10 BEST Loudspeakers of ALL TIME
10 BEST Loudspeakers of ALL TIME
10 BEST Loudspeakers of ALL TIME (according to me)
The 10 Best Loudspeakers of all time are a mix of affordable speakers, high end loudspeakers and even home theater speaker systems. From lifestyle audio brands such as Bose to high end hifi speaker manufacturers such as Wilson Audio, this 10 Best List has it all.
By the way, this list is meant to be fun. Of course, it doesn’t include every single BEST speaker ever – after all, there are only 10 spots in a list of 10. Did your favorite make my list?
►10 Best Loudspeakers of ALL TIME (*according to me)
PARADIGM ATOM MONITOR SE: https://bit.ly/PMonBS
MAGNEPAN 1.7i (current model)
MartinLogan CLS II/a/z (discontinued)
KLIPSCH LA SCALA: https://bit.ly/klipschlas
JBL L100 CLASSIC SPEAKERS: https://bit.ly/L100AA
JBL L100 SPEAKER STANDS: https://bit.ly/L100Stands
Bowers & Wilkins 802D
Tekton Design Pendragon
Bang & Olufsen Beolab 4000/6000/8000/1 (discontinued)
Wilson Audio Sophia: https://bit.ly/wilsonsabrina (current)
Bose Acoustimass Series: https://bit.ly/Bose10
► MY REFERENCE AUDIO AND HOME THEATER SYSTEM
LOUDSPEAKERS
Q Acoustic Bookshelf Speakers: https://bit.ly/C300wsA
Klipsch Heresy IV Floorstanding Speakers: https://bit.ly/heresyiv
Jamo C97ii Towers (best budget tower speaker): https://bit.ly/C97II
SPEAKER STANDS
Kanto Bookshelf Speaker Stands (budget): https://bit.ly/Kanto26
SolidSteel Speaker Stands (best): https://bit.ly/SolidAA
TURNTABLE
Cambridge Audio Direct Drive Turntable (best): https://bit.ly/AlvaCA
Fluance RT85 Turntable (better): https://bit.ly/RT85player
U-Turn Orbit Plus Record Player (budget): https://bit.ly/uturnspec
RECORD PLAYER CARTRIDGES
Ortofon 2M Blue Cartridge (better): https://bit.ly/BlueAA
Ortofon 2M Black Cartridge (best): https://bit.ly/BLKAA
HEADPHONES
Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones: https://bit.ly/WH1000xm4
BEST SMART TV
LG 8K TV: https://bit.ly/LG8K99TV
BEST BUDGET SMART TV
Hisense 65-inch QLED TV: https://bit.ly/H9GTV
MEDIA CABINET & TV STAND
BDI Octave Media Cabinet: https://bit.ly/BDIMEDIA
BLUETOOTH SPEAKER
Klipsch The Three II: https://amzn.to/2WDO4Zz
Naim Mu-so Qb V2 Multi-Room Wireless Music System: https://amzn.to/2C3AeYq
DESKTOP SPEAKER
Klipsch The Fives Powered Speaker with HDMI-ARC: https://bit.ly/fivesUS
Kanto YU Desktop Speakers (budget): https://bit.ly/YUdesk
► MY STREAMING SERVICE
TIDAL (60-day FREE Trial): http://tidal.refr.cc/BL8G48M
► MY FILM KIT – https://bit.ly/ARFilmKit
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ART: https://bit.ly/howfaryt
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#audio #hifi #loudspeaker
I am kinda late to this party but the responses were just as good as your presentation. You have a new sub now!
Bose was my ticket to the HiFi club
Haha, I knew some of the ‘audiophile community’ do not like Bose, so I was waiting for how you would handle naming Bose as the last on your list. Well done :p.
*What speakers are in YOUR top 10?*
Well, I have had, in the last 35 years, Walsh Ohm 4’s, Thiel’s, Mirage OM7’s, Paradigm monitors, Legacy Classic’s, Custom Altec Lansing’s, and now Legacy Studio Monitors. I have to say, living with all of them the Thiel was the most enjoyable sound for me.
I like the Acoustat spectra 1100’s owned by Rockford Fosgate back in the 80’s-90’s. I want to go all in with Klipsch speakers but even for todays standards the Acoustats are so incredibly clear I just can’t justify replacing them.
Mine is like HigherFi Transmission Audio , Focal, BandW, Wilson, Wisdom, AArts, Infinity, Kharma and Martin Logans….
i’ve owned a pair of IMF TLS 80’s mk 2 since new in 1977 still one of the best sounding speakers ive ever heard… love the british sound
I like the JBL L96 which i still own today, I’m wanting once again a set of Pioneer HPM 100(they are calling crazy amount of money), I also own Bose 901, and 601, I also own VMPS super tower 2, Paradigm mini monitor v.2., and Pioneer hpm40.
