Too many pairs of speakers?

Q. Are those with 3 or more listen rooms single or married?

 

Married, but my wife and I live in separate houses, just a few blocks from each other. No, she cannot live in a house that is devoted to one hobby. And I cannot live in a house that is immaculately straightened.

 

I like that kind of nutso crazy

 

Cables and cartridges might be nice, but it is not the same vibe as speakers.

 

The fact that the OP has these "vintage" speakers does indicate that he does love their sound.

Way not true! The OP has an excellent understanding and appreciation of "quality" vintage speakers. His A7-500W's are some of the nicest vintage speakers ever made for the home. They are true commercial A7 cabinets with walnut veneers.

"The fact is that you are probably leaving a lot of musical information inside your records completely unheard right now"

Way, way wrong...

 

No Cornwalls?

 

Had to be a catch, congrats if that works for you.

 

Yet.

 

Show us some more good pics of your madness!

 

When I posted this thread there was a bit of "tongue-in-cheek" and a bit of truth... On that day I had just bought the Imperials and my grandson brought them into the house and placed them where shown in the picture. Later when I went to play some music before bedtime I noticed how blocked the connected Altecs in the back were and I did not turn the stereo on because of it... I could not help but note the irony of not playing music because the speakers were being blocked by unused speakers.
This is just me on my audio journey and where I currently find myself as I seek to hear for myself, in my home, some of the types of amps and speakers that others on the forum have mentioned they prefer... Most of the vintage speakers I listed were purchased to evaluate a 12 w.p.c. el-84 KingKo Audio tube amp and currently a 8 w.p.c. 300b tube amp. As much as I would like to long-term audition speakers at the level of AudioNote, I do not have that level of resources available just to facilitate a solid state vs tube amplifier comparison. I do prefer the sound of vintage coaxials to modern single-driver speakers (the ones I have heard) when paired with low-wattage amps.
I had just purchased a few of the mentioned pairs of speakers when the Altecs A7-500-W's were listed on my local craigslist. I really didn't need more speakers but I knew they were uncommon and after communicating with forum member @SandAndGlass I decided to make the purchase. I had only listened to horn speakers on a few occasions and had not formed an opinion.
I have read posts on the forum where members mentioned they upgraded their gear including turntable, cartridge or speakers and were now hearing new details they had not heard previously in familiar recordings. That happened to me with the Altecs even with their original old crossovers. They are the best speakers I have personally heard with a s.e.t. amplifier.
I think my near term focus will be on increasing storage space somewhere other than the listening area...

 

I tend to think of speakers as the heart of an audio system. So for me, each pair of speakers implies a totally different "system", that needs to be tweeked and optimized, then left alone to enjoy. I wouldn't be happy simply having one audio system, that I insert and exchange speakers into as I please.

Cartridges are an item that I would very much like to insert and exchange every once in a while. For me, they are equally as exciting and as sonically variable as speakers, so I don't feel any difference in "vibe". In fact they are more "fun" than speakers for me; every one really has a distinctive sound of its own, a process for replacing, and a need for careful handling. So these are all part of what is "fun" about them.

And cables are just an (important) accessory, with much less sonic variability, but they are easy and rewarding to play with. So having extras around is a no-brainer.

 

I actually prefer the sound of vintage speakers or new speakers that are built as replicas of vintage speakers (such as many new versions of vintage horns or the myriad of new iterations of classic BBC LS 3/5's, LS 3/5a's, LS 3/6's, LS 5/9's, and LS 5/8's).

Based on the criteria that I use to evaluate loudspeakers (fidelity to live, unamplified music) I actually think that vintage designs sound truer than modern speakers.

Because of my love for vintage speakers, I actually have the same problem as the OP...I cannot pass up a deal on a pair of them and over the last twenty years I have collected quite a large collection. I recently moved to a bigger place so that I can house and use them all. I now have four separate, dedicated listening rooms that I am assembling.

As an aside there is an entrepreneur here in New York City whose collection of vintage speakers and equipment is so vast that he has opened three separate restaurants that warehouse and display part of his collection. I love the concept.

Turntable

Images from Turntable Restaurants (in New York City's Koreatown):

 

IMO if you have one listening room two sets of speakers is the maximum. I get it when one set may for jazz and second set for other music. PITA to position the two sets of speakers each time you want to listen to one specific pair though.

 

I see that this is an older post, but I have a problem with speakers as well. I'm now up to 34 pairs of speakers, with about 26 pairs crammed into a spare bedroom. I'm addicted to bargain hunting, and I found that speakers are the most discounted as people move and they can't bring the larger speakers with them. Or the other day, bought a pair of 10 year old B&W 684 speakers at 1/5 the retail price because the seller switched to Sonos.

 

It would really be fun to take a tour of that spare bedroom. I bet that there is a story associated with each pair.

 

How about a listing?

 

Wow. Three restaurants like this?!

Gawd, I live in such a backwater ...

 

Aren't most bedrooms like that?