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Boston Acoustics best model? opinions needed

katana1100 said:
“Their best speakers are still the A series speakers they did back in the day. Those had a super wide baffle, had to be placed in close proximity to the wall. Had paper coned mids and low end. And a seas tweeter...”

I read a review of the a400 in stereo review and it claimed that for the a400, it was the first BA speaker to get an in-house made tweeter.
We’re they wrong in saying that?
Click to expand...

IIRC, yes, I think that the A400 was the first Boston product to get the CFT type tweeter, built in-house at Boston. It then was used in the Series 2 version of most of the A-series products, and in many models after that until the late 1980s/early 1990s, when they started developing the AMD (later VR-HO and such) tweeters.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
katana1100 said:
“Their best speakers are still the A series speakers they did back in the day. Those had a super wide baffle, had to be placed in close proximity to the wall. Had paper coned mids and low end. And a seas tweeter...”

I read a review of the a400 in stereo review and it claimed that for the a400, it was the first BA speaker to get an in-house made tweeter.
We’re they wrong in saying that?
Click to expand...
The A series put them on the map , those speakers have a very unique demand. They allegedly sounded best being put flat against the backwalls. It's what they were designed to do.

A good friend of mine , was the Boston acoustics service manager. His opinion about the A series,is not that great. So opinions are greatly divided about them since wise.

I've heard people in the BA group praise them to heaven , and some that just didn't care for their dullness .

What's true ? Whatever you heard in your room is the real answer I'd reckon . I never cared to get a set for the prices they go.
 
Magfinity said:
The A series put them on the map , those speakers have a very unique demand. They allegedly sounded best being put flat against the backwalls. It's what they were designed to do.

A good friend of mine , was the Boston acoustics service manager. His opinion about the A series,is not that great. So opinions are greatly divided about them since wise.

I've heard people in the BA group praise them to heaven , and some that just didn't care for their dullness .

What's true ? Whatever you heard in your room is the real answer I'd reckon . I never cared to get a set for the prices they go.
Click to expand...

I have a pair of A200s that I bought new in 1983. They absolutely want to be placed against a wall. That is how they were designed to be run. Dullness is not a word I would associate with the A-series speakers, especially the higher end (A150, A200, A400). I was putting mine through their paces a couple of nights ago and they are quite dynamic.

The prices for a good used pair are never very expensive. I suggest researching a bit to actually see that they can be had quite reasonably.
 
I’ve only seen seen a400 ‘s on eBay where they sometimes want $1000, which is a lot.
I picked up mine for $180, put about $50 into them ( ferrofluid and new caps) and they sound great.
I put an extra external terminal on them, bypassed the crossovers and ran them Triamped and they sounded real good, noticeably better than with crossovers ( which were recapped ).
They’re currently parked next to a mint set of ads L1230’s, I’ll likely pick a pair to give to my daughter when she finishes getting her PhD.
 
I have never seen a pair of A400s anywhere near a grand, and I would suspect that the seller didn’t know what they normally command. A friend just bought a pristine pair of A200s for $200…the deals are out there if you look with patience.
 
Jenkster said:
A friend of mine has a pair of BA VR-M 90's that sound great to me.
Click to expand...

I've been running a pair of these for the last four years and have no intention of giving them up. I liked them so much I picked up a pair of VR-M50's for another set up in the house. Great speakers! I don't remember where I found this but some good info there...


AW
 

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MaxP said:
I have a pair of A200s that I bought new in 1983. They absolutely want to be placed against a wall. That is how they were designed to be run. Dullness is not a word I would associate with the A-series speakers, especially the higher end (A150, A200, A400). I was putting mine through their paces a couple of nights ago and they are quite dynamic.

The prices for a good used pair are never very expensive. I suggest researching a bit to actually see that they can be had quite reasonably.
Click to expand...

Well as the ba group suggested buy the a400 don't bother to much with the smaller models . Those go for nearly 1k these days on the used market. I don't call that "reasonable"

There is one for sale as we speak for 800 plus 250 shipping. And there is one for sale for 240 (which is the first I've seen one for that low ) so that's not the common consensus price for them.
 
AudioWill said:
I've been running a pair of these for the last four years and have no intention of giving them up. I liked them so much I picked up a pair of VR-M50's for another set up in the house. Great speakers! I don't remember where I found this but some good info there...


AW
Click to expand...

I've got the vrm60 in black and the vrm50 in cherry ..

Those are probably one of the best Boston acoustics made for the consumer. David fokos knew how to voice those really well!
 
Magfinity said:
Well as the ba group suggested buy the a400 don't bother to much with the smaller models . Those go for nearly 1k these days on the used market. I don't call that "reasonable"

There is one for sale as we speak for 800 plus 250 shipping. And there is one for sale for 240 (which is the first I've seen one for that low ) so that's not the common consensus price for them.
Click to expand...

I have never seen A400s going for anywhere near that much and I routinely search for them. That said, I am not convinced the A400 is a better speaker than the A200. But what do I know…
 
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MaxP said:
I have never seen A400s going for anywhere near that much and I routinely search for them. That said, I am not convinced the A400 is a better speaker than the A200. But what do I know…
Click to expand...
Believe it , I even have to correct that post I made as that lower price ?! Was for one a SINGLE a400 , the prices went up tremendously.
 
tiga said:
Why not bother with the smaller models? My A40's, A70's and A150's are all amazing. Seems a missed opportunity.
Click to expand...

I've had so many Bostons by now , the 500l is the most expensive Boston in existence today. It was their high end effort. Probably one of the best build speakers I've worked on and own today. Hands down better build than any other speaker I've ever owned. Including any of the nudells I've had and still have currently.

I think I never was to interested in the a-series as their whole schtick (as been told to me) to perform their best they needed to be placed to backwalls preferably.

I can't do it , also a good friend of mine was the ba service manager. We both have very similar taste (he has a rosewood 500l driven by 2 krells) mine is the black veneer 500l driven by a massive ATI.

In short we both share many similarities taste wise, and he doesn't recommend them really for a guy like me.

But I'll tell you what I will do, I will try to find myself a set and really try. You're correct , I should try them. However I refuse to pay top dollar for them.
 
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