Just insert aMy comment about Tekton was aimed at no one.
No 1!
I apologize that my 'humor' sucks!
or 
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The greatest speakers ever?
- Thread starter Pearljam5000
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Robin L
Master Contributor
- Woofer Diameter: 20 feet (yes, feet, not inches)
- Power Output: 1.21 gigawatts (perfect for time travel if needed)
- Frequency Range: 0.0001 Hz to 2 Hz (subsonic enough to vibrate your soul)
- Peak SPL: 200 dB (louder than a rocket launch, guaranteed to clear sinuses)
- Magnet Weight: 3 tons (requires its own forklift)
- Enclosure Volume: 1,000 cubic feet (big enough to host a small concert inside)
- Cable Thickness: 10 inches (standard electrical cable won’t cut it)
- Power Source: Modified Boeing 747 jet engine (turns kerosene into pure bass)
- Amps: 100,000 watts RMS (literally all the watts)
- Material: Reinforced steel and Kevlar (survives a direct hit from a wrecking ball)
Grass Valley Duo Shatters Sound Barriers with World’s Largest Subwoofer
Grass Valley inventors Bob "Bassman" Wilson and Doug "Decibel" Smith have unveiled "Big Bertha," the world's largest subwoofer. Powered by a repurposed Boeing 747 engine, it boasts a 20-foot diameter woofer and 1.21 gigawatts of power. Capable of rearranging furniture and inducing seismic...
broadstreetbeacon.com
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Robin L
Master Contributor
I was gonna say Orson Welles.
Hm, I'm just thinking about speakers for the bedroom. I would need two of them for stereo. That might not quite fit.....
I had done that but it was after a CR&LF... not in-line!Just insert a
Who makes those?
They look to be the least offensive for feng-shui and W.A.F.
But, how they'd sound is best if kept a secret!
That looks like a 6 foot woofer, at most, where are the other 14 feet?As for its capabilities, “Big Bertha” can reportedly produce bass so deep it rearranges furniture. The first test run, held last Saturday, resulted in minor seismic activity and a noticeable uptick in local chiropractic visits. The duo insists that it was merely a “soft launch.”
- Woofer Diameter: 20 feet (yes, feet, not inches)
- Power Output: 1.21 gigawatts (perfect for time travel if needed)
- Frequency Range: 0.0001 Hz to 2 Hz (subsonic enough to vibrate your soul)
- Peak SPL: 200 dB (louder than a rocket launch, guaranteed to clear sinuses)
- Magnet Weight: 3 tons (requires its own forklift)
- Enclosure Volume: 1,000 cubic feet (big enough to host a small concert inside)
- Cable Thickness: 10 inches (standard electrical cable won’t cut it)
- Power Source: Modified Boeing 747 jet engine (turns kerosene into pure bass)
- Amps: 100,000 watts RMS (literally all the watts)
- Material: Reinforced steel and Kevlar (survives a direct hit from a wrecking ball)
Grass Valley Duo Shatters Sound Barriers with World’s Largest Subwoofer
Grass Valley inventors Bob "Bassman" Wilson and Doug "Decibel" Smith have unveiled "Big Bertha," the world's largest subwoofer. Powered by a repurposed Boeing 747 engine, it boasts a 20-foot diameter woofer and 1.21 gigawatts of power. Capable of rearranging furniture and inducing seismic...
View attachment 466226
Robin L
Master Contributor
And where is that Modified Boeing 747 jet engine that turns kerosene into pure bass?
Good heavens. It looks like the drivers of four different, random speakers screwed into a tall cabinet just like that. Tell me, could you use the cabinet as a drum? That they're big fun though, that I believe in a heartbeat.
For today's history lesson, 1979 VMPS SuperTower III meets 2022 BMR Tower and 2021 Revel F328Be on far left. This F328Be is the exact one reviewed at ASR. @amirm had to get it to the end of the street so the truck could pick it up.
