Best speakers you have ever heard?

[JBN]

No mention of Triangles wow lol. For speakers under 3k my vote goes for Triangles driven by tube gear or Naim. Im currently using this amp with mine:http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue27/as_3i.htm
With a modified Audio Alchemy DDS III cdp.

 

[Grainger49]

Infinity Servo-Statik I/Electron Luv

I see no cost limit here. So, for years the best speakers I had ever heard were the Infinity Servo-Statik I system ($1800 in 1969) with an SAE XXXIB on the tweeters and a IIICM on the midranges.

Then in 2003, at VSAC I went to see the Electron Luv room.

That was a whole 'nother story.

 

[gonzomeep]

Like this?

Ron , I believe your right. Come to think of it, they did not play them at a blowout volume. But is was loud enuf. They had 2 styles there. One in a clear cabinet and the other in what I think was Rosewood. The cabs where more like wings coming out from the sides of the base unit.

That was/is an amazing speaker. I listened to them many times. Fantastic memories. I don't quite know how I would rate them today, I've heard so many great speakers since then. I've always thought highly of the big Heil equipped models. So cool to belong to a Forum where fellow members even know what the bloody things are!

 

[tentoze]

 

[gonzomeep]

Grainger49/tentoze

If those speakers sound half as impressive as they look, WOW!:yes:

 

[Pyrrho]

Aurum Cantus Leisure 2SE (U.S. Version) driven by a Pioneer SX-1250 in my living room. Or driven by a Yamaha surround receiver with a Carver Subwoofer. Oh, wait, this was supposed to be "while unintoxicated". Who listens that way?

Seriously, the Aurum Cantus Leisure 2SE (U.S. Version) is great except for the very low end, though for a speaker its size, the low end is amazing, but it cannot compare with the bass from a good, large speaker. I can't afford to go higher in the Aurum Cantus line (probably the Music Goddess would be a good level, though the Supreme [which I have not heard] may be a good cost no object speaker at $14999.00), so perhaps I'll get another subwoofer for the living room system (since the Carver subwoofer is in the home theate room)...

The U.S. Version, by the way, has deeper bass and flatter bass response, and is slightly more efficient, than the non-U.S. version of the Leisure 2SE (not to be confused with the plain Leisure 2, which is even further down the line in quality). The U.S. Version costs a bit more than the versions typically found on eBay, but it is better.

Even more seriously, it is difficult to compare speakers over time, especially when they have not all been heard in the same room. Poor acoustics can make a great speaker sound dreadful, so I would not want to say what is really best. I have heard some amazing Magnepan speakers, but not in the same room with Aurum Cantus speakers, so it is difficult for me to judge which might be better.

 

[tentoze]

If those speakers sound half as impressive as they look, WOW!:yes:

Avantgarde Meta Duos, and to my ears, they sounded much better than they looked, and they looked drop-dead gorgeous.

 

[gonzomeep]

Amps?

What are you using for power? Has anyone heard these?:

http://www.german-physiks.com/NewFiles/Speaker.html

 

[Grainger49]

Avantgarde Meta Duos, and to my ears, they sounded much better than they looked, and they looked drop-dead gorgeous.

This would be the third best speaker I have heard, well, maybe better than the SS-1.

 

[thedelihaus]

I need to add to my original post, now that I've got my Dahlquists up and running. Just a few plays on 'em, and still some ailments in one x-over, but they floored my musician friend over last night, and the night before, had me sobbing at the songs of Neko Case, Townes Van Zandt, Tom Waits, and the Gothic Archies.

I imagine adding a sub to these, and they'd be tough to beat within my personal stable of speakers.

 

[thedelihaus]

Hello folks............
New to this forum...

Welcome!

I did a search for Allison, and this was the first thread that popped up. I haven't heard of the Allison CD, that the poster mentioned....

trust me, they were absolutely stunning.:thmbsp:

...Allison went out of business for about 10 yrs., but are up and going again...If anyone has heard any of their newer speakers, I'd like to hear your thoughts on them....

Haven't heard 'em. hope they live up to the old models.

Once again, welcome to the forum!

 

[dgwojo]

I still love my Altec 604-8H's followed by my A7's, hmmm, after reading this thread I just realized there's brands other than Altec out there!! LOL!!

 

[emoxley]

@thedelihaus.........
Thanks!

trust me, they were absolutely stunning.

I'm sure they were. They were made by Allison.

Most folks I mention Allisons to, have never heard of them.
At another forum I frequent, there are a couple of guys that live in Atlanta. There is an Allison dealer in Atlanta. I asked them if they would demo them sometime, when they're in the area. Because they've never heard of them, they just just plain refused. Oh well.........their loss!

 

[Atlee1080]

Beverage stats, by Harold Beverage. They were $13,000 27 years ago. They were the best sounding spkr at the IHF show in Atlanta. Sounded better than $60,000 plus Infinity QLS on set. But not as loud.
ESS had a set there, I have not seen since. Had a big Heil tweeter, but the woofer was a 3 foot long tube about 10 or 12 inches in diameter, with baffels around it. The bass was great. It was one of those that you could hear the windings around a cello string.

I would certainly second that! My best friend's dad had 2 pairs over the years and MY GOD, they were incredible!! As for ones I have personally owned I love the Green Mountain Continuum I's with my Adcom GFA-555MkII and a PS Audio passive preamp. That was one of the sweetest and most solid set-ups I have ever had. No need for a sub and tonally just about as good as you can get.

 

[SOTA]

I'd have to vote for my dads Khorns w/Heresy centre with my Braun L-800s as a close second. My .02Cdn.

 

[Toasted Almond]

The Carver Amazings

 

[RayW]

(re Allison)
If anyone has heard any of their newer speakers, I'd like to hear your thoughts on them. No dealers are near me now, so I can't go listen for myself.

A couple of years ago I heard the new Allison Ones at a small (mostly DIY) show in Ohio. The gimmick was that you got a good stereo image anywhere in the room. They had little round circles with "sweet spot" written on them that you could put anywhere on the floor and that was your own personal sweet spot. They were doing a hopping business so I really couldn't do any critical listening but they did sound good. They weren't "show stoppers" for me but they definitely sounded good.

I was more impressed with Odyssey Designs Lorelei speakers. They are a 2-way using Scanspeak drivers and sounded fantastic even in possibly the worst demo room I've ever seen.
http://www.odysseyaudio.com/loudspeakers.html

Ray

 

[Grainger49]

Hummm no one has mentioned Dayton Wright?

I heard them a number of times, sold them, but didn't list them either.

 

[Tom Brennan]

Grainger---That's weird, I haven't looked at this thread in a donkey's age and I was gonna mention Dayton-Wrights and there you were.

There were possibly the best non-horn speakers I've heard. Of course memory can play tricks, it's probably been 30 years since I heard them, a set of stacked doubles. But they were most impressive, BIG sound.

 

[Billfort]

A friend of mine owned Dayton-Wright XG-8's (I think that was model) for years and they certainly did some things amazingly well - maybe the best ESL's I've heard.

Ultimately though, they where extremely fussy about amps, needed the right room, where touchy about placement and lacked in dynamics and bass. He got them sounding pretty good by using passive line-level crossovers on the main amp (a hybrid New York Audio Labs tube/mosfet) and active crossovers and SS amps on subs but the bass never really gelled and 'kept up' with those panels.

Interesting speakers for sure but not the best for me.