Maybe you should ask Tvad how many speakers he has owned and also auditioned but not kept....
Finsup (Answers)
That's fair.
1) Aerial Acoustics 7B - Bought them as my first foray into high end audio after reading Stereophile's Recommended Components list, and hearing them at a local dealership. Once I got them home, I hated them. I learned quickly to ignore Stereophile's Recommended Components list. They were sold within six months.
2) VonSchweikert VR4 Gen III HSE - Bought them on the recommendation of member "Lrsky". I loved them. Owned them for about three years until my employment situation got a little tight, and I sold the entire system to buy something less costly.
3) LSA Group LSA1 Standard - Auditioned them for a couple of weeks while I owned the VR4 Gen III HSE speakers. Liked them. Appreciated them for what they were, but ultimately favored the VR4 Gen III HSE.
4) Ohm Walsh 200 MK II with the latest Walsh drivers - Had a bad experience with Ohm. Long production delay, poor workmanship, and ultimately a blown Walsh driver within the first 30 minutes of playing them. I returned them for a refund.
5) Castle Howard S2 - Loved these speakers driven by a Leben CS600. Had some issues with these drivers as well, and returned them for a refund after personally replacing three bad drivers. It was a discontinued model, and the speakers although "new" were many years old. An unfortunate experience with a speaker I liked.
6) Silverline Sonata III - Bought these after extensive research and on the advice of an audiophile whose tastes I respect. The speakers were excellent once I found amplification that drove them to my satisfaction. Owned them for about two years until I decided they had a couple niggling sonic issues that I could not ameliorate with set-up, electronics, or cabling.
7) Audio Note AN-E SPe HE - Bought these when I made a decision to go to a higher sensitivity speaker that could be driven by low powered tube amplification. I heard them at several audio shows, and spent a good amount of time listening to them at RMAF 2009. They are my favorite speakers to date. I loved the VR4 Gen III HSE, but I love the Audio Note speakers more. They fit my room better from a sonic perspective. They "disappear", and they create a wide and large stereo image that goes wall-to-wall. My journey with them is still in progress as I zero in on my preferred amplification.
That's the 7 year journey.
