I am under the impression that most of the people who frequent this forum own more than one pair of speakers. So with all the choices of speakers that you have to listen to, which do you listen to most/which are your favorite? What drivers and box design do they use? Also, if you would, please describe the sound as best you can. I'm interested in what everyone here listens to as their main/most successful speaker project.
Or, if you only own one pair of speakers, what has kept you from getting bit by the upgrade bug?
I'm interested in hearing other peoples' responses.
I'll go first.
60Wx5ch Sherwood HT reciever
1970s vintage Fried model Q with original box and crossover, 8" Pioneer B20FU14-54F polypropylene midbass and FB45DP70-06F Phenolic-Ring cone tweeter
KLH TW-09B as surrounds (lightweight and hang on the wall)
DIY ported subwoofer with Blueprint 1001 driver and 150-watt amplifier
The Fried speakers sound very smooth, and the tweeters sound very un-conelike, possibly because of the really huge magnet. It really is a big magnet for the size of cone they have. They used to have Senlab tweeters and Dalesford woofers, but the original drivers started losing their BMs at moderate volumes so they had to go. The big midrange makes ska horns sound bigger and more like a horn should sound, and really brings out the characteristics of the trombones. The enclosure is not ideally suited for the drivers, though, so they only respond down to 60 Hz.
The KLH speakers were $20 for the pair, so I went for it. They are small and hang on the wall, but they are lacking bass. They're all right, for surround speakers. The tweeter swivels around like the Bose cubes so I turned it to bounce sound off the walls, creating a diffuse sound field in the rear.
The subwoofer is the real showpiece of the system. It is unfinished 3/4" plywood (I'm finally getting around to building a real enclosure for it) but the driver really looks formidable. When it gets going, things fall off the shelves in my closet, and it is tight enough to reproduce insane drum solos with heavy use of the double-bass pedal and low toms.
How about you?
Or, if you only own one pair of speakers, what has kept you from getting bit by the upgrade bug?
I'm interested in hearing other peoples' responses.
I'll go first.
60Wx5ch Sherwood HT reciever
1970s vintage Fried model Q with original box and crossover, 8" Pioneer B20FU14-54F polypropylene midbass and FB45DP70-06F Phenolic-Ring cone tweeter
KLH TW-09B as surrounds (lightweight and hang on the wall)
DIY ported subwoofer with Blueprint 1001 driver and 150-watt amplifier
The Fried speakers sound very smooth, and the tweeters sound very un-conelike, possibly because of the really huge magnet. It really is a big magnet for the size of cone they have. They used to have Senlab tweeters and Dalesford woofers, but the original drivers started losing their BMs at moderate volumes so they had to go. The big midrange makes ska horns sound bigger and more like a horn should sound, and really brings out the characteristics of the trombones. The enclosure is not ideally suited for the drivers, though, so they only respond down to 60 Hz.
The KLH speakers were $20 for the pair, so I went for it. They are small and hang on the wall, but they are lacking bass. They're all right, for surround speakers. The tweeter swivels around like the Bose cubes so I turned it to bounce sound off the walls, creating a diffuse sound field in the rear.
The subwoofer is the real showpiece of the system. It is unfinished 3/4" plywood (I'm finally getting around to building a real enclosure for it) but the driver really looks formidable. When it gets going, things fall off the shelves in my closet, and it is tight enough to reproduce insane drum solos with heavy use of the double-bass pedal and low toms.
How about you?
My horns dude, a set of heavily modified Khorns (soon to have LABhorns x 2 as subs). Not much point in having anything else as these are by far the best things to my ears I've ever heard. Besides, they're so big, I don't think I'd be able to get anything else in the room, and they're waaaay too heavy to move.
I sold all my other complete speakers, but I have a whole lot of drivers floating about; Goodmans 201, Peak (Coral) 10" coaxes, a full set of drivers NIB for some Ariels, six new JBL 2446/2445 compression drivers (JBLs and Ariel drivers are open to offers) and a few miscellaneous Fostex, Beyma, Selenium and P.Audio drivers.
Cheers
I sold all my other complete speakers, but I have a whole lot of drivers floating about; Goodmans 201, Peak (Coral) 10" coaxes, a full set of drivers NIB for some Ariels, six new JBL 2446/2445 compression drivers (JBLs and Ariel drivers are open to offers) and a few miscellaneous Fostex, Beyma, Selenium and P.Audio drivers.
