Your hifi history part 1 - speakers

Ian b

Ian
Wammer
Sep 26, 2020
88
57
38
Near Bournemouth
AKA
Ian
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
1st:

acoustic energy AE 1’s passive stand mount

2nd:

delquest dq12’s

3rd and current:

living voice auditorium avatar 

1&2 up in the loft 

 

robin

Good bye
Wammer Plus
Dec 6, 2006
4,765
1,324
193
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
wharfedales cant remember whitch

jpw mini monitors, better than the wharfedales

quad 11ls first decent hi-fi speakers

wharfedale diamond 8, the floorstanders 3s i think, great bass

monitor audio gold reff standmounts, didnt really do it for me

ae alite 3, really liked these, good price too

spendor s5e, didnt like these at all very thin sounding

heco celan 300, very good build, but too much bass for my room

ipl m3tlm modded by a wammer- still owned by a wammer- great speaker

some obscure infinity floorstanders- really quite good

keff 104 a/b sounded very dated to me

zhorn herkura- very good at what they do, fantastic with the right amp and music

kora mandalas, not very well known, but fantastic speakers, amazeing sound with border patrol 300b amp

quad els 63, my current and best speakers so far
Just stubbled across this thread, so I thought I would update it

Tannoy 12" gold's in corner Lancaster cabs

Tannoy 15" gold's in corner cabs

Audio note e lx, bass problems in my room

Audio note e spe/he, maybe forever speakers, oh and I still have the Kora's in my kitchen

 

ClassikFan

Wammer
Wammer
Jul 19, 2005
5,158
1,870
193
Surrey
AKA
Stuart
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Sony ..... Can't remember (42 years ago)

Wharfdale Delta 30

Quad 11L

PMC TB2+

Prozac Response 1SC
 
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Andy Stephenson

Legend Wammer
Wammer
Feb 8, 2022
9,227
11,813
148
North East England
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
My speaker history!
Probably shouldn't even include the first two pairs,
never mind here we go........

ITT KS661 came with an ITT auto changer record player
I got for Christmas in 1974, didn't actually
sound too bad, just not hi fi!
Realistic Optimus 2BF Not really that good, but went
quite loud which was, as a teenager, quite
a big thing.
Celestion Ditton 66 Massive improvement on everything
I'd ever heard before, one woofer rattled with
anything more than medium volume, would
have had them repaired but in reality they
were too big for the room. Cost £10.00 second hand!
ProAc Tablette 50 Could'nt be more different to the Celestions
not least sizewise, but I've had them for 25 years
and have never regretted getting them. Huge
sound from a tiny standmount, must be firmly
attached to heavy stands. I use Target R1s.
Linn Keilidh Won't replace the Tablettes but are great fun
when the neighbours go out!

Regards Andy
 

Matball

Newbie
Wammer
Mar 1, 2022
99
29
23
HiFi Trade?
  1. Yes
Dynaudio A42 - 4 years
Sonus Faber Toy Tower - 6 years
Sonus Faber Liuto Monitor - 6 years

Looking to upgrade to floor-standing speakers or add a subwoofer
 

Lee M

was/is the purplepleaser
Wammer Plus
Nov 6, 2013
5,085
2,783
193
Manchester
AKA
Lee
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
From 2005 till today

Proac 1sc's
Heco Direkt two ways
Q Acoustics 3050i
 

robbie010

Fervent Box-swapper & Tinkerer
Wammer Plus
Feb 24, 2016
2,029
1,340
183
42
Manchester
AKA
Simon
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Klipsch La Scala (Clones) - A labour of love to build these, fantastic but not as much bass as their size may suggest.

Wharfedale Linton XP2 - Loved these, used as a back-up and just bought another set. A good all round performer.

Infinity kappa 400 - Good performers but a little difficult to place.

Wharfedale W4 - Another project I took on, omni-directional and meant to be corner loaded.

Sonus faber venere 1.5 - lovely looking things but a little underwhelming.

Sonus faber venere 2.5 - Much better than the 1.5’s, made pretty much all music sound enjoyable.

Polk LSi-9 - Don’t see these often, quite large standmounts with lots of bass.

QLN Splitfields - Again, another project jobby, outboard crossovers that were re-housed to match the cabs. Great speakers but no good near to the rear wall.

Diy horns - Very large single driver horns…. The wife was not please.

Tannoy 609? dual concentrics - My first foray in to dual concentric, nothing to write home about.

Impulse H7 - Don’t, just don’t.

