A Letter to the Editor I Can't Send
 

Politics prohibit me from sending this letter but I feel compelled to publish it somewhere, so I thought PPOT was a good venue.

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Editor:

I am writing in response to your article “The 12 Most Significant Loudspeakers of All Time” (TAS 205).

To sum up the history of loudspeakers in 12 designs is a flawed exercise at best, although I do understand your intent. Readers love “Best of” lists judging from the profusion of them found everywhere in the media. Best Song of the Decade. Best Movie of the Year. Best Restaurant. Ad nauseum. You, of course, want subscribers, so you have to give them what they want.

As any thinking person realizes, “Best Of” lists are inevitably biased because they are typically subjective lists rather than quantitative. “Best Selling Song of the Decade” might be quite different than the “Best Song” depending upon what means was used to compile each list.
And this brings me to the point. Your list:

The 12 Most Significant Loudspeakers of All Time

1 QUAD ESL (aka 57)
2 Acoustic Research AR-3a
3 Rogers LS3/5a
4 Wilson Audio Tiny Tot (WATT)
5 Magico Mini II
6 Dahlquist DQ-10
7 Magneplanar 1-U/1-D
8 Infinity IRS V
9 KLH Model Nine
10 Advent
11 MBL 101E
12 Klipshorn

Yes, you identified it as a subjective compilation of picks supplied independently by your writers and chosen from those submissions by the “senior editorial staff.” You covered your butt. But I still must respectfully ask you to step away from the Kool-Aid.

Each loudspeaker in the list is a legend except one. Each loudspeaker in the list is no longer commercially available except one. #5 stands out like the proverbial sore thumb. Is there some agenda here? Is there – just maybe – a bias toward an active advertiser hidden in the middle of these august products which taught us so much about the playback of music?

But rather than dwell on the obvious, I would like to highlight some of the glaring omissions. In no particular order:

QUAD ESL-63, Harbeth Monitor Mk 1, Martin Logan CLS, several Acoustat designs, SoundLab, Bose 901, Dynaco 25, JBL K2, Celestion SL6000, Gale 401, B&W Nautilus, B&O Beolab 5, Yamaha NS1000, Goldmund Epilogue, Focal Grande Utopia, Wilson X-1 . . . and on & on . . .

The 63 undeniably taught us midrange purity despite its other flaws. The CLS, Acoustat & SoundLab models were lessons in transparency. And even the much-maligned Bose 901s were a study in openness, when other speakers were just boxes. They opened that door to a wider audience than any other product and gave us a customer base to upsell. The NS1000 is still used in many mixing studios as reference monitor. And the Grande Utopia and its archrival the Wilson X-1 were a healthy education in bass and the micro dynamics of the midbass amongst other innovations and attributes. I think you get my point . . . very subjective, of course . . .

So, your list is biased. You know that, I know that and your readers know that. That is the nature of a subjective list. However, that still does not excuse your inclusion of a product that has not stood the test of time to prove its value as “significant.” And in including it, you excluded other fine designs that are certainly more deserving, in my humble opinion.

Respectfully

Disclaimer: My bias – due to my employment as a representative of loudspeakers - makes this letter an exercise in futility since my opinion must be consider as seriously flawed. This, despite the fact that I have spent 30 years in the high end portion of the CE industry and I have personally heard at least ten of the loudspeakers on your list.

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There, I feel better now . . .

The article that I am whining about can be found here

Ian

Wow. You're, like, a total dork. :D

Geez... My wife accuses me of "Spocking out" all the time, but I'm nowhere near as bad as you! :D

Guilty as charged. :D

And the marketing side of me would have loved to have a current product on the list. ;) Even though readership has tumbled off a cliff, a quote is a quote is a quote . . .

Ian

Ian- I think that is a pretty well crafted argument. If anything, maybe take out the finger pointing at the original author/ed and send it just for your opinions on the other speakers alone. Or send it as it. I think it's worthy.

And being an audiophile isn't geeky- it's science. Geeky is what people get over star trek. Education is what people get in the high end audio scene.

I've got your back Ian...

Thanks, Mike. But I am too close to the situation to use it - even it edited form. Besides, it works much better with the bite.

Ian

Excuse me....it is Star Trek. Proper noun.

:p

ok...NERD!
:D

Dud, thr iNdiam ownrb of the com.einec so[te wont evm.e sel; em a carptn of xiofarttes mecouas .e sais tere won.t bw amu lwft fop amyome elso amd uor worlifls amout tmeis carlp....