Cheers
I know what it's like to have speakers too large to move. Someone wanted to hear my "six footers" they are beasts that were built in my basement and their dimentions don't permit them ever leaving the basement, these will be sold with the house...
The pair I listen to the most, hmm, my Vifa MTM with PL17WJ woofers and a D25AG35 tweeter. My favorite pair, probably my six footers, nothing beats the bass of four 15" woofers, and the first DIY pair I ever made. The pair that shows the most promise and will probably lead to me replacing my main speakers? A 4" FR driver, missing highs and lows, but mids are great, so my next project is a 3" FR with a 7" filling in the bass (as well as a sub).
Upgrade bug? Absolutely not. I'm always perfectly content, but it's the damned internet. I always fall across a nice looking driver and then order it. After that I need to build a speaker to put it in, with acompaning drivers and box and xover etc.
The pair I listen to the most, hmm, my Vifa MTM with PL17WJ woofers and a D25AG35 tweeter. My favorite pair, probably my six footers, nothing beats the bass of four 15" woofers, and the first DIY pair I ever made. The pair that shows the most promise and will probably lead to me replacing my main speakers? A 4" FR driver, missing highs and lows, but mids are great, so my next project is a 3" FR with a 7" filling in the bass (as well as a sub).
Upgrade bug? Absolutely not. I'm always perfectly content, but it's the damned internet. I always fall across a nice looking driver and then order it. After that I need to build a speaker to put it in, with acompaning drivers and box and xover etc.
"Which set of speakers do you listen to most? "....
Ummm, the ones I'm nearest to the most.
At work I've got a pair of Canton 12" 3 way, so I get to hear them on tv,fm and cd, and on test cd or vcr 40 hrs pw or so.
Also a chunky pair of jap 8" 2way cabs that I connect to other peoples amplifiers.
At home it has been a pair of boston A40 for a long while, and tonight a pair of KEF 8" 2 way I retrieved from my GF's place, connected to my Pc/tv/vdr workstation.
In the bathroom is a good radio cassette for morning fm.
At my GF's place is a pair of Infinity Reference 30 8" 2way cabs on high stands.
All of them are different, and in different environments, so have different factors weighting my enjoyment of them.
For loud and fun, I like my workshop setup.
For nearfield listening, I like my workstation setup.
For relaxing back on the couch listening, or bopping around the kitchen evenings, we both like the Infinities.
They are all fine tuned to suit where they are, and all are good.
Eric.
Ummm, the ones I'm nearest to the most.
At work I've got a pair of Canton 12" 3 way, so I get to hear them on tv,fm and cd, and on test cd or vcr 40 hrs pw or so.
Also a chunky pair of jap 8" 2way cabs that I connect to other peoples amplifiers.
At home it has been a pair of boston A40 for a long while, and tonight a pair of KEF 8" 2 way I retrieved from my GF's place, connected to my Pc/tv/vdr workstation.
In the bathroom is a good radio cassette for morning fm.
At my GF's place is a pair of Infinity Reference 30 8" 2way cabs on high stands.
All of them are different, and in different environments, so have different factors weighting my enjoyment of them.
For loud and fun, I like my workshop setup.
For nearfield listening, I like my workstation setup.
For relaxing back on the couch listening, or bopping around the kitchen evenings, we both like the Infinities.
They are all fine tuned to suit where they are, and all are good.
Eric.
Hmmm...
Which speakers?
Well, I have a pair that were custom made in the seventies for a DJ. By a company in Vancouver BC called Speakerlabs. They each have a pair of vultan 12" woofers, hokutone 5" mids, and a rather anonymous horn tweeter. The crossovers are somewhat formidable looking things, each with the usualt enormous inductors and arrays of caps and resistors. I think these speakers will do maybe 650 - 800 watts RMS, if I ever get an amplifier that big that is!
These ones will suck up 250watts a channel like dried out sponges, they literally eat up any amplifier that's under about 300watts.
As far as sound, phenomenal! The sealed enclosures have a knack for producing extremely defined and tonal bass, something that seems rediculously difficult to do as far as my ears are concerned.
The mids and highs are very powerful and clean, the detail is almost too precise for a speaker made for a DJ to do disco!
The pair weigh 83lbs a piece and are covered with jet black veneer on 1" high density fibre plywood.
Aside from those, I made another pair that are similar volume and shorter but wider with dual 12" woofers and 3" mid/tweeters. Nothing for crossover but a tweeter cap. These are my rears and are nice for bass and mid but not very much high detail. These are good for 400watts.
