A Letter to the Editor I Can't Send

[WolfeMacleod]

You forgot the two most significant loudspeakers of all time. The one patented by Ernst Siemens in 1877, and the first modern, moving coil, direct radiator, loudspeaker, the Radiola, from 1926.

[flatbutt]

Ian, I'm looking to upgrade my 6 channel home system. What would be your pick for those speakers?

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by WolfeMacleod

You forgot the two most significant loudspeakers of all time. The one patented by Ernst Siemens in 1877, and the first modern, moving coil, direct radiator, loudspeaker, the Radiola, from 1926.

You are right. When I saw the list, I was surprised that no tip 'o the hat was given to the earliest transducers as you mentioned. Btw . . . it looks like I'll be coming to NAMM as well.

Originally Posted by flatbutt

What would be your pick for those speakers?

Its not that easy. You have to answer some questions first. What size is the room? What is the layout? What are the limitations - wife acceptance, kids, pets etc? What is your budget?

When you answer those, then you have to go to some stores & listen. Only your ear can tell you what you like. Everybody will have an opinion, but . . . to repeat . . . only your ear can tell you what you like. This is the scariest think about the current trend in buying habits. You can't tell what something sounds like via the internet. You can't rely on reviewers or friends or experts on a Porsche OT forum. You have to do your own face time. It boils down to what you like or more to the point: what you like that you can afford.

Ian

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

Keith

You might have noticed that I avoided your question. I try to never comment about someone's past speaker choice. Speakers are a very personal choice. There is no right or wrong. We all listen to recorded music uniquely & we all get satisfaction from different aspects/styles/tastes of systems. One of my cohorts will sit down & listen for the 'image field.' Nothing else. Another is invariably drawn to the bass - pro or con. My boss will close his eyes & listen for depth. I am sensitive to tonal balance. It is quite comical to watch us set up a system at a show. We usually nail it but it is interesting with all of us focusing on different aspects of the system.

Ian

Don't worry Ian, you're not gonna hurt my feelings with you're comments...my best friend (bass player from way back) gives me crap too until I "ruin" my system by mixing in a thumping subwoofer . I've always been pretty much a 2-channel (+ gain) kinda guy and never fell for the gimmicks which is why Polk's properly setup SDA approach has always intrigued me. They were just something I drooled over back in the 80s and finally acquired some a few years later over time...sorta like a 911 I guess. I'd love to have heard some of the systems you've had the pleasure of building and hearing over the years!

[IROC]

Originally Posted by Rich Lambert

Wow...Advent. Haven't heard that name in a long time.

I love my Advents. I've got a pair of Advent/1s that my Dad bought brand new in 1978. I refoamed them a few years ago. Dollar for dollar, I'd put them up against just about anything. Excellent low frequency response, yet very tight and the highs are crisp and clear without being fatiguing. Great speakers. (I don't know why pelican rotated the pics...)

[RWebb]

General Rule: if the speaker is designed by a genius, then it will be rewarding to own for a very long time

same goes for cars

[Jagshund]

I'm going to have to wash my eyes after reading this; I'm pretty certain there are some of you getting kinda growl-honk-honk-meow excited about this kind of speaker talk.

Ewwwwwww.

[James Brown]

What a bunch of crap!!! Not one mention of the legendary JBL L-112's THE #1 rated bookshelf speaker of all time.

[Laneco]

"Spock-out" all you want.

Lotta chicks think geeks are sexy.

angela

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally Posted by Laneco

"Spock-out" all you want.

Lotta chicks thing geeks are sexy.

My wife is as likely to quote Star Trek or Star Wars as I am.

I love my wife.

[ErVikingo]

Grew up listening to AR3a's which gave way to DQ10's then to Mirage M1's. Then to Cambridge on my very small college apartment which were relegated when I got my Aerial 8b.

All top X lists are subjective and in high end audio (like in many industries) I think that a lot has to do with advertising budgets (and snake oil).

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally Posted by 1968Cayman

I'm going to have to wash my eyes after reading this; I'm pretty certain there are some of you getting kinda growl-honk-honk-meow excited about this kind of speaker talk.

Ewwwwwww.

Naw, if you want that kind of stuff, go to a guitar forum and start asking question about speakers, pickups, or "does the smudge on my paint affect the tone?

[imcarthur]

Yeah, it happens in Pro too. There is a thread on Gearslutz about the NS-10 monitor & how they used to compare how different bathroom tissues sounded to cloak the over-bright tweeter. And these are the guys that made all of that music we listen to . . .

Ian

[techweenie]

The reference to the science and fairy dust was spot on.

An acquaintance for whom money was no object "upgraded" the speaker cables from his Krell amps to his Duntech speakers and swore that he could hear the difference. Having spent $1,800 on two one meter long cables, I'm certain there was fairy dust affecting his hearing...

I run Acoustat 1+1s off a Bedini amp. Couldn't be happier. I've upgraded preamps over the years and I'm now using a Yamaha A/V preamp. Used to be one of those "golden ears" guys, but never went to extremes.

[sammyg2]

I used to have these:

[James Brown]

JBL, Cerwin-Vega, Altec-lancing, klipshorn. All great high power early (60-70's) loud speakers that can be had for a cheap price. And most are rebuildable.

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

I used to have these:

Horn-loaded behemoths from Altec. You could drive them with nothing & reach ear damaging SPLs. Lacking in a wee bit of finesse maybe but great for parties.

Ditto the majority of rock & roll speakers of the era. Resolution? No. Loud? Yes.

Ian

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

Horn-loaded behemoths from Altec. You could drive them with nothing & reach ear damaging SPLs. Lacking in a wee bit of finesse maybe but great for parties.

Ditto the majority of rock & roll speakers of the era. Resolution? No. Loud? Yes.

Ian

LOL, A5M's finesse? Bah!

Iffn you turned em up enough even a total audiophile couldn't tell if they were clean or not.
They sure were heavy tho, didn't have to worry about anyone stealing them unless they had a forklift. Not quite a "gig" amp.