Mordaunt short MS400 - Classic speakers with a great vintage look, worked well against the wall.

Kef LS50 - Ample performers, great bang fir buck but a little unrefined.

Harbeth Super HL5 Plus (40th Anniversary) - Lovely midrange, bass was far too pronounced in my room.

Tannoy Prestige Sterling SE - My favourite between these two tannoys, lovely bass response, great midrange, not too fussy about positioning.

Tannoy Prestige Kensington SE - Not dissimilar to the Sterlings all round but with a tighter sweetspot.

Kralk Audio BC-30 MKII - My first nearfield monitor type, used with the bass extending stands. Great performers, awesome midrange.

Phew….. 🥴
 

Strider

Show me your Fooses
Wammer Plus
Jan 16, 2006
5,604
3,576
193
Here and there
AKA
Mark
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Tannoy Eclipse (OK for 1st spkrs)
Tannoy Mercury (Better than above)
Tannoy M20 Gold ( Good but tweeters kept popping)
Mission 762 ( big, ugly but party animals)
TDL RTL 2 (better than many think)
TDL Studio 1 M (Why did I sell these? Incredible speakers)
B & W 704 (Why did I buy these and keep them for years?)
Thingyamajigs (The speakers that shall not be named) Ahem.
Amphion Xenon (When you lust after a speaker for 25 years only to find they were horrid)
ProAc Studio 140 (Best of the bunch) Now dead due to a Rega amplifier going DC and cooking two bass drivers.
B & W LM1 (just filling a gap - horrible things that lasted for a day before putting back into conservatory)
RCF Monitor 5SW (A background Muzac speaker that sounds far better that it should)

Next - watch this space....
 

tackleberry

Wammer
Wammer
Jan 28, 2010
4,176
1
2,315
158
Leeds..ish
HiFi Trade?
  1. Yes
  2. No
When I first read this feed I thought “I can’t be bothered, but here goes, starting from 1989.

Some old Richard Allen 12”?
Wharfedale diamond
Glendale
Genexxa d’appilito
Jamo party speaker fings 365
Cerwin vega at12
Mission 770
B&Wdm14
Sl6
Mission 753
Tannoy 611
Rtl 2
Tannoy 613
Mt kestrel
Kef 104.2
Ma ma14
Ruark Templar
AE1
Ma studio 20se
Proac studio 125
B£W matrix 801

Flogged everything to buy 5.1

Ar18
Tannoy Oxford
Tannoy t185
Jr149
Ma GR 20
Spendor s8
Pmc lb1
Ma Platinum 300
Homebrew scan/ATC/seas excel
Tannoy Stirling se
Stirling TW
Kensington
Audio note ank lx
Kef104ab
Mf mc4
Mc2
Sonus concerto
Jamo concert 8
Dali (5.1)
Opera mini
Kef q100
ATC asl100

Loads of other 2nd system stuff I’ve forgotten.
 
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WolvesWill

Wammer
Wammer
Nov 4, 2010
95
90
33
Wolverhampton
AKA
William Lee
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Jamo D165 - More of a PA/DJ speaker than hifi, loud and flabby bass (8 inch cones), but got me into hifi...

B&W 602 S2 - Good bass, practical enough to come to uni with me (halls and my student house), sold them for I paid for them more than 10 years later.

Meadowlark Kestrel Hot Rod - Not the best condition, when I bought these, always a bit tatty and ugly looking. Impressive transmission line bass, in hindsight though, very imbalanced, with hugely recessed mid range, it was all top end and bass. Lots of fun though.

PMC Twenty .24 - Lovely build and finish, but was a bit underwhelmed for the price perhaps. Preferred the bass on the meadowlarks, maybe less accurate but more enjoyable.

Revel Concerta2 M16 - Super smooth, easy listening, and amazing scale and imaging for the size of speaker. All the speaker I'll need, when paired with a sub and appropriate (Lyngdorf) correction/bass management.
 
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Turn it up!

Wam Bam
Wammer Plus
Nov 27, 2012
1,117
998
193
Brighton
AKA
Simon
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
In order of ownership -

Kef Q3

Spendor SP1

Harbeth C7es2

Zingali Overture .3s

Klipsch Cornwall

Tannoy Cheviot Legacy

Marshall Choong CM-2

LS3/5a

Out of all these the Klipsch Cornwalls have been my favourites. Lots of flaws and by no means the perfect speaker but just great fun and do things none of the others can. With live recordings nothing I’ve owned can match them.
 

greenspinach

Wammer
Wammer
Oct 28, 2009
30
18
23
Sunbury
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Over the last thirty years, my main system speakers have been:
Tannoy M20 Gold
Castle Chester
Revel Performa M20
Spendor A9

Secondary systems have used:
Kef Q15
Epos ES11
Amphion Argon2 Anniversary

I really enjoyed the Revels and still have them stored in the loft but their tweeters were poked in by my little nephew and I have not got round to replacing them.
 

