Does anyone listen to modern music on vintage speakers?

I guess my mindset was if the speaker is old, and only played say Al Jolson for YEARS, then I throw something on with bass. My concern was if the spider never stretched that far or the surround never did, could the surround crease, could ths pider or surround pull off etc. Just a though, thats all.

What I love about this place is that you can pretty much ask anything and not get knocked back by someone else's post. Good place..

Well if the speaker is "Al Jolson Old" then it's not the bass that's going to hurt it, it's the nearly 100 years, actually over 100 years (Jolson's first record was in 1911) that would be the issue. Of course, if it's been playing music since 1911, then it's a horn not a speaker. What I think you're referring to is the "dynamic speaker" so if you really want to know what modern music will do to an old speaker, find a Magnavox from the 20's and see what happens. :)
 
Well if the speaker is "Al Jolson Old" then it's not the bass that's going to hurt it, it's the nearly 100 years, actually over 100 years (Jolson's first record was in 1911) that would be the issue. Of course, if it's been playing music since 1911, then it's a horn not a speaker. What I think you're referring to is the "dynamic speaker" so if you really want to know what modern music will do to an old speaker, find a Magnavox from the 20's and see what happens. :)
haha I should've been more specific. I meant just a type of music played say when the KLH Fives came out in late 60s. If that speaker only played big band or Al Jolson for most of its life... But yeah I got your drift.
 
I was wondering if anyone uses vintage speakers on modern music? Say for instance, something like EDM or the like, pretty much any electronic based music is going to be bass heavy... What about excursion and damage etc? Can you not play it loud or have much if any added bass via the knobs?

Below is an example of how the 12" woofers on my JBL L150 speakers (1979) handle modern bass-heavy music; playing the Qemists Mix of BYOB - My Best Shoes.


The older 12" woofers can handle quite a bit of bass as you can see. It is possible to push them too hard, which I have done on multiple occasions. What happens at that point is the voice coil will hit the pole piece in the rear and the woofer will produce a heart-stopping "POP!"

Below is a video of the 8" woofer in my JBL L5 speakers (1993) playing the same song. These woofers are able to do great for only being 8". They are ultimately limited by their suspension before anything else, but are still able to produce very good bass.


I know about tearing the speaker is a potential issue, but basically can they safely play any and all music at moderately loud volumes?

I'm not sure about tearing, but I have had some issues with the spider in my 2214H woofers in my JBL L100T speakers (1984). I found the spider lifting up off the frame last time I refoamed them. I hate to think what might have happened if I had not caught it then, and only realized it once a failure occured. Whether this is normal wear and tear, or due to my tendency to play bass-heavy music at loud volumes, I am not sure.

In the picture you can see right under the wires where the spider had begun to lift up. Glue fixed it thankfully and it has not given me any issues since.

2214hspider.jpg
 
I get that same feeling with really old records and cylinders. I wonder who was the first person to listen to it and especially with cylinders, feel like I'm looking through a window into the past since those things weren't edited.


Well, you piqued my curiosity on your curiosity...and just had to do a follow up, and it was interesting what I found..

From what I can gather, the very first (1878) Thomas Edison cylinder recording was of an opening by a a cornet playing (23 secs) followed by two spoken nursery poems, "Mary Had A Little Lamb" and "Old mother Hubbard" The total time of the recording was 78 seconds with a man making the first bloopers wherein he laughed twice in the music..once during and at the end of this reproduction of sound. The event took place in St. Louis on a tin foil covered roll.

The history of the dev of the 78's is a bit more muddled. Seems like a German fellow, by the name of Berliner, offered the first disc (1901) which were on the onset 5" in diameter, which grew in size as they improved in the different formats. The first were made of a shellac resin and were very brittle and a difficult to handle. The vinyl came later. In the beginning, a singer had to sing into a horn, which transmitted the vibrations by air into a needle-like stylus which recorded the sounds on grooves. The first stage was known as the mechanical stage, which was followed by the much improved electrical stage.

Wasn't able to track what song was one of the first recorded, but by the late 1880's, the 78 records (Berliners) were able to carry twice the amount of material that the earlier Edison cylinders were able to store.

It does make for interesting reading if you are into the history of music and how it became recorded. I've only scratched the surface here (pun unintended).

Q
 
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Well, you piqued my curiosity on your curiosity...and just had to do a follow up, and it was interesting what I found..

From what I can gather, the very first (1978) Thomas Edison cylinder recording was of an opening by a a cornet playing (23 secs) followed by two spoken nursery poems, "Mary Had A Little Lamb" and "Old mother Hubbard" The total time of the recording was 78 seconds with a man making the first bloopers wherein he laughed twice in the music..once during and at the end of this reproduction of sound. The event took place in St. Louis on a tin foil covered roll.

The history of the dev of the 78's is a bit more muddled. Seems like a German fellow, by the name of Berliner, offered the first disc (1901) which were on the onset 5" in diameter, which grew in size as they improved in the different formats. The first were made of a shellac resin and were very brittle and a difficult to handle. The vinyl came later. In the beginning, a singer had to sing into a horn, which transmitted the vibrations by air into a needle-like stylus which recorded the sounds on grooves. The first stage was known as the mechanical stage, which was followed by the much improved electrical stage.

