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Seasoned ears only

I've got too much time on my hands. Like many audiophiles, I'm always trying to achieve that symbiotic system nirvana; the sound you remember from one place or another that you just can't seem to achieve again. I was thinking that several companies have introduced truly remarkable speakers in the last 30 years, but many of us are obsessed with the "newest thing."

Think of such speakers as the ugly but brilliant Yamaha NS-1000 monitors, the many Quad electrostatics, the AR-9, the original Von Schweikert VR-4. Some truly amazing speakers that you can find at a fraction of their original cost today.

How do those of you with the more seasoned ears think a pair of, for example, Von Schweikert VR-4 would match up with most of today's under $10,000 speakers? Sometimes I think the Quads, VR-4 and NS-1000 knocked my socks off at the time more than most speakers introduced today. Do you think we are being seduced into buying the "newest thing" because of our audio bug vulnerability, or are today's speakers really any better??
klipschking
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uru975
684 posts
 
There are times when you hear something that is so strong that it stops you in your tracks and all you do is listen.

When a speaker or set up does that for you, whether it is vintage or new, it is worth checking it out and seeking to find out why and how.

The sound seduces me every time not the sizzle of the latest and greatest advertising barrage.
zydo's avatar
zydo
242 posts
 
I still own, and listen almost daily, to a pair of Dahlquist DQM9's. I bought them new from a dealer I now work for, back in 1985. I wasn't even a year out of high school. I remember like yesterday, listening to Heart's "Dog and Butterfly" album on an Oracle TT he was using, when I went in to demo them.

I own many pairs of speakers now, (worth many times more) but, they are still in my main room. (along with others) More times than not, they bring me the greatest joy of everything else I own, or have owned. Maybe it's the fond memories, maybe they are that good, who's to say. It's the one piece of stereo equipment that I know I will take to the grave. Seems foolish, but nothing will replace them for me.
honest1
586 posts
 
I have a pair of Spica TC50s, which were the first pair of speakers I ever bought. After listening to everything I could in 1985, I stumbled upon these and instantly knew they were special. Even today, they are in some ways better than anything else I have owned. I can say this because I still have them set up in my bedroom system. They have their limitations for sure, but I haven't been able to find anything that does everything better than they do. Ascendo Systems might, but I have not heard them in the sme system, and at $23,000 / pair, probably won't any time soon.
plato
1,543 posts
 
Interesting Question... I've owned some very good speakers over the years. I think my favorites were my Acoustat Monitor III's with custom-built tube servo-charge amplifiers. For sure they were not the most detailed or extended speakers available, but they were among the most harmonically coherent and musical. They reproduced male and female vocals like no other. I still miss them at times.

I have some newer speakers from NSR, the Sonata D3, and a pair of VMPS RM2 ribbon hybrid speakers. I like both of them but I don't know if either had the same kind of midrange magic as those Acoustats.

Curiously, I have a pair of Magnepan SMGa Series II speakers in a small room powered by a QuickSilver GLA tube amp and they give me a taste of the same kind of musical midrange magic.

There are a lot of super expensive speakers out there with crossovers and internal wiring that costs thousands of dollars by itself. Many of them have superb detailing, focus, and soundstaging qualities. But I don't think any of them are much better than some of the old classics at achieving midrange magic.

Anyway, my latest idea is to put a tube OTL amp on some Magnepans in my small room and see how that goes.
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