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Just curious what folks think about the best choices for a vintage set of speakers. I've got a friend who's looking at stuff probably under $400 or so and then of course I'll re-cap and rewire for him...KLH, Bozak, Advents???? Your input is greatly appreciated and will be shared this evening..
Side note...and important one...he like Metal and Hard Rock...has a tt to play them...
Edits: 02/05/16 02/05/16 02/05/16 02/05/16Follow Ups:
I am surprised that no one has mentioned the home versions of the Altec Lancing A-7. I am referring to the Barcelona, Santiago, Model 14 and (probably the best) Model 19. There are owners that consider them the best speaker period. They certainly belong on the list. I would also put the duplex model 18 there too.
Dave
And I purchased mine for $400 last year, I do not think the op could find a pair for that cheap...
I was going to recommend them, with the caveat of my purchase price, which was a steal and uncommon.
Although $400 would be an excellent price for them, I was able to find two pairs of 14's in the past 10 years for less than $400 and they usually only bring $500-$600 or so on eBay. And I actually like the 14's better than the 19's. I know it's probably blasphemy on this forum, but the mantaray horn provides a much smoother dispersion pattern than the old sectoral horns. The 14's are also considerably smaller and easier to fit into a normal home.
I don't know about this forum but on the High Efficiency Forum, there are definitely inmates who prefer the mantaray horns. Altec considered it an upgrade. Regardless off the market, I would consider sound pre dollar, $400 to $600 to be a fantastic bargain for the 14's.
Dave
Later Gator,
Dave
JBL L-110. The successor of the L-100, a more compact box, one of my faves.
I heard Bold Eagle's pair vs his Advents a number of years ago. They have a dead neutral tonal balance (unlike the Centuries) and offer very clean top end response.I just couldn't get over the weird imaging of instruments that spanned the upper range of the midrange into the tweeter because of a severe directivity transition. Pushing a 5" piston to an octave higher than ideal (4 kHz) took its toll. I suspect that choice was made for higher power handling with respect to the tweeter.
Fortunately, JBL learned that lesson as reflected with current models such as the LSR6332 .
Edits: 02/07/16
High output capability, large image size and solid first octave response. Drive them with a solid 200+ watts/channel for optimum results.
I recall comparing original double Advents to IMF Studio speakers 40 years ago just about the time Harry Pearson was extolling their virtues. Then for fun we tried comparing single Advents to doubles. The sound was cleaner, better focused and the individual elements in the sound field were better defined. The double tweeters and widely spaced double woofers produce a comb filter affect that seems like a huge sound field but is really a diffuse, poorly defined sonic experience. It's not a set up where listen through and maximum information is desired.
Fortunately, New Advents have closer driver spacing among other improvements. It all depends upon which set of compromises you prefer. Let's recall the specific request:
Side note...and important one...he like Metal and Hard Rock
Doubles add about 5 db more output when using an amp that doubles down, better bass and a more lifelike image size. I'm thinking they would do better for "Metal and Hard Rock". :)
I've used doubles in my garage and at the neighbor's Halloween Party for the teenaged daugther. They will crank much better than singles:
I gave away one pair and today am running singles supplemented by a spare sub crossed at 50 hz. Image is smaller, but as you opined they are a bit more focused on vocal and instrumental music.
i always found that woofer to woofer was the more satisfying setup of stacked advents.
...regards...tr
Just the quasi-MTM arrangement.
stacking them woofer to woofer allows the woofs to couple and it reinforces the bass.
i had dyna a25s stacked horizontally, woofers to the outside, tweets to center
0o o0
0o o0
on stands (the dyna boxes painted flat black)
philips clear dome tweeter above 10k balanced at the speakers' front edge on the magnet. the tweeter opened up the top and gave the air missing from nekkid a25s.
...regards...tr
The speaker that is was at the top of most lists for best RnR speaker back in the day.
Vintage AR (2ax,3a,5) WERE NOT designed for rock played at high SPL. The AR 7 and 8 were designed to compete with the Advent, EPI 100 and similar.
