What were your first "audiophile" speakers and when?

Mike Lavigne · Aug 10, 2010

i think AR3a's in 1969. and Bose 901's in 1974. not sure if either are really considered 'audiophile' speakers.....likely not.

then in 1994 a pair of used Wilson WP 3/2's....which were certainly 'audiophile' speakers.

Albertporter · Aug 10, 2010

Bozak Concert Grand was my first audiophile speaker, back in 1964.

In 1967 I built a custom pair of JBLs, including a super heavy, 8 cubic foot cabinet of my design. It was basically a large S7R as vertical configuration plus the famous Electro-Voice T350 tweeter.

I kept the JBLs until Peter Snell introduced the Type A, that must have been about 1977.

I've owned many other great speakers since then, Sound-Lab Ultimates earned a spot here for nearly 10 years and I've enjoyed my Dali Megalines for more than 6 years with no current plans to change.

Sometimes at shows I hear speakers that I know would work here but frequently they are hideously expensive.

naturephoto1 · Aug 11, 2010

My first "audiophile" speakers were my Large Advent speakers around 1972. Then I purchased a second pair and had the double large Advent speakers with the stacked speakers with tweeter to tweeter. Next, I went back to a single Large Advent speaker with the RTR electrostatic tweeters. These were then retired and I went to the mirror imaged and upgraded capped crossover Dahlquist DQ-10 speakers.

Rich

es347 · Aug 11, 2010

AR-2ax (1969); Braun Monitors (circa 1978); Snell Type A improved (1981); ML Aerius i's (circa 1992); VSA VR4 SR MKII's (2008); VSA VR5 Anniversaries (2009)

Mike L....your AR-3a's were absolutely audiophile for that time. What was better in 1969? And btw, they came in 2nd on Ab Sound's all-time important speaker list in their most recent issue.

DonH50 · Aug 11, 2010

Probably a borrowed pair of Magnepan MG-Is, replaced by a pair of Infinity QLS-IIs. Bought the MG-Is back, rotated through a pair of borrowed MG-II's before buying a pair of Magnepan MG-IIIa's that are currently my main speakers. Being in the industry, I got to listen to a lot of impressive speakers: Quads, Wilsons, Dayton-Wrights, B&Ws, etc. etc. etc. Not really up on all the new names now, and have not been listening because of sticker shock after seeing where prices have gone in the decade or so I was out.

iampaddy · Aug 14, 2010

My first Hifi Setup was a Naim CDX-2 + Supernait powering Totem Forrest Speakers. Fantastic sound, great speaker I loved them...... I developed the Naim system until I had NAC282 / Nap250 / 2 x XPS-2 powering the Totems and they just continued to impress. Since then I have had the Totems Winds with Naim NAP500, I kept that system for a few years then I changed the system entirely, Linn Klimax DS / DCS Puccini / Krell FBI / PMC IB2i.

JoeESP9 · Aug 24, 2010

My first real speakers were a pair of AR4's I bought while in the service. I kept them until 1976 when I bought a pair of B&O S-70's. I had the B&O's for two months when I heard a pair of Magneplanar MG-1's. I sold the B&O's within a week and bought the Maggies. Had nothing but panels since.

flez007 · Sep 1, 2010

I was really taken by the sound of a pair of JBL L300 with McIntosh amps and a Nakamichi 1000 tape dec back in the 80s, them again by a pair of JBL L65 with a Marantz 4400 receiver and a Dual table. Not really "high-end" but above average by all means.

Most recently, in the late 90's a pair of Avalon Ascent driven by Rowland 9 monos and EAD digital front end were "magical", there is where I realized what Soundstage was all about.

As me owning what I thought were my first Hi-End speakers I would say a pair of ADS L-730 driven by a SAE integrated amp.

Randy Bessinger · Sep 10, 2010

1965 or 1966 (who can remember) AR speakers, Dynaco Amp, AR turntable bought from Korvette Department store.

MylesBAstor · Sep 10, 2010

randybes said:
1965 or 1966 (who can remember) AR speakers, Dynaco Amp, AR turntable bought from Korvette Department store.

Hahahaha...that's hysterical!!! Imagine if those companies sold their products in a five and dime store today???? Or Walmart? How many people thought Martin-Logan was going down the toilet when they took on Best Buys

Randy Bessinger · Sep 10, 2010

MylesBAstor said:
Hahahaha...that's hysterical!!! Imagine if those companies sold their products in a five and dime store today???? Or Walmart? How many people thought Martin-Logan was going down the toilet when they took on Best Buys

It's interesting because the Korvette store in St. Louis County was fairly new at the time, and they actually had a small room in the store which was kind of a "high end room". Remember, at this time, most "normal" people did not buy components, they bought consoles (like my dad-so proud of his-can't remember brand). Anyway, there were various speakers, turntables, and amps for perusal.

flez007 · Sep 10, 2010

Julian Margules managed to include their product line in Best Buy down here.. Pretty upstream for BB standards!

feathed · Sep 20, 2010

Imf-r

I suppose the first Audiophile ( whatever that is defined as) speaker I owned was the IMF (later FRIED) model R. This would have been about 1977. They were the first speaker I owned that could resolve differences in power amps. They also kept blowing up (as in smoke) H/K Citation 19 amps. I traded some RTR electrostatics for the IMF's. I believe the mid and tweeter drivers were the same as the Rogers LS3/5As. The woofers were KEF B-139 flat oval pistons. They were about $500 as I recall and someone just listed a pair for $2000 on Audiogon. Maybe I should have kept them?

