What speakers have you owned ?

[wallace]

What were the Wilmslow LS3s like ? Did they go well with the NVA ?

I was using them with an old Sansui,can't remember the model no,plus a matching passive sub kit that Wilmslow sold to go with them.
They filled a big room and friends were amazed at the sound they made.Ended up in a small cottage,jammed into bookshelves filled with books,still sounded ok considering their size.Not a patch on my IPL transmission lines which i expect i will stay with .

[AshM750.]

I had a set of Wilmslow SM108 monitors for a while, they had big sound (no sub required) but they where to big for my livingroom. Gutted I had to get rid.

[wallace]

You can't keep them all,matey,need a very understanding wife for that,and a big spare room,or in your case a warehouse...

[istari_knight]

I was fortunate enough to have both Merlin & Sorcerer at the same time and compared them back to back.... All I can say is that if you like the Merlin, you'll love the Sorcerer !

I think they are identical aside from the steel lining & Joe added a little glued on cone phase plug [one fell off mine & it didn't sound any different so I think their only purpose was to visually differentiate between the two models.]

[AshM750.]

yes you are right wallace and very WISE. Is the warhouse for the wife to live or the speakers to live ?

[Yomanze]

There are advocates of the RR series but people it seems don't realise they were the sign of Joe compromising. The process of driver doping and matching was expensive and time consuming and only he knew how to do it. The RRs and the tie up with JPW was to get an easier life and make some money for a change. They don't have the musical magic of earlier Royds but are still very good.

They may be small but I think the best of the bunch is Merlins, best of luck in finding any though.

I think the RR3 does have parts of a speaker that Joe Ackroyd intended to pass on, namely a generically doped driver with a 1st order crossover on it, so the new guys didn't have to hand dope each one with a weird jig that only Joe knew how to use(?).

It also has parts of a speaker where he surpassed all of his previous thinking, and that is in his use of compound reflex loading to massively reduce the phase shift of the low frequencies. Once you've heard RR3s for enough time you start to notice how the bass seems to 'hit' you at the same time as everything else. It also has the usual Royd virtues of being exceptional tuneful, great timbre, not just lumps of 'bass reflex' guff - not that any of his speakers sounded like that though unless pushed too hard.

There is a great feeling of 'everything where it should be' with this speaker. They are also far more sophisticated in the treble than traditional Royds no doubt in part to a) using a higher quality tweeter and b) putting a 1st order crossover back on the it (he used 2nd order in latter-day speakers). They like ultra-wide positioning & still cast a thick soundstage in between the speakers.

They sound like a 'grown up' Royd speaker to me. A masterpiece in optimising a speaker for a UK living room. Fair enough they don't 'cut through the air' like classic Royds do, definitely a few seats back, but the RR3 is a Royd speaker through-and-through.

They need serious amps, 83db sensitivity is of course very low. I got the best results with my LFD PA2M (SE), if using NVA would definitely want to have A80s. Interestingly on Audiochews they are using 10W or 18W amps, but I suspect what RR3s really need is huge amounts of instantaneous current delivery rather than 'watts'.

[alfafan123]

A fairly modest list for a period of 42 years oh gawd is it that long?

IMF Compacts
IMF ALS40s
IMF Professional Monitors
Audiomaster LS3/5a
Pro-Ac tablettes
AVI Neutron
AVI Nu Neutron
AVI Neutron Vs
ATC SCM 7s
Rega R3
Rega RS3
Stirling Broadcast MS-88 (Rogers 60th Anniversary LS3/5a)

Confession time....I used the IMF Professional monitors in my 10 X 10 foot bedroom . How I lifted them up the stairs singlehanded goodness only knows. Talk about overpowering the room acoustic! Needless to say they didn't last long and the Audiomaster LS3/5as were much better suited to the room if a little academic and un-dynamic in their sound. I had them for 15 years and like a fool p/x'd them for the Pro-Acs. Apparently a chap flew in from Germany the next day to buy them from the dealer for some outrageous sum no doubt...oh well you learn from your mistakes.

I have a soft spot for the original IMF Compacts being my first speakers that my parents bought me for my 18th birthday so eager to hear them again once DSJR refurbishes his.

Always fancied some JBLs, must keep a look out for some on fleabay.


Chris

[Lindsayt]

Heybrook HB1 - decent budget speakers. No more. No less.

Kef Cresta 2 - bought for listening to music whilst decorating. They got nicked. Lucky me.

Eltax Monitor 2 - Bought to replace the Kefs. Bad sounding speakers. Avoid.

Linn Saras - OKish. Midrangey tonal balance. Sound shouty when trying to fill large rooms.

Linn Isobariks (DMS XLR connection) - more extended bass and treble than Saras. OK speakers, but could never get the bass how I wanted in my room. Either lean and clear or fuller and muddy. Nebulous imaging.

Bozak Symphonies - USP is the bass. Quantity and quality - although slightly compromised in bass extension. Some people will find them too smooth in the midrange. Unfatiguing. The equivalent of a session beer. Currently used in bedroom system.

EV Sentry III. Better (more open) midrange than the Bozaks. Worse bass. Currently used in AV system. Good speakers for gunshots on film soundtracks.

EV Patrician 800. Upper bass not as tight as the Bozaks. Deep chested, growly, grizzly bear speakers. More dynamic bass than the Bozaks. The midrange unit is the star of the show. Dragon breath soundstaging which some people won't like. Currently for downstairs system. My favourite speakers, but they were hugely expensive new and are hugely expensive 2nd hand now.

Sansui SP5500. Speakers that don't draw attention to themselves. Important to listen on axis with the midrange unit, which means sitting on the floor or raising them on stands. Currently used in Kitchen system.

[_D_S_J_R_]

A fairly modest list for a period of 42 years oh gawd is it that long?

IMF Professional Monitors

Confession time....I used the IMF Professional monitors in my 10 X 10 foot bedroom . How I lifted them up the stairs singlehanded goodness only knows. Talk about overpowering the room acoustic! Needless to say they didn't last long and the Audiomaster LS3/5as were much better suited to the room if a little academic and un-dynamic in their sound.
Chris

I only heard the big IMF's once at your place (weren't they white with union jacks on the top? - they were all formica clad as I recall) and overpowering they were not!!!!! Philips 212 (with XLM?), your home-made preamp and D-60 I seem to recall...

P.S. The speaker story never ends. I'll have to see in the summer how mine continues

[Macca]

Not so much a pissing contest as an exercise in memory...

In chronological order:

Fisher ST70 not bad for £30 new from Richer Sound
Studio Power MC2000 4 way metal cone. Some strengths but not good overall
Wharfedale CRS 3 - on my first really good sounding set up. £60 from Argos. Still rate these for a small speaker.
50 litre infinite baffle 2 way using Audax drivers. My own design! Didn't work....
JPW Mini Monitor - I know some like these but I thought, in every respect, that they were crap.
Mission 761LE - zzzzzzzzzzz
B&W 601 - for several years. A mixed bag
Celestion A2 - very good, need a big room and powerful amp though
JBL Control 1 - amazing for the money
Studio Spares Classic SN10 - used for the telly/DVD - 2 way I/b with 8 inch mid bass. I want to try some 'doc mods' on these at some point.
Akai SW 175
KEF Calinda

Still own the last 4 pairs. Using the Akai's as a daily driver, nothing on my list is remotely as good as them except the A2 which are a totally different animal.