I've owned a lot of speakers over the years, constantly trying to move up in sound quality.
My first pair of speakers were Becker's. Forgot the model #, but there was a Becker speaker factory in Greene County , NY. They manufactured speakers for themselves and for other company's. They had a "b sale" for speakers they couldn't sell due to a finish problem, and you could go and pick them out from their floor. As a 12 yr old, saving his money for two years from his paper route, I picked out a pair of 3 ways with five cool lights in a vertical array that would light up depending on how much power they were receiving (20 watts was the first light / 40 / 60 / 80 / 100). I got them for $100/pr and I had no idea how bad they were because all I wanted to do was see the lights. Powered by my Technics SA-410 (which has to be my favorite receiver I ever owned, not sure why, but I really loved it)
Then I started reading Stereophile and other magazines, and by the time I was 16 I saved up enough money to buy a pair of Klipsch KG4's. At $450/pr I was stepping up to the horn speakers. Coupled with my trusty Carver 900 receiver, this setup lasted me for almost two decades. A lot of my decision making in my youth was based on perception of what others said was "best in my price range", not on actual sound quality.
Then the Home Theater bug bit. I built a dedicated home theater. Two speakers were out, five speakers were in. I picked up an Image 8C center, a pair of Image 4Ts and a pair of Image 1Bs for surround and a Subsonic 6 subwoofer. I started going through A/V receivers like water as every year seemed to bring some new technology that out dated their video inputs, outputs or something. This system didn't last long, maybe five years.
Moving up I decided to go ALL out and grab PSB Platinums. I literally went with this system reviewed in Sound & Vision. M2s, for R/L, C4 center and S2's for surround. The one difference between the S&V system and mine was I got the smaller Subsonic Series 9 subwoofer (just one).
It didn't take long for some review to convince me my PSBs were "mainstream" and true audiophiles loved Totems. So I sold my PSBs and picked up Totem Rainmakers for L/R & Surround (small, but my sub could pick up the lows - and yes my Subsonic Series 9 survived as I was told you can't differentiate below 100 hz. It survives to this day, but that is another story), Rainmaker Center and Dreamcatchers for rear duties. I had now gone 7 channels, so the cost was close to what I paid for the PSB Platinums, but now I was buying an audiophile brand. Wow, is all I can say. Wow, because I was SO disappointed. Sure I had heard these at the dealer showroom, but when pushed to aggressively loud levels (which I didn't do at the dealers) they just bottomed out. I quickly decided to move on.
The good news is that my speakers weren't losing a lot of value. Unlike A/V receivers I wasn't taking a bath selling them, getting close to 80% of what I paid.
So I moved on to Paradigm, because the PSB Platinums were discontinued and I couldn't find them used. Paradigm Studio v5 20's handled L/R, the massive CC-690 took center duty, ADP-590 surrounds and ADP-390's for the rear. I absolutely LOVED this system. They came up a little short in dynamics, but for three years I listened and had no intention of substituting them. Then my center speaker tweeter blew. I replaced it under warranty. Then I blew a driver in the Studio's and replaced that, out of pocket. Not disturbed, I was planning on building my stereo room and ordered direct a pair of Signatures S6 plus a pair of Signature In-Wall LCR 5's for our den. One of the S6's had a blown tweeter on arrival. The LCR 5's were even worse, with a mid range that wasn't working. When the dealer came he opened it up to replace it, and pieces just started falling out of it. I was then told Paradigm was sold to another company and quality control wasn't what it used to be. I sent them all back and was so frustrated with Paradigm that I quickly sold ALL of my Paradigms.
But what to buy next? I was missing the sound quality of the PSB Platinums, frustrated with quality control from Paradigm and I wasn't enamored with the new Imagine speakers from PSB. Without boring you with my three month quest, I was told to keep Home Theater separate from Stereo because I had the new second room. Focus HT on dynamics. So I went with three JBL 3677's, four 8320's for surround. A couple years later I added four Monoprice 8" ceiling speaker for Atmos. This system is shockingly good for home theater. The super sensitive 3677's (99dB) are so easy to drive that my AVR can produce piercing gunshots and music without straining. I can push them as hard as I want and they don't distort and they don't blow.
For Stereo listening, I picked up a pair of Tannoy DC8Ti's. Which I can't listen to as much as I want because they're in the house. Or should I say I can't listen to them as LOUD as I want, so I find myself with headphones most of the time. They are powerful, no problem to drive, and are beautiful to look at (sadly, that matters to me). My HT has a acoustically transparent screen, so I don't see the front 3 speakers).
Ranking is definitely a tough one because I'm not directly comparing ANY of these speakers. Its not just from memory, its from my emotions at the time. Your first pair of speakers, at least for me, is as memorable as my first girlfriend. You may say that is sad, but maybe my first girlfriend wasn't too memorable. That said, here is how I would SUBJECTIVELY rate my speakers, for two-channel use:
1. PSB Platinum M2's
2. Tannoy Definition DC8Ti's
3. Paradigm Studio 20's v5 (might have rated higher if I had the tower versions with more bass, silky smooth midrange)
4. JBL 3677's
5. Klipsch KG4's
6. Becker Model ???
7. Totem Rainmaker
8. PSB Image 4Ts
So that's been my journey so far. I'm now planning on selling my PSB Subsonic 9 subwoofer and getting two Rythmic FV18's. But that's going to be a year before I save up the money for that. My Subsonic 9 doesn't seem to have much value, most people just aren't excited by PSB subs.