Wasn't able to track what song was one of the first recorded, but by the late 1880's, the 78 records (Berliners) were able to carry twice the amount of material that the earlier Edison cylinders were able to store.

It does make for interesting reading if you are into the history of music and how it became recorded. I've only scratched the surface here (pun unintended).

Q
I think that you should check your dates listed and verify. There were no 78 records in the late 1880's and the first Thomas Edison cylinder recording took place long before 1978. :D
 
Below is an example of how the 12" woofers on my JBL L150 speakers (1979) handle modern bass-heavy music; playing the Qemists Mix of BYOB - My Best Shoes.

Thanks... Sounds like you were cranking that music! I typically dont listen to it that loud, never over 3/5 volume on the Sa-400 I have. Its only 40WPC so its not much, and the inefficiency of the speakers calculated into it.
 
I think that you should check your dates listed and verify. There were no 78 records in the late 1880's and the first Thomas Edison cylinder recording took place long before 1978. :D


Gotcha on the 1978:confused:...made the change accordingly...thanks!

And per the "Berliners"...just going on what I read. Could be wrong? But check it out, eh?

Q
 
Well, you piqued my curiosity on your curiosity...and just had to do a follow up, and it was interesting what I found..

From what I can gather, the very first (1878) Thomas Edison cylinder recording was of an opening by a a cornet playing (23 secs) followed by two spoken nursery poems, "Mary Had A Little Lamb" and "Old mother Hubbard" The total time of the recording was 78 seconds with a man making the first bloopers wherein he laughed twice in the music..once during and at the end of this reproduction of sound. The event took place in St. Louis on a tin foil covered roll.

The history of the dev of the 78's is a bit more muddled. Seems like a German fellow, by the name of Berliner, offered the first disc (1901) which were on the onset 5" in diameter, which grew in size as they improved in the different formats. The first were made of a shellac resin and were very brittle and a difficult to handle. The vinyl came later. In the beginning, a singer had to sing into a horn, which transmitted the vibrations by air into a needle-like stylus which recorded the sounds on grooves. The first stage was known as the mechanical stage, which was followed by the much improved electrical stage.

Wasn't able to track what song was one of the first recorded, but by the late 1880's, the 78 records (Berliners) were able to carry twice the amount of material that the earlier Edison cylinders were able to store.

It does make for interesting reading if you are into the history of music and how it became recorded. I've only scratched the surface here (pun unintended).

Q

It's the coolest thing ever to listen to cylinders. You can sometimes even hear the band speeding up to make sure they finish the song within the allotted time! Unlike vinyl LP records and I guess later 78s (I'm not sure when recording and editing was possible) every performance is a "live" performance. Some of the best experiences I've had listening to music have come from really old recordings due to the connection that's felt. By me anyway. :)
 
haha I should've been more specific. I meant just a type of music played say when the KLH Fives came out in late 60s. If that speaker only played big band or Al Jolson for most of its life... But yeah I got your drift.

Well, I listen to EDM and Trap Music through my NS690ii speakers. They don't seem to mind and it sounds pretty darn good. Of course you can't compare them to the BP 2002 speakers sporting two massive subwoofers (literally shook a light out of the ceiling a few years ago) but the music sounds fine through them. I'm not sure but I think the 690 ii are from the late 70s... can someone correct me?
 
It's the coolest thing ever to listen to cylinders. You can sometimes even hear the band speeding up to make sure they finish the song within the allotted time! Unlike vinyl LP records and I guess later 78s (I'm not sure when recording and editing was possible) every performance is a "live" performance. Some of the best experiences I've had listening to music have come from really old recordings due to the connection that's felt. By me anyway. :)


Cool!:thumbsup:

Q
 
I've listened to Volbeat on my Marantz Imperial 6's at pretty high volume with no problems whatsoever. However, I have a feeling it would sound better on my Cerwin Vega D9's once they get refoamed...

As long as you use your ears and brain and pay attention to warning signs (such as distortion, woofer bottoming out, etc) you should have no problem using old speakers for new music.
 
I've listened to Volbeat on my Marantz Imperial 6's at pretty high volume with no problems whatsoever. However, I have a feeling it would sound better on my Cerwin Vega D9's once they get refoamed...

As long as you use your ears and brain and pay attention to warning signs (such as distortion, woofer bottoming out, etc) you should have no problem using old speakers for new music.

My Imperial 6s floor me every time I turn them up. I had no idea when I got them they would be able to produce so much bass.
 
Hells yea - if a vintage speaker was "revealing" when it first came out - it will probably still be the case today.

I listen to EDM, metal, heaps of stuff on my 104.2's. Marilyn Mansons' The Pale Emperor sounds huge - and these speakers still show deficiencies in a sub-par recording, where these exist.
 
new music old speaker, old music new speakers doesn't make any difference with a proper functioning speaker new or old.

With apologies to Billy Joel, old funk, new punk, even if it's old junk
It's still rock and roll to me.

You can fart out virtually any speaker with virtually any music if you do something stupid, like overpower it.

These comments nail it.
 
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