It was crazy when the shipment of VMPS SuperTower III's arrived plus dual VMPS Tall Boy subs back in 1979.
Audio History Month
Revel F328Be - BMR Tower - VMPS SuperTower III
Black Speakers all around
Due to inflation or sumsuch?
downsizing in retirement.
Parts Express used to sell but are NLA. That is a 36 driver version and I own the 24. They sound good but need a subwoofer and take some personal break-in. They have some unique benefits. Vera Audio has plans to sell an updated version. Details are here:
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You're a monster.
If by "greatest and most iconic" you mean "made the most contributions to audiophile tomfoolery and misplaced priorities", sure, I guess.
Personally, my vote would go to the Energy Pro 22, which engineers at Energy developed with the National Research Council of Canada. On top of being an iconic speaker that sold well and sounds good, this was arguably the first speaker developed with "objective science and engineering first"-principles.
Ah, I didn't read the rest, the picture caused the joke to fail.
Robin L
Master Contributor
Seriously—if they're gonna use AI might as well use it right.
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Hahaha!
I think NS10 is a great shout for “greatest” loudspeaker of all time. Yes they sound pretty bad but they have been pivotal in the reproduction of so much music and are revered by so many professionals.
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They are inarguably important. They are inarguably not great.
I kid though, they certainly belong on a list of most important or most influential speakers ever made. Calling them the "greatest" speaker ever made makes me throw up in my mouth a little, though.
I was quite the VMPS Supertower IIR, RM30, and RM40 fan just because they were wired for bi-amping that took advantage of valves if they so chose. The STIII was a real pain to get any benefit from using a valve amp. The JVC/Sony UHF ribbons and maybe the inverted HF cones were separate. Even the mids were wired to the sub/bass and MB couplers.
Me and Mr Cheney had a few discussions on why he did it that way, and came to the conclusion that they worked best with a pretty hefty SS amp. I heard a few pairs and trips that were upgraded with WCF mids, MB, Bass and sub drivers. They could blast with big Macs at the time. Great party speakers, especially with a couple of Tallboys and a big room for dancing. He recommended Dayton's power amps for the passive subs.
I really miss that guy. I still use his TIIRs in a shop I use. RM30s and Elixirs are still my main speakers other than a few DIY Neo 8/10 LS I built. One of the best speakers for the money I still own. 25-40 years old, look brand new and play like the day they were bought.
They sure were popular in the greater Bay Area and competed very well with all of the Infinity line of speaker at 1/3 to 1/2 the price. He sold several kits too. Great speakers, lots of fun.
Regards
OP
Pearljam5000
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Some more iconic speakers
The definition I'd like to use for a "great" loudspeaker would be not only one whose performance is "great" within the context of its era, BUT one which changes the trajectory of loudspeaker design for the better, even if that change takes a while to show up.
With this definition in mind, I'd like to nominate the JBL Model 4430 studio monitor:
The great innovation of the JBL Model 4430 was, constant directivity over most of the spectrum. It used a constant-directivity horn whose radiation pattern was 100 x 100 degrees, crossed over to a 15" woofer where their radiation patterns matched (about 1 kHz).
And here is a link to the AES paper written by the designers of the Model 4430:
The Model 4430's frequency response was not particularly smooth by today's standards, BUT the off-axis response tracked the on-axis response very closely. So once the on-axis response has been corrected by EQ, the off-axis response, and by extension the in-room-response, is ALSO correct. And yes, sufficiently powerful EQ WAS available back in 1982.
Neither studio monitor manufacturers nor high-end home audio manufacturers appreciated the implications of what the Model 4430 was able to do at first, so it took decades for these segments of the audio industry to begin finding ways to incorporate similar levels of radiation pattern control into their loudspeakers. And when they did so, they often used different approaches which worked in smaller and therefore arguably more practical enclosure sizes: Constant-directivity waveguides for midranges and tweeters, coaxial drivers, cardioid loading, and so forth.
