Speaker Brand Tier List 

A lot of very good speakers are made here in Canada. Brands such as PSB, Paradigm, Energy and perhaps Axiom would certainly be high on your list if they had come through Des Moines. I've had the original Alphas for over 20 years - an excellent bookshelf speaker.

I worked at Altec Lansing in the late 70s. I wanted to get a job there because I had heard that the employee discount was massive and I really wanted a pair of Model Nine Series II "bookshelf" speakers. I had previously been a theater manager and we had huge Altec systems on the stager of our theater which were incredible sounding. I came to understand James B. Lansing's (JBL) history and the kinds of speakers he designed. Turned out that bass reflex designs suited my ear perfectly. I love a slightly warmer sounding loudspeaker. Long story short, for my theater system I have mirrored Model 19s (basically A-7 theater systems in a home cabinet) left and right with modern Klipch center, subs, and surrounds. For the music room I have recreated my quadrophonic system of the 70s with Model 9s in the front and Model 15s in the rear. For both setups I have ample Carver and Sunfire power to feed them. Life is good! Cheers everyone!

Right now I'm a Klipsch junkie on tubes, but the Boston A series was my gateway drug. I still have sets of early A200s and A150s, and later issue sets of A60s and A40s. Thank for the video!

My personal picks / changes would be to have Dahlquist, B&W and Martin Logan in the A section. Infinity was once a very high end brand, but Harmon trashed them - Arnie era Infinity would be a solid A, later on is closer to C. I have owned 2 pair of older era Infinity speakers and they were top notch at one time. The only other might be to nudge Realistic up to C. While they catered to the mass market on a budget, the better ones were respectable.

As a Home Grown Canadian living in the USA for the last 26 years, I am sad that the US has not been more exposed to psb speakers. Upon getting married in 1981 my stereo system purchase was a pair of psb Passif II speakers with Luxman amp, tuner and turntable. These speakers are fantastic. Kevin re-foamed the speakers (about 40 years old at time) and cleaned up the amp and turntable (later to install Grado Red 3 cartridge). Three hour drive one way. I have never had anyone not be amazed by the sound (and not just being polite). This system sits in sunroom. Wanted a system for family room and was not about to deviate on speakers. Enter psb X2T's paired with nad C388 BluOS-2i, Marantz CD6007. For the money they are a win-win. I would rate them tier 1 !! Thank you Kevin. Skylabs Audio is number ONE! and Podcasts are fantastic.

A pair of Allisons in good working condition are outstanding. But finding them in good working condition is becoming difficult. The AR 3a was Roy Allison's work, improving upon the original AR 3.

As a lifelong ADS owner, I love the list.

Cerwin Vega, ESS and a few others were on our list, but for some reason their logos didn't make it into the tier list. Sorry! "in my opinion, lol" I'd go Magnapan B-Teir, Cerwin Vega B- Tier and ESS A-Tier

I'm watching the Packers/49ers play and came across your video 👍. As a 70 year old guy it took me back to college days. My buds all bought JBL's , while I went to ElectroVoice, Marantz amp, Dual turntable, Pioneer receiver. All purchased from Keif's in Lawrence KS 😢. Purchased Infinity's after grad school and Bose 901's with first house. Been many, many years since I've shared the experience of listening to one anothers layout/music. Great memories and information.

I recently acquired a set of vintage German made Canton’s on my local marketplace and I was pleasantly surprised on how good they sound and I am going to set aside my Cornwall’s for now.

Hey Kevin. Fun video as always. The only change I would make to your list is bump up Infinity to the A spot. I have several Infinity speakers ( the older models ) and they all sound amazing. My current main setup is Pioneer SX-950 with Infinity Qb's with an AR-XB turntable and Pioneer 707 R to R. My fav in my small room is my Pioneer SX-626 with AR-4xa's. Very smooth sound. Love the video's. Looking forward to the next.

Thanks for the effort Kevin, no one will come up with identical tier lists but thanks for getting us reflecting back on these. I hung out in the audio showrooms from waaay back late sixties and seventies when the speaker craze was just ramping up. It’s hard to compare as everyone had such a large number of electronics being introduced as well. The mix and match of the source equipment and subtle room acoustic influence alone make comparing speakers alone is (as an isolated part of the system configuration) made so much difference for us old audiophiles! Fortunately I still have my CS Thiels, which have been refurbished a couple of times. Jim Thiel’s contribution made the biggest impact for me over the years because I think he, like many early innovators of those days were in a relentless pursuit of their goals. These comparisons, though virtually impossible to do, make this channel most interesting. I rewatch some of your presentations whenever any of my old purchases resurface. Best Regards

As an owner of vintage stereo equipment myself - nothing outrageous - but solid equipment that I grew up with - I appreciate the time you put into these videos and the information - seems fair and honest and appreciated.