Tazzo

Newbie
Wammer
Apr 27, 2022
57
33
23
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Mission E34 floorstanders Excellent for the price

Kef LS50

Avondale Audio Reference one speakers

Wilslow Audio Rondo
 

Carlbkk1

Wammer
Wammer
Sep 27, 2014
457
156
63
Bangkok
AKA
Carl
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Quite a short list compared to most on here, because I rarely stayed in one country for that long. I'm going to include speakers I had on home demo too.

1. Tannoy 611 (first ever speakers at 17 years old with a John Shearne amp. I liked them a lot)
2. Usher CP8571 (huge scale, smooth treble but lacking excitement in the mids)
3. Audiostatic DC1 (good all round, lack of deep bass of course)
4. Zingali Zero Dieci (bloody awful for lively music, unclear, no cohesion)
5. Apogee Grand (good dynamics and mids but lacked treble detail)
6. Wilson Sophia 1 (eBay bargain, had nearly everything the Ushers had but faster and more resolution)
7. Adam Audio AX5 actives (great stop gap standmounts in a small room)
8. Meridian DSP5200 actives (superb bass and smooth)
9. Martin Logan Summit X (superb bass but not the detail and resolution I was expecting compared to...)
10. Wilson 5.1 (current speakers, have just about everything the Sophias had but a bit more dynamic)
 

dave

incurable tinkerer
Wammer
Mar 24, 2014
1,605
924
158
cambs
AKA
dave
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Oh my, starting from 1985 ish, This is probably about half of my speaker adventure, the more noteworthy ones....

Pair of Wharfdale super 8 or 10 in big boxes, liked them, sold
Kef B139 - T52s, someone's home made, deep bass, no treble. sold
Saved up and bought "recommended" Toshiba SS 30 nice enough. Used for parts.
Home made 2" Bandors. Good, but never quite right. Still have the drivers, and a few more.
1995.
Genexxa LX5s, tweaked, with various subs. Very good speakers, particularly tweeters, enabled me to get ahead designing amplifiers, still have them and at least another 6 "spare" pairs.
Kef 104AB inherited from grandad, Ok but didn't really like them, sold.
2008 married with small people, new house and a bigger room.
Celestion Ditton 15, really wanted to like these, but awful, really. sold
Unknown small 2 way a bit like LS3/5a style. Worked well, Stupidly swapped out the nice Seas tweeters. Still have them in living room.
Goodmans maxim original, nice, sold
Goodmans Magisters, on SE 3w valve amp. Oh my, what bass, transient attack etc. Turning point, I like big speakers. Too big and ugly, sold, but mysteriously still have a few of the drivers....
Goodmans Magnums, disappointing. Deconstructed probably.
Wharfedale Dovedale III (newer one), fixed woofer rubber, wow, these are the best speakers, fierce tweeter tamed by rolled off SE 3w valve amp. Total synergy, just the best with all types of music from electronica to classical. Still have them, and in use + 2 spare pairs.
Wharfdale Linton 2XP, fun office speakers, deconstructed to experimental 4" transmission line, to be continued...
Wharfedale Linton original, not that special, sold.
Bargain Yamaha NS1000ms, replaced bodged crossovers, nice but didn't get on with SE 3w valve amp, so back to Dovedales. Still have them, have now found happy tube amp match after 10 years. Very good speakers.
Wharfedale Kingsdales. More efficient, rather than deeper bass than Dovedales, tube amp hostile load, prefers SS amp, sold.
Quad ELS57, didn't get on with SE 3w valve amp and a bit sick. One panel faint buzz, now other one has stopped altogether, still have them, will fix one day, very lovely.
2014, another new house with big office :) with permanentish Dovedales and NS1000s setup.
Wharfedale Triton, pass, started rebuilding, still have them.
Goodmans Mezzo original. No top or bottom, sold.
B&O Beovox 5700, didn't really get on with them, realised just before they went, need to be at least 4 meters away for the sound to integrate. Sold.
Meridian M2. Moisture damaged (hope your ears are burning). 2 rubbing voice coils. Quite like them, still have them.
Wharfedale Teesdale SP2. I heavily tweaked them and new woofers. Pretty decent transparent speaker, better than Dovedale, approaching NS1000 ish, At this point got fed up with housing so many speakers, Sold. Still love Dovedale more though.
Home built LS3/5a clone, very lovely. In daily use in the study.
Haven't really bought any speakers since. Built Dark Night, semi active ultimate speakers with stacked Linaeum tweeters, Accuton mids, 2x B139 and 2x B220 bass/ subs and DSP room adjustment. These are next level, full range, time aligned speakers, which I will continue to refine, mostly the bass/ room integration. They are just so good.
Have a few speaker projects on the back burner, but Accuton mid is causing a rethink, can I be bothered as the results may not be an improvement. Building lots of tube amps at the moment, but will return to conquer the passive crossover network one day.
 