Today, loudspeakers incorporating the general ideology the Model 4430, which prioritizes radiation pattern control, are still very much in the minority. However thanks in large part to the publication and analysis of Klippel measurements by @amirm and others, the attributes first embodied and validated by the Model 4430 are rapidly expanding their presence in both the studio monitor and home audio markets. For instance, imo the speakers made by @AsciLab arguably represent an evolution of what the Model 4430 introduced some forty-three years ago.
I think future generations will look back at the JBL Model 4430 and see it as a point of inflection in loudspeaker design, even though it did not catch on right away.
With this definition in mind, I'd like to nominate the JBL Model 4430 studio monitor:
The great innovation of the JBL Model 4430 was, constant directivity over most of the spectrum. It used a constant-directivity horn whose radiation pattern was 100 x 100 degrees, crossed over to a 15" woofer where their radiation patterns matched (about 1 kHz).
And here is a link to the AES paper written by the designers of the Model 4430:
The Model 4430's frequency response was not particularly smooth by today's standards, BUT the off-axis response tracked the on-axis response very closely. So once the on-axis response has been corrected by EQ, the off-axis response, and by extension the in-room-response, is ALSO correct. And yes, sufficiently powerful EQ WAS available back in 1982.
Neither studio monitor manufacturers nor high-end home audio manufacturers appreciated the implications of what the Model 4430 was able to do at first, so it took decades for these segments of the audio industry to begin finding ways to incorporate similar levels of radiation pattern control into their loudspeakers. And when they did so, they often used different approaches which worked in smaller and therefore arguably more practical enclosure sizes: Constant-directivity waveguides for midranges and tweeters, coaxial drivers, cardioid loading, and so forth.
Today, loudspeakers incorporating the general ideology the Model 4430, which prioritizes radiation pattern control, are still very much in the minority. However thanks in large part to the publication and analysis of Klippel measurements by @amirm and others, the attributes first embodied and validated by the Model 4430 are rapidly expanding their presence in both the studio monitor and home audio markets. For instance, imo the speakers made by @AsciLab arguably represent an evolution of what the Model 4430 introduced some forty-three years ago.
I think future generations will look back at the JBL Model 4430 and see it as a point of inflection in loudspeaker design, even though it did not catch on right away.
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RexrothPigeon
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(FYI the broadstreet beacon is a humor site)As for its capabilities, “Big Bertha” can reportedly produce bass so deep it rearranges furniture. The first test run, held last Saturday, resulted in minor seismic activity and a noticeable uptick in local chiropractic visits. The duo insists that it was merely a “soft launch.”
- Woofer Diameter: 20 feet (yes, feet, not inches)
- Power Output: 1.21 gigawatts (perfect for time travel if needed)
- Frequency Range: 0.0001 Hz to 2 Hz (subsonic enough to vibrate your soul)
- Peak SPL: 200 dB (louder than a rocket launch, guaranteed to clear sinuses)
- Magnet Weight: 3 tons (requires its own forklift)
- Enclosure Volume: 1,000 cubic feet (big enough to host a small concert inside)
- Cable Thickness: 10 inches (standard electrical cable won’t cut it)
- Power Source: Modified Boeing 747 jet engine (turns kerosene into pure bass)
- Amps: 100,000 watts RMS (literally all the watts)
- Material: Reinforced steel and Kevlar (survives a direct hit from a wrecking ball)
Grass Valley Duo Shatters Sound Barriers with World’s Largest Subwoofer
Grass Valley inventors Bob "Bassman" Wilson and Doug "Decibel" Smith have unveiled "Big Bertha," the world's largest subwoofer. Powered by a repurposed Boeing 747 engine, it boasts a 20-foot diameter woofer and 1.21 gigawatts of power. Capable of rearranging furniture and inducing seismic...
View attachment 466226
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