I bought my CM-1030s new in 1979, and have had them ever since. Recently, I have had to replace the crossover systems on both speakers, as the components simply decayed to the point that the crossovers stopped working. Now, all is back to original spec (actually a bit better). I have used a Haffler power amp and also a Heathkit AR1500 receiver to power the speakers. My other set of speakers are the Bose 901 VI, which also are great home speakers; however, these Koss 1030s have a sound that, to me, is unique - warm, brassy and very accurate in the bass and mid range. I have my 1030s set up in a very large room with 18-foot ceilings, and I like to play them loud, especially with classical music. They are very efficient, and a good amp, with 100 clean watts, will drive them beautifully. Back in 1979, Hi-Fidelity magazine (I believe) did a review on the (then) just released 1030s, and it was that review that sparked my interest in at least auditioning them. Glad I did! If you can get them today, used, just be sure that the compound crossover system does not need replacing - it is not cheap to do.

Stan Herman

I bought these speaker new more than 35 years ago and I'm still using them both as my main stereo speakers and as part of my audio set for wathcing movies and TV. I had to repair one of the speakers 5 years ago and bought a pair of polkaudio 70 series II monitors in the meantime. The Koss speakers put the polkaudio speakers to shame.

Okay, if we can let's go back a few years I bought a set of CM 1020's back in 78 after demoing them with the 1010's and 1030's. The 1020's were absolutely incredible, bass, miss.. highs'.. they had everything going. Don't get me wrong the 1030's were very nice but to my 24 year old ears, seemed a bit flat in the base… I'm a drummer and former DJ using Koss headphone for years and often wondered if a set of spellers were ever produced that would sound like the realism through the Koss 1000's, I'd get them. The 1020 were very close. the rest is history. If you have a set keep em. I'm using mine with a tube amp, and Yamaha CD player source. Still excellent after all these years.

I've had the CM/1010s, CM/1020s and the CM/1030s. I bought the CM 1010s about 30 years ago and then traded up to the 1020s. I could not get the 1030s because I could not afford the extra $200 for the 1030s. I found a pair of the 1030s about 15 years for aound $150. Since they were originally around $1,000, I felt this was a very good deal. I used them until about 5 years ago when I bought Infinity Kappa 9s. (As you can see, I like large, full range speakers.) I then gave them to my step-son, who has used them ever since.

The description above does not tell you how well these are built. The corners are made of solid pecan wood. They have handles built into the sides and weigh about 75 lbs. The dual midranges have separate enclosures. The cabinets are braced internally to reduce resonance problems. The particle board used to build them i thicker than with most speakers. All in all, they were constructed very solidly.

I remember the literature stating that the audio frequency response was dead flat from below 30 cps to nearly 20K - which pretty much covers the entire audible range. They also have a total harmonic distortion of 1%, which is virtually inaudible.

I remember demoing them against the 1020s. A person who was listening to them played a piece with horns. With the 1030s, the saxiphone had the proper "blat," where as it was missing in the 1020s. They really do sound very good.

These are not in the same class as the Infinities, but they also cost a lot less and give you excellent sound quality, particularly at the price they can be purchased for, if you can find them.

I have a pair for sale (best Offer Takes

I got these speakers when someone gave them to my church, all covered in cheap white contact paper. After inspection of the nearly 30 year old speakers, I found that all drivers and switches were functional, but pure copper leads in the complex 4th order crossover were corroded and broken. I rebuilt the crossovers entirely with new Erse resistors and Pulse capacitors, The chokes were clean and fully functional When I tested them for the first time, I laughed out loud. I knew the design seemed impressively different, but was not expecting what I heard. Detail, soundstage, depth, and did I mention detail? Unbelievable. I have been spoiled now and will not likely be happy with any others. I own pairs of KLH 32, Acoustic Research AR2, Paradigm 3ce, Genesis 3+, 1972 Advent Large. The CM 1030's are my most enjoyed pair, and have been my mains for 5 years now. I think America could solve some of it's economic woes if we would look back and do what was successfully done by Koss way back when. Produce a quality product that is the best available, with the best build quality and don't apologize for the price. Peace

Hello,

i ve bought the cm1030 five years ago.
these speakers make me nearly cry- i never heared such an excelent sound before !!!
sometimes i am afraid, cause there a some parts in songs that you dont hear with other
speakers.
and songs sounds sooo real :-)

if anyone sell a pair of them- please contact me

Bye

i own a pair of CM1030's andCM 1020's these are fantastic speakers better than many made today.

I own five pairs of the Koss CM/1030 and a pair each of the CM/1020 and CM/1010. All have been professionally refurbished. I have also collected a lot information on these speakers (reviews, wiring diagrams, promotional literature) which I am happy to provide to fellow enthusiasts. Just send an email to junk666email@hotmail.com.

I've been listening to a lot of different speakers in my life, but no speaker comes close to these babies. They are very sweet, smooth, and crisp in all aspects. A wonderful stereo sound field, great bass that is very tight and allows other instruments to cut through and not drown them out. A two port system to maximize the bass response down to 26 Hz. The highs have a range up to 19 KHz which is more that a lot of us can hear. They contain a 1" acoustically loaded dome tweeter and a treble speaker, two 4 1/2" parameter synthesized midrange drivers and a 10" parameter synthesized woofer. Reference Efficiency is rated at 96db with less than 1% distortion. The cross over network is 300 Hz, 2500 Hz and 7000 Hz. Minimum power rating is 15 Watts and the maximum is 200 watts. Each speaker has a built in eq that allows you to control a curved gain envelope of + 3db, 0db, and – 3db for the tweeter, the treble and the two midrange speakers. Not many speakers allow this type of flexibility.
I’ve tested these speakers on all genders of music and can honestly say that they excel no matter what material is being played.
Anyhow, if you get a chance to listen to these speakers, don’t pass it up you will be amazed at how they sound and reproduce music.

Enjoy!