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In Reply to: 10 Best Speakers-What do you think posted by Bold Eagle on January 10, 2002 at 12:40:07:
gutsy of you to include the Bose 901. I must say, that when I first heard a pair of 901s in 1969, I was impressed; and it's not like I hadn't heard other decent speakers at the time.I concur with those who want to add the Klipschorn and the AR 3a to the list, even though I have issues with the sound of both.
Some other candidates:
The big KLH electrostat. Not as common as the Quads, but more powerful and with lower bass.
The ESS AMT-1. The speaker should have been a 3-way (using a 12-inch driver as a midrange doesn't work too well), but the clarity of the Hiel tweeter was absolutely stunning.
Magnepan Tympani -- The original multi-panel Magnepan planar speakers and no longer made (the single-panel "Magneplanars" were the cheaper versions). The first time I heard a pair of these, driven by Audio Research electronics, I was in another country, figuratively speaking. Bass, power and dynamics from a planar speaker that has not been equalled in the subsequent models, which are reduced in size because of cosmetic reasons. Ask Jim Willis; he owns a pair of them; although I don't think his work any more.
Allison Ones -- Roy Allison was willing to address the fact that a loudspeaker plays in a room, not outside or in an anechoic chamber. By being adamant about where the speaker was to be placed, and by doing his homework and designing for just that placement, Allison got the bass right. A-1s, while not subterranean in bass extension, produce incredible amounts of undistorted bass in the musical bass range (35 Hz and up).
The AR LST: The speaker that created the demand for super-powerful amplifiers (for good or ill). Like the A-1, it was designed with an ear towards where it would be placed. Unlike the A-1, it could be adjusted to accomodate more than one placement and produce a flat amplitude response.
(Don't shoot me, please) The Sunfire True Subwoofer: Say what you will about the quality of the bass produced (and I don't care for it either), but Bob Carver did produce a speaker that produces true sub bass (flat to 20 Hz) at 100 dB levels that is small. Many, many so-called subwoofers are really just "helpers" for the bass drivers of the main speakers, and their bass heads south below 30 Hz.
Finally, a comment about the theatre horn speakers that Brennan and others include on their lists:
I think that one has to recognize the difference between an auditorium and a listening room in your house. Brennan dismisses the acoustic suspension speaker as a concession to decorating and WAF. But most people live in homes, not auditoriums, with rooms of relatively small size (and it's worth remembering that, in the US at least, average room and house size today is bigger than it was 40 years ago). The size of the stereo equipment in them is a relevant consideration. Secondly, most people in homes don't want the SPL or dynamic range capability of a theatre horn speaker. So, the acoustic suspension set of tradeoffs is not as bad, in my opinion, as Tom and others believe. That's also why I agree with Tom's inclusion of the Klipschorn on the list. PWK worked within the parameters of the "WAF" issue and came up with a speaker that had much of the good qualities of the theatre speakers in an acceptably-sized package. Also, we shouldn't forget that there were other "box speakers" out at the time, especially those made by Bozak. These were "bass-reflex" speakers that were fairly efficient but could not produce much bass, in terms of either volume or extension. The AR design brief was to take the same sized box and get another 1/2 octave of bass out of it, with less harmonic distortion. At that, they succeeded.
Nice idea to start this thread, Eagle, BTW. Lots of interesting thougts added by the commenting inmates.
thanks!
Follow Ups:
I included the Bose 901 because of the innovative design and the amount of solid research behind it. IMHO the best were the first two generations when they were acoustic suspension and had wood cabinets. I can remember when they first came out, and the audiophiles couldn't get enough of them. You and I are definitely in the minority here.Your nomination of the KLH Nines and the Tympani Magneplanar is one of many. I left them off because I didn't see them as highly engineered designs. Good nonetheless.
You're alone on both the Allisons and the ESS AMT-1. Both were on my list of considerations. I think both are good selections.
I didn't consider the AR-LST, but it's a viable candidate. I did consider the AR-9. But the Allison is a better example of room boundary considerations.
Sorry, innovative and technologically interesting as it is, the Sunfire isn't full range.
Finally, in your closing comments, you mention the ported Bozaks. Like what, the 201?
Thanks for contributing. I thought this might be fun.
Sorry, can't remember the model number. When my wife was in college (and I was going out with her) she shared the top floor of a house in Austin with two other students. One of them supplied the stereo (quite nice, actually) and I remember it had a pair of Bozak box speakers, say about 30% bigger than an AR 3/3a. I can't remember anything else about the system. The Bozaks were very listenable, but a little "polite" for my taste. They didn't have much in the way of bass or top end extension. My wife's roommate was something of a jazz fan; I remember listening to several MJQ records on them.
Bruce,I think those were the Bozak B-401. An attempt by Bozak to compete with the "bookshelf" models from AR, KLH, Advent, JBL, etc. They used the standard Bozak 12" coax with the two tweeters normally bracketed across the front of the woofer mounted separatly, and a 6" midrange. I had a pair back in the late 70's. 2.3 ft cu cabinet with a removeable back. Foam grill with vertical ridges about 3" wide. Drivers mounted from inside the box. Padding on the walls. Not sealed, the tweeters had gaps around them in their cutout. Crossover was basic first order Bozak, but the ones I had used ordinary electrolytic caps, not non-polar! No bass below 60 Hz, and no top as you remember, but a very nice midrange.
I gave the drivers to a Bozak fan, and used the box for a system based on a Speakerlab 12" and Peerless mid and tweeter. They eventually became subs for another friend.
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