I largely agree with your list. I would bump up B&W and Polk by one notch each, and would have to knock Bose down another peg for all their Acoustimass sins. Other than that I don’t think I’d change anything.

At first I thought those speakers on the floor behind you, frame right, were DCM Time Frames (or Time Windows). DCM got some great reviews back in the day. I'd like to hear your take on some other relatively hot manufacturers right now: Focal, Triangle, Elac, Monitor Audio, Magnepan (which is just out with some new, smaller models)... I have a pair of '90s vintage Spica TC-50s (the wedge-shaped ones) that are impressive, but that company (like Mirage) is no longer around, so they're not all that easy to find anymore except on ebay...

After all these years I am still enjoying the great sound of my OHM Walsh 3 speakers on one of my systems, and the great (but different) sound of my ESS Eclipse M102 on another system. Both are driven by Marantz units from the early 80's.

It was very disappointing to not see CerwinVega! On this list. I don’t understand why they are such a controversial speaker, they have made allot of great sounding speakers. Definitely better than others on this list 🔈👍🏻 I’m actually a bit mad lol!

Those Polk Audio Monitor 7s and 10s with the upgraded tweeter sound better than my high falutin' ELAC and PSB bookshelves.

This was a fun video as usual, and it sure did stir up a lot of controversy (or I should say individuals opinions ) after reading the viewers comments and this is why I love this hobby.

Altec Lansing should be in the A section, top notch American quality, right up there with JBLs

Good stuff! I've settled in on my childhood memories from the 70's with six pairs of EPI's throughout the house. My dad owned a pair of 100's when I was a kid, and they were my first introduction to sound. They always sounded "proper" to my ears. As I got older I owned many other brands. Klipsch, Polk, Infinity, Boston, JBL, and a few others. But it's the EPI sound that draws me in to this day. And I'm talking about the stuff during the gold ring tweeter era, and even the earlier Masonite stuff, not the cheap stuff during the Harman years.

ADS! Yes, I love them and nobody talks about them. Thanks

Great video, love my AR 3a and 5s Bought the 5s new while I was in Vietnam in 1970 and had them shipped home. recently rebuilt the surround, crossovers and installed new pots. Found a pair of original 3a's at an estate sale recently, they were unfinished wood. Completely re built them just like the 5s and left the wood unfinished.

OHM’s should be in the #1 spot. Their higher end series are amazing. I own original Ohm F’s and those will smoke all on the list. I also own OHM Walsh 2’s and they sit right there with my JBL L-100’s. I can crank the hell out of them. They sound amazing!

How about Cerwin Vega ! ??

The Advents we bought from you really light up the garage. The Sony receiver, also from you, allows us to crank these things at 80% with very little “noise”. Garage is finished except, of course, for the concrete floors.

I found a small pair of Dynaco speakers in the alley once, the veneer was scratched up and the grilles were beat up. I sanded and oiled the veneer and got lucky scoring some black fabric for the grilles. The woofers pushed right out to the edge of the cabinet and the surround was wide, black rubber. Not foam - so they lasted. I think they were A-10s. I ended up selling them but they were a cool retro throwback. The black cloth grilles updated them nicely too. Screw terminals FTW, if that's what you like.

I owned a pair of Dahlquist DQ20s they were wonderful my now ex wife tormented me until I sold them, should have gotten rid of her then. I have an Infinity Interlude system now and I'm very happy with them. They were during the Dr. Floyde Toole days of Harmon. I've had them 20 years now not looking to part with them.

I HAD TO COMMENT ON SKY LABS NOT LISTENING TO ALTEC VALENCIAS AND MODEL 19 THESE SPEAKERS ARE MASSIVE AND LEGENDARY THE SOUND IS LARGE-ACCURATE -POWERFUL REAL SOUNDING VIRTUALLY ICONIC SOUNDING! I'M SHOCKED AT THIS GUYS LACK OF KNOWLEGE PERTAINING TO THESE LEGENDS ! SHOCKED !