MikeSp · Oct 31, 2010

Altec Voice of the Theater A7-500 customs with 515B woofers in the early 1970's.

MikeSp

RBFC · Oct 31, 2010

I started with a pair of Leslie organ speakers in custom cabinets in 1972. Then, a pair of RTR speakers in 1974 with SAE preamp & amp. Then, ESS AMT Monitors in 1978. Next up was the big Apogees, driven first by a pair of Belles Research amps then moved to the all-Krell chain of KPA/KBL/KMA. Then, Unity Audio PARMs. Now, B&W.

Lee

JackD201 · Nov 1, 2010

I started as a freshman in college, 1988. The first "audiophile" branded speakers I owned were by Canton.

microstrip · Nov 1, 2010

feathed said:
I suppose the first Audiophile ( whatever that is defined as) speaker I owned was the IMF (later FRIED) model R. This would have been about 1977. They were the first speaker I owned that could resolve differences in power amps. They also kept blowing up (as in smoke) H/K Citation 19 amps. I traded some RTR electrostatics for the IMF's. I believe the mid and tweeter drivers were the same as the Rogers LS3/5As. The woofers were KEF B-139 flat oval pistons. They were about $500 as I recall and someone just listed a pair for $2000 on Audiogon. Maybe I should have kept them?

Your picture triggered my memories some nice souvenirs about my first "audiophile" speakers. They were some speakers I built myself with a KEF Kit using similar units - a T27 tweeter, a B200 middle/bass and B139 passive unit version, similar to what was used in the Sonus Faber Extrema and an good quality crossover. I traveled to the UK by InterRail with a friend just to buy the kit! At that time I did not have the money to buy the Kit3 that used the T27, B110 and active B139 that your IMF uses, but one year later I sold the speakers and went back to the UK to buy it, and built a pair of enormous transmission line speakers based on the paper of A.R. Bailey, 'The Transmission-line Loudspeaker Enclosure', in Wireless World , May 1972.
Nice times!

audioguy · Nov 1, 2010

randybes said:
It's interesting because the Korvette store in St. Louis County was fairly new at the time, and they actually had a small room in the store which was kind of a "high end room". Remember, at this time, most "normal" people did not buy components, they bought consoles (like my dad-so proud of his-can't remember brand). Anyway, there were various speakers, turntables, and amps for perusal.

Interesting. That same store is where I bought my first stereo in 1963 which consisted of pair of (probably) house-brand speakers, a 12.5 watt per channel HH Scott Receiver (to which I latter added an HH Scott Matching FM Tuner) and a Girard Turntable. The (VERY) weak link were the speakers.

Brings back many memories.

tmallin · Apr 9, 2013

audioguy said:
Interesting. That same store is where I bought my first stereo in 1963 which consisted of pair of (probably) house-brand speakers, a 12.5 watt per channel HH Scott Receiver (to which I latter added an HH Scott Matching FM Tuner) and a Girard Turntable. The (VERY) weak link were the speakers.

Brings back many memories.

One of my earliest encounters with "high end" speakers and equipment was also in a Korvette's department store in Watchung, New Jersey, in the mid-1960s when I was a young teenager. My parents would shop and I would hang around the color TVs and then wander over into the "high-end" audio room. They had all the famous brands like AR and KLH.

tmallin · Apr 9, 2013

P.S.: I thought all my speakers were "high end," even if they really weren't. They were what I thought were the best I could afford at the time of any given purchase, given my knowledge of what was available and how different models sounded to me at the time. In order, starting in around 1965, I owned AR-4x, Rectilinear XI, Large Advent (stacked + Microstatic tweeters), DCM Time Windows, Snell Type A Improved, Thiel CS 3 (oops--too bright), B&W 801 Matrix Series 2, Carver Amazing Platinum Mark IV, Cello Strads, Legacy Audio Whispers, Harbeth M40, Gradient 1.3, Gradient 1.5, Harbeth M40.1, Sanders 10C, Gradient Active Revolution, and Stirling Broadcast LS3/6.

Along the way, I also got into vintage speakers and now own or have recently owned, Rectilinear III, AR-3a (three pairs), AR-5 (two pairs), AR-2ax, AR-303a, and AR-4x (back to the beginning again, for my office--what I'm listening to right now), KLH-12, EPI 100, Human 81.

Along my vintage way, I also came across a decent pair of the marvelous original Spendor SP1/2, which are VERY hard to come by these days. But, don't fret, the similar-in-design Stirling LS3/6 is yet better, current, and easily available for not too much money. Great speakers and a great bargain.

What were your first "audiophile" speakers and when?

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