My first pair of speakers were Becker's. Forgot the model #, but there was a Becker speaker factory in Greene County , NY. They manufactured speakers for themselves and for other company's. They had a "b sale" for speakers they couldn't sell due to a finish problem, and you could go and pick them out from their floor. As a 12 yr old, saving his money for two years from his paper route, I picked out a pair of 3 ways with five cool lights in a vertical array that would light up depending on how much power they were receiving (20 watts was the first light / 40 / 60 / 80 / 100). I got them for $100/pr and I had no idea how bad they were because all I wanted to do was see the lights. Powered by my Technics SA-410 (which has to be my favorite receiver I ever owned, not sure why, but I really loved it)
Then I started reading Stereophile and other magazines, and by the time I was 16 I saved up enough money to buy a pair of Klipsch KG4's. At $450/pr I was stepping up to the horn speakers. Coupled with my trusty Carver 900 receiver, this setup lasted me for almost two decades. A lot of my decision making in my youth was based on perception of what others said was "best in my price range", not on actual sound quality.
Then the Home Theater bug bit. I built a dedicated home theater. Two speakers were out, five speakers were in. I picked up an Image 8C center, a pair of Image 4Ts and a pair of Image 1Bs for surround and a Subsonic 6 subwoofer. I started going through A/V receivers like water as every year seemed to bring some new technology that out dated their video inputs, outputs or something. This system didn't last long, maybe five years.
Moving up I decided to go ALL out and grab PSB Platinums. I literally went with this system reviewed in Sound & Vision. M2s, for R/L, C4 center and S2's for surround. The one difference between the S&V system and mine was I got the smaller Subsonic Series 9 subwoofer (just one).
It didn't take long for some review to convince me my PSBs were "mainstream" and true audiophiles loved Totems. So I sold my PSBs and picked up Totem Rainmakers for L/R & Surround (small, but my sub could pick up the lows - and yes my Subsonic Series 9 survived as I was told you can't differentiate below 100 hz. It survives to this day, but that is another story), Rainmaker Center and Dreamcatchers for rear duties. I had now gone 7 channels, so the cost was close to what I paid for the PSB Platinums, but now I was buying an audiophile brand. Wow, is all I can say. Wow, because I was SO disappointed. Sure I had heard these at the dealer showroom, but when pushed to aggressively loud levels (which I didn't do at the dealers) they just bottomed out. I quickly decided to move on.
The good news is that my speakers weren't losing a lot of value. Unlike A/V receivers I wasn't taking a bath selling them, getting close to 80% of what I paid.
So I moved on to Paradigm, because the PSB Platinums were discontinued and I couldn't find them used. Paradigm Studio v5 20's handled L/R, the massive CC-690 took center duty, ADP-590 surrounds and ADP-390's for the rear. I absolutely LOVED this system. They came up a little short in dynamics, but for three years I listened and had no intention of substituting them. Then my center speaker tweeter blew. I replaced it under warranty. Then I blew a driver in the Studio's and replaced that, out of pocket. Not disturbed, I was planning on building my stereo room and ordered direct a pair of Signatures S6 plus a pair of Signature In-Wall LCR 5's for our den. One of the S6's had a blown tweeter on arrival. The LCR 5's were even worse, with a mid range that wasn't working. When the dealer came he opened it up to replace it, and pieces just started falling out of it. I was then told Paradigm was sold to another company and quality control wasn't what it used to be. I sent them all back and was so frustrated with Paradigm that I quickly sold ALL of my Paradigms.
But what to buy next? I was missing the sound quality of the PSB Platinums, frustrated with quality control from Paradigm and I wasn't enamored with the new Imagine speakers from PSB. Without boring you with my three month quest, I was told to keep Home Theater separate from Stereo because I had the new second room. Focus HT on dynamics. So I went with three JBL 3677's, four 8320's for surround. A couple years later I added four Monoprice 8" ceiling speaker for Atmos. This system is shockingly good for home theater. The super sensitive 3677's (99dB) are so easy to drive that my AVR can produce piercing gunshots and music without straining. I can push them as hard as I want and they don't distort and they don't blow.
For Stereo listening, I picked up a pair of Tannoy DC8Ti's. Which I can't listen to as much as I want because they're in the house. Or should I say I can't listen to them as LOUD as I want, so I find myself with headphones most of the time. They are powerful, no problem to drive, and are beautiful to look at (sadly, that matters to me). My HT has a acoustically transparent screen, so I don't see the front 3 speakers).
Ranking is definitely a tough one because I'm not directly comparing ANY of these speakers. Its not just from memory, its from my emotions at the time. Your first pair of speakers, at least for me, is as memorable as my first girlfriend. You may say that is sad, but maybe my first girlfriend wasn't too memorable. That said, here is how I would SUBJECTIVELY rate my speakers, for two-channel use:
1. PSB Platinum M2's
2. Tannoy Definition DC8Ti's
3. Paradigm Studio 20's v5 (might have rated higher if I had the tower versions with more bass, silky smooth midrange)
4. JBL 3677's
5. Klipsch KG4's
6. Becker Model ???
7. Totem Rainmaker
8. PSB Image 4Ts
So that's been my journey so far. I'm now planning on selling my PSB Subsonic 9 subwoofer and getting two Rythmic FV18's. But that's going to be a year before I save up the money for that. My Subsonic 9 doesn't seem to have much value, most people just aren't excited by PSB subs.
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