10 BEST Loudspeakers of ALL TIME

Gotta love that orange grill on the JBL L100

It seems like these vintage reviewers have a blind spot for Polk Audio. The sound of 10b and bigger are literally magical.

I guess you’re too young to remember the speaker(s) that started the hifi craze in the 70’s, but it was Advent, and the genius of Henry L. Kloss, that finally made this stuff affordable to the masses. Those speakers spread like wildfire.

I don't think you "know" Polk Audio, Bose? 😂 ....ahhh the review was going so well. "Bose"?!? 😢 My old Polk A4's (6.5, 2 way) and my 8 inch, dual cone 150 watt Polk sub would change your mind over anything Bose has ever made. In 1980 I worked for the Parallax speaker company. I was young and dumb and tried to jump on the Bose bandwagon and an electrical technician at Parallax told me if I wanted a large speaker "image" out of a small speaker. To compare Polk to Bose. Polk blew Bose away with the lower bass Hz rating. And much better high end 22k Hz, I understand this is all subjective. 😞 I miss those old shops with the sound rooms. I lived in them too lol I just wish someone directed you to Polk over Bose back then. Plus, Polk has been selling higher quality for much less money for even longer than the over priced and hyped Bose "anything". Thanks for all you do. I now have a 5.1 system, Polk signature series and am extremely pleased, and especially the $ over anything mentioned. By thousands of $

Nice to see Klipsch on list had a pair lascalla from the 70s recently sold almost 50 years later for same price bought for. Amazing loud speakers in my 60 plus years nothing has come close .

Interesting about the diversity of the responses. My off the wall story is about an Audio show in Los Angels I went to back in the mid 1970's. Jonas Miller of Beverly Hills Audio (later to become M&K Sound) had a booth showcasing Audio Research, Infinity, several other High-End products and of all things GTE Sylvania speakers & a receiver. He did side-by-side comparisons of the GTE (12 inch 3-way bookshelf that had a dome mid and tweeter) speaker and the new Infinity Servo Static. Amazing the $300 GTE kept up with the several thousand $$ infinity except for super low bass. Jonas said the GTE engineers got into stereo for fun with the blessing of management and used the extensive lab and wallet of GTE to build something that really performed for cheep.

B&O, BOSE? OMG

Great list and nice to add all categories in price. Tank you

Would disagree on a few points regarding the top end, dynamics and efficiency. Really these speakers respond to a front end upgrade.... playing vinyl through my LP12 and a Nait 1....top end is most definitely not lacking in detail and clarity...again dynamics are helped by an amp that promotes this aspect.... efficiency, well.... the Nait isn't particularly powerful but goes way loud enough with the Oberon 1s.... happy days :⁠-⁠)

My favorite Bose story was from college. A friend was going on about how fabulous the 901s were and how loud they were. He said, "you couldn't blow out those speakers". When another friend who was built like Arnold Schwarzenegger but also one of the smartest person I've ever met in my entire life said - "I could blow them out". He was serious - turns out he was a SERIOUS audiophile. I was unfortunate enough to get a Honda (great car) with a bose audio system. Clearly the finest sounding dixie cups money could buy.

Klipsch to me is one of the most tedious and strenuous speakers ever. Sounds to me hissy and horny.

I have the Magnepan 1.6 QR. I hear it is very cheap build and easy to upgrade the same speaker. The crossover should be porely build and so on. I wonder what I can expect.

Good morning Andrew. I realize this video is 4 years old, but I'm glad I stumbled across it. For some background, I am 67 years old. In 1975, I stumbled into The Stereo Shoppe in East Lansing Michigan. I was a freshman at MSU, and this was my first foray into a true audiophile electronics retail outlet. Where you and your buddy had your aha moment with the Sophia's, mine was with the Klipschorns! I don't remember the model number, but it was the big 4 ft by 4 ft speaker. They absolutely filled the room with heavenly sound! They were my bucket list speakers for many years, but I was never able to afford them. And never had a room big enough!

Then one day, I walked into my local ABC Warehouse, and heard my first......Bose Acoustimas Surround Sound set up! I bought them, and have never looked back! Between the speaker system, and concerts on DVD, I have become a snob! CD's? In stereo? Pshaw!!! Lol

Infinity IRS Reference Standard - my favourite of all times

Wharfedale Linton

Many years ago when I had a full B&o audio system Cello spoiled it for me. After I heard a complete Cello full system with the Stradivari Grand Master Loudspeakers, the Cello Performance Amplifier II Monoblocks and with the Cello Audio Palette EQ Preamp I could not even turn on the B&o system. They just sounded worlds apart. Today after I owned many different speakers, listened to many more in audio shows and even designed my own, I just can`t get passed the The Radialstrahler MBL 101 X-Treme. I never in my life heard anything like that. It is just superb. I understand the price is prohibitive for me and most audio aficionados but, if you have the chance to listen to the full MBL system it just like something out of this world. Incomparable to almost anything on the market. From the list of speakers you provided you sound a bit "biased" on the exciting "American sound" (I am not saying I do not like it. I owned the L100 and even owned a pair of the 4350's) but you need to listen to the MBLs. They are just on a different level.
Great video btw.