It amazes me the number of people that claim to hate Klipsch, that never heard the Forte' series. I've heard the Original and Forte' II, many can vouch for 3 and now 4. If you're on the fence about getting some Klipsch, at least give the Forte' a chance.

Not sure if Magnepan is something you had a lot of experience with but they would be on my top tier for sure

In 1975 I was 18 and in the Navy and had very little money. I bought a Sony TA-1130 amp, an AR manual turntable from a friend who got it from a family friend that owned a radio station, and a pair of BIC Venturi Speakers with the 10 inch woofers. They had a horn mid range and were great for hard rock and especially Black Sabbath. I only got to listen to them when I was home on leave. D'oh! I have owned several JBLs and Klipsch speakers and still do. I'm happy with your list.

Have you ever heard any of the Marantz HD series from the 70's? They are really nice speakers. Currently have a pair of the 920's. The HD880 are very desirable speakers. Also, the Ohm's could be in the B list. They make great sounding high quality speakers. Currently have a set of C's. And, they still sell replacements for ANY part of a speaker they have sold. Very pricey, but if you want to keep things factory spec'd, you can do that with Ohm.

Yes! ADS for me, hands down. I have 6 different models, love 'em all.

Thanks, great video and I love your perspective at American as it is. I live at the opposite end op the spectrum, where B&W, Wharfedale, Mission and KEF are very present, also German Canton, Magnat and Teufel to name a few. More on the vintage side there are the Philips models that many people still love and cherish. Many passive models but one technology that never really went away are MFB loudspeakers, Motional Feedback active loudspeakers that actually are able to pack a lot of bass in a very small enclosure The technology was invented by Philips in the Seventies and was produced into the Eighties. One brand that is using this to create High End sound systems is Grimm Audio. Last ten years Dali became very visible, actually helping to put Hifi back in the Livingroom, one way or the other. My personal favorite must but the Pioneer HPM-100 because I own them, I inherited them from my father who got them at the end of the Seventies at an US Army PX. The are a sweet childhood memory, I played in the cardboard boxes they came in. And they sound really nice.

Speakers are so subjective. No two people hear the same.

I was very surprised to not see Genesis on your list. I’ve got a pair of Genesis Model 10s that are absolutely amazing that I love.

Hey, very interesting and honest opinion., congrats Here in Europe, we will add for sure in the top rows Celestion Ditton, Tannoy, IMF, Monitor Audio, Goodmans… but i understand that you have less chances to have a pair coming in. We' d really like also your opinion on american rarities that we hardly see in Europe: Cerwin Vega (domestic ones; i really like my R10) but also Martin USA, Epicure… And a tier list for integrated amplifiers ? Have a great day, greetings from Belgium.

Bozak are great speakers, just should have come around later, instead of earlier when they were made. Similar to Altec, they were east coast sound competition of the day....

While there are a few exceptions, the list generally reflects a rule of thumb that was popular when I bought my first decent stereo system, back in the early 1970s. If you wanted a good loudspeaker, you auditioned a brand that specialized in loudspeakers and avoided brands that were primarily electronics manufacturers.

Thank you for giving respect the the AR brand. I currently have AR-3a speakers and still love them and their sound. One great thing about the AR line in the 1970s is that their speakers sounded very much alike. I have owned AR-4x, AR-6 and AR-7 speakers and the main difference is the low end from the AR-3a is better and the dome tweeter and midrange help the high frequencies and midrange cover the room better. Otherwise they sound very much alike. I also have a pair of JBL L-100 speakers I bought at a yard sale for $15.00 each. The cabinets are a little rough and of course the foam grills are not present. One of then has a midrange driver out. I use them in my shop and also for the sound of my computer and they sound great.

LOVE my pair of Celestion Ditton 551. A poor man's Yamaha NS-1000!

Go ADS! I've had the 810s and now, for the last 40 years, the 1230s.

Are there vintage brands that are easier to restore/work on than others? I see some ratty old speakers on Marketplace and in garage sales and I'm always curious which ones are worth putting the work into. I've built a couple CSS Audio speaker kits so I have a base knowledge and decent woodworking skills to work off of.

Haven't heard most of the speakers listed, but regarding the ones I've heard, I get where you're going. I have heard B&Ws in a nice setup and was blown away, so for me they'd go in A tier. And I would add Paradigm, a brand I feel that punches above its weight, to the B tier.

Forgot DCM. Iconic brand Michigan brand from the late 70s early 80s. I grew up with Timewindows in the house, none of my friends had anything that was even close.