10 different sets of ears.
I rather enjoyed your insight. Wildly disappointing not seeing any mention of Avalon Acoustics. I currently run a pair of Avalon Arcus as my front, powered by a Parasound 2250, Mordaunt-Short CLASSIC 40s as my centers, powered by two (bridged mono) NAD 214s, and still looking for something to compliment my HSU Research VTF-15H MK2 BASH sub in my tiny 122 inch home theater. I will, likely, use one of my NADs to power whatever rear loudspeakers I settle on (open to suggestions for something bookshelf sized). My signal distribution is handled by an older Denon AVR-3806. 🙂
recovering huh? not me! my addictions full blown, mainlining McIntosh / EAW
Had some Sansui speakers in the 70s , I think they were called series 5? Had green , yellow and red lights on the front. Then graduated to 901s , then Quad ES etc. Back in the day it was all about Nakimichi , B/O , Harmon kardon , Thorens moving magnet cartridges and electro static speakers….ah those were the days! Now it’s just me and my Bose headphones and whatever device that’s handy! It’s really convenient but not nearly as satisfying. Thanks for the updated comparison!
just want to ask i bought andrew john home theater speaker few year ago, is it good ?
Bose is the gateway drug to becoming an audiophile 😆
Can anyone recommend an integrated amp that would be appropriate for a pair of Bose 701 (series 1) floorstanding speakers?
"Recovering audiophile" DAMN
Duntech Sovereigns. Should be in the top 10 easily. I couldn’t afford them so I have the Marquis.
for me
altec19
jbl l100
jbl 4367
bw 802d
kef ref 104.2
mission 753
bose 901
jbl 6700
jbl apollo
harbeth 30.1
You didnt hear my custom speakers.
❤️🇺🇸I own vintage since new Epicure 30’s and 50’s, Sony V-fet Amp, Denon DP47f. Like live music, unbeatable. Also the vinyl including all the classics from the seventies, eighties, nineties. I live in my own hippie world.❤️🇺🇸
Anything by GOLDENEAR
Please show the speakers more
You’re missing the best speaker brand of all time : Harbeth
You’re probably a bit young to remember the Dahlquist DQ10 and DCM Time Window. Also great are Altec and Tannoy. The DQ10 was outstanding value. Its 5 drivers were time aligned. 4 of them basically open baffle. Can be found today cheaply.
Hpm 100s. Done
I have the magnepan. Not a huge fan. Used to love them but they don’t last long. They are exceptionally fragile and I have had to re-glue them twice. They also take some crazy (expensive) electronics to get them to sound awesome.
Loud vs Acoustic range, hmm… I’m old school #1 fisher xp60 2way 10" (incredible bass, and typing on an LP/CD is there) #2 Cerwin Vegs
The speakers I have had and loved: Vandersteen 5As and Thiel 3.7. But the speakers that have blown me away because of the value for the money (no, they are not the Vandersteens) are the ELAC Uni-Fi UB5s and the ELAC FS 247.4s. I have combined both ELACs with a REL T7i subwoofer, and wow. . . .
Tannoy Lancaster were great
You say you owned Bowers & Wilkins 802D speakers for five years, and that you loved every moment of it. Could you explain me why you do not still have them, if you liked them so much? 🙂
i was a teenage in 1987, and my friend invited me over to hear his new Bose AM5’s. I had no idea what a subwoofer was, and it was hidden. He had a laser disc of the Empire Strikes Back, and it sounded incredible. The sub was hidden and I was dumbfounded, and couldn’t understand why his house sounded like a real movie theatre. I never looked at stereo equipment the same again after that. Simply stupid how good it sounded at that time.
I have been into high end audio since the early 1970’s. Have owned all kinds of speakers over those years (but not too much the last two decades) including huge Klipsch, JBL’s (including a Hartsfield), Bozak, EV Practician (with its 30 inch woofer), AR, Infinity, SAE electrostatics, and many others from those days past. As a kid I even had a pair of huge Altec A7 (15 inch horn loaded bass and huge HF horn) in my bedroom. Now you may laugh but none had the initial wow factor as the first time I experienced the Bose 901. They just sound awesome when in an A/B test with any other speaker. They will not hold up to critical lab tests by "experts" and may not be accurate, but they just sound great. I ended up getting a pair and powered them with 2 bridged Crown DC300 amps (600 w each). Dr. Bose did a lot of research into how they sounded to human ears etc. and with all his equalization ended up with a product that worked and the the golden-ear audiophile experts be dammed ! Another one you may laugh at is a little Radio Shack Optimus Pro LX511 with its ribbon tweeter. For a old small speaker it kicks ass and holds its own in comparison to other larger much more expensive speakers.
