I have owned the following over the past 30+ years:
Micro Acoustics MA-1(Bose 301 copycat)
DIY speaker with 15" woofer, Peerless sealed Mid and Dome Tweeter, 2'Wx4'Hx8"-4"D (ala a Boston Acoustic speaker of the time)
NHT Super Zero with SW2P(?) Sub
Def Tech DR7
Def Tech BP2002, CLR3000
PSB Alphas (my son's system)
Tyler Acoustic Taylo Monitors
Hornshoppe Horns
Visaton B200 in cabinet ala Omega
Various encarnations of the Visaton B200 in OB with and without Subwoofer
DIY OBs with the Omega 8" Hemp (original) driver with Augie
DIY Ported Speaker with Omega 8" Hemp (original)
Hawthorne Audio Silver Iris with Augie
GR Research OB5 MTM section with Augie OB bass
GR Research V-1
Also built GR Research N3 for my sister. I have heard these nuerous times but didn't live with them in my system for very long before delivery.
I have also built a few other DIY speakers for others throughout the years but have forgotten the specifics.
I currently have a DIY IB bass system that consist of 4 AE IB15s driven by a 2400 watt amp.
I may still be forgetting some.
Of all of these speakers the most dynamic I have owned prior to the V-1s were probably the Def Tech BP 2002s.
The early speakers listed were used in 2 channel systems, the middle of the pack were used in multichannel HT systems and the last have been used in 2 channel systems (more or less).
My current HT system is made up of the Tyler Taylos (3 across the front) with two NHT superzeros making up the rear channels in a 5.1 setup with the IB sub as mentioned previously.
Since these have all been owned over the course of 30 years it is impossible to do a point by point comparison but needless to say I have come a long way since the Micro Acoustics (when I was 17).
The V-1s have my foot tapping. They play clean and are very musical. I have to be careful because I am often listening louder than I realize. Some of this is due to improvements to my upstream equipment but not solely.
While I can't do a direct comparison I can tell you that the V-1s are the best speaker I have owned, I can also tell you that I have not heard better in a showroom. Granted the best B&M shops I have had access to have been Ovation and Wider Electronic here locally. Ovation carried the higher end Martin Logans, Thiel and early on carried Maggies I believe. Wilders top of the line were the B&Ws. I never heard any of these speakers in my systems but I can tell you I never enjoyed listening to them more than the V-1s.
Hope that helps answer your question.
