What is the worst speaker you've ever heard?

[droid2000]

Some of those old 8track w/ phono players with 1 way speakers and a tone control and maybe bass and treble. Small small PC speakers in white plastic cabinets with a LED in front.

I have never wanted to take something out back and smash it to smithereens with a sledgehammer as much as those cheap white plastic computer speakers.

 

[florin.moldovanu]

I think the most disappointing speakers I have heard were the Spendor BC1 and the PMC Fact 8.
The Spendor was, at the time fabulously uncoloured at relatively low volumes - iirc it was rated for 10 watts input originally - so super impressive on string quartet ( I am talking mid 1970s here) but put on a Mahler symphony and they had very squashed dynamics. I went to a dealer fully expecting to buy them but ended up with a Nightingale point 5 more suitable for the sort of music I most often listen to.

The Fact 8 looked gorgeous in rosewood but also sounded squashed on dynamics and was very expensive for a box with particularly modest drivers.

Very little info about these speakers anywhere even now in the age of internet.
I've managed to score a pair a few months ago but the surround on the peerless mid range drivers are crumbling and they are fitted in sealed cans, probably impossible to restore. Crossover would need upgrading too.
Don't know whether to keep them or break them down and use the bass drivers in a pair of B&W DM4's I also have? How do you remember them sounding when in top shape?

 

[Selkirks]

The Fact 8 looked gorgeous in rosewood but also sounded squashed on dynamics and was very expensive for a box with particularly modest drivers.

The Fact 8's represented possibly the worst "high end" audio value I've experienced but they looked nice. The sound got tiresome after a day or two.

 

[sktn77a]

I think the most disappointing speakers I have heard were the Spendor BC1
The Spendor was, at the time fabulously uncoloured at relatively low volumes - iirc it was rated for 10 watts input originally

I recall the official power handling spec was 8W RMS! Not that I wanted a Disco/PA speaker but this was enough t put me off buying a pair. Interestingly, I ended up with a pair of B&W DM3s - with a monstrous 15W RMS power handling rating!

 

[Penelinfi]

Sealed mid can be restored; it'll be tedious cleaning the old foam.
You'll probably have to insert the surround under the cone if that's how it was, them apply glue.
Once dry , glue the outer edge to basket and align while playing tones to make sure no buzz

 

[Frank Dernie]

Very little info about these speakers anywhere even now in the age of internet.
I've managed to score a pair a few months ago but the surround on the peerless mid range drivers are crumbling and they are fitted in sealed cans, probably impossible to restore. Crossover would need upgrading too.
Don't know whether to keep them or break them down and use the bass drivers in a pair of B&W DM4's I also have? How do you remember them sounding when in top shape?

I loved them and kept them for many years.
It is worth trying to get the mid drivers foam surround replaced if you can it is a great driver.
They also had excellent deep bass.

I sold them to a friend and he continued to use them for many more years. I am not sure what he did with them in the end.

Still one of the best speakers I owned in my (maybe faded) memory.

 

[Theta]

Zu, Devore, Audio Note U.K. listening you can almost recognise a familiar tune.
Keith

I second that emotion, Zu's are bearly usable in guitar amps, Devore and Audio notes are slighly improved Dynaco A25 you can pick up for 100 Euros on ebay.

 

[florin.moldovanu]

I loved them and kept them for many years.
It is worth trying to get the mid drivers foam surround replaced if you can it is a great driver.
They also had excellent deep bass.

I sold them to a friend and he continued to use them for many more years. I am not sure what he did with them in the end.

Still one of the best speakers I owned in my (maybe faded) memory.

Thanks for getting back to me Frank.
I bought them off a guy Joules from Steventon / Oxfordshire. Luckily he had the boxes as well and by the looks of it the speakers have been to Cyprus before. He must have been fond of them if he shipped them back to England from there.

 

[Schollaudio]

I had a pair of EMI back in the 90s. Couldn't listen to those for more than 10 seconds. Some guys wanted them and I was happy to move them along.

 

[Ricwa]

Heard a lot of absolutely shocking speakers, but the standout headscratcher to me was/is the Auratone cubes that somehow became 'legendary' in studios. Sure, I know their nickname (horrortones) and their raison d'etre, but they are so bad they nearly made me vomit.

These terrors are also up there:
View attachment 230493
I tried to give them away, but nobody would take them. Enough to put you off HiFi for life. Now they are used as sacrificial speakers for intermittent fault amplifier testing. I was able to give away the tower version to my Dad. He uses them as pedestal stands for bookshelf speakers.

The Auratone were used in studios for a reason. These were the days of AM radio and record producers needed their recording studio engineers to be able to hear and optimize their mixes for the AM radio market. Auratone cubes had a midrange sound that was known in the industry to sound like AM radios of the day.

 

[30 Ounce]

I have never been impressed with Zu’s! Heard them on several occasions and could never figure out why people like them.

 

[MaxBuck]

A buddy loaned me his Definitive Technology towers when I was waiting for my KEF R11s to arrive. I hooked them up, listened for a minute or two and decided I could wait a week or two to listen to any more music.

Yikes, they were awful.

 

[Frank Dernie]

Thanks for getting back to me Frank.
I bought them off a guy Joules from Steventon / Oxfordshire. Luckily he had the boxes as well and by the looks of it the speakers have been to Cyprus before. He must have been fond of them if he shipped them back to England from there.

Those could even be my old ones! The guy I sold then to lived 5 miles from Steventon. I can't imagine there were that many made.

 

[Bjorn]

I generally find omnidirectional speakers to be the worst design. Especially with a lot of naked and reflective surfaces, it's dreadful to listen to. Doesn't matter much to me if the horizontal directivity is fairly constant. Sure, I have heard other poorly implemented designs but omnis does something fundamental wrong for me.

Omnis highly color the recorded signal to something entirely else where all records gets the same foot print of being a live event. Which is unnatural and ackward to my ears and something I can't get use to.

Omnis belong outdoor IMO where there's a need to spread the sound to a crowd in all directions.

 

[Purité Audio]

Good for parties though.
Keith

 

[Bjorn]

Good for parties though.
Keith

Only when there's a need to place the speaker in the center of the room IMO.

Even a speaker with 80-90° horizontal directivity (broadband constant) can give great sound to all in the room when correctly placed.

 

[MattHooper]

The proceeding comments on Omnis is one reason why I find it valuable to actually hear things for myself. I would’ve robbed myself of some really wonderful audio experiences had I relied on what some other people think is “the wrong way to design things.”

 

[dtomsen]

My mother before furnishing our former living room.

Second would be a pair of B&W 704ish in an truly awful setup in store - the overly enthusiastic demo guy didn't help with my ears almost bleeding already.

Third would be every goddamn smartphone laying on the table playing way past clipping with the (loud) proclamation from the owner "best EVAR"