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Best Speakers Made In The 70s

The best sounding for me was the Dayton-Wright electrostat. I was introduced to an audio reviewer's pair in '75 which had a lasting effect on me. :)

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Close behind was the Magnepan Tympani III experienced at age 17. They were the first to completely recalibrate my perception of how realistic speakers could sound.

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Those look ominous (in a good way). I always wondered about the bass response of high-end electrostats. If the Dayton-Wright model has a fat, juicy bass, then the rest of the speaker iindustry is in trouble (although, they thought they were in trouble back in the mid '50's when the ESL prototype was debuted).

The Wharfedale W70E (also known as the Rosedale in certain areas) has been getting some recent raves. Throw some warmish tube power on them, and they should sing sweet music for you all day long. The W60E uses the same tweeter and mid. Give them some room. These old speakers like their space.
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And then there's the earlier W70D... This pair actually shows s tweeter mismatch, likely this pair originally came equipped with two of the left type, but one blew, so the right one was substituted (The right one is the MkII version and was sold/supplied as the factory replacement for the early W70D's [and W60D's] that had that left tweeter, which had some failure issues when driven super-hard... Same sound-signature though).
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And the even bigger W90D... (and an even bigger picture).
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Gang-Twanger said:
Those look ominous (in a good way). I always wondered about the bass response of high-end electrostats.
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It varies from model to model but is largely a panel area question. For example, the original Quad 57 used two ~ 30"x15" mid/bass panels and a 30"x4" tweeter panel for a total of around 1020 sq in of diaphragm area and weigh about 35 lbs each. The Acoustat models use varying numbers of a common panel with ~ 400 sq in each. I use the two panel 1+1 in the garage and use a powered sub with them below 50 hz. The four, six and eight panel models, however, have significant response down to about 30 hz. My Sound Lab U-1s have 2350 sq in of diaphragm area and likewise measure flat to 30 hz in my room. they incorporate a steel frame and weigh about 200 lbs each. Sound Lab offers even larger models and since they are a single panel full range design and have controlled directivity, they may be used in arrays. Ray Kimber demonstrated four and six panel arrays at various shows. Here is are double 922s (9' tall, 22 degree radiation angle) for a total of 6250 sq in of diaphragm area:

Double 922s at CES

Gang-Twanger said:
If the Dayton-Wright model has a fat, juicy bass, then the rest of the speaker iindustry is in trouble (although, they thought they were in trouble back in the mid '50's when the ESL prototype was debuted).
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I seriously doubt that! While the D-Ws sounded wonderful, some were plagued with reliability issues since they ran an extremely high bias. Actually, the panels were sealed in a chamber using SF6 gas to eliminate arcing. All electrostats present a challenging reactive load that not all amplifiers are happy driving. High humidity affects their output.

On the other hand, they possess a unique full range coherency and transparency that I found addictive long ago.
 
E-Stat said:
It varies from model to model but is largely a panel area question. For example, the original Quad 57 used two ~ 30"x15" mid/bass panels and a 30"x4" tweeter panel for a total of around 1020 sq in of diaphragm area and weigh about 35 lbs each. The Acoustat models use varying numbers of a common panel with ~ 400 sq in each. I use the two panel 1+1 in the garage and use a powered sub with them below 50 hz. The four, six and eight panel models, however, have significant response down to about 30 hz. My Sound Lab U-1s have 2350 sq in of diaphragm area and likewise measure flat to 30 hz in my room. they incorporate a steel frame and weigh about 200 lbs each. Sound Lab offers even larger models and since they are a single panel full range design and have controlled directivity, they may be used in arrays. Ray Kimber demonstrated four and six panel arrays at various shows. Here is are double 922s (9' tall, 22 degree radiation angle) for a total of 6250 sq in of diaphragm area:

Double 922s at CES


I seriously doubt that! While the D-Ws sounded wonderful, some were plagued with reliability issues since they ran an extremely high bias. Actually, the panels were sealed in a chamber using SF6 gas to eliminate arcing. All electrostats present a challenging reactive load that not all amplifiers are happy driving. High humidity affects their output.

On the other hand, they possess a unique full range coherency and transparency that I found addictive long ago.
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So, not very-apartment-friendly, huh? Not for the space heater crowd, I guess.

Wow, you have the U1's???

Those double 922's must be amazing.
 
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Maybe these from Diatone. Not available here but at ¥1.1 mil per, and over 135 kg, it seems they were made well.
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nfafan said:
I'm in on that too. Although I'd add a 3rd - the OLA.
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Although, judging by recent eBay results and the local Craigslist ads, my then estimate of $400 is now off by a considerable amount. These days, a nice set of L100 speakers will run you close to $1000, and 2.5X that if boxes, manual and packaging are included. I'm into my pair of L100s for about $1200, I estimate. I'm very fond of them.
 
OK I'll bite also. I heard a wide spectrum of speakers in the 70s and in my opinion it was the apex time for full range speaker design. I love my Hsu 5.1 system but there is nothing like a stereo image from quality vintage speakers.

My absolute fave is the EPI 2 way line. When they were built they were the deal of the century. I had 120s back in the day, 100Vs now. The gold ring inverted dome tweeter is simply the best.

EV Interface:A is an unsung but truly exceptional speaker and one of the first designs to use Thiel-Small acoustics. The 8" EV woofer is an amazing machine.

JBL L166 and L150 were fantastic. (Not the IMO way overrated L100 though)

One that is out there: Lafayette Criterion 3003. From memory, white labeled from ESS, a ~40" tower, 10" woofer, 10" flat passive radiator, ESS AMT unidirectional tweeter. I worked for Lafayette when these came out in 1979. After we closed for the night we'd give them Santana with 110 watts at about 1 o'clock. They just blew the doors off the 20x30 listening room, deafening, clean, and with no fuss. But almost no one bought them.
 
C Hart said:
One that is out there: Lafayette Criterion 3003. From memory, white labeled from ESS, a ~40" tower, 10" woofer, 10" flat passive radiator, ESS AMT unidirectional tweeter. I worked for Lafayette when these came out in 1979. After we closed for the night we'd give them Santana with 110 watts at about 1 o'clock. They just blew the doors off the 20x30 listening room, deafening, clean, and with no fuss. But almost no one bought them.
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I think you're referring to the Criterion 3002.

The Criterion 3001 was introduced in the latter part of 1977 or early 1978. The Criterion 3002 and 3003 were introduced later in the year.and were in the 1978/79 catalog and 1979 catalog. We advertised them with a 5 year warranty but, as far as I can tell or remember, we never received any service stock or service paperwork.

They were, I believe, U.S. made, were expensive, and heavy. The Criterion 2001A, 2002A, 2003A series were in much higher demand, cheaper, had a great sound, were not as heavy, and were imported, so we had better cost and pricing margins then the Criterion 3001, 3002, 3003 series. Don't recall even if I sold any since we made more money moving the 2000 series.Also, as we moved into 1979, Lafayette was also on the verge of financial issues.

My Criterion 2002A's are still sounding great today.

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