What are the best speakers you have ever owned and why?

Two pair for specific needs.

 Bought a new pair of cerwin vega D-9s’ back when I was 16-18 I forget.
  Never heard a better rock and roll speaker. 


Altec lansing 510’s- bass was weak, but they shined in everything else, midrange, highs, were crystal, and never harsh, no matter the volume.


Energy rc-70’s
 currently in use.
midrange so smooth, bass is great for a pair of 6” woofs,
highs extremely smooth, best I’ve ever heard, no fatigue no matter the song or volume. 
Keeping til I can no longer use.


when I can afford, I may try some Dynaudio’s but have heard they have a bright sound.
if anyone is familiar with the energy rc70’s knows the 600 crossover roll off on the tweeters. Such a relaxing sound,
i can play mercyful fate, king diamond, rush, Helstar, loud as hell, and there is no fatigue, it is just pleasing and I ca listen all day.
i love it!!

the D-9’s have this as well,they are not harsh in the treble, as many would think. They would be.  They are not.
they are loud, clear, and minimal from fatigue

also the BIC V 630 and 830 I own, both pairs not at Going at all, just a nice highs sound!no fatigue.
 I’ve heard others where the treble makes my molars grind, and I feel uneasy, wired, just “TURN IT DOWN, NOW, PLEASE”

all these sepakers i use. Have no fatigue. Which is why I’ve kept them all these. Years.

klipsch corner horns make me wanna  to take a hammer drill to my ears.

if you find the perfect solution, keep it.

KLH Towers in the 70's
ITC 1
ProAc Tablettes
Celestion SL 600
Symdex Sigma/Omega
RBH 1266

The only ones I wouldn't do again where the Tablettes- a bit bright.

I’m spaced constrained and have Pioneer S2EX, KEF LS50 and Tekton Impact Monitor - hands down the Tektons 

NAD M22
McIntosh C40
Cary DMC 600
Nativ Vita 

It is fun isn't it when you finally find a speaker that is organic sounding and just allows you to appreciate the musicians and music. Surprisingly they are a rare breed. 

Going back some 45 years, here's my list in chronological order:

Advent (original)
Altec Model 15
Saras Model 12
Magnepan MG1B
Vandersteen 2C
Sonus Faber Minuetto
KEF LS50

Still have these two sets:
Magnepan .7
Harbeth C7ES-3

Merlin Black Magic monitors.  Just plain musical.  Great detail, reasonable dynamics, terrific imaging.  Sweet vocals.  Simply involving.

Now, ATC SCM 40 A active floor standers.  Slamming dynamics, coherent drivers....there are simply no holes in response from the lowest frequencies to smooth extended highs.  Best midrange vocals I've ever heard.  Crazy good imaging.  

Fastest vocal and instrument attack I've every experienced.  Involving like no other speaker I've ever heard.  No subwoofer needed.  My JL sub is now superfluous.  I believe I am truly off of the audio carousel for years.

My current speakers , Harbeth M40.2  because they do everything right that I want to hear from a pair of speakers.

Impossible to answer unless you put parameters such as price range, efficiency etc. When it comes to price range in the under $1500.00 range my best were vintage Polk Srs-SDA 3.1TL. Why? They rocked huge and the soundstage was and still is the best I've heard to date. Great for rock music and video concert. I truly loved them. Are there better, of course, but not for under $1500.00. 

Hamr,
         I am glad to hear that Shahinian is still around after the passing of the father.  I have had the Obelisk and the Diapason in the past and still think about getting them again sometime.
Do you know if they will be introducing new products or just continue on with the current line up? Your list of speakers in your past is very impressive. I have a number of them including the Apogee Scintillas, Quad ESL, Acoustats, Tympani etc. What do you power the Diapasons with?  I remember Richard used to talk about the Bedini and then the older Plinius Sa 100. Most of their sales recently seemed to go away from North America (maybe most of the high end shares this.)
All the best,
Bob

My previous post should have said that I have had in the past a number of the same speakers.

Never heard of Shahinian, so did a quick search. Holt and Atkinson totally butchered them in Stereophile. Holt did insist they sounded good when he heard them at shows. But couldn't stand them at home in their systems. And not for lack of trying either. 

Gordon says above that he knows these speakers can sound much better than they did in his home. I'm not so sure. Despite their clean sonic quality, I think their tonal balance is idiosyncratic enough that playing around with room placement and ancillary equipment just won't make a difference large enough for them to merit a recommendation.
Read more at https://www.stereophile.com/content/shahinian-diapason-loudspeaker-system-ja-takes-listen#TqrthcOUZh...

??

Bob: I  drive them with a pair of Mcintosh 501's and they work great together. They really are the best all around speaker that I have had and not just on large scale classical as I listen to a wide variety of music. I also have the Obelisk 2 and the ARC 2 which I enjoy and could live with, but the Diapasons are in another league. As for the Stereophile review who knows? I don't know what went wrong there and I do know that the latest Diapason modules contain different drivers. I would be guessing as to what went wrong. All I can say is they are fantasic here!

There is no de facto 'BEST' speakers, but I could share the top 3 speakers that I hold onto the longest:

Kharma CRM 3.2 FE <still owning>
Wilson 3/2 (upgraded drivers and crossovers) <still owning>
Vienna Acoustics Mahler