I would also include Cerwin Vega, Magnepan and Monitor Audio.

in my opinion, the Realistic Optimus 5b/Nova 8 are a real sleeper pair. Basically a KLH 5 clone from the late 70's. I still have/use the pair that I bought as a teenager and they still rock (crossovers need to be recapped). I have them paired with B&W 602's and they sound fine when played together .....

Advent could easily creep into "A". They were just so good for how little you paid: so intelligently engineered. The EPI M100 was the "giant killer". And JBL. Pretty much very late 60's until about 1979 (you can forget the Aquarius Series EXCEPT the S109 Aquarius IV. Magnificent; the Bose killer). Actually, the L50 is my favorite: 1978. They actually had a crossover of sorts as against most of the others that just relied on the natural "roll-off" characteristics of the drivers and an L pad. And ADS. Their greatness was a pretty short run. Oh, and don't forget Allison Acoustics as another viewer states.

Interesting video. Where I live we see more UK speakers as such I’d personally bump up KEF and Rogers at A.

I listened to a pair of Sansui SP-1200 and they sounded awesome. I don't hear that model number when you speak of the Sansui's. Thoughts? Still Crappy in your opinion? Thanks

I hope you get an opportunity to get your ears on some MartinLogan Motion series. I really like pairing this series with vintage receivers. That folded Motion tweeter is just so precise.

Cerwin Vega? They should have at least made the list... EDIT! I see you mentioned that down in the comments. TY.

Have owned several models of Cantons over the last 30 years. I believe they were brought to the US via Mr Madsen ( thank you Tom's brother) into the Audio King stores in Minneapolis / St Paul. I currently own Karat 30, (which is the 5th time I have acquired this model) Karat 20, Ergo 90DC and others. I would appreciate any suggestions of other model suggestions. They continue to be under the radar......Glad you included them in your list Kevin!

I have four sets of Bose 601 series 2. Really nice sounding speakers. I have two sets hooked to a pioneer SX-950 and the other sets hooked to a Scott 380R . But you got people out there that doesn’t like Bose. It’s just whatever you prefer .

The bottom [E] category is kind of lonely... maybe some star brands like Yorx, Lloyd's, Candle and Holiday can help populate it. :)

I have a set of Vandersteen Model 2Ce Signature (series i). That would be 2001-2007. They're the best speakers I've heard in my life. Of course, I've not spent a bunch of time in stereo/audiophile shops.

Thanks for making these informative and entertaining videos. I enjoyed this video a lot. As a vintage audio enthusiast and restorer, I've had an opportunity to listen to many of the speaker brands you ranked and I agree with your choices. I'm a big fan of Henry Kloss and just about anything he designed. That being said I personally would have probably moved KLH into the "A" category. I've fully restored many KLH models but my absolute favorites to listen to are the Model 5, 6 and 23. I also own AR-4x and OLA's in my "keeper" collection. I hope to come visit your shop one day. Thanks!

Nice👍 What about paradigm loudspeakers?

I would add a few of the made in Canada brands to this list for their dominance in the 1990s when most other brands were producing a ton of junk. These days, old Paradigm are some of the best deals in audio equipment. Especially, Paradigm Atoms are small, inexpensive, and easy to find these days. Those speakers were probably better than the Boston HD5s of the time, due to featuring dome tweeters and cast frame woofers. They do need new foam surrounds these days, but I run repaired atoms and titans all the time on my sound systems. I call their sound a perfect blend of detailed and fun. I would describe their sound as flat enough that you hear the details of the music, but not flat enough to be analytical or boring sounding. They sound incredible with all content, and really sound better the louder you turn them up!

I'm curious as to your opinion of Ohm speakers given that they've not been mentioned as best I know. Still in business and building product in NY, still backing their legacy speakers and I understand the owner will actually answer the phone himself. I was given a pair of the Ohm L's and was surprised at how wonderful they sound in my vintage system. Possibly they don't come in often, though I think they sold many conventional speakers? Thanks in advance!

Since almost all speakers are made by a few conglomerates. It is best to buy them by price and what sound qualities you prefer. Don’t listen to other’s preferences or best to worst lists. Listen to a bunch of speakers and pick the ones you like the best that you can afford. There used to be a saying spend half your audio budget on speakers because they are the one component that makes the most difference. This is absolutely true, buy you may not need to spend half. The one biggest factor I would suggest is also invest in a good quality sub-woofer. No three way speaker produce low end like even a mediocre quality sub-woofer.

