What speakers do you currently own?

[ErVikingo]

Infinity IRS Beta
Aerial 8b
Mirage M3
Snell Side/Surrounds and Center Channel
2 Sunfire Signature Subs
Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble
26 pairs of Monitor Audio in ceiling
4 Realistics in the garage
2x12 cabinet for the electric guitar!
Couple of soundbars

All but the Mirage, the Aerial and the Monitor restored (foams/caps/etc) in 2022-2023

 

[August West]

Martin Logan Electro Motion ESL's

 

[ahofer]

2XRevel F228Be
2XHarbeth SHL5+(AE)
2XGenelec 8010+7040A sub
2XJBL L830 (not currently in use)

 

[Iving]

Snell Type A III in main system. Woofers and mids re-foamed by old-school techs some years ago. No re-coning or driver replacement here! Otherwise in great condition. I love the open baffles and they seem to broadcast musical wind - they move a lot of air. The upper chamber cloths have to be removed to access the mids - and it's near-impossible to replace nicely even with new cloth. I have never examined the crossovers. The Snells sound fantastic, and are transparent to positive system upgrades and tweaks (so I understand subjectively). I do have room treatment, but derived aesthetically more than objectively. I am inclined to think the Snells fully relax after about an hour playing at a reasonable volume. Probably my ears/brain acclimatising. Maybe I should look at the crossovers/caps. I don't want to do that short term because - although I thought these speakers would last me for life - I may sell before long after all. I bi-amp them vertically using Linn Klimax Twins. Used to use Quad 909s with DADA upgrades/revisions. The Snells are truly lovable speakers. I will have to spend a lot of money if I do replace them.

I have a pair of Quad ESL 57s I picked up at auction. On firing up, one of them emitted a high-ish pitched whine for a few seconds - after which it was then silent - and both speakers worked perfectly - with me listening carefully to all the panels. Stored away and not used since. I imagine one day I might get them professionally refurbished - but I am not in love with them and don't use them in my main system.

Also have Mordaunt Arundels restored by somebody else. They have Decca Kelly ribbon tweeters which are respected/sought after. The speakers are not Hi-Fi as such - but they play vintage music in a vintage way, and that can be very pleasing - just like listening to Jazz on shellac.

And old but perfectly serviceable Wharfedale Dovedale 3s in the Office. Sound great for PC use and tagging up flac Library. I don't know where Wharfedale dream up the prices for their current range. La la land like everybody else these days.

Comments welcome - and if anybody has a passion for any of the above, feel free to send me a PM. Happy to provide further info/demo (UK - Yorkshire).

 

[mlsstl]

Two systems -- Ohm 1000s with a GE Supersub X for the living room, and a pair of Spendor 4/5 bookshelf speakers in the sunroom.

 

[DougG]

For the Study: Adam Audio T5V's along with a T10S sub

For the living room I am using a pair of Dahlquist DQM-9s that were the second thing I bought after graduating college in 1985. The first thing was a car.
Bought them at a place called Myer Emco in the Washington DC suburbs. I am using them with a much later model Dahlquist Sub PDQ-12 and a Dahlquist PDQ center channel speaker.

In storage I have a pair of Dahlquist DQ10's that I bought several years ago and had mirror imaged but those will have to wait until we are in a larger space again.

 

[Esprit]

How nice to read about Infinity and Thiel and how sad to think that those speakers will never be built again.

 

[MattHooper]

2XRevel F228Be
2XHarbeth SHL5+(AE)
2XGenelec 8010+7040A sub
2XJBL L830 (not currently in use)

So you have three separate systems would that be right? Different rooms? What do you like about each speaker?

(Whoops: just remembered ahofer has me on block. Never mind….)

 

[ahofer]

How nice to read about Infinity and Thiel and how sad to think that those speakers will never be built again.

I had Thiel CS3.6 from 1994-2018. Definitely liked them. Unlike prior speakers (Magnepan), the more I listened to them the more I liked them.

 

[Esprit]

Every time I have listened to the Thiel models I have never been disappointed.

 

[ErVikingo]

For the Study: Adam Audio T5V's along with a T10S sub

For the living room I am using a pair of Dahlquist DQM-9s that were the second thing I bought after graduating college in 1985. The first thing was a car.
Bought them at a place called Myer Emco in the Washington DC suburbs. I am using them with a much later model Dahlquist Sub PDQ-12 and a Dahlquist PDQ center channel speaker.

In storage I have a pair of Dahlquist DQ10's that I bought several years ago and had mirror imaged but those will have to wait until we are in a larger space again.

I grew up listening to my Dad’s AR3a which were replaced with DQ10s!

 

[Canuck57]

My current speakers are in my signature.

 

[lamberticus]

Ascend Sierra-LX in the living room
Genelec 8030c at my desk

 

[Ziltoe]

Currently I'm owning:

Klipsch the Nines
Genelec 8020
Kali Audio IN-8
JBL 306PMKII / JBL LSR310S

Klipsch in the living room, Genelec at the desk, Kali and JBL currently spending their existence in their boxes in the cellar. Happy with all of them.

 

[MattHooper]

Every time I have listened to the Thiel models I have never been disappointed.

