I have owned several pairs of LS3/5a’s, the current pair for decades.   They are excellent small speakers, but they are very inefficient and they are no match for the Cornwalls, La Scalas and Speakerlab Ks that I own or have owned.

 

They cannot produce the dynamic live music sound of horn speakers.  They are currently teamed with transmission-line subs with KEF B139 woofers as the front speakers for my HT system.

I was gonna post my wife's bikini shot (real fine....), but she just walked in the door and slapped me again..... I hate that when she does that...

Not that it has anything to do with the top ten, but she shore' makes listnin' real good...

Ok, she left and I'm off the hook.....

My top ten.... But please consider my "scale": (a) Good Sound Reproduction (b) Versatility in Placement and Use (c) Cost Effectiveness; and (d) Can We Fix them or Repair Them Without Selling Our Firstborn for Paltry Sums...

1. Klipschorn's; hands down, with the horn loading, even at very low volumes, regardless of the amp type, etc. they simply are really that good; if older than 10-15 years, should be recapped or ALK'd (the Gods of Technology do have merits); only drawback is the "footprint", but given the sound, just knock down a wall or two...

2. Heresy's; don't laugh... they are an extremely versatile and useful speaker. They are built like a tank, simple to maintain, easy to "fix", or upgrade, forgiving in the amp arena, and they can do about everything that most "bookshelf" systems will do, and for the price (H-I's and H-2's) can do a great job in most applications. The test... Consider that half the time when you are simply too busy to really enjoy your B&W's, etc., having a plain ole' pair of Heresy's runnin' in the background can just make it a great day...

3. LaScala's (Belles also); Can do the "big jobs", barely small enough "footprint", extremely versatile in application (risk dragging your Dahlquist's, etc. out on the back porch...); great common parts!; and they really are very, very good.... Belles are tricky to place, pricey, and very "furniture" oriented, and are usually out of the average folk's price range. Oh well....

4. JBL 4311/4312/4313 series. While they were called "studio monitors", or "control monitors", the versatility in placement, the ability to "tune" them behind the grill, etc., made them an ideal "workhorse". If I ever get the urge to get rid of my Heresy's, I would go back to 4311's. Having had a bazillion of them, I can really say that they are a good solid and high quality speaker.

5. Acoustic Research AR-1's, 2's, etc. Old, no longer around, but if you find a pair, oh well, I'm still amazed at how really good they are when I visit my friends that have them. I still can't believe I sold the old AR's I had for 20 years...

6. Klipsch RF series; reason... that tractrix horn and the refinements they have made in the "vertical linear array", is simply world class. Pricey, but very, very good and they will match most ES type arrays made 20 years ago (had a pair and I kick myself for selling them).

7. Bose 901; don't shoot me.... Consider the footprint.... If hooked up properly....., and with a powerful amp, they can get you arrested for disturbing the peace. I had several pairs of the original type 1's and 2's, and they worked just fine. Actually they worked very well... I know it's a "heresy" to speak about Bose here, but they are a really good choice when you have weird space problems that eliminate the Klipschorn/ LaScala/ Belle choices.

8. Cornwall; sorry.. but the footprint (and the price, even for a used pair!) is getting close to what you would need for a pair of used Klipschorn's or LaScala's. They sound very, very good, but what are you really getting when looking at cost vs benefit? That being said, if you are into jazz, classical or low volume rock, they really work well in medium size living rooms. They look good, and can be easily upgraded with better crossovers, etc. 

9. Infinity's; in particular the smaller bookshelf systems; really great sound for the size, small amps will drive them well; were very good quality; very reliable (unless you simply overdrive them...)

10. Any old Altec Lansings in good working order!!!

IMO only

I can't come up with a Top-10 list of speakers. With most of the speakers I've heard, there was always something I didn't like. I liked the B&W 801 but the woofer was a bit boomy in my room and if you don't feed it 200w - fugitaboutit! I also enjoyed the ProAc 2s - it had the most sublime (that's right, I said it) imaging. Even while staring at them, the speakers simply disappeared yet they were too "polite" for my taste and being monitors, they couldn't hit the low notes.