Next project was a 10" subwoofer cube that measures 15 x 15 x 15 on the outside with 1" high density plywood. The enclosure is sealed and stuffed. Rated for 300watts. I used an alpine R type 10 inch sub. The bass is surprisingly flat and tight for a car sub. I tuned the enclosure at 51.3hz and it goes nicely down to 10 no problem. This puppy alone will re-arrange the furniture any day.
I have a pair also of JMI Mercer speakers with orion 8" woofers and 3" mid/tweeters. Rated at 30 watts, these are my side speakers that act to fill the long gap between my front and back speakers along the sides of the room. They are small and tidy, but they also have a quite clear and flat response.
There's a very neat speaker I use as a center channel in the front. It closely resembles the Walsh - Ohm acoustics speakers that have a vertically oriented single full range cone. This one is very small, the cone measures at 5". Rated at 25watts. I use a zen on this one and it produces the best vocals I've ever heard for a speaker besides that of the ATC SCM100's a friend of mine owns!
As for that, this is my speaker system. All these work on the single system in the same room. When listening, if the right loading adjustments are made, the speakers become transparent. It's like having the band some to my listening room to play. Or going to an orchestra hall.
Movies are really something else to watch with this system. It definately has more than enough power to reproduce any demanding sound with extremely high fidelity from any independant channel. Better sound than any theater I've ever been to and the THX rating BS doesn't even touch it.
Still, the real showpiece of my system is the 200" projection tv I made last year. The whole system is really a treat to experience.
Which speakers?
Well, I have a pair that were custom made in the seventies for a DJ. By a company in Vancouver BC called Speakerlabs. They each have a pair of vultan 12" woofers, hokutone 5" mids, and a rather anonymous horn tweeter. The crossovers are somewhat formidable looking things, each with the usualt enormous inductors and arrays of caps and resistors. I think these speakers will do maybe 650 - 800 watts RMS, if I ever get an amplifier that big that is!
These ones will suck up 250watts a channel like dried out sponges, they literally eat up any amplifier that's under about 300watts.
As far as sound, phenomenal! The sealed enclosures have a knack for producing extremely defined and tonal bass, something that seems rediculously difficult to do as far as my ears are concerned.
The mids and highs are very powerful and clean, the detail is almost too precise for a speaker made for a DJ to do disco!
The pair weigh 83lbs a piece and are covered with jet black veneer on 1" high density fibre plywood.
Aside from those, I made another pair that are similar volume and shorter but wider with dual 12" woofers and 3" mid/tweeters. Nothing for crossover but a tweeter cap. These are my rears and are nice for bass and mid but not very much high detail. These are good for 400watts.
Next project was a 10" subwoofer cube that measures 15 x 15 x 15 on the outside with 1" high density plywood. The enclosure is sealed and stuffed. Rated for 300watts. I used an alpine R type 10 inch sub. The bass is surprisingly flat and tight for a car sub. I tuned the enclosure at 51.3hz and it goes nicely down to 10 no problem. This puppy alone will re-arrange the furniture any day.
I have a pair also of JMI Mercer speakers with orion 8" woofers and 3" mid/tweeters. Rated at 30 watts, these are my side speakers that act to fill the long gap between my front and back speakers along the sides of the room. They are small and tidy, but they also have a quite clear and flat response.
There's a very neat speaker I use as a center channel in the front. It closely resembles the Walsh - Ohm acoustics speakers that have a vertically oriented single full range cone. This one is very small, the cone measures at 5". Rated at 25watts. I use a zen on this one and it produces the best vocals I've ever heard for a speaker besides that of the ATC SCM100's a friend of mine owns!
As for that, this is my speaker system. All these work on the single system in the same room. When listening, if the right loading adjustments are made, the speakers become transparent. It's like having the band some to my listening room to play. Or going to an orchestra hall.
Movies are really something else to watch with this system. It definately has more than enough power to reproduce any demanding sound with extremely high fidelity from any independant channel. Better sound than any theater I've ever been to and the THX rating BS doesn't even touch it.
Still, the real showpiece of my system is the 200" projection tv I made last year. The whole system is really a treat to experience.
I'm suprised someone mentioned OHM Walsh speakers. Next to my 2.5 clones I have liked the Walsh speakers the best. I've had a pair of 4X0's and use 1's in my bedroom system. As stated above, smooth mids - excellent quality and quantity of bass - Highs are passable but not equal to the other parts of the spectrum.
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