Great list. I have air of Polk SDA 2A that sound fantastic, they are definitely in my B list. Got ADs L810s too.

I just paired a set of AR4x speakers with my newest onkyo receiver of 120 watts it’s an T65 digital display receiver but man , those AR’s are so good to my ears an I stole both really the AR’s I got for 100 bucks an they beautiful, cabinets flawless , speaker grills great shape but missing one AR acoustic badge but I am ordering one an it’s 20 bucks lol , an the onkyo I got for 30 bucks , guy just didn’t know how to operate it with out remote so I stole it because it’s in great shape , skylabs man I’m glad I found this channel, to help me make best decisions on vintage and non vintage, you rock dude !!! ❤this channel an one day ima support ya more when I get my collection built like I want , picking up a pioneer GR j300 Thursday for 50 bucks no turn table nor speakers but integrated amp 7 disc dual cassette an receiver , an EQ an some bookshelf infinity’s for 25 need tweeters tho , I am loving this

Celestion, do that name ring a bell?

When discussing the Pioneer speakers, now we know why, in the movie Galaxy quest, they were mining for beryllium spheres.

Hey Kev, hope you had a great Labor Day weekend. Overall, I agree with your list, except I would definitely move Bose up.^ Many of those brands I never heard of, and there's other brands not mentioned. Such as Clarke Systems, which made some very respectable speakers back in the 80s on the East Coast. I had a pair and used those as my B speakers, used with my AR speakers as my primaries (A), when I had my Onkyo system .But I no longer have any of those and use Polk Towers with my Pioneer 780 receiver now, which isn't my ideal system but that's all I have right now. I also used to own some Advents and still have a pair of old KLH's in storage.

i've owned a lot of ADS, JBL, Altecs (big ones), Infinity, Klipsch, and KEF. Sold everything except for the KEFs and Infinity.

Great video. I mostly agree, but feel a lot of speakers vary by era. For example, Jensen's later stuff is probably a "D" ranking, but their early 70s stuff, like the LS-5 were amazing.

I agree with your assessment assessment of Sansui!

No ESS AMT 3b towers?

Of this list (no particular order) these are the only speaker brands I consider to be good; Advent, Boston Acoustics, B&W, Infinity, JBL, KEF, Marin Logan, Mission, Ohm, Polk Audio, Quad, Thiel, Vandersteen and Wharfedale. I would add Dahlquist, VMPS, Paradigm to this list but probably not anymore…. What have I actually owned? Infinity, JBL, Cerwin Vega and Dahlquist… and always wanted VMPS. I still have my Dahlquist M909’s.

The Ohm F - the first of the Walsh speakers - were fabulous. Dynaco made four lines: the small A-10; the original A-25; the larger A-35 and the floor-mount A-50's. Jim Thiele told me he pronounced his name "Teel" when I went through their facility in Lexington, KY.

Over 50 years I’ve built 7 speaker kits. Most have been exceptional. The quality of the crossovers and drivers is beyond much of these commercial units That being said I enjoy ESS / Cannon west coast rock speakers. If you want a mighty little transparent 3 way. Amazon sells the Swan 3.1 DIY with cabinets for $300. Upgrading the crossovers. You’d be impressed. Thanks for a great list

I've had a pair of BA A40 MkII w/a Polk PSW10 as my daily drivers on my SX-737 for 10 years. I love them. The sound is clean, crisp, unadulterated. Great stage and imaging. Perfect for a low-mid power 70s solid state rig in a small to medium sized listening space.

I have had a pair or Mordaunt Short MS-904 two way towers since 2001. My next speaker purchase was the Dayton B652 in 2012. Now due to watching RU-vid videos I have DCM Timepiece, Polk Tsi100, Bose 201, Bose 141, Bose 301 iv, Baby Advent II. I recapped the DCMs and they sound better now. I had to refoam the Advents and wow what a good sounding speaker. My hearing rolls off at 14-15khz so extended high end doesn't matter as much as midrange quality. I'm eyeing some RTRs local to me for a decent price.

Thiel and Dahlquist deserve A tier, and would be that way on my list. I have the Dahlquist DQM-9c's and Thiel CS 3.5's Both are awesome in different ways. Kevin - you should get a pair of DQM-9's or DQM-9c's in your shop. Based on what you say you like, I think you will LOVE those particular Dahlquist speakers!

