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What were your first "audiophile" speakers and when? - Page 2

post #31 of 171
8/9/10 at 2:05pm
I also have a pair of ESS AMT-1bs that are a joy to listen to, but my first good speakers were/are my Dali Icon 6's in my HT. They are now delivering Rush A Show of Hands off a 1989 Polygram Music Video laserdisc in my CLD-79 in (im guessing) 16/44 quality. These were the first speakers that both "wowed" me and were affordable. I'll be keeping them a while...I've reached audio contentment.
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post #32 of 171
8/9/10 at 2:26pm
WOW you guys are old!
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post #33 of 171
8/9/10 at 2:50pm
Its a miracle of modern day medicine that some of us are still here.

At our ages, none of us have to worry about replacing a tweeter if one blows. We can`t hear that high anymore.
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post #34 of 171
8/9/10 at 3:17pm
Quad ESL 57s --- purchased November 1970.
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post #35 of 171
8/9/10 at 3:34pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckcoolic View Post

I also have a pair of ESS AMT-1bs that are a joy to listen to, but my first good speakers were/are my Dali Icon 6's in my HT. They are now delivering Rush A Show of Hands off a 1989 Polygram Music Video laserdisc in my CLD-79 in (im guessing) 16/44 quality. These were the first speakers that both "wowed" me and were affordable. I'll be keeping them a while...I've reached audio contentment.

ESS AMTs WOW! Back when I was in college I yearned for ESS! But in college I had a $125 Lloyd's 8 track player. When I graduated college I got my Infinity 2000 II speakers, a Pioneer turntable (a Dual a few years later after the Pioneer broke down, Koss Electrostatic headphones, and a Pioneer SX-1010 stereo solid-state (100 watts per channel stereo). (Wasn't ready to spend the bigger bucks for those ESS speakers)
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post #36 of 171
8/9/10 at 3:59pm
Funny, having owned one of only two places that recones speakers in Vancouver, a lot of the mystique went away in those 4 years as I saw what was behind speakers.

I have to add, I heard some Infinity speakers when in high school that had high end beyond compare (at the time). The sales clerk knew we had no money, but loved cranking Crime of the Century for us. Loved those speakers.'

Our speaker tech had a fondness for the Ohm Fs with the full range cylindrical cone, and I gave him a set while he worked there.

I still like Martin Logans, and finally have a pair here.. sitting in the corner as I have no real listening room to use them in.

Last week I was given a 6" 2 way pair of Polks. Not exactly hifi, but the tweeters were dead. I was appalled what I saw when I opened them. I was expecting a significant magnet behind the dome tweeter, but alas, it was the tiniest plastic with a smaller magnet within it. The quality of speakers has come way down for a bunch of the mass produced stuff, so I'll stick with either pro audio speakers or vintage ones.
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post #37 of 171
8/9/10 at 5:29pm
Dalquist Dq10's, AR 9LS, Snell C2, Revel 52
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post #38 of 171
8/9/10 at 7:07pm
My first "serious" rig (aged 22, circe 1989) where I actually auditioned pieces ended up being Energy 5.1 speakers (nothing to do with HT). These featured polypropelene woofers and plastic curved baffle.

I drove them with Mission Cyrus-2 integrated amp. Sources were a Rotel CD Player, and AIWA F-660 cassette deck, and cheapo Yamaha turntable. I got a happy 10 years out of that setup, and all my mixed tapes R-O-C-K-E-D !!! I recenly bought a nice Mission Cyrus-2 with outboard PSX power supply.

After the above setup, the next speakers to be auditioned were NHT VT-2 and Klipsch KLF-20 ( went with the NHT).
... That was the beginning of secumbing to the audio-disease, and a decade of gear-aholics-anonymous.

- Andy
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post #39 of 171
8/9/10 at 8:18pm
Tannoy Monitor Gold's in 1968. Put them in self-designed bass reflex enclosures. I use them today in my 2 channel room. They still sound great after 42 years.
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post #40 of 171
8/9/10 at 8:47pm
I picked up a pair of Dunlavy SC-III's in 2007, shortly followed by a pair of much bassier SC-IVs in early 08. I'd heard the III's before in a demo in college, and the one thing that I love about them is that they blow me away to this day just as much as the first time I heard them. Unapologetically neutral, quick, amazing imaging - they just melt into the room. I hope all of my Dunlavys of them last me a very long time, because I have yet to hear a speaker that sounds anywhere near as good.
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post #41 of 171
8/9/10 at 9:22pm
I have to add another post of an owner of the ESS AMT1B's. Powered by a Phase Linear 700B. This was in 1977. I believe there are a few of us that are "old enough"!
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post #42 of 171
8/9/10 at 9:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mark haflich View Post

Its a miracle of modern day medicine that some of us are still here.

At our ages, none of us have to worry about replacing a tweeter if one blows. We can`t hear that high anymore anyway.

Mark,

Is that the reason my system always sounds so "smooth" now?
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post #43 of 171
8/9/10 at 10:29pm
My dad was a Jazz musician, music teacher and audiophile. One day, in the early 80s I believe, he brought home a couple of these:



My mom thought robots were invading the house.

