What is the worst speaker you've ever heard?

[Moonhead]

Actives from a small english vendor that are no more sadly,
they are named AVI and to me not that far from KH120 with a slight bass boost.

 

[Doodski]

Actives from a small english vendor that are no more sadly,
they are named AVI and to me not that far from KH120 with a slight bass boost.

This is what I was able to glean via googling. The others where passives.

 

[Rednaxela]

Actives from a small english vendor that are no more sadly,
they are named AVI and to me not that far from KH120 with a slight bass boost.

This is not a reply to the thread title is it?

 

[Moonhead]

Exactly just the bigger brother DM12 with a ring dome tweeter from SB.

off topic, sorry... over&out!

 

[Vacceo]

The shop I worked at sold Dynaudio, B&W, PMC, McIntosh, and for a short time Anthony Gallo speakers. I hated the Gallo speakers, followed closely by whatever McIntosh speaker that was forced on us by the distributor. I never bought any speakers there, even though I could get them for employee discount.

Out of curiosity, what is your take on MC's electronics?

 

[Doodski]

This is not a reply to the thread title is it?

Prolly not although I'm really interested in what active speaker was so good.

 

[Doodski]

Exactly just the bigger brother DM12 with a ring dome tweeter from SB.

off topic, sorry... over&out!

So you're saying that at average mid to low listening levels the AVI DM12 beats a JBL 250Ti?

AVI DM 12

The DM12 represents probably the ultimate in 2-way active loudspeaker design, the all new design cabinet features a rear acoustic wall that separates the drive units from the electronics. The acoustic volume is greater than that of the DM10 and gives a mo

www.promusicals.com

 

[Sokel]

Here is a response measure of Auratones.

View attachment 230573

That response should be included in the UN torture list and be severely punished.

 

[restorer-john]

The Auratones were/are a tool for the sound engineer to get a feel as to how the mix sounds on a portable radio.
They are not intended as a monitor to mix on, just to check how a mix could sound on c

What are the 3 manufacturers stacked on the top of the right shelf? (Interesting to see who gets it.)

Accuphase mactintosh and Luxman

I have an MO-3 here…

 

[NiagaraPete]

I don't know if they are the worst speakers, but the worst listening experience I've had is with Magnepan's.

 

[Doodski]

Accuphase mactintosh and Luxman

I have an MO-3 here…

Haha. I figured you'de be all over this question. I looked and it took a few turns of the mind's hard drive to get them but I got them too. I was looking at a M-O6 the other day. I had never seen that one before. Dual heat pipes as was also shown the other day here at ASR in a Technics SU-V303. One of the peeps here is considering heat pipes for a amp design or some such idea. That pic looks like somebody's rec room or a dealer's used room.

Luxman M-06 on thevintageknob.org

vintage high-end Luxman Class A power-amplifier with Heat-Pipe and toroidal transformer : the bigger L-570

www.thevintageknob.org

 

[QuadMod]

Linn is a cult. Several years ago a label owner insisted I mix an album on a set of Tukan’s. I then insisted he remove my name from the credits.

I guess it didn't spill over into the records division because the first two Blue Nile records are some of my favorite productions. Or maybe it wasn't so bad at one time.

On topic, there was some oddball half-active speakers an Infinity rep demo'd for our store years ago. IIRC the tweeters had an internal amp but not the woofers. No, I don't get it either. They were the brightest, sizzliest set of speakers I'd ever heard. Absolutely brutal, and not cheap (2k or so).

Honorable mention to B&O's entire range

 

[restorer-john]

I was looking at a M-O6 the other day. I had never seen that one before. Dual heat pipes as was also shown the other day here at ASR in a Technics SU-V303. One of the peeps here is considering heat pipes for a amp design or some such idea.

Heat pipes were all the rage in the 80s in power amps. I have several in Lux, Akai, even Sony used some. They seem to be pretty reliable all things considered, but give me big extruded aluminium anyday.

 

[Doodski]

Heat pipes were all the rage in the 80s in power amps. I have several in Lux, Akai, even Sony used some. They seem to be pretty reliable all things considered, but give me big extruded aluminium anyday.

I have not seen a failed heat pipe. Never. I have seen failed heatsinks where the threads strip or come loose and stuff gets hairy. So it would be cool to see that implemented in class D to make a super class D or whatever it was called today by AudioHolics.

 

[Doodski]

ADD ON. Super Class D is when the output is linear to 2 ohms or so...

 

[jhaider]

Limiting to speakers with “audiophile” reputation:

1) Lowthers in back-horns, big front round horns, or simple vented cabinets. Just terrible, terrible. Nothing good about any of them at all.

2) Wilson WATT/Puppy - the last one with Focal tweeter, ScanSpeak 8545, and Dynaudio woofers. The midrange was simultaneously dark and bright, while the bass tuning was all upper bass and nothing below.

3) Avantgarde Trio. I don’t think my spatial hearing acuity is elite by any means. However, I’d heard these in a couple rooms at what was allegedly adequate listening distance, and very time sounds localized to the the various drive units by frequency. Also yucky bass tuning.

4) Vandersteen Treo or something like that. Really bad, and really obvious, lower midrange cabinet resonance that colored everything. I thought it was just a broken speaker pair until I later saw a Stereophile review showing what I thought I heard.

 

[MattHooper]

I get why some wouldn't like Lowther-based speakers. I've never heard one I felt I could live with. Usually too light-in-the-loafers and a tad rough in the highs.

But I do enjoy listening sessions with the Lowthers I've heard - there's a sort of directness that compliments certain stuff (e.g. acoustic guitar).

 

[restorer-john]

However, I’d heard these in a couple rooms at what was allegedly adequate listening distance, and very time sounds localized to the the various drive units by frequency.

And that is key with big speakers/drivers and steep slope X/overs. Adequate distance from the speakers to get that cohesive presentation. Dealers' speaker rooms pretty much all had that problem back in the day- the further up the range you went the more disjointed the speakers sounded due to the compact sound rooms.

Wanna sell giant-killer bookshelfs? Put them in a smallish room alongside large/expensive floorstanders.

 

[ThatM1key]

Worst Bass: KLH 911B. 8 Inch woofers that didn't go down past 50hz. My Realistic Minimus 7's can go down about 45 Hz (Max Bass Knob) and there half the woofer size.

Worst Midrange: Klipsch One II. Too much midrange that made you forget bass and treble was a thing.

Worst Treble: DCM 6. Sounded like somebody was covering the tweeter.

Bonus - Disappointing Bluetooth Speaker: Aiwa Exos-9. The Aiwa Exos-9 has a bigger woofer then my Doss SoundBox XL, but the Aiwa didn't go any deeper then the Doss. So the Aiwa is just a louder version of the Doss, which is just sad. I didn't get to hear the JBL Boombox 2 but I bet its a lot better then the Aiwa. If this speaker was actually good, they would be still making these.

 

[Spkrdctr]

The hideous Jbl L250, french JMR Trente and everything Cerwin Vega.
Never had the pleasure of listening to a Good passive speaker when I Think about it.

Not the Cerwin Vega! That's a good party speaker.