It would be easier to make a list of speakers I'd like to hear. Based on reviews and discussions, there are several speakers that intrigue me. Most of them have their fair share of critics but that usually suggests that there is something different about them that scares some folk - like Klipsch.

A speaker of particular interest is the Zu Definition. A smallish speaker that has 2 full-range drivers (40H-12kHz) with no crossover, a super tweeter and an self-amplified array of 4 woofers.

6moons.com called it..." a serious attempt at combining a number of items: high efficiencies (101dB); easy drive behavior (resistive 6-ohm load); over 90% of the audible bandwidth reproduced by proprietary crossover-less drivers (with crossover points at 40Hz/4th-order and 12kHz/1st-order); and full-range extension to 16Hz in a reasonably sized box with a 12" x 12" footprint (actually, 12.8" wide by 12.5" deep) and 49" of height."

Interesting...

I second the motion for the Loth-X Audio Amaze single-driver monitors as part of my own Top Ten, since I owned a mint pair last year. Very dynamic and live sounding; not bad for no crossovers and no tweeters!

short list, no particular order

K-Horns

VOTT

Altec    19

JBL Everest

JBL 4350

JBL 4313

Cornwall

JBL L-7

JBL 4430/ 4435

'Scala's

Aaaahh, each one does Something bettern' the others...........

Me Loves Khorns:

What, no BLOSE listed?

Paul

Dude, you are really pushing it!

Paul, shoot me an email so that I will have your web address. I have something to send to you.

tcruse@fspecinc.com

tc

I may as well include my present loudspeakers, the late '90s French made Zephyr 2-way towers from Triangle Electroacoustique. Within their price range, IMHO these towers have the most realistic dynamic range, better accuracy, and greater imaging, depth, and spaciousness of any other loudspeakers I've owned, including Magnepan MGLR1 planars, and my first serious loudspeakers, the venerable JBL L112 Century II monitors

I couldn't resist this Stradivari Homage system.  Look at the amplification!

 

those ... are ..Scoops ...!

I only need 6 more, 'an I gotta million dollar system .....

What about something from Legacy.  Their flagship model with some 'budget' amplification...

 

DizRotus:

I have owned several pairs of LS3/5a’s, the current pair for decades.   They are excellent small speakers, but they are very inefficient and they are no match for the Cornwalls, La Scalas and Speakerlab Ks that I own or have owned.

 

They cannot produce the dynamic live music sound of horn speakers.  They are currently teamed with transmission-line subs with KEF B139 woofers as the front speakers for my HT system.

The LS3/5a is back in the new V2.  Stirling Broadcast has been granted an exclusive licence from the BBC to produce an updated model with all the attributes of the original but with increased power handling.  In addition the new version uses drivers that are readily available.  Tests have been done with both the original and the new version and experts say there is no difference other then the new version goes louder and handles dynamics better.  Here's a picture of the new production line in action...

 

Now this is a spectacular design...

 

Totem make some really good speakers that could fit into anyone's top 10.  Their flagship Shaman looks okay with 5 drivers and the holographic presentation that Totem is reknown for...

 

I should include an Aussie loud speaker in my ramblings.  Osborn Loudspeakers are sold throughout the world mostly to special order.  In Australia their flagship model the Grand Monument Reference is priced around the same as the Klipschorn, but in the U.S. I think they're much more expensive.  By the way this huge speaker weighs 170kg and is a two way design...

 

Final Sound make some rather nice speakers which are electrostatic but with a twist - they use something called 'inverter technology' which applies the static charge to the stators instead of the mylar film as does Martin Logan.  Unusual, but it seems to work.  Here's a pic of their top model, the 1000i...