The greatest speakers ever?

[Westsounds]

No such thing as greatest speakers ever. They're all different, once you've covered the entire frequency spectrum in a well made, well designed unit, you're done. Anything else is just exuberant design, artistic intent or over engineering for different effects.

Pick one that matches the room size or is slightly larger than needed, eq it to the room (or preference) and you are done. Nothing really beats any half decent 3 way basic design in a wooden nicely damped and braced box that has decent material drive units. Paper usually for mid and bass cones and personally I like what metal tweeters do at realistically recreating sounds from recordings.

 

[MattHooper]

Beolab 90 looks like something out of early Dr. Who travels.

I keep saying they look to me like somebody who got stuck inside a pop tent, struggling to set it up.

 

[kma100]

No such thing as greatest speakers ever. They're all different, once you've covered the entire frequency spectrum in a well made, well designed unit, you're done. Anything else is just exuberant design, artistic intent or over engineering for different effects.

Pick one that matches the room size or is slightly larger than needed, eq it to the room (or preference) and you are done. Nothing really beats any half decent 3 way basic design in a wooden nicely damped and braced box that has decent material drive units. Paper usually for mid and bass cones and personally I like what metal tweeters do at realistically recreating sounds from recordings.

You are looking at it too literally. The OP is asking "what is the best?" He likes superlatives . Perhaps there should be a mega @Pearljam5000 thread that says "Which is the most beautiful, highest performing speaker and why is it the Genelec 8381?"

 

[OldHvyMec]

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.

One thing for sure, Duke: the article has some very interesting authors: Smith, Keele, and Eargle. All very well respected in their own right, and the companies they worked with and represented.

JBL has always been way ahead of the game in live, studio, and home music reproduction.

I've owned a few of the early ones. 4343 in the 80s, and apart from the cost, I loved them. If I hadn't worked a deal with the guy and bartered for them, I wouldn't have owned them. Some JBLs are pretty pricy. I had a pair of DD55000 stored in my shop for 3 years, and I had them hooked up for close to 18 months. Wonderful speakers.
I think he paid 22K for them. Huge speakers, and they could use every watt available from a pair of MC600 MBs. Big sound, from big speakers.

Regards.

 

[OldHvyMec]

Which is the most beautiful, highest performing speaker and why is it the Genelec 8381?"

Great sense of humor in any case. That speaker gets the double yuck factor. Man oh man it's an ugly one. WOW!!!

Regards

 

[Westsounds]

I keep saying they look to me like somebody who got stuck inside a pop tent, struggling to set it up.

That's a great analogy. I've always thought they looked like an angry magic carpet out of Aladdin, but I like your description better now, I won't get it out of my head. The thing is for that money, they would need to give you eyegasms at least, or be bit of furniture you'd imagine being passed on from generation to generation, and personally I don't think they do either.

 

[audioxcel]

The best I have ever heard were Soundlab A1s. Startling real live music sounding. Literally... STARTLINGLY real. I heard them at a Stereophile Show in SF in the 80s and they made me slack jawed. I have never heard better.

I bought Marlin Logan Sequels a week later but if I had had the money and space, I would have bought the Soundlabs.

 

[totti1965]

Of course my trusted HobbyHifi Dacapo Eccezionales with the two Linkwitz Dipol Subwoofers:

Guter Vorsatz für 2017: Die Hobby Hifi Dacapo Eccezionale und die Dipol Subwoofer endlich zum klingen bringen!

Zen Mind - Beginners Mind. Das Jahr 2017 soll für mich ein echter Neubeginn werden. Thorsten möchte nun endlich wirklich (nachdem die beide...

totti1965.blogspot.com

 

[Oddball]

There is very little doubt that these are amongst the best:

Kii THREE BXT - HOME AUDIO - Kii Audio

Kii THREE BXT Home Audio Pro Audio Custom Installer Elegant and powerful, our BXT turns any pair of Kii THREE into unrivaled floor-standing speakers. Wired Connectivity Floor Standing Full Range Speaker 3,500 Watts of Immersive Sonic Clarity per Speaker Ideally Suited for Both Home Audio and...

www.kiiaudio.com

But then given the price, I'd also put these ahead of comparable, but more expensive Perlistens:

La Diva Series | HECO USA

HECO Home Audio delivers uncompromising, high-quality hi-fi home theater speakers and subwoofers. Shop HECO Audio Today.

heco-usa.com

 

[totti1965]

There is very little doubt that these are amongst the best:

Kii THREE BXT - HOME AUDIO - Kii Audio

Kii THREE BXT Home Audio Pro Audio Custom Installer Elegant and powerful, our BXT turns any pair of Kii THREE into unrivaled floor-standing speakers. Wired Connectivity Floor Standing Full Range Speaker 3,500 Watts of Immersive Sonic Clarity per Speaker Ideally Suited for Both Home Audio and...

