The top vintage floorstanding speakers

Horns, electrostatics and studio monitors: the large speakers that collectors seek out and build rooms around.

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1. 1. Klipsch Klipschorn

   1946

   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

   Klipsch Klipschorn live listings ▲ Vote0 votes

2. 2. JBL Hartsfield

   1954

   A large JBL corner horn of the 1950s, now one of the most collectible speakers ever made.

   • Corner horn

   JBL Hartsfield live listings ▲ Vote0 votes

3. 3. JBL Paragon

   1957

   A one-piece stereo speaker, built like furniture, with a curved reflector panel. Its design and rarity make it legendary.

   • Single-cabinet stereo

   JBL Paragon live listings ▲ Vote0 votes

4. 4. Quad ESL-57

   1957

   The original Quad electrostatic, still praised for one of the most transparent midranges ever achieved.

   • Full-range electrostatic

   Quad ESL-57 live listings ▲ Vote0 votes

5. 5. Quad ESL-63

   1981

   Peter Walker's second electrostatic, designed to radiate like a point source, with remarkably coherent imaging.

   • Full-range electrostatic

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6. 6. Altec Lansing A7 Voice of the Theatre

   1950s

   A cinema speaker that found its way into homes, with horn-loaded mids and massive dynamics.

   • 2-way, horn-loaded

   Altec Lansing A7 Voice of the Theatre live listings ▲ Vote0 votes

7. 7. JBL 4343

   1976

   A four-way JBL studio monitor of the late 1970s, a reference in studios and in homes.

   • 4-way
   • 15-inch woofer

   JBL 4343 live listings ▲ Vote0 votes

8. 8. JBL L300

   A floorstanding JBL with a horn-loaded high end and a deep-reaching woofer.

   • 3-way
   • 15-inch woofer

   JBL L300 live listings ▲ Vote0 votes

9. 9. Klipsch La Scala

   A fully horn-loaded Klipsch for rooms where corners are not available, with huge dynamics.

   • 3-way, horn-loaded

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10. 10. Klipsch Cornwall

    A big, efficient Klipsch three-way with a 15-inch woofer and a horn midrange.

    • 3-way
    • 15-inch woofer

    Klipsch Cornwall live listings ▲ Vote0 votes

11. 11. Klipsch Belle

    A horn-loaded Klipsch designed to sit on the floor in front of a wall.

    • 3-way, horn-loaded

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12. 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

    Tannoy Westminster live listings ▲ Vote0 votes

13. 13. Tannoy Autograph

    A historic Tannoy corner horn with the Dual Concentric driver, now very collectible.

    • Dual Concentric driver
    • Corner horn

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14. 14. Tannoy Canterbury

    A large Tannoy floorstander with the brand's Dual Concentric driver.

    • Dual Concentric driver

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15. 15. Bose 901

    1968

    An unconventional design with nine identical full-range drivers, mostly facing the back wall, and an external equalizer.

    • 9 full-range drivers
    • Active equalizer

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16. 16. Dahlquist DQ-10

    1970s

    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

    Dahlquist DQ-10 live listings ▲ Vote0 votes

17. 17. Altec Lansing Valencia

    A horn-loaded Altec in a furniture-grade cabinet, with lively, efficient sound.

    • 2-way, horn tweeter

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18. 18. JBL Olympus

    A JBL floorstander with a carved wooden grille and big, efficient sound.

    • Large cabinet

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19. 19. Pioneer HPM-100

    1970s

    A large Pioneer with a polymer-film supertweeter, designed for the late-1970s power-receiver era.

    • 4-way
    • Polymer-film supertweeter

    Pioneer HPM-100 live listings ▲ Vote0 votes

20. 20. Technics SB-7000

    A Technics speaker with staggered cabinets so all drivers align in time.

    • 3-way
    • Staggered cabinets

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21. 21. KLH Model Nine

    late 1950s

    A tall KLH full-range electrostatic, highly regarded among early electrostatics.

    • Full-range electrostatic

    KLH Model Nine live listings ▲ Vote0 votes

22. 22. Acoustic Research AR-9

    late 1970s

    AR's tall flagship, with two side-firing woofers and a sophisticated multi-way design.

    • 4-way

    Acoustic Research AR-9 live listings ▲ Vote0 votes

23. 23. Magnepan Tympani

    An early planar-magnetic Magnepan, built as multi-panel folding screens.

    • Planar-magnetic

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24. 24. Allison One

    1970s

    Roy Allison's design built to work with floor and wall reflections, with smooth bass.

    • Room-boundary design

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25. 25. ESS AMT-1

    1970s

    An ESS speaker built around Oskar Heil's Air Motion Transformer tweeter.

    • Heil Air Motion Transformer tweeter

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