Soo why can't you send it?

Did the B&W Matrix or any Polk not make the list. Geez, I'm starting my own list :(

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

Me: "I think my speaker is toast. I'd like to get a warranty replacement".

Clerk: "You've been in here for this before, haven't you?"

Me: "Maybe"

Clerk: "You work at Phase Linear, don't you?"

Me: "Maybe"

Clerk: "Forget it"

Me: "sh#T"

I have some warm-sounding tube-driven amplifiers and a Monster HDMI cable you might be interested in. :rolleyes:

Ian, what's your opinion of the Polk SDA lineup from the 80s (I wouldn't touch the newer stuff)? You're in "another league" with your vast experience compared to most...go ahead, give it to me straight :). I've got three pairs (1.2s, 2.3s, and 1As) and am thinking about letting the "big boys" go (170 lb towers bi-amped with 1000 watts into each), as I downsize my system. Not even in the same league as the systems you work with, but everyone who's heard my system is "impressed". I find the SDA technology "soundstage" on some recordings to be jaw dropping (at least to my ears)...what say you?

HAHAHAHA TOO FUNNY!



ya know...............as a drummer, i would buy some BOSE or some JBL STUDIO MONITORS, shut the hell up, and step away from audio magazines.



hell tell me ALL ABOUT SOUND QUALITY w/a set of quality headphones on, beating the living hell out of my zildjian cymbals and skins.


and yes i have broken cymbals and head sticks and skins more times than i can count.


i have taken formal drum lessons and have been playing since about 3rd grade.........im now 53 and my kit resides in my living room to allow the bunnies and quaily birds a lil culture. ie art for ARTS SAKE! at FULL BLAST!


can you say "ROCK THE KAZZ-BAHH!"

High end audio has always been an interesting blend of real science mixed with a heavy dose of fairy dust. The real science comes in the form of advances in product design or application. The fairy dust is produced either by propeller-headed pseudo-scientists with their whimsical ‘inventions’ or the marketing departments of well-funded companies with their ‘revolutionary advancements.’ You choose.

Sandy Gross was the marketing guru of Polk until 1988. His success there & with his next venture – Definitive Technology – is legendary. Not technical success per se but marketing success. He is one of the best ‘box movers’ in the CE business in North America primarily due to his ability to mold, shape and use the media to achieve his goal. Dealers are eagerly awaiting his new fling – GoldenEar Technology – to bring some life back to underused cash registers.

As an aside, his partner in this & Def Tech is a good friend & the man who brought me into high end many, many years ago. He has hired me three times – so far – for different projects . . .

As for my audiophilia, I am somewhat immune due to over-exposure. Not to say that new audio gear doesn’t still surprise me but I am gradually sliding into Pro Audio which - in many ways - is the antithesis of high end.

Ian

huh - I've owned 3 of them and copies of a few more.

what's wrong with me?

Don't worry, Randy. Guys like me love customers like you. :D Please keep buying. Many stores are struggling & they need the business. My key dealer in Manhattan closed his doors in August. Although it was due to a landlord dispute, reduced revenue was the underlying cause. The recession & the continuing march of homogenized digital music are leaving both high end dealers & the custom installer brigade in tatters in many markets. Start preparing for a no-choice scenario with nothing but big-box retailers on the horizon.

High quality recorded music is also down for the count with slashed budgets & the 'squash the dynamics' crowd in control of the checkbooks.

Ian

yup - thing is, once you buy, you are pretty well set

I wonder which mag will die first - The Absolute Clown, Stereopile, Audio Cryptic did die 1x already IIRC.


I am slowly enhancing the sound of a VW Vanagon with your speakers BTW.

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

Never. There is always something to upgrade. :D I just edited/rewrote a white paper for an amazing amplifier coming from The Netherlands & I heard Friday that we had a sample of an ultra, ultra cool & costly integrated amp from France in our office in Montreal.

On the other end of the scale, cheap fi is getting considerably better as well. We launched a new speaker system last week that retails for $550 in a 2.1 configuration that dropped a lot of jaws at Cedia in Atlanta.

Ian

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.

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

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.

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

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!

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...)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1286116297.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1286116323.jpg

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

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.

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

"Spock-out" all you want.

Lotta chicks think geeks are sexy.

angela

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

I love my wife. :D

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).

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?

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

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.

I used to have these:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1286235316.jpg

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.

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. :D

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. ;)