Hi Kevin, I know this video is almost a year old but could you tell me what those round Pioneer speakers are behind you? My Dad has some of those. He uses them as end tables. Are they any good?

Curious about opinions on the Martin Logan electrostatic speakers. Where would you rank those?

I'd have to add Rectilinear, Onkyo (Japanese made models), KLH, Cambridge Soundworks, Paradigm, Celestion, DCM, Design Acoustics, Eclipse, Mirage, Genesis, Energy, Harman Kardon, Foster (Fostex), Carver/Phase Linear, Watson Labs, Tannoy, Focal, Linear Phase, Magnepan, and if you include Realistic, the you need to include Criterion as well from Lafayette Electronics. If you include Technics, then MCS should also make the list, especially their 683-8320 linear phase model was a great sounding speaker, that was made by Technics. I have several of the MCS models, which I only really discovered in the last 20 or so years. Plus I don't see Cerwin Vega on your list. I think if you include Advent, and Boston Acoustics, you have to also include the other Henry Kloss designed speakers as well. mostly in their original form. (KLH. Cambridge Soundworks, and several which follow the same design theory as well). All of the brands in question have both made some really good speakers and some real duds but they all have a place in audio history and no one says you have to own the bad models. In my opinion, Yamaha has only the NS1000, none of the rest even turn my head. With Infinity, they have more really good speakers than run of the mill or bad speakers. I also don't feel we can judge them or any other vintage brand by what they became after they got sold out or exploited by some conglomerate that bought them out. Onkyo, at least for the Japanese market, and under some rebadged brands in the US, made some fantastic speakers, the RCA Dimensia models come to mind here. If you ever heard a set, they easily match up or exceed some of the best out there. Paradigm, expecially in the early days made some great sounding speakers, and you can't leave out DCM who made the Time Window and Time Frame speakers, and I've got a pair of DCM CX-27's that I picked up at a yardsale for $10 that I'll likely never part with. I've owned several pair of Rectilinear Low Boys now for 40 years, they've come into and out of my system several times but always end up back as one of my favorites. The same for my Polk Monitor 10's. Realistic was mostly made by Foster, as were some of the Criterion lineup, but Criterion had just as many really good sleeper models as Realistic. When I think of Design Acoustics, which I believe was owned by Audio Technica, I think of the little PS-10 speakers that made such a big sound for being such a tiny package. Every time I hook mine up they amaze me all over again. I liked them enough to own three pairs and use them as the ultimate back channel speaker in my living room. Carver, in which I group Phase Linear as well, made some fantastic, although huge speakers in the early days, the Andromeda/Phase III speakers were some of the most open, accurate speakers I had ever heard. I regret selling the only pair I ever owned when I moved in the 90's, letting them go to a neighbor who only turned around and sold them because his wife insisted on it made me think far less of him after I heard he let them go for not much more then beer money. All speakers and all audio is very subjective and everyone has different preferences but what I've found over the years is to never write off a particular pair of speakers after just one trial. Time and time again I've hooked up speakers which I heard great reviews about and gotten severely disappointed in what I heard. I even dumped a few in the early days too soon. What I've found is that its often just a matter of having the right match between the amp, preamp, and speakers, plus the right space to make that speaker or particular design sound good. I've had speakers that sounded horrible when set up on the bench, only to set them aside and end up trying them again, in a completely different situation only to finally see why they were so well liked. I've also had speakers that sounded fantastic at first listen on the bench that turned out to be all but useless when added to my system. Rectilinear, some JBLs, a few Onkyo models, and several Realistic speakers have all fallen into the this category, only to later get matched with the right amp that made me call them forever speakers. On my forevever list are my Rectinear Low Boys, Dahlquist DQ10's, DQ20's, and DQ-30's, two pair of RCA Dimensia SPK500T and two pair of SPK400 speakers, two pair of Polk Monitor 10's, one pair of Monitor 7's, Infinity RSm, and Qb, Advent 4002/5002, and 5012 models, Boston Acoustic T830, T1030, and T1130, and a pair of A100 and a pair of A400's. Plus two sets of Pioneer ST300 and ST500 towers matched to my 1988 VSX-D1S receiver.

You forgot RCA, lol! Seriously though, I have Advent Baby IIs and Minis and have always been happy with them. My bigger JBLs are much better for music and home theater. But the Advents would be my choice for music in the smaller 2.0 bookshelf category. There's just something about them that sounds more detailed and alive (especially the Minis.) I have some Pioneer towers and... I liked them right up until the day I bought my first JBLs. For subs, HSU hands down. I was also surprised at how good AR and Difinitive Technologies are for 8" subs. Picked them up used for $50 and $30 respectively and it was money well spent.

