Community ranking Β· 7 votes
The top vintage floorstanding speakers
Horns, electrostatics and studio monitors: the large speakers that collectors seek out and build rooms around.
Ranked by your votes, with the editors' rank alongside. One vote per model per day; arrows show today's moves.
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Specs table with voting
| Live | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Klipsch Klipschorn | 1946 | 3-way, fully horn-loaded | 15" | β | β | 1 vote | Listings β |
| 2 | 3 | JBL Paragon | 1957 | β | β | β | β | 1 vote | Listings β |
| 3 | 9 | Klipsch La Scala | β | 3-way, fully horn-loaded | 15" | β | β | 1 vote | Listings β |
| 4 | 11 | Klipsch Belle | β | 3-way, horn-loaded | β | β | β | 1 vote | Listings β |
| 5 | 17 | Altec Lansing Valencia | β | 2-way, horn tweeter | 15" | 100 dB (1 W/1 m, 846B) | 8 Ξ© | 1 vote | Listings β |
| 6 | 20 | Technics SB-7000 | β | 3-way, staggered cabinets | β | β | β | 1 vote | Listings β |
| 7 | 22 | Acoustic Research AR-9 | late 1970s | 4-way | β | β | β | 1 vote | Listings β |
| 8 | 2 | JBL Hartsfield | 1954 | β | β | β | β | 0 votes | Listings β |
| 9 | 4 | Quad ESL-57 | 1957 | Full-range electrostatic | β | β | 15 Ξ© nominal | 0 votes | Listings β |
| 10 | 5 | Quad ESL-63 | 1981 | Full-range electrostatic | β | 86 dB (2.83 V/1 m) | 8 Ξ© | 0 votes | Listings β |
| 11 | 6 | Altec Lansing A7 Voice of the Theatre | 1950s | 2-way, horn-loaded | 15" | β | 8 Ξ© (A7-8, from 1970) | 0 votes | Listings β |
| 12 | 7 | JBL 4343 | 1976 | 4-way | 15" | 93 dB (1 W/1 m) | 8 Ξ© | 0 votes | Listings β |
| 13 | 8 | JBL L300 | β | β | β | β | β | 0 votes | Listings β |
| 14 | 10 | Klipsch Cornwall | β | 3-way, horn mid/treble | 15" | β | β | 0 votes | Listings β |
| 15 | 12 | Tannoy Westminster | β | Dual Concentric, horn-loaded | β | β | β | 0 votes | Listings β |
| 16 | 13 | Tannoy Autograph | β | Dual Concentric, corner horn | β | β | β | 0 votes | Listings β |
| 17 | 14 | Tannoy Canterbury | β | Dual Concentric | β | β | β | 0 votes | Listings β |
| 18 | 15 | Bose 901 | 1968 | Direct/Reflecting, 9 full-range drivers | β | β | β | 0 votes | Listings β |
| 19 | 16 | Dahlquist DQ-10 | 1970s | β | β | β | β | 0 votes | Listings β |
| 20 | 18 | JBL Olympus | β | β | β | β | β | 0 votes | Listings β |
| 21 | 19 | Pioneer HPM-100 | 1970s | 4-way | β | β | β | 0 votes | Listings β |
| 22 | 21 | KLH Model Nine | late 1950s | Full-range electrostatic | β | β | β | 0 votes | Listings β |
| 23 | 23 | Magnepan Tympani | β | Planar-magnetic | β | β | β | 0 votes | Listings β |
| 24 | 24 | Allison One | 1970s | β | β | β | β | 0 votes | Listings β |
| 25 | 25 | ESS AMT-1 | 1970s | β | β | β | β | 0 votes | Listings β |
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1Editors' #1
Klipsch Klipschorn
A corner horn designed by Paul Klipsch, one of the longest-running speaker designs ever made. It is enormously efficient and fills a room from a few watts.
- 3-way, fully horn-loaded
- Corner-placed
1 vote+1 todayLive listings β
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2β²1Editors' #3
JBL Paragon
A one-piece stereo speaker, built like furniture, with a curved reflector panel. Its design and rarity make it legendary.
- Single-cabinet stereo
1 vote+1 todayLive listings β
π¬ Comment
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3β²6Editors' #9
Klipsch La Scala
A fully horn-loaded Klipsch for rooms where corners are not available, with huge dynamics.
- 3-way, horn-loaded
1 vote+1 todayLive listings β
π¬ Comment
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4β²7Editors' #11
Klipsch Belle
A horn-loaded Klipsch designed to sit on the floor in front of a wall.
