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What are the best speakers you have ever owned and why?

I just recently recieved my long awaited Shahinian Diapason 2’s from Vasken And they are absolutely spectacular! This got me thinking about my long journey to get here. Bless my wife for putting up with the many many many speakers that have passed through. The lifelong saga began with Magneoan MG 1’s back in college which were replaced by Dahlquist DQ 10’s. Then we traveled down a long road of speakers and systems. Magnepan Tympanis, Misson 770, Randall Rsch DQ10’s, Quad ESL single and stacked, Acoustat II, rogers LS3/5A’s, Linn Isobarik’s (2 pairs) B&W 801 Matrix, Hales Signature, Martin Logan Monolith2, Apogee Scintilla (1 ohm) Apogee Full Range, Theil SC 5A, Egglestonworks Andra, B&W Nautilius 801,Quad 63 and some I’m sure I forgot! Each speaker had its virtues and flaws but oh what a fun and a times frustrating trek! I think I have finally found my speaker to take me to retirement they do everything that I value wonderfully . They are detailed without sounding so, very dynamic, they have great low end reach, power and detail, are open sounding like a planner, their tonality and timbre seem spot on and they sound wonderful on any kind of music. Tell me about your journey!
hamr
belvedere2
41 posts
 
Started out with a pair of two way Advents. Found my way into using Bose 901s for years. Then tried some Magnepan 1.7s. Soon replaced those with speakers I've always wanted AR-90s and Infinity RS-1. It's always a toss up on which ones I like the sound of better. The issue with the Infinities is having the proper room to let them breathe. I'm attempting to convert half my garage into a home for them. Until that happens I'll continue to use my ARs in the living room. Much easier to live with and my wife agrees. Lol
dodgealum
1,398 posts
 
The Daedalus Apollo's I recently got are far and away the best speakers I've owned. Others that stand out in my long journey are the Spendor SP-100s and Harbeth Compact 7s that got so much right and played well with the different amps I threw at them. My Daedalus DA-1.1s, which preceded the Apollo's, were also really terrific. The worst--a pair of B&W 802s that were the most musically uninvolving speakers I've owned.
samhar
1,048 posts
 
Watt/Puppy System 8..........with Joule Electra 160 Mk lll & Mk V amps.


breezer
116 posts
 
Hello,
i had the old (produced about 1996) Shahinian Diapasons for some years. They were great for classical music, very good wall of sound, but not very exact in localization and micro images. Not very fast, more a kind of rolling sound.
The later should be better, the actual version 2 maybe even better.
i had Bedini 501, they sounded good, a big Plinius SA-103 was fantastic.
Other recommended amps are the Sanders Magtech! Maybe bigger Jeff Rowland or Pass, and yes, the Mac 501 should be very good.

Shahinian in Europe, especially in Germany is not present at all, it is even very difficult to sell it. I needed about 1 year, another user of even two pairs of Diapasons tried to sell them over 2-3 years for a fair price, but nobody wanted to buy. It is not any more known, the time of the reviews in the magazines are way back in the 1990ies, and the most people don’t know them. Some have maybe heared the smaller ones, but not the big Diapasons.
Maybe the situation is different in the UK, I don’t know it.
hamr OP
56 posts
 
The latest Diapasons are a very different speaker than the 1996 models. They don’t sound rolled off as you said your pair did nor bright as Stereophile said they did. They are very neutral tonally. I listen to a wide variety of music so I am not evaluating them just with classical music. They don’t have much of a presence in the USA either, but neither do a lot of great products. As far as selling them, I don’t plan on it so it really doesn’t matter to me!  I wonder if some of the different opinions are due to listening distance and room treatments. My pair image very nicely with a great center image and a very localized soundfield.
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