Speakers to hang on to for LIFE

The pair I wish I'd never sold was a pair I'd built myself. It was a Klipschorn-copy design. A co-worker in Seattle had built the woofer section from plans, pretty solidly. I U-Haul'ed them back to Tucson at the end of the summer of '77, and got Electro-Voice tweeters and mid-range drivers for the wide, fiberglass "squawkers" as Paul Klipsch would call them, made a crossover (6/12), winding the huge coils myself. After tripping the protection circuit on my friend's 60 watt Kenmore, the gal from downstairs came to check on us because "It sounded like the stove fell over!" I even got them to look presentable in a rustic way, with thick, bold-grained, dark-stained paneling, and white burlap grill clothes for the top and sides.

A couple years later my friend bought them from me, and got two GAS Grandson amps (80 watts @ 4 Ohms), and I made passive cross-overs for bi-amping them, retaining the speaker crossovers too. The windows at his house sort of served as audible VU meters, buzzing along with the VU meters on the amps! In the living room it was downright adrenaline producing, crazy, thumping, loudest-rock-concert-you'd-ever-been-to loud, maybe 120 dB? And crystal clear, too (well, aside from the windows... ;)

As I said, crazy, but also impossible to get with, say, Quads.

Now that I am settled down, I wish I still had them. My friend still has the amps, but lent the speakers to another for safekeeping, but lost track of him over time...

There are a bunch of vintage bicycle fans who call themselves the Retro Grouches of North America. I side with Stereophile contributor Art Dudley, whom I will cautiously label a kindred soul in the world of stereo fans.

He maintains there are many aspects of performance reproduction that you may prioritize according to your own tastes, and that very different approaches and results can be equally valid, and satisfying in different ways, with different recordings, genres, rooms.

Including some decidedly old techniques and equipment, which in my opinion put the challenge to the assertion that there is one true sound, and that the best of the newer speakers will necessarily allow one to get closer to it.

I find Art's tastes to be eclectic, with many remarkably similar to my own. He just got some old Altec Valencias to contrast with his Quads, and maintains that each represent equally valid and effective, but vastly different, approaches to musical enjoyment.

Elders can be keepers. Hooray Art!

PIONEER/TAD S3-EX AND MARTIN LOGANS

I'm with Simao, above. I don't know that my Reference 3A De Capo i/A's (which I recently upgraded with the new, Beryllium tweeter) are my forever speakers but they're awfully good and I'm happier with them than with any of the many other speakers I've owned. A classic design, and with good reason!

I am the original owner a pair of very early appogee full range speakers.their dimensions are 801/2"x35"x4"
serial no. is 1115 purchased new in 1985. I replaced the factory x-overs with a levinson Lnc-2 with the correct modules and slope.I run the bass panels direct ( bypass the impedance matching transformers )but I use the normal inputs for the mids and high ribbons.. I use a pair of 1985 levinson ML-3's ( one ML-3 for each side).I find that these speakers are really difficult to space properly but when they lock in the sound and image are easy to live with. They have gone back to have the ribbons replaced and the internal wire was also upgraded after hurricane Andrew did some damage to the ribbons.I built custom wood cases to transport the speakers. they each weigh 300 lbs.with the interface box.
The ML-3's are placed directly behind each speaker using cables that are less that a foot long.
I have used this arrangement for 38 years and I have had no issued with the speakers or the electronics. I will keep this set up as long as it continues to serve me so well.
I have moved to a different home 3 times during that period
and each time I took apart the speakers and packaged them up in the wooden crates. I was very careful and had no problems with each move.Each speaker still looks like new!