Help me choose efficient vintage speakers

[Andy Dufrain]

Hi all, new to AudioKarma!

I've followed this forum for quite some time now and was advised to seek out this question here from all you vintage nuts! Here's my question:

I'm in the market for some vintage speakers and need some advice.

I've got an old Sansui AU 2900 amp rated at 15-25 wpc. I'm not real sure about the wpc...I've been told both, but I think it's more like 15 wpc.

My turntable's a pioneer PL 570X, euro version.

This is strictly for vinyl in a medium sized listening room.

Music is mostly garage rock with a little indie and alt. country.

I've narrowed my search down to the following speakers.

Klipsch Forte's
Klipsch KG4
Dynaco A25's
KLH 17, 5, or 6.
EPI 100
JBL (lots to choose from)

I'm looking for something very efficient that image well for 2 channel music to mate with the low WPC amp.

Pros and cons to the speakers mentioned above? I know the Klipsch will be very efficient but I've heard varying opinions on the Dynaco's.

Any other speaker recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Under $500 please.

Thanks everyone and love this forum. :thmbsp:

 

[tdat7192]

I have a pair of Dahlquist DQM-9s which are vintage and are rated somewhere near 92 dB sensitivity. I don't have any low powered amps to hook them up to and see how they perform, however. Perhaps others have experience.
I don't have any experience with the speakers you mentioned in your list. However, the one that I see in people's "love letters" an awful lot are the Forte's.

 

[icenine]

The KLH Model 17 is pretty good...also a pair of Klipsch Synergy B III (SB-3)s are good too not vintage but fairly inexpensive used and are at about 94db. If you are on the West Coast and can score a pair of RSL 3600s those make great inexpensive and pretty efficient studio monitors that will work well on both solid state and tube equipment and they sound great too.

 

[Tom Brennan]

In my experience and OPINION the Fortes are the best speakers on your list. The clarity, dynamics and soundstaging of Fortes can be first rate and up to modern standards. I don't think any of the old JBLs can match it (especially at the price; any JBLs possibly in the Forte's ballpark will cost WAY more) and the other speakers you listed aren't even in the same ballpark. In my opinion.

Note too that the Dynacos, EPIs and KLHs are low efficiency speakers.

 

[audiozaz]

I think that something around 90dB/W/m or more should do nicely. 15W into these in a small room can be quite loud. Not limiting yourself to only super-sensitive speakers gives you more to choose from. OTOH, going with a very sensitive speaker, 95dB and up, should have a more dynamic sound and will provide for some reserve should you move your stereo to a bigger room in the future.

az

 

[mhardy6647]

If you are in Europe... in the 1970s Braun made some wonderfully sweet sounding and surprisingly sensitive (efficient) loudspeakers. I am not too familiar with the Braun models (they were sold in the US mostly under the "ads" brand name) - but there are numerous models one of which would probably fit your needs.

 

[similost]

I just picked up a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls.. VERY effecient and great sounding speakers..

Btw.. you don't list Altec or EV speakers.. also some very effecient older speakers..

 

[vintageboy]

Dynaco A25 will sound very good with your amplifier!

 

[Andy Dufrain]

In my experience and OPINION the Fortes are the best speakers on your list. The clarity, dynamics and soundstaging of Fortes can be first rate and up to modern standards. I don't think any of the old JBLs can match it (especially at the price; any JBLs possibly in the Forte's ballpark will cost WAY more) and the other speakers you listed aren't even in the same ballpark. In my opinion.

Note too that the Dynacos, EPIs and KLHs are low efficiency speakers.

I agree with you Tom, the Forte's have always been high on my list of must have speakers, especially with this particular amp I'm using. Also, if I ever move this set up into a larger room like someone had suggested and perhaps upgrade the power source, they should really sing!

I've been told by some that the Dynaco's, though not too efficient, hovering somewhere around 87 db, will really work well with my amp...as vintageoy has just mentioned earlier in this thread. I've always had mixed reviews concerning their performance with a low power source. Although most people do give them high praise.

Thanks again everyone for your thoughts and suggestions!

 

[89grand]

I have the KLH Model 23 which is very similar to the KLH 6, and I would not want only 15 watts for those.