Bozak is a fantastic speakers, particularly the concert grands and of course the symphony. You are right about these speakers being often in bad shape driver wise when you find them, however if you hear a pair that's all original that's still functional you'll think you died and went to heaven. The only real problem with bozak is as you say the tweeters, a lot of their drivers they made in-house and typically the tweeters were made out of a thin metal membrane covered in a black doping material that was added for strength I'm assuming. Over time that doping material wears away and it just leaves that thin membrane which is so extremely easy to damage. Another thing of course is the woofers, one of The owners, Rudy bozak, secret sauces when it came to speakers was his woofers, he used a proprietary pulp fiber blend to make up the cone of the woofers and unfortunately as fantastic as they were they just didn't hold up very well over time. But yeah if you ever have an opportunity to hear a set of the big bozak's, I promise you you will not be disappointed. Literally the first time I heard a pair of the symphonies I was quite rightly blown away, right up there with some of the best sound I've heard and they're not power hungry and they're a statement speaker, kind of like Klipsch k-horns.

Are Frazier speakers too boutique for your list? I can't say I have ever heard them mentioned by you. The Mark V's were very nice. I had my first pair when I was 15 years old along with a Marantz and a Technique turn table. I mowed alot of yards to purchase that setup but nothing compared to the money I spent on Original Mater Recording vinyl.

I didn't even need to watch this - B&W, Infinity and JBL are in my top tier. No question for me. Ive have infinities and now have B&W Series 3 and JBL 4425s. Life is good. Thanks for the video, enjoyed seeing all the speakers names from my past.

I love the speaker talk! I've had the baby Advent II's, and they were awesome! I had the Boston Acoustic A60's and I really enjoyed them too. I currently have the Yamaha NS-645 and they are the best speakers I've owned to date. So many speakers, so little time! How about some PSB love?

I always wanted to try Advent and KLH but you have them lower. hmmmm I did like one pair of Advent 3 and KLH 23s that I heard.

You can not be upset with a speaker list. It is too personal and the fluctuations within one brand over time have been too big. So (I am huge JBL fan, since I was a kid) for instance, JBL has gone through a phase that one could argue they are a C or even D speakers. If I have to make one remark, it would be, if JBL is A (I agree based on their 70's line up) then Altec Lansing should be up there as well. Here are the brands I missed: University (come on man); from Europe, Tannoy; Goodmans (no blame here but in its heyday Goodmans could go toe to toe with JBL); Germany is underrepresented, Magnat, the later stuff was not so good but in the 80's they where rocking (Fun trivia, there is a record shop in a Dutch town I grew up, they got a pair of Magnat All Ribbon 8 (possibly the best of the range of the best series they ever made) new in the early 80's to play in the shop. The shop still exist and those speakers are still there, playing. Go figure, 10 hours a day, 6 days a week for 40 years, how is that for endurance?); Probably also not so well known in the US, but Philips made some really good speakers (and was OPM for many famous speaker brands) ironically the vintage ones are much more respected now, then when they where new, going by how fast they sell on eBay.

Great Video- I would have put the B&O in at least B. you confirm my gut feeling classification regarding Marantz, MC, Sansui, .. a bit surprised about Braun - but you are probably right 😁. there are some other brands , but may not be popular in the US: Philips, Pierre etienne leon, Cabasse, T+A, Heco, SABA, ITT, .... - any thoughts in the team ?

I have a pair of Fourier one series speakers that i am restoring, they are one of the best sounding speakers i have owned and was wondering if you have ever had the pleasure of listening to a pair of them. I'm looking for a pair of tweeters for them right now.

I agree with your choices for the most part. Sound and particularly speakers are subjective. As a big ADS fan I like that you put them A tier. I also like B&W's and feel they could be A tier. I have some Reference series Klipsch for my home theater I do like their efficiency and dynamics and of course I use a Subwoofer with them. The older larger Klipsch are too horny and beamy sounding to me. They are also huge and very Pro Audio looking. As a sound guy I like a little smoother and detailed sound at home. I don't like my speakers to shout at me. JBL, Cerwin Vega, Klipsch, Altec are great speakers and played loud fill the room with power. I just find them fatiguing at normal listening levels and need to tone them down with EQ for my taste. BTW currently using a pair of ADS L-710's powered by a McIntosh 2100 with their SW4 subwoofer powered by a Carver Cube. I have a smaller room and it is my permanent set up. I have had the ADS for over 30 years and have strayed, but always seem to come back to my old ADS. Maybe if I get a larger room I could move up to the 810's or 910's I just don't see the need to go up to the giant multi-driver speakers they produced in the later years. I have heard them and they are impressive. I'm more of a bookshelf fan. I think they image better and simply are more reasonable to fit into a home environment.