I'll never forget how amazed I was at the sound, powered by the Carver Holographic amps (sounded better with the "sonic holography" off). We were the envy of all my friends and I would put on albums, sit on the sofa and space out to the music. The hook was in. (My dad passed away but those speakers are still at my mom's house, these days with things like potted plants sitting on 'em. I'd love to hear them again some day).

The first audiophile speakers I ever moved into my own house were the Quad ESL-63s, with the Gradient dipole Subwoofers made for the 63s. It was a massive wall o' sound with those things. (Even driven by my old Conrad Johnson MV55 tube amp). Despite many premium floor standing dynamic speakers having been in my room since, I don't think I've ever quite re-achieved some of the qualities of that set up which could be this astonishing, huge window on a performance, and dynamic as hell with the subs.



I loved them for quite a while. After a while though, despite the astonishing transparency of the Quads, I began to miss the body and "thereness" of a good dynamic speaker, so I've gone with dynamics ever since. That said, ironically, one speaker I still pine after is the original Quad ESL 57. It has a certain "something" to the tone of the midrange that escaped even my 63s and they still haunt me. I've nowhere to fit them, though.
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post #44 of 171
8/10/10 at 1:26am
1979 - Audax ... my brother is still using them on a daily basis !!!
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post #45 of 171
8/10/10 at 4:01am
My first serious speakers were a pair of NHT 1.3As and a DIY SW3 cloned subwoofer. These days everything has a serious pro audio slant, but I bet those NHT's would still keep me happy.
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post #46 of 171
8/10/10 at 9:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sharp1080 View Post

I have to add another post of an owner of the ESS AMT1B's. Powered by a Phase Linear 700B. This was in 1977. I believe there are a few of us that are "old enough"!

I still have the two 700B amps that powered my AMT1s and Bose 901s. Great amps.

As I recall the Heil sub(s) fell apart or something, and I stripped the AMTs off'n them and eventually threw them away. It seems you can still buy the AMT (tweeter) itself.

Man I remember stunningly clear highs out of those puppies. Heard them from all-the-way across the stereo-shop's showroom and had to have them, despite that I had no money...
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post #47 of 171
8/10/10 at 12:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sharp1080 View Post

I have to add another post of an owner of the ESS AMT1B's. Powered by a Phase Linear 700B. This was in 1977. I believe there are a few of us that are "old enough"!

Well, I doubt "old enough" is an applicable term for me. My AMTs and the Pioneer SX-737 they are hooked to are both 8 years older than I am. Although there are no "memories" to bring back with vintage sound, us young kids can still enjoy it. They are ugly as sin too, but still sound great.
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post #48 of 171
8/10/10 at 12:57pm
Hmmn, let's see .....

AR-12 - wonderful sounding speaker but if I sneezed too loudly near them the tweeters would blow - 1978-1981
Infinity RS-2.5 - great top end, crappy bottom end - 1981 - 1988
Infinity RS1b - wonderful speaker, still miss it - 1988-1998
Genesis 200 - OK, so I'm a big Arnie Nudell fan - 1998 - present
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post #49 of 171
8/10/10 at 1:34pm
AR3a's, 1969, though I doubt that they count as 'audiophile' in this forum.
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post #50 of 171
8/10/10 at 3:46pm
I think they would qualify. They were considered good speakers back then being acoustic suspension. Some actually augmented them by adding multiarray (3) tweeters on top.
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post #51 of 171
8/10/10 at 3:49pm
Hell. Back in those days the big Bose with the aluminum coil wire drivers and equalizer box were considered audiophile driven by a big high wattage crown amp.

In the early 70s, modified kit built Hafler 200 amps were the big thing. A hell of an amp for $200 with a few simple mods.
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post #52 of 171
8/10/10 at 4:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mark haflich View Post

I think they would qualify. They were considered good speakers back then being acoustic suspension. Some actually augmented them by adding multiarray (3) tweeters on top.

As I recall, they were about $250 a piece, so that seemed like an audiophile price to me in those days.
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post #53 of 171
8/10/10 at 9:08pm
Price was not an issue then. Just like today when we have no money, in those days we had even less.
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post #54 of 171
8/10/10 at 9:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mark haflich View Post

... Some actually augmented them by adding multiarray (3) tweeters on top.

I believe those were Micro-Acoustics MS-1's. They were a radial array of four 1¼" Peerless cone tweeters.

Frequency response was 3.5 -30kHz with the idea of improved high frequency dispersion by aiming the tweeters at different horizontal angles. Very popular for AR3a's and setting on top of double Advents.

