I haven’t owned many speakers, but hands down, my favorites were Apogee Duetta Signatures. I coveted Apogees for years after first hearing them at Paris Audio in Los Angeles, and after moving to a big-enough house in Texas and getting my lovely wife to agree to give up 1/3rd of the great room, I finally was able to buy them in the early 1990s. In the early 2000s, I needed something more home theater-friendly when my system had to start pulling dual-duty, so I reluctantly sold them about 12 years after I got them -- the buyer drove his minivan from Atlanta to Texas non-stop to pick them up and paid just $1k less than I originally paid for them. I then got B&W Nautilus 801s which I’m still enjoying today. They sound great, but <sigh>, I will forever miss the Apogees.
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!