I think allround I loved My Rega RS7 in piano black. Not to expensive, easy to drive, fits every room, happy wife, Lovely midrange. Just a great speaker
Several of the speakers I have owned have been very satisfactory. If I had to pick my favorite, it would have to be my Aerial Santos Rosewood 10T's which are Michael Kelly's most popular loudspeaker by a wide margin. Others would include: Magnepan 3.7 (Absolutely the most beautiful midrange and high frequencies EVER!) Legacy FOCUS in Rosewood (A lot of Loudspeaker for the money, not so now, too expensive!) ADS L-910 (One of my BIG favorites) A magnificent Loudspeaker to be sure! Polk Audio LSiM 707 (Best Deal I have ever gotten on a set of loudspeakers) ADS L-810 and the L-710 Smaller versions of the L-910, beautiful designs! Legacy Victoria (The Early Model, in Rosewood) The coolest looking speaker ever!
I have Audio Note J LX. Bought them 13 years ago. This year I had the midrange/woofer replace with the hemp vesion. Good upgrading for a limited cost. They suit my room perfectly and the sound is great. The only thing I would replace them with are AN J's higher up the AN hierarchy, like J-Spe. The veneer in the newer versions is awesome. But that's expensive so I probably stick to the ones I have.
Absolute favorite my current speaker. Audio Note ane spx alnico. Next favorite ads l1290 series II . Bought them. New in 1987 sold them 12 years later .
1. Sonus Faber Guarnieri Homage with Dynaudio Pro Subwoofers Nothing will ever beat that Sold due to having young dogs, which were pretty interested in the strings of the stands and because I moved and the room was not as before ... 2. Chartwell and Harbeth LS 3/5a (I still own them) Fantastic in any situation (if the room is bigger, stack them)
The best I've ever owned are my Snell CIIs which I've had for nearly 35 years. I still really enjoy these speakers, even though I've definitely heard better, for a whole LOT more money.
My current speakers: Triangle Titus EZ supplemented with a REL T/7i. I love the amount of detail and the small size makes them easy to position for good imaging. The REL is the first music subwoofer I have owned. It reproduces the nuances of the bass very well and, on a good recording, energises the room. The funny thing about the Triangles is that I dismissed them at the start of my search. I wasn't aware of the brand, the retailer was a warehouse type operator catering mainly to the installer market so I assumed they were some generic Asian speaker. I investigated more thoroughly when the price reduced (the retailer was dropping the product), had a listen and bought them. So in the end I got great speakers at a great price! RE the sub, I walked in to audition an SVS and walked out with a REL. The local dealer is excellent and suggested the REL after I explained my criteria. I haven't regretted the decision one iota.
I sold stereo equipment many years ago and have owned and auditioned many speakers over the years. In the face of all of the incredible high end speaks in this thread, I'm kinda embarrassed about mine. They are Infinity Q4's. Yes, they are super old school and they are fair at low volumes. However when they're pumped, they become imaging monsters and are smooth across the entire spectrum.
Other than some ancillary "bedroom" speakers (RSLs) and editing bay speakers: Auratones (a "standard" at one time, but total crap) and Yamaha NS-10s (the most over-rated nearfield speaker in history IMO). I've really only owned 3 pair over the past 47 years: 1) My first pair of speakers were Marantz Imperial 7s (paired with a 30 watt Marantz receiver) in 1973. These were a gift from my dad who knew I loved listening to music. I was his idea to go out and get me a really good stereo. I blushed red as he kept encouraging the sales guy at Pacific stereo to improve the offering (and driving up the cost). I always loved my dad--stereo or no stereo--but this was the kindest gift I've ever received. The Imperial 7s were a classic 12 inch 3-way bass-reflex design. And moved a lot of air. In college I was broken into and lost the speakers. 2) My dream to replace the Imperial 7s was the (even better) JBL L112s. I haunted the local stereo shop "previewing" them regularily. But at $1,200 they were way out of my league as a college student. Then--as if my divine providence--my roommate was home in Sacramento and was in a discount store called Handy Andy that had lost their distribution deal with JBL. My buddy called and said they were blowing out their one pair of L112s for $35o, and did I want them? It was like a miracle. I still have those L112s 40 years later. Another 12 inch bass reflex speaker that really moves air. 3) My final pair are my Genelec 1040As. Stunningly good near-fields. Incredibly accurate. Used them as reference monitors for doing film and audio work. Love them to death. Totally unlike the L112 or Imperial 7s, but very fine in their own way. That's probably going to be it for this lifetime. But I call myself blessed. Bill
I still miss my old EPI 90s (vinyl covered version of EPI 100s). That tweeter was sweet. I lusted after the old Advents but loved those EPIs. I've regretted letting them go back when I went "back to the land" and off the grid. Since then, I've lived with Cambridge Soundworks Model Six for almost 20 years and recently we inherited a pair of Infinity RS 6 Kappa's
It would be fun to still have some of them to rotate in my main system. Large Advents Infinity Column 2 RTR 100D Klipsch Hereseys DCM Timewindows Rogers Studio Ones Linn Kans Linn Tukans Quad ESL-57 ATC SCM-7 Tannoy System 1000 Tannoy DMT-15
while I never owned a pair, the brand that has always stuck with me in terms of performance was Shahinian Acoustics. Richard Shahinian was a fantastic person to talk hi-fi with and his demonstrations of his unusual poly-directional speakers was always one to remember. If you ever find an occasion to listen to a pair of his speakers, you should take it.
Sonus Faber Elipsa SE are the clear winners here, gorgeous speakers that I sold when the mancave turned into a playroom for my 2 young daughters. In truth the sonics were AWFUL in that room, and having the system in there caused as much pain as it did enjoyment, but they were very special speakers. Pride of ownership was immense, even without listening to them.
So tough to pinpoint to one set of speakers, since different phases of life affect my tastes. College Years - Paradigm 3SE. Really great, basic box speaker. Not too big, fit in my dorm room, but plenty of bass. Really enjoyed these (and still have them!) First "audiophile" speakers - Vandersteen 2CE Signatures. These could easily be a starter and endgame speaker. Depending on what your front end and amps look like, these speakers scale beautifully. Compared with some of Vandersteen's more recent designs, the Model 2 is perhaps the most holographic speaker made this side of an electrostatic. They aren't pretty, but people always asked about them. They knew there had to be something behind that odd, socked design. Current situation, and favorite speaker to date : Vandersteen 5A. I heard these back when i still has the 2CEs, and thought I would never own a pair. Too big. Too expensive. Well, times change, and my house is bigger! I love these things. They have the same spirit as the Model 2, withLots of space and detail. The are capable of delivering "audio show" moments in your home. Future: The only speaker I can see usurping the Model 5 would be a pair of Model 7s. Those are truly end game.
I had a ton of fun with a pair of P3's that I might replace someday for a second system. I'd probably drive them with a spare Boulder amplifier that I have, the small but mighty 102AE.
My favorite speakers I've ever owned, and still do, are my Gale 401's with the chrome end-caps. Well-balanced, they sound great at low and high volumes, and I've powered them from 60 to 200 Watts per channel. First heard them in 1977 when new, and got my pair off of the old Los Angeles Recycler weekly paper for $200 the pair in near-mint condition (they were $700/pair in 1977). I treated the surrounds in the late 90's, and the next upgrade will be rebuilding the crossovers with good caps. I'd add an image but I can't figure out how - it's been some time since I've been here.
Best bookshelf speakers I've ever heard are the Ascend Acoustics Sierra 2EX. For budget the NHT SuperOne 2.1 can't be beat.
