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Whats the most dissapointing speaker you've ever heard?

Klipsch Heresy. I bought them, they sounded harsh, I spent $125 for Crites caps, resistors, and titanium tweeter diaphragms; then I listened to them until I was exhausted (about 30 minutes, multiple times). As hard as I could, I tried. No way, they're gone.
 
Audiofreak71 said:
Another thing I have observed is that despite Vandersteen pairing his speakers with Audio Research, every time I have heard them paired with these amps preamps and dac combos they sound anemic to me , but pair them with Krell, Aragon, Musical Fidelity, they open up and sing , this is all my opinion of course but I almost gave up on my 2ce Signature ii’s and would have hadn’t it been for a good friend of mine convincing me to try out different equipment with them , sure enough we found the right combo and sam I’d these aren’t some of the best speakers I have heard , period .

Audiofreak71
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The 2ci's I spent some time with really came into their own with a Soundcraftsmen MA-5002, then went up another notch with Aragon 8008 and Threshold s-300. The amps I used with them prior to those, Onkyo M-504, Emotiva XPA-2 and Denon POA-1500, seemed inept with the Vandees. I'd still like to get my hands on a pair of 3a's.
 
tomlinmgt said:
The 2ci's I spent some time with really came into their own with a Soundcraftsmen MA-5002, then went up another notch with Aragon 8008 and Threshold s-300. The amps I used with them prior to those, Onkyo M-504, Emotiva XPA-2 and Denon POA-1500, seemed inept with the Vandees. I'd still like to get my hands on a pair of 3a's.
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That sounds about right according to my extensive time now with Vandys and they Love Love Love lots of clean power , the more you give them the better they sound and that’s throughout the Vandersteen speaker line . I had an Aragon 4004mkii 200wpc then stepped up to my current Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista M3 305wpc and it’s the best sound I’ve gotten and I’ve tried more amps over the past 3 yrs than I can imagine with them .

Audiofreak71
 
Audiofreak71 said:
Another thing I have observed is that despite Vandersteen pairing his speakers with Audio Research, every time I have heard them paired with these amps preamps and dac combos they sound anemic to me , but pair them with Krell, Aragon, Musical Fidelity, they open up and sing , this is all my opinion of course but I almost gave up on my 2ce Signature ii’s and would have hadn’t it been for a good friend of mine convincing me to try out different equipment with them , sure enough we found the right combo and sam I’d these aren’t some of the best speakers I have heard , period .

Audiofreak71
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Similar experience here with the 2Ce Sig IIs...they sounded ok, but not great, until set up correctly and with good amplification. Now, along with a pair of Vandy subs, they live up to their reviews in the stereo press. I would also say that to my ears, the sound of the 2C has evolved fairly dramatically over the years, becoming much more forward in the midrange and more detailed in the upper frequencies (while not becoming harsh or glaring), and tighter in the 100-200Hz range. The earlier versions, especially the 2Ci and its predecessors, are significantly more laid back and less impactful.
 
spark1 said:
Similar experience here with the 2Ce Sig IIs...they sounded ok, but not great, until set up correctly and with good amplification. Now, along with a pair of Vandy subs, they live up to their reviews in the stereo press. I would also say that to my ears, the sound of the 2C has evolved fairly dramatically over the years, becoming much more forward in the midrange and more detailed in the upper frequencies (while not becoming harsh or glaring), and tighter in the 100-200Hz range. The earlier versions, especially the 2Ci and its predecessors, are significantly more laid back and less impactful.
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Yep you hit the nail on the head :thumbsup:

Audiofreak71
 
Isophon G3037.

I thought they'd be like a car which seem to run better after a wash and a wax. Spent a lot of time refinishing the cabinets (big ones) but to no avail. Took a year to get rid of the damn things.

Isophon G3037.jpg
 
Vintagear said:
Most disappointing that I have "owned" (both purchased new):

KEF LS50
Monitor Audio Bronze 2
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I'll add another one to my list:

The Pioneer BS-22

Now the BS-22 modified by Dennis Murphy (AKA the original Philharmonic AA Monitors) are another story. I kept those in the family.
 
