Can you live with your current speaker until you die?

My speakers are way down the list of what needs upgrading. My receiver died three years ago and I had to replace it with an inferior, used H&K model that I'd love to replace. But I need a new kitchen floor before I buy any toys!

 

This can't be as good as it gets for me. So, no.

 

Yes, but I’d love to match them up with a McIntosh of similar vintage.

 

Maybe... I'd like better speakers for sure, maybe, but it's not really necessary. $ is not a problem... but not looking for any at the moment, my big box spkrs are fine for now. I like the sound quality. AlNiCo.

Maybe someday, maybe not.

Maybe I'll start traveling international again & downsize to a nice sounding boombox, again. Works for me, I dig it! Played that game for 37 years. Who knows what the future holds?

Maybe...

 

Umm...nope. That is the opposite of the right way to do it.

The speakers I have (well, as of coming Monday) are not efficient and require a lot of power. Dyns are known for sounding great *if* you provide current they need to deliver on that. If I move them into a larger room, they might need a bigger amp. I like to listen to large scale orchestral music (i.e. Mahler, Strauss, Tchaikovsy and such). The speakers will demand a lot of current and if the amp can't deliver I risk blowing drivers, and I don't like the idea of dishing out $2K for a pit of blown tweeters, etc. I have Naim NAP25oDR. IT can deliver 400VA of currewnt on demand and is stable down to 2Ω. If I move my system into the larger living room and want to still play the big works. I might need to trade the 250 up for a NAP300 DR (500VA). These speakers just won't sound good or right with a smaller amp.

What's nice about the Confidence C2 is they also sound great at low volumes. Whiel I enjoy the big orchestral stuff, I also like quiet lute and guitar music, paino, chamber music and soft to moderately loud jazz. They excel at all of it.

 

Ha! Good one.
Seems us OB and planar speaker guys will be left out in the cold,
though maybe our speaker’s shipping crates will suffice?

 

I bought my speakers in 1997 and had them upgraded in 1999 they have been great so far. I can send the crossovers in for an upgrade and they should be good for another 25 or so years. Now if I hit the lottery I might buy something different but I would still keep my Merlins. So the answer is yes!

 

The real question would be: Can my speakers live with me until they die?

 

Yes. Well, maybe not till I die, but definitely until my debt does!

 

A number of years ago the speakers were chosen as best sound of an audio show in a room as wide as this and considerably long. But it's not typically what you see from Audio Note E speakers. My big room speaker choice is Acapella. I like the sound quality from these horns more than any other horn I have heard BUT they are not sensitive at around a mere 92dB. So you 211 kind of SET amps at a minimum I would think. Although the AN E is essentially a horn speaker of sorts anyway - when in the corner they are more sensitive than a fair number of actual horns bizarrely enough. Still Audio Note is working on two larger loudspeakers. For me it's moot - I purchased a home this summer on Vancouver Island and the AN E is good for that room . So unless a lottery win or I marry money or something (chortle) I can't really house a large horn.

My favorite short audition smaller horn speaker though was the Silbatone Aporia Full Range built off a Manger driver.

 

Silbatone full range speaker is very nice.

I had used Silbatone 300B SET amplifier for Lansche 4.1 in smaller space.

But after moving to my present house, 8W was not enough to fill the space around it.

Nevertheless I keep the Silbatone SET amplifier with WE 300B original tubes made 90 years ago.

 

My AR 3a's are the last for me. Totally satisfied.

 

If you are happy with your speaker, then it is an end game.

AR3a is very good for classical music.

 

It looks very nice! If you like it, you can live with it for your life.

 

I was just joking. I forgot to put one of these.

 

After my 1997 B&W Matrix 802s started dying I auditioned a whole bunch of speakers. All of them were great, but the Rockport Atria IIs that I settled with were the greatest. Lively, organic and purely musical.



bigger pic

 

Yep!

 

Mine were restored by Vintage AR. They have the HiVi Q1R tweeters and less resistance in the midrange circuit than the originals. Using the level controls they can be made to sound like the original AR 3a's or with more mids and highs. My NAD C272 drives them effortlessly.

 

I found this pair of B&W 201i s for $10 at a thrift.

They sound really great with my push-pull Jolida 102b tube amp.

Yeah I can live with these until entropy strikes.

Speakers are just a commodity when you think about it. Your ears are much more important.

 

Nice speakers!

You can keep it for your life.

 

Yup! They're barely a foot tall but in my current house? Absolutely.

 

They are quad monitor, not electrostatic panel. It is worthwhile to keep that for your life if you like it.

 

Yes, B&W 805 D3 = speakers for life.

 

My current speakers, Dyaudio Audience 52s are very modest compared to a lot here, but they were my first proper hifi speakers - I hope I can upgrade my speakers fairly dramatically a couple of times in my life, but I’ll never part with these, hopefully having them in a second system. Unless my 6 year old daughter gets the bug, has them as a bedroom system, then begs me to take them to Uni one day.....

 

Yep. Happy with mine. I think