I think they're pretty average sounding (my opinion) and the sensitivity is fairly low (that is a fact) as they are a sealed design.

 

[michiganpat]

I agree with you Tom, the Forte's have always been high on my list of must have speakers, especially with this particular amp I'm using. Also, if I ever move this set up into a larger room like someone had suggested and perhaps upgrade the power source, they should really sing!

I've been told by some that the Dynaco's, though not too efficient, hovering somewhere around 87 db, will really work well with my amp...as vintageoy has just mentioned earlier in this thread. I've always had mixed reviews concerning their performance with a low power source. Although most people do give them high praise.

Thanks again everyone for your thoughts and suggestions!

depends on how loud you like to play. my smaller advents get plenty loud and sound fantastic with my marantz 2230 (rated at 30 w/chan)

 

[beatcomber]

Why are you limiting yourself to vintage? There have been great strides in speaker design in recent decades. When it comes to speakers, vintage does not necessarily equate to better.

I use a pair of small Rega R1's with a powered subwoofer for my 20 wpc tube amp in my small listening room. Sounds fantastic - detailed, punchy, balanced, with excellent imaging.

 

[Tom Brennan]

depends on how loud you like to play. my smaller advents get plenty loud and sound fantastic with my marantz 2230 (rated at 30 w/chan)

I think it depends on more than that. I maintain that the Forte has other advantages over Advents such as better clarity, imaging and tonal balance.

 

[Andy Dufrain]

Why are you limiting yourself to vintage? There have been great strides in speaker design in recent decades. When it comes to speakers, vintage does not necessarily equate to better.

I use a pair of small Rega R1's with a powered subwoofer for my 20 wpc tube amp in my small listening room. Sounds fantastic - detailed, punchy, balanced, with excellent imaging.

I'm going with vintage for nolstagic reasons...I love vinyl, my Pioneer PL 570X and Sansui AU 2900 is all vintage so I want to mate this all in a little vintage listening room.

I already have a Paradigm Studio set up in 5.1 for HT and Music. That mates with my ipod and sounds amazing, but I have tons of vinyl that I can't have set up in the same room.

I agree speaker design has improved in many ways through the years, but vintage apeals to me so I want some speakers that will give me today's sound with the vintage appeal.

 

[bhundu]

I'm going to suggest the Sansui SP-xxxx series. For some reason they don't get a lot of love here. I've never understood why as i have a pair of SP-1200A that I find very efficient in small to medium rooms with an amp in the 15-20wpc range. If you like vintage at sensible watts, and since you already have some Sui, I recommend including this series in your search.

The SP-1200 is rated at 92dB for example. They are five driver, 3-ways at 60W peak power. I find them a perfect match for my AU-555A. They look beautiful too.

http://www.classicsansui.net/Speakers.htm#SP1200

I see good ones in this series going for around $250. You may be lucky like me and come across a pair for $15 at a yard sale.

 

[Andy Dufrain]

I'm going to suggest the Sansui SP-xxxx series. For some reason they don't get a lot of love here. I've never understood why as i have a pair of SP-1200A that I find very efficient in small to medium rooms with an amp in the 15-20wpc range. If you like vintage at sensible watts, and since you already have some Sui, I recommend including this series in your search.

The SP-1200 is rated at 92dB for example. They are five driver, 3-ways at 60W peak power. I find them a perfect match for my AU-555A. They look beautiful too.

http://www.classicsansui.net/Speakers.htm#SP1200

I see good ones in this series going for around $250. You may be lucky like me and come across a pair for $15 at a yard sale.

I have considered some of the Sansui SP line of speakers. The person I bought the amp from suggested them so I did a little research. Turns out, like you said, they don't get much love from some people and I'm not sure why. I'll have to revisit some of the Sansui speakers again.

It sure is tough trying to choose speakers with a particular amp without auditioning them first so I try to gather a concesus and make a choice...I guess that's why the Sansui speakers didn't make the cut. But this is where the good people from here and other forums are so helpful when seeking advice for all our audio and video needs.

That being said, thanks for your suggestion.

 

[DCinDC]

I'm not a fan of most Sansui speakers. BUT
Find a pair of SP-200s. They are always cheap. I know, I can't unload mine for over $100. They sound SWEET.