What about the early Cerwin-Vega?

The Cerwin Vega speakers were very cool looking and great party speakers. Although I wouldn't say the build quality was that nice, but not terrible.

Totally respect your choices. We have a pair of Dynaco A25’s in a vintage gear living room setup that are darn good except the tweeters were upgraded along with the crossover capacitors.

Kevin, I love your tier brand lists!

Years ago I bought the Bose AM-5s. Sounded decent at the store. Got them home... poor base, poor highs. Very confused and disappointed. The cheaper speakers that I had before sounded better than the Bose speakers did... Replaced them with B&W DM-601s, what a difference. Still running with the B&Ws to this day.

I am surprised Paradigm isn't on the list. I remember auditioning them alongside some M&K's (also not on your list) in a high end audio store (when those still existed). I remember that they had Vandersteen speakers, M&K and Paradigms. At least those were the ones I remembered most. The Vandersteen's were up there, but WAY out of my price range. The M&K's were slightly below that and kind of came in at the middle of the road, but still up there in price. The Paradigms were close to the sound of the M&K's, but the smaller models were in my price range. My current speakers back then were Pinnacle speakers and from what I heard, the Paradigms were better than them. Just for the record, when I bought the Pinnacle speakers, I had gone in to my local PC Richard and was bent on getting Boston Acoustic speakers. The Pinnacles had better bass response in a smaller cabinet, and the high end was crisper. So I was sold. I bought both the PInnacle 5+ speakers and 6+. As the model suggests, the 5+ had a 5" woofer 1" dome, and the 6+ had a 6" woofer, same tweeter. The former was rear ported and the later front ported. The bass was slightly better on the 6+, but for it's small size, the bass response on the 5+ was unbelievable. This little speaker blew away a Boston Acoustic speaker that was MUCH larger than it was. Sadly though, I don't know what happened to Pinnacle. I haven't heard anything from them in a long while. Having them for so many years now (about 20), I did want to move into a different speaker and bought the Klipsh RP-600m's. It is a bit better performance than the Pinnacle 6+, but I do notice a midrange hole that many people talk about, so it does look like I might be doing one of the many mods out there that will fix that. But I am putting another system together for listening to records, and I am thinking about a Paradigm speaker.

Another brand that is actually the aAmerican version of Braun is ADS. Very good and lots of models.

Where is Cerwin Vega? I have had a pair of RE-38's for 27 years. I as 24 when I bought them thinking bigger was better. Bought them from Best Buy. Didn't know what an audio store was.

You put advent ahead of Vandersteen and Thiel? Wow. Apparently, Skylabs isn't aware that Boston, A/R, Advent and KLH were ALL Henry Kloss designs. 4th order x-overs don't do anything for me. I'd put Vandersteen at the top followed by Thiel. ADS ahead of Kef because the designer did the 2nd order crossover better. And those soft domes are smooth. I'd place the Kloss brands in the middle of the pack. VERY few Japanese speakers i'd take even if you paid me to take them. Polks, depends on vintage. Newer are better. Those old black tweeters in the model 4's, 5's, 7's, 10's 12's were horrid. I replaced hundreds of them. With B&W, I think older is better IN GENERAL. Canton's are usually a decent product. Not a fan of Rogers or most British speakers (bbc dip) Wharfdales can be good though. The upper line Kefs weren't bad. Infinity's have foam rot issues. I avoid them. Bose absolutely suck. The 301 was their best speaker, by far. 901 the worst (unless you include Interaudio) Pioneers (except the Andrew Jones) are horrid. JBL and Altec are nasty in the midrange. Crappy crossovers. Not going to tier list them all. Just my .02 Sold most of these over the years professionally. Don't see Focal on this list. Better than most.

Seeing my Dahlquist label right next to the BOSE blows logo has a bit of a sting. I think that the next time you're in Arizona, you should swing by for some HI-FI Fun !!