Sneaky Good - What ya got

Drugolf

AK Subscriber
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What speakers might you have that are sneaky good. Ones that may not get a lot of attention, are not well known or might be overlooked here otherwise and you feel are worthy of more discussion?

Mine have to be these Dahlquist M-907 I use in my office system (hooked up to a recapped Pioneer SA9100). The DQ-10's of course get a majority of the Dahlquist talk so these seem to get lost. I am really really enjoying these and might just put them in the "keepers" category if I had to pare my collection way down to a select few sets. They do everything very well, fairly efficient so can pair up with a wide variety of systems, good bass presence even at low levels with the Large Advent woofer, and look great on their original, stands.

I would not hesitate to grab a pair of these if they come around.
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Hey Dave, you've seen my candidates. Optonica CP-5151. They weigh a ton and the drivers are cool to look at. Great bass, mids and the winged tweeters sound pretty good powered by my Yamaha MX1/CX1. They can be tri-amped. Would never let these go!20170729_074911.jpg
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Bought some Technics SB-F1MK2 at a flea market. Did not expect much but they ended up replacing some respected minis in my daily system -

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Bought some Technics SB-F1MK2 at a flea market. Did not expect much but they ended up replacing some respected minis in my daily system -

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I saw a pair of these at Goodwill and passed. I guess I should have snagged them.
 
A pair of Luxman LX 104 MK II. These are a 2 way reflex speaker with 8 inch woofers. I wasn't expecting to much when I got them a few years ago because they were caked in dirt from sitting outside but damn was I in for a nice surprise. The bass is quite good and they image like no other speaker I've ever heard. They are so smooth also and horn sections sound killer good without ripping your ears out like horns can sometimes do. They were designed by Paul Barton of PSB fame and manufactured in Canada under license for Luxman. They are not that efficent so some watts help. when I got my 120 watt Pioneer SXD 7000 I knew it was a match made in heaven. They were ok with my Sansui 771 (40 watts) but the Pioneer really woke them up, I don't ever plan on parting with these because I doubt I'll ever find anything that sounds as good to my ears in my price range (which is damn near nothing). If I ever do find a pair of cheap PSB's I'm buying them just because of these Luxmans. Sort of a laugh is the first 3 letters on the license plate of my 67 Chevy Belair is LXM. My Luxman plates.:bigok::music:
 
I am a vintage AR guy. I have a infinity especially for the 8 in. two way models. AR 18,18S,18B,25,28, AR4X, 4XA, 7 and 6 models. like them all. Then I run into a pair of AR15's. Radio Shack replacement woofers. Bad tweeter. Missing grills. Eventually new correct tweeters and woofers, recap and borrowed grill from my 25's. Shazam boy am I impressed. Could be my new favorite AR small bookshelf speaker.

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I have been through a lot of speakers through the years, but the one surprise was a pair of RTR EXP-8 speakers that I picked up. Super nice gentleman, and he also had some KEF 102 units that were not for sale. He was semi-reluctant to sell, and I gave him a bit more than he was asking. Had to bypass the overloads as they were kicking in at random, but I don't play at volumes that need them. What I got was a beautiful warm sound with tons of detail and a speaker that would stop you as you walked through the room. Still with me and not going anywhere. The cabinetry alone is worth the price of admission. RTR was a California company and the name was a combination of the owners' initials. Eventually they were acquired by BIC and the quality went down from there, I have read. Correct me if I am wrong. Anyway, worth a shot if you see a pair.
 
Fun thread.

I've written about these before but they definitely belong here: HH Scott S-196 3-way (12", 4", & 1"). I picked the set up at the dump. Nearly left them until I took a grille off and saw the Philips dome tweeter and that the woofer had a rubber surround. Dragged them home and eventually got them set up. I did not expect too much and sounded horrible but, I let them play on.

After a short time they began to sound better, and eventually they sounded great. Like, keep them great. My guess is that the electrolytics reformed while I played them. Great bass & imaging, quite sensitive, and overall very balanced not unlike same era ADS. Typical New England early 80s construction too . They ended up with a former Scott employee. Worth keeping on radar, there is also the S-197 (15") and Pro 100 (15" w/ extra mid & tw), and B versions of each.

Not my S-196 but just like them -


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ARs from this era are somewhat overlooked in favor of the "classic" AR's. The gent I got my ADS910's from had a set of AR 12's I initially passed on. He said they were going to the town dump. After learning about them here and online I told him I'll take them, they were free. I restored them and they are outstanding and rare one year only speakers. A pleasant surprise!
 
Hey Dave, you've seen my candidates. Optonica CP-5151. They weigh a ton and the drivers are cool to look at. Great bass, mids and the winged tweeters sound pretty good powered by my Yamaha MX1/CX1. They can be tri-amped. Would never let these go!View attachment 975554
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These would go very nicely with my Optonica SM-4646 and RP-3636, but I'm not holding on to much hope of ever finding a pair I can afford:no:
 
My offer to this thread is my Philips MFB532 speakers. These are powered(bi amped no less), features the classis philips tweeter, and midrange, as well as a woofer with rubber surrounds and a feedback correction monitor, as well as a start up light! And a rear door panel with a LOT of complicated stuff inside, more than a crossover. They sound marvelous, and came with cool cables unique to the design, and a demo record as well, who does stuff like that anymore? Anyway, they sure sound nice with certain music, and are so unique I can't let them go, they were also my Dad's, they are in need of a complete restore, but that might be a tall order for me.
These were the mid range speaker in this line of Philips hifi MFB design, as good as these sound, I have always wanted to hear the larger models.
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ARs from this era are somewhat overlooked in favor of the "classic" AR's. The gent I got my ADS910's from had a set of AR 12's I initially passed on. He said they were going to the town dump. After learning about them here and online I told him I'll take them, they were free. I restored them and they are outstanding and rare one year only speakers. A pleasant surprise!

GD70 - excellent! The AR 12's are my other sleepers. My neighbor gave me a pristine pair with original surrounds and the original foam grills. They had been in his basement for years. Excellent mids and the bass is very good. Not overwhelming but there with authority when it's supposed to. If you find a pair grab them!
 

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My offer to this thread is my Philips MFB532 speakers. These are powered(bi amped no less), features the classis philips tweeter, and midrange, as well as a woofer with rubber surrounds, a start up light! And a rear door panel with a LOT of complicated stuff inside, more than a crossover. They sound marvelous, and came with cool cables unique to the design, and a demo record as well, who does stuff like that anymore? Anyway, they sure sound nice with certain music, and are so unique I can't let them go, they were also my Dad's, they are in need of a complete restore, but that might be a tall order for me.
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This might be one of my favoritist threads ever! These Philips speakers are awesome, like they are staring at me too.
 
How about these little known speakers that I regret selling to a friend, but at least I still hear from time to time, Magnum Opus Lab 33
Sound is amazing from these! the company from New York was only in business for 6 years I think.
 

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