- 3-way, horn-loaded
1 vote+1 todayLive listings β
π¬ Comment
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5β²12Editors' #17
Altec Lansing Valencia
A horn-loaded Altec in a furniture-grade cabinet, with lively, efficient sound.
- 2-way, horn tweeter
1 vote+1 todayLive listings β
π¬ Comment
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6β²14Editors' #20
Technics SB-7000
A Technics speaker with staggered cabinets so all drivers align in time.
- 3-way
- Staggered cabinets
1 vote+1 todayLive listings β
π¬ Comment
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7β²15Editors' #22
Acoustic Research AR-9
AR's tall flagship, with two side-firing woofers and a sophisticated multi-way design.
- 4-way
1 vote+1 todayLive listings β
π¬ Comment
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8βΌ6Editors' #2
JBL Hartsfield
A large JBL corner horn of the 1950s, now one of the most collectible speakers ever made.
- Corner horn
0 votesLive listings β
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9βΌ5Editors' #4
Quad ESL-57
The original Quad electrostatic, still praised for one of the most transparent midranges ever achieved.
- Full-range electrostatic
0 votesLive listings β
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10βΌ5Editors' #5
Quad ESL-63
Peter Walker's second electrostatic, designed to radiate like a point source, with remarkably coherent imaging.
- Full-range electrostatic
0 votesLive listings β
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11βΌ5Editors' #6
Altec Lansing A7 Voice of the Theatre
A cinema speaker that found its way into homes, with horn-loaded mids and massive dynamics.
- 2-way, horn-loaded
0 votesLive listings β
π¬ Comment
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12βΌ5Editors' #7
JBL 4343
A four-way JBL studio monitor of the late 1970s, a reference in studios and in homes.
- 4-way
- 15-inch woofer
0 votesLive listings β
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13βΌ5Editors' #8
JBL L300
A floorstanding JBL with a horn-loaded high end and a deep-reaching woofer.
- 3-way
- 15-inch woofer
0 votesLive listings β
π¬ Comment
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14βΌ4Editors' #10
Klipsch Cornwall
A big, efficient Klipsch three-way with a 15-inch woofer and a horn midrange.
- 3-way
- 15-inch woofer
0 votesLive listings β
π¬ Comment
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15βΌ3Editors' #12
Tannoy Westminster
A large Tannoy horn cabinet built around the Dual Concentric driver, at the top of the brand's range.
- Dual Concentric driver
- Horn-loaded cabinet
0 votesLive listings β
π¬ Comment
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16βΌ3Editors' #13
Tannoy Autograph
A historic Tannoy corner horn with the Dual Concentric driver, now very collectible.
- Dual Concentric driver
- Corner horn
0 votesLive listings β
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17βΌ3Editors' #14
Tannoy Canterbury
A large Tannoy floorstander with the brand's Dual Concentric driver.
- Dual Concentric driver
0 votesLive listings β
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18βΌ3Editors' #15
Bose 901
An unconventional design with nine identical full-range drivers, mostly facing the back wall, and an external equalizer.
- 9 full-range drivers
- Active equalizer
0 votesLive listings β
π¬ Comment
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19βΌ3Editors' #16
Dahlquist DQ-10
An unusual multi-driver design with its drivers staggered on an open frame to align their sound. A favorite for imaging.
- Staggered open-baffle mounting
0 votesLive listings β
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20βΌ2Editors' #18
JBL Olympus
A JBL floorstander with a carved wooden grille and big, efficient sound.
- Large cabinet
0 votesLive listings β
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21βΌ2Editors' #19
Pioneer HPM-100
A large Pioneer with a polymer-film supertweeter, designed for the late-1970s power-receiver era.
- 4-way
- Polymer-film supertweeter
0 votesLive listings β
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22βΌ1Editors' #21
KLH Model Nine
A tall KLH full-range electrostatic, highly regarded among early electrostatics.
- Full-range electrostatic
0 votesLive listings β
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23Editors' #23
Magnepan Tympani
An early planar-magnetic Magnepan, built as multi-panel folding screens.
- Planar-magnetic
0 votesLive listings β
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24Editors' #24
Allison One
Roy Allison's design built to work with floor and wall reflections, with smooth bass.
- Room-boundary design
0 votesLive listings β
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25Editors' #25
ESS AMT-1
An ESS speaker built around Oskar Heil's Air Motion Transformer tweeter.
- Heil Air Motion Transformer tweeter
0 votesLive listings β
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