Simple question: What speakers that you have owned are/were your favorite? Do you still have them? Why/why not?
Pioneer CS-R570 3-way front floor standing speakers. Still use them, seems they will last forever. Had them for almost 30 years.
My current speakers are far and away my favorite....still love them more than ever, and have used them for more than 20 years. Sterling Acoustics "Acumen" with 8" Focal kevlar woofer in a transmission line, 5" Focal midbass that also dumps into the T-line, and a modified Seas tweeter with a proprietary passive crossover. The system around them has seen some upgrades, but as long as the speakers keep sounding better with every system upgrade, I'm keeping them! My speaker history - I was fortunate to start with a very nice pair of Mariah LS2's purchased in 1982....dual 7" Audax woofers and a 1" Audax tweeter in an attractive roundish shaped tower. After a few years I swapped them out for some Energy Pro 22s, but it was a lateral move at best. Next up were a pair of Merlin 2Bs, then Merlin 3Bs, followed by Merlin 4's before I got into the current Sterlings. I've also got a pair of very respectable Mission 770s kicking around in the basement waiting for one of the kids to claim them when they set up their own system.
Dynaco A-35 vintage 1974. I have two pairs and they are very warm and neutral IMHO. I have read others here who feel new speakers are better but I have yet to hear modern peakers in the same price range now I prefer. They just have that magic that make them easy listening.
Original Quad ESL's. LS3/5a's. Harbeth Compact 7, P3ESR Various Magnepans ADS 710's (should have kept those) ADS 400's Spendor SP1/2 Dahlquist DQ-10
Harbeth C7ES3. Should never have sold them, would have saved a lot of $$$ and I am not going back either. I do hold out hope that my current speakers will find the magic once they have the hours those did, not that they are poor sounding at all.
Epicure 3.0. I owned them for a few years before moving on to Magnapans. While I liked the Maggies, I'd always wished I'd kept the 3.0. Epicure 3.0 information Other faves were Mission Electronics 70 Mk2 and 770. Now I love my Peachtree Audio Design 5 loudspeakers.
I have a modified pair of Magnepan 1.7i's. They are sitting on Mye stands with Stillpoint Ultra 5's and the crossovers have been changed with much higher quality parts. I don't feel the need for "more".
KLH Model 5. One of my favorites and they paired well with every amp I had from Marantz to Sansui. Stupidly sold it to someone who was going to use it for a home theater set up. Still miss those speakers. Also a pair of ADS L 1090's sold them after I upgraded to some Wharfdale Linton Heritage
The ones I have now. Dynaudio Confidence C2 Platinum. They sound excellent with anything I throw at them, with a well-balanced, neutral presentation and a great ability to resolve detail. But they do need a high current amp to shine. I have no desire to make a change.
KEF Reference 1 are my best and favorite speakers. But I really love all my current speakers. They each bring a different flavor for sure: B&W 805 D3 KEF LS50 Harbeth P3ESR (newest addition and one I am greatly enjoying)
Large 3 way bi amped Pro JBL /McIntosh System in the early 70s. Loved it. Fantastic live club experience in my living room. I guess down the street also. Most realistic reproduction I ever had.
Spendor SP2/3R2. I keep returning to these despite many forays into other brands/designs. Incredibly musical. Runner up is Magnepan .7
interesting, what is lacking in the shl5plus that was in the c7es3? surprisingly, my favorite pair of speakers ive ever owned is probably my cheap Seas A26. I'll be building my dream 3-way hi-eff speaker this summer so I hope they will dethrone the A26
I'm really really enjoying the Ascend Acoustic Sierra 2 Ex right now. Incredible speakers and for my budget I dont think I could have done better.
Little Boston’s Acoustic CA 6 bookshelves. Because they are so unexpectedly fantastic for the price. ( 25o US bones in 1998)
My favorite speakers that I no longer own were the original Paradigm Studio 20. I sold them before I ever had a really good system to use with them. Although they were really fun with a NAD c340 and matching tuner. Other than that I am still waiting to buy that awesome pair of speakers, but that is another thread entirely.
