Magnepan

Tympani

MG-1 (the back was not normally exposed like this)

The brainchild of Jim Winey, panel speakers that are not electrostatic, but have many similarities.The company still flourishes today.

Famous for their three panel Tympani series in the '80s, the only ones I owned were the MG-1 Improved. Liked these a lot, but of course they needed a sub.

   Their SMG was a fantastic value for $500., and quite a few pairs of these still exist today.

Dahlquist

These had me more excited than just about any other speaker when I was in my mid 20's. Think I owned the DQ-10's off and again about four times. Even had two pair stacked once (not an easy feat).

A top seller at JB, I loved these. Jon Dahlquist was an aerospace engineer for NASA, and his hobby was loudspeakers.The DQ-10 earned several patents, minimal diffraction, time alignment, phased array, what have you. Several modifications came along for these, mine were always stock.

  These speakers actually inspired Saul Marantz to come out of retirement and represent the company.


 Horrendous Motorola Piezo on the top registers that people blamed for being too bright. It was actually the regular tweeter that was screaming. Philips midrange and Advent woofer, these resulted in a very distinct sound.

 Extremely power hungry, you needed at least 200 watts to do them justice.Think I used a Dynaco Stereo 400.  The DQ-1W was one of the first commercially successful subwoofers to come along, also used by many with Magnepans.  I used M&K subs (2) along with the DQ-LP1 Dahlquist electronic crossover.


     Dahlquist also introduced a monitor series, DQM-7 and 9, using German made Magnat drivers. Sort of a refined JBL, I still have a pair of DQM-9 compacts.

Altecs

Altec Valencia B's

Basically a Voice of the Theatre in a more domestic enclosure. Real walnut veneer, 15" two way horn system. Still use these on a regular basis. Still sound like live music. Add an Apt supertweeter for an extra "sparkle". Got these for a song about a dozen years ago. Worth substantialy more today, especially sold as individual drivers .Work great with my recently acquired McIntosh MC-275 MKV.

Klipsch

Klipsch LaScala

Screaming,slapping loud, and a whole lot of fun! Folded horn design negates a small room, but in the right context these are awesome! Don't even attempt to use these with anything but tubes! Limited low bass for a huge speaker, but for an outdoor block party these will please!

Klipsch Heresys

Had three or four pairs of these  over the years, my current pair is from 1974. Alnico magnets,no longer used as it is a precious metal.

Cool thing about Klipsch, they all used the same tweeters (the excellent Electrovoice T-35) and mid range (squawker) drivers (Atlas), the only differences as you moved up the Klipsch line were cabinets, the size of the horns, and the woofers.

The mighty Klipschorns are still something I covet today. Sold many pairs in the $2-3000. range in the mid- 80's, a used pair is still worth that today. Amazingly efficient, you could power them with a table radio.They have to go in corners, so many rooms are limited in their ability to use them.

Rogers JR149 / LS3/5A

 Sold locally by Paul Heath in the '70s, the same driver compliment as the Rogers LS3/5A. The JR stood for  Jim Rogers was the brainchild behind the mini BBC monitor below, and this has the same driver compliment- Kef B110 woofer, T27 tweeter, but in an aluminum cylidrical enclosure and more efficient crossover.  The wraparound foam grills deteriorated, otherwise these were basically made to last forever.I still have mine, and will probably replace the grills someday.

Rogers LS3/5A

Several incarnations of this have appeared over the years, the officially licensed BBC monitor.

Chartwell was another well known company at the time that manufactured these along with Rogers. Basically wanted a minimum of 20 watts and a maximum of 20 watts! Mine were the original 15 ohm version. Sold them to a guy in China almost 30 years ago, of course they are worth almost three times as much today!

 Still have a pair of LS2's, more efficient but not quite so esoteric.

B&W

Had several pairs of B&Ws over the years. These were some of many- never kept any more than a few months. Worksmanship always first rate, sound semi spectacular. 802 Matrix Series III at the bottom were probably the best, actually liked them.

Merlin VSM

Merlin VSM Millenium

Bobby Palkovich is a smart dude, a few miles south of me in Hemlock. Best sounding tweeters I have ever known, integrated well with the woofers. Not cheap, five figure price tag. Got rid of these A- because my room is too big , B- because I was scared of having to replace the tweeters ($500. a copy!), and C- because an out of state guy was willing to pay too much for them. Really respected these........