In the 90s I was always impressed with Thiel speakers. They sounded so clear and detailed, and had a particular precision in imaging, which made other speakers sound a bit vague or swimmy compared, and it gave me the impression of hearing the exact characteristics of the recordings. It was like the Thiels took the sonic information in a recording and put them through a more focused lens, organizing and tidying the recorded content with more precision. However, I also found they sounded a little on the bright side, also "too tight" and somewhat reductive, e.g. voices and instruments seemed a bit squeezed smaller, a bit less body, than on other speakers I liked. Then I encountered Thiels 'n toobs...some big Thiel CS6 speakers at a CES show powered by VAC tube amps, and I was completely taken, best sound of the show for me. It was the Thiel virtues of clarity, honesty of timbre and tone for instruments, imaging precision and density, but smoother, more filled out, more (sorry) "organic." I ended up trying to replicate what I heard at the show, with those Thiel CS6 speakers in my home, powered by my big CJ monoblock tube amps and got it. Still among the most glorious sounds I've ever had in my room.

 

[garakawa]

I went on a massive speaker auditioning binge to replace the bigger Thiel 3.7s. I saw a killer deal on some second hand smaller 2.7s and grabbed those to try, to see if I could be satisfied with the slight downscaling of sonic scale. Turned out I loved the 2.7s but it was also around the time I'd fallen for the Joseph Audio Perspective speakers, which were much more expensive. I wanted the JA speakers but didn't want to give up the Thiel sound I loved so much so, figured "why not both?" I kept the 2.7s, selling the bigger 3.7s helped cover that cost and left some money over for the JA speakers, but not enough. So I had to sell something and the MBLs were it. I'd had the MBLs for about 10 years. The Joseph speakers were actually the ones that sounded tonally and spatially morel like the MBLs than any other box speaker I've tried, so I felt I wasn't going to miss the MBLs too much. It was a good call. The MBLs btw were the fastest selling piece of gear I ever put up for sale. I set them at a low price and had something like 36 enthusiastic offers the same day.



Cool! I've had a few "speaker fever" journey's in my time. When I do, I leave no stone unturned, auditioning everything I can find. I enjoy the process. It's pretty common for us folks on these forums to have owned plenty of different speakers.

Your comment that the MBL 121s sound similar to the Joseph Audio Perspectives is very interesting to me. I have the Perspectives, and have always liked the MBL omni sound. I often think about getting the MBL 126s. I also have a pair of Quad 988s which is a very different sound than the Perspectives.

 

[MarkBee123]

Currently Kef Q100s on the wall in the kitchen, mish mosh of B&W 601s (L+R), LCR6 and Mirage omnisat micros (L+R surrounds) SVS sub. for the home theater. Living/listening room New to me Monitor audio silver SR6s and B&W DM7 Mk2s. Picture from last night had a AB evening with some KEF C30s and Monitor Audio bronze B4s

 

[MattHooper]

Your comment that the MBL 121s sound similar to the Joseph Audio Perspectives is very interesting to me. I have the Perspectives, and have always liked the MBL omni sound. I often think about getting the MBL 126s. I also have a pair of Quad 988s which is a very different sound than the Perspectives.

Cool, another Perspectives owner. And Quads! (I owned the 63s).

The MBL 121s were a nice size - between the current 126 and 120.

I'm a tone/timbre guy first, so for me it wasn't just the spatial aspects of the MBLs that grabbed me, it was the realism and to my brain "rightness" of tone through those speakers. I found the Joseph speakers have a very similar tonality, the closest to the MBLs I can think of. (At least in my room). I haven't heard a box speaker yet that can quite do what the MBLs do spatially, but the Josephs are pretty close. Interestingly, a guy on another forum had the larger floor standing MBL 111s and didn't think he'd ever part with them, but actually ended up replacing them with Joseph Audio Pulsars! (I can't remember if he got a sub as well). He was quite happy.

ETA: The MBL 101Es are still probably top of my dream speaker list.

 

[garakawa]

Cool, another Perspectives owner. And Quads! (I owned the 63s).

The MBL 121s were a nice size - between the current 126 and 120.

I'm a tone/timbre guy first, so for me it wasn't just the spatial aspects of the MBLs that grabbed me, it was the realism and to my brain "rightness" of tone through those speakers. I found the Joseph speakers have a very similar tonality, the closest to the MBLs I can think of. (At least in my room). I haven't heard a box speaker yet that can quite do what the MBLs do spatially, but the Josephs are pretty close. Interestingly, a guy on another forum had the larger floor standing MBL 111s and didn't think he'd ever part with them, but actually ended up replacing them with Joseph Audio Pulsars! (I can't remember if he got a sub as well). He was quite happy.

ETA: The MBL 101Es are still probably top of my dream speaker list.

I have heard the 101 Es and they are definitely a dream speaker for me as well. It won't happen for me, but I can dream! But I love the Perspectives. Once I dialed in the acoustics in the room, they sound excellent.

I have never owned bookshelf speakers on stands. I have heard the Pulsars in a friend's system. I like the way that a good bookshelf speaker can seem to disappear, and offer such wide sound dispersion. My friend used two subs with the Pulsars.

 

[JohnnyAudio]

My current speakers are in my signature.

Canuk

Does your Willsenton R8 volume control make scratchy sound?...mine does.
Do you like your Rotel CD11? I'm thinking about getting one.

Thanks