I'm sure that I have missed some.

I'm not sure what it says about me and I don't think that I want to know. I have to conclude its more the journey than the destination for me because, most of the times, speaker change meant I had to start over.

There were a number of speakers that I loved and some I could never warm up to. There definitely are a few that I wish I could have another shot at. I can't believe how much craziness my wife has put up with…. She and my daughter would smile as each new pair came and was replaced by another, while I insisted…."these may be keepers." I did believe it every time I said it.

Most of my systems were set up in my living room. I have had a dedicated space for the last five years or so, since my daughter moved out of our home. If I could have one pair back to try in my listening room, I think it would be the Verity Audio. They didn't work in my living room and I never felt I was getting the best out of them.

I am currently without speakers.

Looking back, is there a speaker that you wish you didn't part with?

JSE Model 1.1
B&W CDM1
Meadowlark Kestral Hotrod
Aerial Acoustics Model 7
Meadowlark Heron I
Vandersteen 3A
Devore Gibbon Super 8s
Totem One
Usher AC 10
Vandersteen Quatros
Meadowlark Blue Heron 2
Verity Parsival Ovation
Green Mountain Audio Calypsos
Totem Mani 2
Audio Physic Virgo 5
Audio Physic Virgo 25
Martin Logan Spires
Audio Physic Sitaras
Dynaudio C2 Signature
Thiel 3.7
B&W 802 D2
Rockport Mira 2
Sonus Faber Evos
Sonus Faber Venere 3
Revel Studio 2

I know I am so lucky to have had all these great toys to play with.
 
What a list Bruce! I would be interested in your comments on the DynAudio C2 Sigs and B&W 802 D2's. Both are speakers I've eyed at one time or another.

As for me - just one pair - Sonus Faber Stradivari.


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Of all the speakers I've had(not as many as you Bruce)including my present Harbeth SHL5's, I wish I had the ProAc Response 2.5's back. There was something magical about the synergy between them and my ARC VT100 tube amp.

Don't get me wrong, the Harbeths are superb speakers but they don't draw me into the music the way the ProAc's did.
 
Nope. I've had maybe about 5 pairs of speakers my whole life. I have to live with what I have my whole life. I'm more than ok with that because going through all those expensive speakers like listed has to have astronomical diminishing returns at least. I could not handle that. All I have done was mostly lateral moves with very inexpensive speakers. In the 80's a made a slight move up with a pair of Kenwood speakers (which I lived with for 26 years), but only because I went from two-way to 3-way with those. Now I have my reference speakers as of two years ago and not looking back..why would I do so with the mess I had. In my case I regret nothing in speaker land. Of course I demoed like crazy so many speakers I can't remember but a few. It's not the same as trying at home indeed, but it did allow me to at least judge the speakers on their own merits and short comings in a controlled environment In fact, to this day it has been the one thing that has improved my system the most, hands down.
Of course all that is said in light of the fact that I can't do what everyone else here does in doing in-home trials and such. So it could be apples to oranges in this case.
 
C'mon Mike. You've owned many more than just the Strads. :)

Mike said:
What a list Bruce! I would be interested in your comments on the DynAudio C2 Sigs and B&W 802 D2's. Both are speakers I've eyed at one time or another.

As for me - just one pair - Sonus Faber Stradivari.


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Mike said:
Oh yeah. Hell, I get carpal tunnel just typing out the ones from last year.


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LOL! :roflmao:Oh man, water I was drinking just shot out my nose, I laughed so hard at that one! Not kidding! I don't know why I found that comment so funny. Thanks for the laugh Mike.
 
Bruce, quite an impressive list!

Haha, I've only had 4 speakers in my life: Audio Physic Virgo II, Aerial 10Ts (still have them), Revel Salon 2s, and now the Alexias.

I do miss the Virgos. Not the perfect speaker, but they did so many things well...
 
Not too many here either: Heybrook HB-1 when living in Oxford, England, then Snell EIII (still have) from '90 NYC, Gallo ref 3.1 (still have), tekton lore, parker, decware radial, zu omen (current). Loved that tight British sound out of those standmount Heybrooks, with Dual turntable and yamaha receiver circa '86!

Ron
 
Gemini speakers
JBL speakers
Quartz speakers
Paradigm monitor speakers
Aerial 6
Aerial 6b
Aerial 7a
Aerial 7b
Aerial 10t
Aerial 8b
kef model three Ref
kef ( forgot the model)
Maggie's
Canton ref 5.2dc
Canton Jubilee
MBL 121
Sonus Faber TOY
Wilson Alexia

I know I missing some also
 
glad to see audio physic virgos on those lists, i had the original virgos, and i owned them right after my platinum solos, which were the bassiest rock pumping monitors of all time, so when i went to the virgos i was missing so much bass it pissed me off and i sold them for coincident super eclipses. and i missed them right away and couldnt find another used pair.
but my list would be
platinum solos
ap virgos
silverline sonatas
the rest i went through(maybe 12 pairs) i could live without having again but those 3 i really missed after i sold them.
and bruce im not selling my venere 3.0's i know i would miss them. maybe the best ive had dollar to performance wise. just a super value!!!
 
I started my audiophile journey 7-8 years ago with my current speakers - Thiel 2.4s. Still have them :D They do a lot of things right for me but they forced me to upgrade amplification and front end a few times, rewarding me each time with an upgrade in overall SQ. They will be replaced but have to wait until my situation allows me to do so.
 
Speakers I've owned over the last 50 years:

DIY 8" coaxial drivers mounted horizontally in 6' plastic cylinders hung from the ceiling in a college dorm room
Acoustic Research AR-3a
JBL Lancer 77
Bose 901 (early 70's, suspended from ceiling in a 40x40x18' room- they rocked!)
Sequerra Pyramid (Metronome 8W woofers, Met 7 Mini Monitors, T-1 Ribbon tweeters-still have them)
Mirage M-1
Martin Logan (extended in-home audition, mid 80's vintage, don't remember model, didn't buy)
Sound Lab M-2 (purchased used-unseen, unheard, my intro to SL after extensive research)
Sound Lab M-1
Sound Lab Majestic 845PX electrostatics
Sound Lab Majestic 945PX (available FS)
Sound Lab Ultimate U-1PX

The Ultimates are just that: the best ever, keepers for life.
 
I have owned too many to count over the years. The only pair that I wish I had kept and started a second system around would be the MBL 111F's.
 
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