I was trying to remember my earlier speakers recently so decided to list them - not for this thread but just for my own reference. The descriptions are a little exhaustive I'm afraid, but here it is:
My Speaker History
Home built
Concrete Column speaker with 10" upwards-facing full-range driver (mono) inspired by Gilbert Briggs' description in his 1962 "Cabinet Handbook"
Home built
Wharfedale Airedale speakers, prompted by Gilbert Briggs' comment in his Cabinet Handbook "Probably difficult or impossible to make at home, we are including drawings as they may be helpful in more remote corners of the earth". I was living in London, but accepted the challenge. 15Ω, 15", 8" and 3" drivers in 4.5 cu ft 6-sided enclosures.
Same
Airedale enclosures but modified with KEF drivers – 8Ω, B139 "racetrack" bass, B110 and T27 drivers, now all facing forward. Greatly improved stereo imaging
Acoustic Research AR-1. 4Ω, 12” driver with 8” tweeter! The original 1954 Acoustic Research speaker that was similar in size to subsequent and far more successful 3-way AR3 and AR3A models. I found this single speaker at a London furniture auction sale.
Westrex 2326A studio monitors c1961 16Ω with 15" bass and pressure dome tweeter. Very rare - bought after placing a Wanted ad in local paper in the Under £20 section. Pretty good buy for £20!
Acoustic Research Teledyne AR94. 6Ω 87dB, Twin 8” bass drivers. Rather disappointing sound-wise, but they looked rather good at the time.
KEF Reference 107 speakers. 4Ω 90dB, Twin 10" bass drivers totally enclosed within the body of the speaker, plus swivelling head with B110 and T33 drivers and CUBE. Great speakers from 1986, rarely seen in UK
ATC Active 50 speakers, bought ex-demo (or refurb) rom ATC. 15Ω, 9" bass, ATC mid and Vifa tweeter. Didn't like these speakers much - I wanted to push them 20 ft further away!
Avantgarde Uno horn speakers. 8Ω 101dB, Twin 10" self-powered bass, plus mid and top horns. Bought after disappointment of ATCs and reading Stereophile's rave review and award of Best Speaker of the Year. Great speakers. kept for 17 years.
QUAD 2905 full-range electrostatics with transformer mods to 2912 spec. 8Ω nominal 86dB. Bought used for experiment with electrostatics as not intended to keep. Sounded surprisingly good, even in my difficult room. Inspired next purchase -
Martin Logan Expression 13A electrostatics. 4Ω or less 91dB, Twin 10" bass, plus large electrostatic panel. After reading great reviews and convincing showroom demo, I bought these new, only to find out that they were not at all happy in my room.
Avantgarde Duo (2006 vintage) horns bought used at a bargain price in 2020. 8Ω 104dB, Same SUB225 bass as Unos but improved horn sections. Bought after the disappointment of the MLs. I modified the support system to improve appearance. Still have these great speakers
Avantgarde Duo XD horn speakers bought new in 2020. 18Ω 107dB, Twin 12" bass with built-in amps and room correction DSP, plus mid and top horns. My current speakers - again with modifications to improve appearance. Fantastic speakers if lifelike sound is wanted.