Best vintage speakers for under $300?

[Robayb]

I know this is an old thread but people still reference these. I'm surprised no one has mention KLH 6, 5 or 23. Will require some rehab but worth it and will come in well under $300.

 

[DavidR623]

Damn near impossible to answer for YOU as we all have different ears and thus different tastes. Some one mentioned Polks. I bought my son a pair of RTA12Cs and couldn't find a replacement fast enough. Those replaced an original pair of Klipsch Heresys which at low volumes sound nice and were accurate for the freq range they had. However, they lacked deep bass and loud playing was harsh with the horns. Many will agree with this and many will disagree. Its OK as we are all different. :yes:

 

[elgee]

I know this is an old thread but one that has thrown up some useful suggestions. I'm in the UK so I'll need to research which models are available over here. I'm dipping my toe I to vintage at the moment having acquired an old Philips CD player converted to non oversampling mode, a reclocked NAD CD player, an untouched but working Sansui SR 661 receiver and a recapped Pioneer SX 990 receiver that I'm swooping around and putting through (relatively unknown/unpopular) Kef unique 90 speakers.

I'm really pleased with the results and it's given me a taste for experimenting with older speakers. I have a fairly limited budget of around £300 and am curious to know what I can find over here.

We don't have thrift shops, although we do have small charity shops, but not many will take electrical goods because of health & safety legislation! EBay etc. tend to fetch high prices as people become e more savvy of values so cha CDs of spotting bargains are slim I think.

Any recommendations that might give me better sound than my Kefs? Maybe ones that fly under the radar here?

 

[Gossy]

non oversampling ouch..

Those Q90's are pretty nice speakers - If you have a chance to , have a listen to the B&W Matrix series. Also fairly unknown, but very good performers.

 

[jlovda]

Best speakers is impossible to answer IMHO. I have 13 sets of speakers that I picked up at yard sales, ebay, friends. I have maybe $300 invested total. They are Bose (vintage and newer), BIC, Advent, Sansui, Dahlquist, SpeakerLab. I also have somewhere north of 12 receivers. Marantz, Pioneer, Sansui, Yamaha, Technics. I also have dynamic range expanders, Revebs, graphic equalizers and parametric equalizers. I even have a surround processor. At times I thought some of the speakers were terribe. But swaping things around proved that I could get incredible sound from any of them. Sometimes, just a different receiver, sometimes with an equalizer, sometimes by moving the speakers to a different location. I personally like classic hard rock. I have a basement man-cave with hard floor and surroundings. I moved junk out and put in a rug, things changed. I personally like "quality volume" AKA Loud but most of the time listen to "reasonable" levels. Some speakers take a lot more power to sound nice.

This is one question that has answers like, "it depends" and "your results may vary". My ears are not your ears. I have a freind who flips speakers. He usually refoams them and has a pile of parts so he restores some and frankensteins some. Some things he thinks are great do not impress me but he always plays stuff I am not familiar with so I have no basis for judging. I've gotten some great speakers from him cheap because he thought little of them. I'm sure it was his musical taste and the market price and demand locally.

I think you are on the right track though. I have never heard newer speakers that had any impresive sound for my tastes. But, I may not have heard any good newer speakers.

I know you can make things sound a lot better with a good graphic equalizer. It adjusts the system to the room. A parametric equalizer seems to really make things sing. I just started playing with those.

I would suggest to anyone who is asking this question to please tell us what the music choice is most common, what your are driving the with, what the listening room is like, what you like to hear.

There is a LOT of difference. A wise freind once made a comment as we walked past a music equipment store years ago (70s) as I said "wow, what music is playing, it sounds good". He said "be careful, anything on that system will sound good". They ran all the demo equipemnt through a Marantz 500 hooked to a set of JBL Voice of the Theater speakers. Probably had it tuned to the room with a lot of other stuff (no idea what peramp). I don't know if it was just the best equipment I had ever heard that impressed me or if it was truly good sounding but the insight he shared always stuck with me.

You're not married, are you?

 

[ggizzy]

Elgee,

I have a multitude of vintage UK hifi gear. Some of the items I've gotten stateside, others I've had shipped from merry ol' England.

I have a pair of Wharfedale W60s I got from fleabay for well under $300.00. I got those here in the US. Quite a decent speaker.

You can sort auctions in fleabay by local pickup only and with a km radius. This might be your best bet, especially with nanny safety regulations. Good luck. Be patient!

 

[harman/kardon]

Beovox "S" series (the larger ones)...

 

[elgee]

non oversampling ouch..

Funny thing is I was a bit wary at first but in some ways it's like being there, warts and all - 'unplugged' actually unplugged rather than smoothed over.

I'll check out the B+W Matrix. Thanks.

 

[Gossy]

some people like smooth rides, some like it rough ^^

You're kind of pampered with those Kef's already though - why not stay in the family: I see Reference Model One's go for under 300 I think if I remember correctly
*edit* hmm no the One's are too new to go for under 300.. more like 400-500 =/ Reference 103/4 are nice though and should come in under budget.

 

[TerryB123]

Try finding a pair Dynaco A-25 speakers.
Best selling speakers of ALL TIME.....for a reason.
A pair in VGC should run you $100-$150.....less if you're lucky.

Steve

I got mine at a garage sale for $15.

 

[faber12]

Here's my list:

New Large Advent with the poly dome tweeter
Dahlquist DQ-10
JBL L110
Dynaco
ADS
Heck, there could be a very long list.. but...

Occasionally, you'll find super speakers in that range... Like JBL L300 for $200/pr..

Somethimes, you get alot more than you have to pay..

I got my L300's for less than that. If you are patient you can find a deal.

 

[elgee]

Elgee

You can sort auctions in fleabay by local pickup only and with a km radius. This might be your best bet, especially with nanny safety regulations. Good luck. Be patient!

Thanks for the tip. I've put a couple of searches on there using those filters - I hadn't even thought of that!

 

[tyv1993]

Boston Acoustic A400s

 

[elgee]

some people like smooth rides, some like it rough ^^

You're kind of pampered with those Kef's already though - why not stay in the family: I see Reference Model One's go for under 300 I think if I remember correctly
*edit* hmm no the One's are too new to go for under 300.. more like 400-500 =/ Reference 103/4 are nice though and should come in under budget.

I do find that the nos vs reclocked throws up some interesting comparisons - they suit different types of music but it's fascinating listening to the subtle differences.

I really like the Kefs but I have been with big Kefs for quite a while now. It would be good to get a taste of something equally as good but different. I read about 'British' sound, and east and west coast and wonder whether I need to broaden my experience? I admit that I don't really know what these labels actually refer to, but it might be fun finding out, haha.

 

[Raymondgent]

Ik ben op zoek naar vintage speakers JVC sp 550