K horns

Well ya missed a bunch. The following: ADS, Thiel, Van Der Stein, Ohm, Allison, Acoustat, Snell. Mission, PSB, M&K. But you're young.

First of all, peace be upon you. Do the best ten speakers depend on the quality of the amplifier and the cables connected between the speaker and the amplifier? In my opinion, the best speakers are Banjo & Olefson. They are the best ever for a simple reason: the compatibility between the speakers of this company and the amplifiers of the same company, Banjo & Olefson. You feel that the sound is very pure and without impurities and without echo. We mean distant and distant frequencies. The sound is comfortable and wonderful, not disturbing or annoying. A sound coming from angels. Very, very comfortable. Much better than a live concert or a studio! My warm greetings and more such programs and interesting explanations for lovers of wonderful sounds.

That JBL with the waffle foam front is one of my very favorites

Cool, I was in Cherry Creek (Denver) in 1995. I bought my first speakers in Golden that year at some Hifi store. I bought B&W CDM SEs and an old Velodyne sub. (Wasn't old then). I still have all those speakers.

My favorite speakers are the Bose 901 series lV with a Kenwood Amplifier. WOW what sound and clarity no matter the volume setting.

I still have Bose acoustimas fives as my rear speakers in a 5.1 for the last 20 years they’re discrete and I would not replace them with anything…. I have the means and the money to do so but won’t.

No Quad ESL 57 or 63 or 2912? No OHM F ?No Rogers LS3/5a or Dynaco VW 25s?

McIntosh lacalal or Hershey hands down the best from the late sevendies

Subjectively as always.

How about tannoy dual concentrics I’ve had three pairs brilliant speakers

no pics... and even worse, where are the Cerwin Vega AT-15s, with the pink sub surrounds?! i had those.

Yeah, you should get some close-ups and Hi-Rez circular vid of the units while you’re speaking about em.

Other than that nice video and what is your take on this Focal series? All I did was buy some car drivers and wow, with One of the last greatest, alpine units and alpine amps, these drivers were epic.

Just wondering if you’ve seen any of their speakers and your take on them.

1991 I was working at Circuit City and they had a contest for the AM5’s I got so close to a free unit from my sales, but never achieved the goal.

Apogee caliper B&W 802 s2 kef 107 vandersteen 3ci Mirage M5 are my favorites that I've owned. Of course with any speaker the synergy with the amp can make or break the evaluation.

JBL✅Wilson Audio Watt Puppy is missing, Piega 411 Coax and the Fyne Audio 1.5 is missing and the rest is not my sound

It is the list of loudspeakers that have impressed you once in your livetime.
E.g. the bose ones are crap compared in sound quality to the klipsch or b&w 802.

It was a very good description of those 10 "BEST" I liked especially your discussion of Bose.. The reason being In India English music is not played 24 hrs ,, 1972 one night on Bombay "Mumbai" Radio I happened to listen to "Come September " and that's it. I could not forget the Grundig Radio gram at my uncles place. I became fan of English Music, Then later years Western and Indian Classical.. on Better speakers,,, Year 2000 I bought Bose in USA.. Later on I opened my own audio Recording Studio..

B& W 804s

First Statement ESL Martin Logan.

Where is speaker?

where da nautilus?

Loved going down memory lane, Only one that I would have included was the Advent, which I had in college and for most of my life. I now enjoy the Magneplanar 1.7i.

Great list and for good reasons. I own the Maggies, Paradigms, and a pair of Tektons. My dad had the La Scala's and a buddy had the Bose. I'm not in the economic group to own the B&W's or Wilson's.

Thank you so much for making this video homie! I really appreciate it

Ok but when you’re doing a video of what you’re favorite speakers are don’t you think that it would be a good idea to show more of the speakers for a millisecond than 90% of the video showing you?

The best LOUD speakers are used in live sound applications.. Most are pretty cheap with no big deal crossovers.. I prefer Class H amplification with a LOUD-speaker that is designed for LIVE SOUND! IN YOUR HOME! My sound system does not have to have an artsy, fartsy, look to compliment my love seat!

Don't like the Bose.
The Klipsch Cornwall's however!

I have the lifestyle 12 system in my living room and have had it for twenty years and still amazed at its sound watching movies or playing music

Had the Bose Acoustimas speaker system you spoke of and loved it . Jurassic park was amazing through it . Years before I had the ESS studio monitors with the Heil air motion transformers . Sound came at me from everywhere . Very Spatial sounding with a Marantz 2335B . Friend had a quad system of Bose 901’s 😊.

Electro Voice make the best speakers , and they will always be the best for live performances to theatre and even home use , I built my speakers from plans from Electrovoice , the very old Aristocrat enclosure driver i use is the EV 12 TRXB from 1955 and they play and sound very life like , with the T35 tweeter on each speaker they sound amazing :-)

Андрей Русь and JBL

Yes is true about this 10 best speaker because i have B&W :)) . Is best of best ;)

I’m Canadian and have owned a lot of different models of Paradigm speakers they always are over built and sound great . I also just purchased a pair of Magnipan LRS plus speakers different but amazing sound.