Every single one, regardless of cost: compared to actual live music; it is indeed an exercise in compromise. That said, some are a lot better than others; then again, it may also be your hearing or the venue.
 
Tim64 said:
These were not expensive but they still should have sounded better. Polk R-40's shrill highs bloated exaggerated bass but the midrange was good. Not the picture of mine but same model.
fPolk_Audio_R40_Floor_Standing_Tower_Spea_59d2744f3602c.jpg
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I just picked up some Polk r50s.Hope they sound better than your 40s.
To me in my very limited experience Vandersteens are very music dependant.For some music Vandersteens are sublime but for rock or bass heavy music I use different setups.
 
quiet said:
As I was putting the KLH 17s in the car I thought they were going to be nice little two ways from what the word is. I don't think the 17 is their best effort.
Where's the beef?
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I sold mine a month after buying them.....very little bass.
 
superdog said:
I just picked up some Polk r50s.Hope they sound better than your 40s.
To me in my very limited experience Vandersteens are very music dependant.For some music Vandersteens are sublime but for rock or bass heavy music I use different setups.
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Well I can tell you this , vandersteens have exceptional bass and with lots of low end extension with the right gear and they also do very good with rock . Now I am talking about 2ce signatures 3a’s Quatros and 5a’s that I have personally heard with the right gear . But I have found that a lot of the times people give up on vandersteens because they hear them with one setup and take it as that’s just how they are , I was almost guilty of the same thing but something told me to keep trying , long story short I’m glad I did . But like I said before with the right gear and most importantly set up correctly vandersteens are a force to be reckoned with .

Audiofreak71
 
bhunter said:
Every single one, regardless of cost: compared to actual live music; it is indeed an exercise in compromise. That said, some are a lot better than others; then again, it may also be your hearing or the venue.
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Not always... It depends on how intimate the venue is. For example, a small Jazz club is different from a concert hall as are the recordings of the typical music styles played in each of those venues. In some cases, the recorded track is better or more pleasurable (closer, more intimate and detailed) than the real experience can be - unless you are very close to the performing artists themselves (especially if it is a small group and not amplified).

A few weeks ago I had front row seats for a Joshua Bell, Jeremy Denk and Steven Isserlis concert (trio- no orchestra) in a performing arts center with a 3K seating capacity so it was not an intimate venue. Even with front row seats my wife and I felt that we get a better, more intimate presentation of Bell's work on recordings at home. Mind you, we were front row but the artists were still about 20 feet away from us in a large orchestra room. With a good recording, at home I am sitting on a bench right on stage with them.

The most interesting part of the concert was watching the extreme body movements and contortions that Joshua Bell makes when extracting the notes from his Stradivarius as well as watching the body and facial cues the artists give each other to keep the momentum, timing - ebbs and flows of the piece they are playing. You can see why the pin-point imaging of Bell's violin movements are captured in good recordings on good systems at home, he is literally contorting his body putting everything he has into extracting those notes as the violin moves up and down , left and right.
 
spark1 said:
Similar experience here with the 2Ce Sig IIs...they sounded ok, but not great, until set up correctly and with good amplification. Now, along with a pair of Vandy subs, they live up to their reviews in the stereo press. I would also say that to my ears, the sound of the 2C has evolved fairly dramatically over the years, becoming much more forward in the midrange and more detailed in the upper frequencies (while not becoming harsh or glaring), and tighter in the 100-200Hz range. The earlier versions, especially the 2Ci and its predecessors, are significantly more laid back and less impactful.
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Interesting. That’s one reason I sent my Ci’s down the road...loads of lush, but no jump or bite.
 
Polk Audio RTA 11T. You couldn’t play them to any volume without them quickly bottoming out and they sounded bad. Retailed for $1,000.
 
Miller & Kreisel 2B Satellite speakers with their Volkswoofer 12" Subwoofer that I bought new for around $1,200 then sold to a friend for a low cost. He uses them for computer speakers.
 
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The most disappointing speaker I ever heard (and owned) was a pair of klipschorns. Like Musichal, they just didn't work in my room. BTW, klipschorns are one of my most absoute fav-o-rite speakers. Gotta have the right room, though. I didn't. :(

My other most disappointing speaker would be whatever the OP has. I'm sure they suck just because I say so.
 
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