Bowers and Wilkins nautilus are the best speakers I ever heard.
I fully agree with you: your selection covers some of my favorite. Due to the fact, that I’m from Germany, Europe, my list is a bit different:
SONY APM-8 – my first real WOW speaker (I needed an hour to find out, what makes it so good!)
AMT ESS 1 A/B – HiFi at it’s best (late 1970’s)
KS Digital – professional studio monitor
Manger Audio – all of them: the magic of music
My personal #1: La Scala + Pink Floyd – Dark side of the moon – direct cut / vinyl – man!!!!!
My friends, whom I invite in for trips down memory lane with music say, "Your stereo gives me goosebumps!" It’s a pair of 1975 Altec Valencias – B Series – pushed by a big Fisher receiver of 1978.
u shoud try to listen to the first hornspeaker that klipsch made they are awesome i have listen to them and they sound better then martinlogan almost!
I thought I might replace my old Tannoy DC3000’s a few years back. I gave up, I haven’t got the £5000 it would cost me to get anything close.
All the best speakers — of all time — are only a few years old. Technology and psychoacoustic understanding improved speaker performance in recent years. The very best speakers today are actually systems rather than speakers. Meaning you have two systems, one for higher frequency ray acoustics and another for lower frequency small room modal behavior.
Now steaming services are starting to improve source material by adding ATMOS/Spatial audio music catalogs. That’s going to change how we judge speakers in the future. After good quality multichannel sources are widely available today’s best systems will sound relatively lifeless.
Vintage Carver ribbon speakers.
LS35a? Quad Electrostatic ELS? Sonus Faber Electa? (You can tell how old i am!)
Another great speaker of past years that you will laugh at when I mention is the GTE Sylvania AS125. I had to laugh myself but they were on display at an LA Audio show in a booth by Jonas Miller Sound, a high end shop in Beverly Hills. (M&K speakers) They were using Audio Research tube electronics to drive these cheap speakers but they sounded fantastic, even when compared to Infinity servo-static electrostatic speakers and other Infinity speakers at the time (early 1970’s). The story was that GTE labs had some audiophile engineers that used the labs extensive capability to design some loudspeakers to match anything on earth but at a modest price. They cost $300 and I now see someone on Ebay selling a pair for $1,300.00….crazy!
Although I’ve never owned a pair, the Ocean Way Audio HR1 studio monitors are arguably the best speakers ever made. Everything from Michael Jackson’s Thriller album to movie scores like Avatar were mixed on a pair of these speakers. They are as you would say “Stonehenge in your living room” speakers so they would be impractical in 99% of most home use cases. Although I know Steve Vai uses the Hr4 studio monitors and has them also in his home for his surround sound system.
JBL and the italian defunct ESB … pure love
I worked two jobs to pay for college and a third to feed an audio habit. Had a pair of JBL L100s for years until I swallowed hard and bought a pair of La Scalas in 1978 for $800(!) each. I still have the La Scalas.
Most speakers are rubbish.
Always been like this.
Even those on your list.
Problem is as they get clearer you hear their faults more.
All have very serious faults.
All of them.
Maybe open baffles are the best.
The Boss model you mentioned was an amazing home cinema at that time (25 years back). Until now Boss products are very unique but sure not in the HiFi space.
My personal favorites:
1.) The Infinity Reference Standard. Way out of my price range but the best sounding speakers I have ever heard. Back around 1980 I had gone to the house of a guy who’s father owned large company (thus the deep pockets) and was amazed when I first laid eyes on those gigantic columns. I was even more astounded when he cranked them up. I don’t recall exactly what he was using for components but I do remember it was all high end separates. Probably McIntosh or Carver. They needed a lot of power but the precision and clarity of those speakers stood out instantly.
2.) The Klipsch Forte II. Around 1991 when I was finally earning enough money to purchase a decent pair of speakers I spent quite a bit of time going around to the high end audio stores listening to various high end speakers. After much sampling I choose the Klipsch Forte II’s, preferring them over even the Klipschhorn. They provide rich, deep bass thanks to their rear mounted 15" woofers and crisp, clear mid’s and high’s that are precise and yet easy on the ear. I still own them and they are still my primary L R Front speakers in my home theater set-up.
Please, everyone, lose the air quotes!! My most favorite nit-pickety nit-pick. Sorry.
At 15:00 your story of how you started is very similar to mine. A friend of mine, we were about 12 at the time he got a pair of Bose Acoustimass 5 series 2 speakers. While other kids were buying video games with their money, we were buying audio equipment. That quickly started my lust for hi fi and I quickly discovered better alternatives (to me) to the Bose my friend bought, buying a pair of Paradigm Titans for myself. But I would say this is what helped jump start my love for audio.