www.kiiaudio.com

But then given the price, I'd also put these ahead of comparable, but more expensive Perlistens:

La Diva Series | HECO USA

HECO Home Audio delivers uncompromising, high-quality hi-fi home theater speakers and subwoofers. Shop HECO Audio Today.

heco-usa.com

From October / November 2025 on, the AsciLab C6C with the then new AsciLab Sub will be a KiiThree BXT Alternative for only 1/3 of the total price (US$ 12,000 +/- - Depending on Trumps Phantasie Taxes in the month when you purchase)

 

[Mart68]

QUAD ESL - a leap forward and used as a reference against other designs for many years

JBL L100 - spawned hundreds of imitators and a reboot

Yamaha NS1000M - still stands up as a 'very good' speaker 50 years on

JBL 4367 - latest exemplar of the JBL 'concept' does everything and does it all well

Kii3 - active speaker design taken to all of its logical conclusions

TAD Grand Evolution GE1 - possibly the best speakers I have ever heard.

 

[RayDunzl]

What in your opinion are the greatest speakers ever made?

Don't know.

Never heard them.

Too old to really hear them now even if we crossed paths.

Maybe most impressed with a few minutes walking around in a hotel conference room with a medium-big pair of Magicos.

 

[Waxx]

From historical point of view, you can't avoid the Altec Lansing speakers, especially the A7 or the 612A, the latter one was a standard as studio monitor back in it's time (1940's to 1970's) and the driver, the Altec 604E is a legend. Off course this is old tech now and not up to modern standards. But Altec Lansing, and the man behind it (James Bullough Lansing) laid the basic of modern speaker technology. He was a terrible bussinessman, but a great engineer.

Of the actual production, i prefer an Altec decendent, the JBL (James Bullough Lansing) 4367 is my favorite speaker (of those i know). If they could make a speaker like that cardioid, you have the speaker that is in my book a perfect speaker. The M2 is close (but looks terrible).

Objectivly you probally need to look at the bigger Neumann and Genelec monitors. Actual cardioid speakers are great, but are much higher distortion and limited on volume and dynamics i think. At least that is my experience with the Kii BXT and the D&D 8C's i heared.

The most promising technical evolutions are the cardioid speaker and the MEH (multi entry horn), also known as a Unity horn or Synergy horn (invented by Tom Danley). But both technologies need more finetuning i think.

 

[boxerfan88]

Quite an interesting video about his considerations in choosing his speakers.

(Warning: he is very much smitten with Ex-Machina.)

YT: CGgGi0b-jw0 | SonicScoop

• Prefer sealed
• Prefer coaxial
• Flat FR is a given these days with DSP technology (even cheap speakers can have flat FR)
• Low distortion is very important
• Spots in the frequency range with higher distortion can color the speakers
• Sealed better than ported (exception is transmission line)
• Transient response & driver excursion (amplitude)
• Metal tweeters & resonances in the audible band

/

 

[101geo]

Heard these when I was a young lad back in the 70's. Defined the word "Dynamics" for me.

 

[dfuller]

Quite an interesting video about his considerations in choosing his speakers.

(Warning: he is very much smitten with Ex-Machina.)

YT: CGgGi0b-jw0 | SonicScoop

• Prefer sealed
• Prefer coaxial
• Flat FR is a given these days with DSP technology (even cheap speakers can have flat FR)
• Low distortion is very important
• Spots in the frequency range with higher distortion can color the speakers
• Sealed better than ported (exception is transmission line)
• Transient response & driver excursion (amplitude)
• Metal tweeters & resonances in the audible band

/

I watched that video and oh boy a whole lot of nonsense there.

 

[Purité Audio]

Heard these when I was a young lad back in the 70's. Defined the word "Dynamics" for me.

View attachment 474976View attachment 474977

They left an impression on me too around 1980, I bought a pair years later and they were still pretty good.


Keith

 

[Kain]

Haven't heard them but I have to mention the Meyer Sound X-10.

 

[MattHooper]

QUAD ESL - a leap forward and used as a reference against other designs for many years

My first time sitting down in front of my friends Quad 63s felt paradigm changing for me. Even though I ended up owning the 63s, I actually somewhat prefer the 57s. (my friend also switched from 63 to 57)

Kii3 - active speaker design taken to all of its logical conclusions

I get why that could be on your list.
For me, I auditioned the Kii Threes a number of times, including a back-to-back comparison with some Spendor stand mounts. I wrote about the experience here
In the end, I preferred the passive Spendors.

TAD Grand Evolution GE1 - possibly the best speakers I have ever heard.

I’ve always wanted to hear a TAD speaker.
They tend to measure well and I bet they sound great.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Heard these when I was a young lad back in the 70's. Defined the word "Dynamics" for me.

They left an impression on me too around 1980, I bought a pair years later and they were still pretty good.

And they are...............................................