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Tony T

Tony T
Wammer
Jul 14, 2020
178
203
63
London
AKA
Tony
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
In no particular order.

Impulse H2 / H3 / H6 /

Tannoy Berkeley / Cheviots / i8 / DMT12 II

Proac Response 1.5 / Tablette 10 Signature

Neat SX3

PMC DB1i

Snell E 2

Cerwin Vega AT60

JPW Mini Monitor

Epos ES11 /E22

There may well be a few more
 

02gf74

Wammer
Wammer
Feb 9, 2013
39
18
23
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
In chronological order, give or take.

Sony laser 60 - bought with my Saturday job savings, not the best quality but all I could afford.

Sony???? (laser 100?) - bigger and hugely louder, not necessarily better.

MF MC4 - I suppose the first speakers that could be called Hifi.

MA Studio 20 - recreating 'What Hifi' reference system (including audiolab 8000 components) Had to take them back to have a tweeter replaced under warranty.

MA studio 50 - couldn't resist these at the price. Rare find but not as rare as a pair of 60s.

Mission 702? , cheap speakers to listen to whilst in bed. Not used much; I don't laze in bed.

Wilson Benesch Act - traded the Studio 20, seriously expensive and noticeable improvement on all that came before

ML Aerius II - just for curiosity, the electrostatic panels make the position of instrument disappear, I do like them but see below.

Mordaunt short MS10 - small speaker, not sure why I bought these.

B&W 602 - not sure why I bought these either. As you can imagine, both of the above were used for a couple of hours to see if working then put away.

Dali zensor 1 - small speaker for the kitchen /living room area to fit in a small gap on the Welsh dresser. (probably why I bought the MS 10 except I don't think they fitted)

I came to the conclusion that the coating on the ML panels is deteriorating or my ears are going (or both) as the very top HF is missing, so in the last few months I've recently gone on a speaker buying spree, buying old but well reviewed models, budget £200-300ish

Mordaunt Short MS908 - was looking at better bass, but not sure they give that, plus I'm not happy with the HF. Possibly faulty tweeters. Don't seem to have the detail found in more expensive models.

Linn Kelidh - do sound nice, toying with active filters to drive these.

Mission 753 - hard to tell why but I prefer the Linns

Epos M22 - was looking for deeper bass than 753s, currently listening to them, think they are the best of the bunch so far with better detail, if only I can get a set of spikes them.....
 

pmcuk

Wammer
Wammer
Sep 12, 2015
7,317
1
4,879
148
Kensington, London
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
- Wharfedale 10" coax speakers in concrete columns. Great - very clean
- Vitavox 15" woofers and large Vitavox horn. Didn't like it, honky horns
- Stacked Quad 57s with Kelly ribbon supertweeter - awesome, with fronts and backs removed
- 10" SEAS woofer and tweeter in concrete enclosure - very clean, liked them
- Magnepan SMG - a little below awesome, but very good
- Apogee Caliper Sigs - loved these full range ribbons, the most delicate sounds of all. Awesome detail.
- Mark Audio Alpair 10s in tall columns. Didn't get these quite right, but they were OK
- Wharfedale early Diamond series - surprisingly good for small speakers. Still using them.

The stacked quads and the Apogees were my taste of the high end - they were truly wonderful. Next to that the concrete enclosures were very clean and satisfying. In my current room 4.5m x 3.5m I can sensibly only consider smaller 2-ways but I've scaled down my expectations and still enjoy them for what they are. Smooth and realistic sound with good tone. All speakers were used with valve amps - the high end ones with McIntosh and Conrad Johnson Premier amps. These days I make my own.
 

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