JBL L100 and Pioneer HPM 100 will be hard to find in good working condition for $400 or less because most know what they are, and CMV. However you should be able to find a pr in need of crossover rebuild p, new surrounds etc--ie in need of work.
Someone else recommended Cerwin Vega. Another good choice. I recall that they once demonstrated a new woofer design by litterally connecting it to a 12v AC outlet and letting it play a 60hz for several hours. Should be good for rock and metal I would think.
I heard a pair of these ages ago at a friend's place and still can't get over how impressed I was.
Yes but probably too much of a commitment for most!
Dave
Not sure what you mean. They go dirt cheap on Ebay and elsewhere and don't need re-coning.
I was got the numbers confused and was thinking about the Model 9's. They are the Electrostatic panels. They are excellent but require a lot of work.
Dave
If you're looking for vintage speakers that rock, you ought to have on your list, JBL-L100 and Pioneer HPM 100. Also: I would look at AR. Not only the classic AR2a and AR2ax, but also the AR3a and AR5, with the AR5 marketed specifically as a Rock speaker. Also look for the later Teledyne Acoustic Research speakers, which I have found worked well with rock. For a while I had a pair of largish, 3 way speakers with 10" woofers that really excelled at Rockin'. I think they were the AR48bxi
Good luck,
--Matt
"When you think everything is someone else's fault, you will suffer a lot."
--Dalai Lama
Thank you guys...as always I am so impressed with the friendly advice of everyone here. Its my buddy's birthday today so I think what he has in mind is a self-generated birthday present... also talking about Pioneer SX series receivers so you know where this is going. I figured the 100's would be a good choice along with maybe 4311's but you've indicated some other choices that will be well worth checking out and maybe within his budget. Thanks again!
Or Rectilinear III's if you can find a pair.
"To Learn Who Rules Over You, Simply Find Out Who You Are Not Allowed to Criticize."
-Voltaire
Agree. I use ADS L710's and they sound awesome. I think a quality subwoofer adds to them too, even though the bass is good without
.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
You did say "headbanger" material. Cerwin-Vega?
My musical tastes are VERY different. So, what I like in speakers rates to be dead wrong. NO C/V for me, but "Different strokes, for different folks".
Eli D.
ADS
My favorite is the Epicure 400+.
(The nearly identical EPI 400 is not quite as good)
I'll tell you I just recently came upon a pair of ESS AMT 1B (bookshelf's) and I am just stunned at how good they sound. I am using them with vintage 1983-ish Nikko separates. I sold my Klipsch Forte I's because the ESS's were so solid sounding. They especially sound excellent on rock music. Don't know if you could grab a pair for under $400 but I got mine for $250.
Years ago (early 80's) I bought a 2-way from a company called RTR, 12" front woofer, 12" passive, metal tweeter (with circuit breaker). Worked great for 70's and 80's rock! However, foam surrounds do need to be replaced. These were big heavy MDF towers. When I bought them I was comparing to Klipsch Heresy, similar price point. The RTRs sounded much smoother and went deeper.
Klipsch Forte, Pioneer HPM 100... Might be hard to do for under $400, but "hard to do" doesn't mean "impossible".
I have seen the Pioneer HPM 100 mentioned here many times when discussions like this come up, but I have never seen anyone mention the HPM 500, which blew me away when I heard a pair in an audio shop back in the day. It was a big floor stander with an omnidirectional version of that fancy tweeter. Does any one know anything about the 500?
As a kid I would have given my left #$+ to have a pair of those!!!!
Put the Dynaco A25 on that list. They don't need refoaming and they are 2 way with just one cap to replace so it's easy to get these going...and they are very plentiful.
There are vintage speakers. Then there are vintage speakers that need to have their dried-out, 40-year-old drivers replaced.
With that in mind, my father would say KLH speakers. I don't have an opinion regarding brand.
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It's amazing that hipsters who insist they can hear sampling remnants in interpolated 24/96 digital waveforms can somehow fail to detect surface noise from their own vinyl LPs.
Any of those 3 would work OK. Also the much maligned JBL L-100s, great for vintage rock. There are many others, as well, such as Altec, Marantz, AR...
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