Audiophiles! Are you ready to buy your last speaker?

The Western Electric speaker I was trying to name was the Western Electric 757A, it was designed as a monitor speaker for radio stations and recording studios in the late 1940s. It was never produced in large quantities, so few prime specimens survive today, and the status of the design among the cognoscenti is legendary. Since

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#audiophile #bestspeakers

[jeffrichards]

Every piece of Hi-Fi equipment I buy is my last. At least that's what I tell my wife. .

[chuckgillespie]

I’m done swapping speakers....doesn’t matter which brand or style - Just wanna focus on music - Chasing sound has ruined my enjoyment of music - Best speakers ever?....The ones you have!

[ronbork]

My last speakers will be the pair I have when I die.

[steves]

My last speaker is my first, Dynaco A25’s that I bought in the early 1970’s. I think my hearing and these speakers have deteriorated at the same rate. We’ve grown old together.

[ecamormex]

Should I buy one that’s big enough to serve as my casket when the time comes?

[jimfitting]

I purchased a pair of JBL L100's in 1972 for a bit over $500.00 when I was 18 years old. I really wanted the L200's but they were out of my reach price wise. That was a lot of money for me at the time but I was beginning to find out what audiophiles are. I went to a stereo store in Seattle a number of years later and heard Klipschorn speakers for the first time. They were very expensive and the salesperson (snooty guy) reluctantly let me hear them and played Paul Simon's "Loved me like a rock" and Closing my eyes, I could see Paul on stage and with the band it sounded so live. Some time later I went to an electronics convention with my college industrial electronics class and met Pat Snyder (Founder of Speaker Lab) and talked to him for a long time as he was very fun to talk to and I remember him telling me that when he built his first corner horn he was listening to a recording with male vocals (wish I could remember who) and he said "I wanted to get a can opener and let him out". I bought some plans for the SpeakerLab K, I think for $10.00 and some marine grade plywood and proceeded to build them using my Dad's garage and table saw. Quite challenging considering I had never built anything before other than a fence. It took me a couple of months to finish the bass horn and I used a 400 millihenry inductor and 4000uf capacitor to keep my L100's from seeing anything below 400 cycles. As I could afford the real drivers and crossovers I purchased them from SpeakerLab. I opted for the better tweeters and midrange drivers and they were referred to as the super K's. I have heard many awesome sounding speakers in my 65 years and some sound as or almost as good as mine, but none better. In my opinion. Must add The opinion part because everyone has one. I have a Carver TFM 55X for power and Carver C2 preamp. The L100's I use for rear surround and a JBL Professional series 8340 cinema speaker with a mono bridged 300w Carver TFM 15cb amp and Carver C2 preamp. Hope I didn't bore anyone. I love audio! Jim Fitting, Sequim Washington

[MrCraptakular]

Harbeth speakers are built in the town I live in (UK), KEF in the next county across, ATC are build near my parents. So many great UK speakers

[orwhat]

As I think you are pointing out, there are plenty of candidates for last speaker.

I think the bigger problem is the”last” room. These rooms are so critical and such a

I’m trying to find that house with a room that’s just right for speakers.

[MrDGPhoto]

B&W 801 I've had for over 25 year. Still happy. M&K 5000 Sub-woofer since I watch a lot of movies too, also about 25 years old. If I'm in a thrift shop & see old speaker I get tempted now & then.

[odizcvw]

I just finished my 'last' speaker. I built them. Like all things I DIY, they can be upgraded vs replaced. So they easily can be the last speaker. They are open baffle. An improved version of the Lampizator P17 aka Fikus Electric. They have a vintage 10" full range coaxial by Coral with Alnico magnets in a small 12" baffle. The 18" pro driver sits in a open backed box to fill in mid bass from 120Hz down to about 40Hz. The baffles are solid 1.5" black walnut finished with 5 layers of tung oil. Beautiful!


They have strong dynamics and clarity with tons of weight from the 18". If I want to improve them, I can replace the full range with some exotic German full range with modern technology. But it is unlikely I will change them as they are a labor of love and meet my needs for natural dynamic sound with the kind of effortless presence that only comes with very large drivers.


They cost me about $3k in parts and a couple of months of work. If I purchased them from a commercial manufacturer they would have to charge $30k.


They need careful placement in a large room. So not for everyone. But for value and sound satisfaction they are MY 'last speakers'.

[TNPFan]

My last speakers will be Wilson Audio because my wife will kill me for spending that much money. Might actually be worth the purchase! 😇

[henryrogers]

Great video! I bought my “last” speakers in the mid 1980s. I’ve purchased vinyl LPs since 1965. I’m 65 years old. Now back to my “last” speakers. They were a very cheap set of stereo 3-way speakers in large boxes. They contained a 12” woofer, a paper midrange and a paper tweeter. Not long after my purchase, I blew the woofers. So around 1987, I decided to take them to an audio/electronics store and one of the staff there also moonlighted building audio systems for Lamborghini automobiles, etc. He custom-built my speakers for me, completely gutting my speakers and only using the box and grill covers. He ported the backs and I hand-picked my parts. All new wiring, crossovers, resistors, capacitors, egg-crate foam insulation, Pioneer 12” woofers, Dynaudio fluid-cooled dome midranges and tweeters. Today, they would retail for about $3000. Although, back then, I paid much less to have them rebuilt from the ground up. They weigh a ton and they sound fantastic! I am so happy I made the decision to do that. A couple of days ago, I upgraded my turntable to the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo. I also purchased the u-turn Audio phono preamp for it. Can’t wait to hook it up!!

[joeycain]

I bought a pair of B&W Matrix 802.3 with North Creek Crossovers, used, in the mid 1990s and have never heard any speaker since at any audio show or show room that I felt was worth trading them in for. I've upgraded and changed everything else, which has made them only sound more wonderful. We will continue to grow old together.

[sambalsamurai]

Replace the word _"speaker"_ with _"woman"_ to get a better sense of how big a commitment this is, for audiophiles.

[gboates]

Those Tannoys! Heard those near field in the 70’s and my chest is just recovering now! Visceral.

[birgerolofsson]

I'm almost 49 years old & I've bought my last speakers and it became a pair of Elac FS 507 VX-JET with the belonging Elac CC 501 VX-JET center.

I also bought a pair of the small Elac BS403 for the surrondsound that I'll never exchange.
My sub, a KEF XQ60b, I MIGHT exchange in the future since it's already 10 yers old now but I'll use it as long as it's possible & the same with my rear-surround speakers, a pair of KEF XQ40

[ap]

My first ever high end speaker was the Proac Response 1S back in 1992. I upgraded several times over the years, but I enjoyed music the most on my Proacs. It's still my main speaker until today.

[alexstickney]

Already bought mine, a pair of B&W 802 Diamonds. Love the way look and sound. I also still own my first speakers, the JBL L40.

[michaelstimpson]

I loved him in curb your enthusiasm, I think he could introduce some extra characters into this series

[iamsabit]

Steve is high AF in this video, look at his eyes lol! Anyways, another great video Steve. Thank you sir!