Moving on, I think you are too focused on efficient speakers. That 15 watts will go a long way.

 

[bhundu]

IIRC I think the Sansui speakers get criticised over their bass. I don't know. Perhaps many here have larger amps, bigger rooms, prefer louder volumes or pumping bass???

FWIW I have my SP-1200A on suspended timber floors, on rubber bushes and then on glass marbles. Larger bushes/marbles at the front.

Indeed, it is difficult to know what speakers are going to sound like with your amp in your room. It's hard to justify a big spend without knowing. my brother has been chasing the speaker dragon for years and is never quite happy.

My approach has been to buy cheap and try. I've got a pair of 3-way custom ported boxes here with external Realistic x-overs and Akai drivers. They were advertised on ebay with one speaker not working, pick up only. Starting bid $5. No one else wanted these so they came home with me for $5. Recapped for about $2 and they sound great. Very well designed and matched. Scratches fixed up like new.

These now live in the bedroom, but my point is that they were overlooked as people look for well known and recommended brands and models. So for $7 and a 30 minute drive plus 30 minute recap, I have a great set of speakers to try and compare to others. Fair enough they didn't replace the Sui 1200 or Plessey customs, but I still wouldn't part with them.

 

[Andy Dufrain]

IIRC I think the Sansui speakers get criticised over their bass. I don't know. Perhaps many here have larger amps, bigger rooms, prefer louder volumes or pumping bass???

FWIW I have my SP-1200A on suspended timber floors, on rubber bushes and then on glass marbles. Larger bushes/marbles at the front.

Indeed, it is difficult to know what speakers are going to sound like with your amp in your room. It's hard to justify a big spend without knowing. my brother has been chasing the speaker dragon for years and is never quite happy.

My approach has been to buy cheap and try. I've got a pair of 3-way custom ported boxes here with external Realistic x-overs and Akai drivers. They were advertised on ebay with one speaker not working, pick up only. Starting bid $5. No one else wanted these so they came home with me for $5. Recapped for about $2 and they sound great. Very well designed and matched. Scratches fixed up like new.

These now live in the bedroom, but my point is that they were overlooked as people look for well known and recommended brands and models. So for $7 and a 30 minute drive plus 30 minute recap, I have a great set of speakers to try and compare to others. Fair enough they didn't replace the Sui 1200 or Plessey customs, but I still wouldn't part with them.

I believe there's a lot of truth in what you say here. If I were to go out and spend $400-$600 on some fortes because they are well regarded then I'm sure I'd be very pleased with their performance, as I'm sure their reputation is justified based on all the accolades they receive.

On the other hand, starting cheaper as a source for comparison makes the journey a little more exciting. And so many factors effect the performance of a speaker, our ears being the most important.

I may spend $200-$300 on a few sets of speakers before I settle on say...some Fortes. But I may find that one of those cheaper speakers sound better to my ears then the Fortes...I may not be able to sell the cheaper speakers, but the Fortes are highly desireable and resell easy enough that I've found the best sounding speaker to my ear and spent less then I intially thought I would have to.

 

[bhundu]

I believe there's a lot of truth in what you say here. If I were to go out and spend $400-$600 on some fortes because they are well regarded then I'm sure I'd be very pleased with their performance, as I'm sure their reputation is justified based on all the accolades they receive.

On the other hand, starting cheaper as a source for comparison makes the journey a little more exciting. And so many factors effect the performance of a speaker, our ears being the most important.

I may spend $200-$300 on a few sets of speakers before I settle on say...some Fortes. But I may find that one of those cheaper speakers sound better to my ears then the Fortes...I may not be able to sell the cheaper speakers, but the Fortes are highly desireable and resell easy enough that I've found the best sounding speaker to my ear and spent less then I intially thought I would have to.

Exactly!

Room matching, furnishing considerations and speaker placement. Amp matching. Decore matching. WAF. It can be all a bit much to hope that a big spend will satisfy all the pre-existing constants let alone sonic expectations.

Any Big Brown Boxes for local pick-up may be worthwhile if under $50. Many times great cabs can be refitted with better drivers and/or x-overs from lesser cabs and so forth. Just make sure the 5th pair always get given away or sold. I don't think the rooms of 6 pair stacked next to their plasma TV look very vintage. Smoke!