[Vintage-Audio] small speakers

[Salmons, Michael]

I'm answering Duane's clarion call. How about the topic of small speakers? I'm a bit obsessed with them. Gradually my speaker collection has gotten smaller over time- in terms of cubic volume, not number of pairs! 

My favorite pair right now is the EPI M60. The cabinets are 17"H X 9"W X 7"D. I got this from the human speakers site (http://www.humanspeakers.com/e/epi60.htm) but I can confirm it's accurate. My pair is older than the model depicted on the site. The tweeters are the same inverted dome but the woofer surrounds are butyl. The sound of these speakers is just magnificent. Smooth highs and startling present bass for cabs of this size. I guess I'm not totally surprised since I get just as much bass from my older AR4as which are in the same size range; it's also no concidence that both models are acoustic suspension. It isn't a requirement for deep bass but the less resonant-prone, more generally accurate bass that I've heard from smaller cabinets have been that of acoustic suspension models. The cabs are nothing special in terms of looks, it's got the standard vinyl you'd find on virtually any bottom of the line speaker from that era, but the fiberboard is super dense, making a very heavy little speaker for its size. stray resonance is nonexistent. 

They are suitable for a range of musical styles. They will thump if you want them to. They will sing delicately if that's what you want. Jazz skillfully recorded by Ahmed Ertegun and played on my Harmon Kardon T55C Turntable with Empire 500 cartridge, powered by a fluoroscan Pioneer SA-6800 amp, makes about the best budget small solid state combo listening experience I've encountered. I'm totally pleased and if the worst should happen and I lose my M60s, I would get another pair in a heartbeat, I wouldn't even want to consider other models. 

Okay, I've spilled. Who else loves a small speaker, and which one is it?