valvenator
curious bystander, serious procrastinator
What's special about the cabs? From what I see on line they look like something that could be easily copied.
...and what's up with the 7 egg shaped booby cones?
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE VINTAGE SPEAKER?
- Thread starter IGSTER
- Start date
...and what's up with the 7 egg shaped booby cones?
smoke-libr8r
Active Member
Last time I checked, a new pair of Khorns ran $12k.
As with many collectibles, the price has little to do with the substance.
Playing a set right now after a refoam prior to listing them on CL locally. I totally agree with you. I had a set in my bedroom for a long time, and my daughter has a set I restored for her too. They're not my A7s, but they are very easy on the ears and provide plenty of good music to their owners. Burhoe really nailed it with his module!
One of my always buy speakers; I bet I've rescued well over a dozen pairs and currently have two sets here for rehab.
colohiker
Well-Known Member
Heck, I have 7 pairs sitting around in various stages of use/repair. That's on top of the pair of EPI 110's, 200's, 201's, a70's along with 3 pair of Genesis 2+'s, pair of Genesis 1+ & 110's. No, I don't have a hoarding problem
leftfielder
Active Member
If mid 80's are considered vintage and I heard no complaints when someone proudly presented their Polk Audio M-10s then I'l add my even earlier M-7s and my Polk SDA 2Bs from mid/late 80's. I wish I was flushed w/ cash, then Ohm I would be my next choice after owning the large Ohm L bookies. Notable mentions are the DCM TF 350s and my Rectilinear LB IIIs.
danj
modern primitive
The AR3a is my all-time favorite reasonable speaker but the most realistic sounding speaker I've ever heard is an early 1960s-era Jensen that was at a second-hand store and was being driven by a splendid monster mid-70s Sansui receiver. The room must have been a couple thousand square feet and those big old Jensens (must have been 100 pounds each) were so open and accurate sounding that it sounded like the band was in the room. I tried to buy them but the owner wasn't selling. Alas, he died and the speakers got donated somewhere.
A friend of mine who knows vintage speakers told me they were very highly regarded and had been designed for mono. A pair, hooked to stereo, was fantastic.
I'm also partial to the big old Klipsch Korner Horns, which are incredible. I have never lived in a house with enough room to house a pair. Then there are the various Altec VOTs. Alas, all dream speakers for me and too damn big.
A friend of mine who knows vintage speakers told me they were very highly regarded and had been designed for mono. A pair, hooked to stereo, was fantastic.
I'm also partial to the big old Klipsch Korner Horns, which are incredible. I have never lived in a house with enough room to house a pair. Then there are the various Altec VOTs. Alas, all dream speakers for me and too damn big.
I have a pair of Sansui-SP 5000 speakers that my father brought back to the US from Japan when he was in the Air Force when he was in the Vietnam War. They are simply too big and I don't have the room for them now that I am having children. I live in a small town and I don't want to get rid of them to someone who may not appreciate them. I know they aren't supremely Hi-Fi etc. but wanted to see if someone could help me.
twiiii
Lunatic Member
If vintage means out of production, Mcintosh XR290 or more recently Snell A7 phantom. If you mean before the 80's my Concert Grands supplemented with Celestion super tweeters are still my favorite. Tri-amped. Small speakers, AR3a, Mcintosh Ml-1c. Esoteric speaker. KLH 9. Pre 70's speaker, still my Concert grands, though I owned Symphonys at the time. Non Bozak from the 60's, Altec Carmels and AR-3.
The speaker I dreamed about but couldn't stand the sound. The speaker I knew If I owned I would make right to have the rest of my life. JBL. PARAGON.
Its like falling in love with an old Maserati or old Jag from the 60's knowing you would have to install a small block V-8 from the US to make them perform and provide dependability. So its the same for the Paragon. Replace the Bullet tweeter with an Altec 950 UHF ring radiator, The midrange driver with the driver from a DD67000, and the Best 15" woofer JBL has to replace the 140 in the Paragon. Throw in mini DSP processors and bi amp and a new world of discovery would be achieved. I just know it. But then again maybe a mini DSP would all you would need to start with. Though that bullet tweeter was horrible.
The speaker I dreamed about but couldn't stand the sound. The speaker I knew If I owned I would make right to have the rest of my life. JBL. PARAGON.
Its like falling in love with an old Maserati or old Jag from the 60's knowing you would have to install a small block V-8 from the US to make them perform and provide dependability. So its the same for the Paragon. Replace the Bullet tweeter with an Altec 950 UHF ring radiator, The midrange driver with the driver from a DD67000, and the Best 15" woofer JBL has to replace the 140 in the Paragon. Throw in mini DSP processors and bi amp and a new world of discovery would be achieved. I just know it. But then again maybe a mini DSP would all you would need to start with. Though that bullet tweeter was horrible.
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Hard to say what my 'favorite' is since I have not heard that many vintage speakers in the last few years. Heard plenty in the day as I am considered 'vintage' myself. I have, however, restored a few vintage speakers including a few Large Advents (New LA and original masonite LA), Small Advents, Klipsch Heresy, AR28s and a large Realistic set that I do not recall the model. In all of these they sounded significantly better after restoration which included new crossover components. Of these, I like the Heresy speakers the best. With the Heresy's, you have to have them set up right and matched with an amp that tends towards the warm side. They work great in my setup with a tube phono preamp and a Marantz solid state receiver. My listening room is fairly well damped so I don't experience the ear bleed that is possible with Klipsch speakers. The Advents are always solid performers though and for a vintage HiFi system at minimal cost, they are hard to beat.
I like the pair I bought last month. Now they are in the same room with a set of Sansui SP 75s hooked to a similar amount of power (KLH 50wpc Sony STR5800/Sansui Kenwood KA 3500) and I really like them. This set has been re foamed and re capped. What is surprising is that the Sansuis sound about as good to my ear.
I still am amazed at just how many speakers sounded damn good from back then. Simple and well made two way units in well made heavy cabinets sound great most of the time.
sqlsavior
Lunatic Member
I have ignorance to spare, if anyone wants some. I never knew Onkyo even made speakers. Those are drop-dead gorgeous!
They’re also giant killers. Like giant cab stuff. Narrower, rounded baffles help alleviate diffraction issues, but a 35cm woofer with a 4” underhung v.c. and about 40 pounds worth of magnet in a proper sized critically damped enclosure delivers shocking bass into the lower 20’s. 200 pound weight, and drivers not mounted to the baffle keeps any vibration and resonance to a minimum.
YamaHaHaHa
New Member
If they are your all time favorites, then why would you sell them?
Favorites so far. I like to try the different TOTL Japanese speakers from my youth, when I couldn’t afford or even obtain them due to them not being sold in N. America.
YamaHaHaHa
New Member
Ah ok. I gotcha.
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