Micro-Acoustics also made full range speakers but were probably better known for their Micro-Point cutting stylus to the recording industry and their turntable cartridges.
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post #55 of 171
8/10/10 at 10:21pm
I spent a couple of paychecks on Bose 901s after lusting after them numerous weekends in a bay area hi-fi store in the late 60's. After a couple of years their "honk" got old and I replaced them with Infinity 2000s that seemed to me to be all right but a bit rough in the upper midrange and low treble that was likely exacerbated by the amplification used - maybe a Dynaco ST400 and Dynaco preamp. I liked listening to my Koss Electrostatic headphones a lot more than the Infinities and those headphones are still sitting in a box in the basement. Then, circa Nixon impeachment hearings, I got Magneplanar Tympani 1-U's - I'd say those were my first "audiophile" speakers, at least as far as midrange performance - and critics more or less said they were primarily midrange speakers. Those lived in storage during a brief college dorm stint and I had them crammed into a Datsun 510 to Chicago, there they were the only thing in my apartment living room along with a mattress and preamp/amp/AR turntable during my med school days. They served well for about 12 years.

Then around 1985 I got a pair of Martin Logan CLS, with an update in the electronics and panels to CLS IIAs around 1992. They got mated with a Velodyne ULD-18 subsequently and RPG room diffusors/abfusors. These still remain the core of my current 2.1 channel system with a Martin Logan Cinema for center channel and four NHTs for surrounds for 7.1. I've given some thought to upgrading to ML surrounds. No doubt, cones have more punch and dynamism but I don't know if I could ever give up that midrange clarity.
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post #56 of 171
8/10/10 at 10:21pm
Thanks for the correction and fill in. You younger guys have a much better memory than I have these days. We know so much less theory then and for whatever the reaon the sport of audiophilism was a lot more fun and satisfying then. It was all about what sounded good and real to you.
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post #57 of 171
8/11/10 at 5:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mark haflich View Post

thanks for the correction and fill in. You younger guys have a much better memory than I have these days. We know so much less theory then and for whatever the reaon the sport of audiophilism was a lot more fun and satisfying then. It was all about what sounded good and real to you.

It was more fun back then! I seems like there was much more to choose from and any good sized city or college town had multiple stores to shop in. It was a time of trial and error and design by empirical reasoning. It's also interesting that the really good stuff form the 70's and early 80's still holds up rather well even today.

It's funny how many speakers companies can be traced back to Acoustic Research either as spin-offs or designers coming form AR or former employees of the spin-offs. Sort of like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon for audio. Winslow Burhoe and his EPI "Air Spring Tweeter" with the inverted dome comes to mind.
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post #58 of 171
8/11/10 at 5:59am
Boy did that tweeter have an sssssss sibilance. Like the old day male classical announcer sssss sound on on FM radio. In those days it was considered a positive of the EPI speakers.
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post #59 of 171
8/11/10 at 6:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by drapp1952 View Post

I spent a couple of paychecks on Bose 901s after lusting after them numerous weekends in a bay area hi-fi store in the late 60's. After a couple of years their "honk" got old and I replaced them with Infinity 2000s that seemed to me to be all right but a bit rough in the upper midrange and low treble that was likely exacerbated by the amplification used - maybe a Dynaco ST400 and Dynaco preamp. I liked listening to my Koss Electrostatic headphones a lot more than the Infinities and those headphones are still sitting in a box in the basement. Then, circa Nixon impeachment hearings, I got Magneplanar Tympani 1-U's - I'd say those were my first "audiophile" speakers, at least as far as midrange performance - and critics more or less said they were primarily midrange speakers. Those lived in storage during a brief college dorm stint and I had them crammed into a Datsun 510 to Chicago, there they were the only thing in my apartment living room along with a mattress and preamp/amp/AR turntable during my med school days. They served well for about 12 years.

Then around 1985 I got a pair of Martin Logan CLS, with an update in the electronics and panels to CLS IIAs around 1992. They got mated with a Velodyne ULD-18 subsequently and RPG room diffusors/abfusors. These still remain the core of my current 2.1 channel system with a Martin Logan Cinema for center channel and four NHTs for surrounds for 7.1. I've given some thought to upgrading to ML surrounds. No doubt, cones have more punch and dynamism but I don't know if I could ever give up that midrange clarity.

Seems like once you get hooked on electrostatics and planar speakers nothing else will do. I've had my affairs with various cones and use them in our HT for their punch. But my 2 channel is planar. I have Apogee's and I haven't found anything I like better.
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post #60 of 171
8/11/10 at 7:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by b curry View Post

Seems like once you get hooked on electrostatics and planar speakers nothing else will do. I've had my affairs with various cones and use them in our HT for their punch. But my 2 channel is planar. I have Apogee's and I haven't found anything I like better.

As I mentioned it's the opposite for me. I flirt with planars, have owned them (Quad ESL 63s) and I've listened to most of the planar offerings over the years. But I keep going back to dynamic speakers for the most satisfying over all experience (to me). My pal has a nice new pair of Martin Logans right now. I love listening to them as a "place to visit" but I wouldn't want to "live there" as it were.

That said, the ribbon speakers, like Maggies and to a degree Apogee, have always struck me as a half-way zone between dynamics and electrostatics.
They have a lot of the transparency and boxless sound of the electrostatics (although maybe not quite as refined as the best electrostatics in some regards) but they also have more body to the sound. I certainly can see the attraction to ribbon speakers.
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