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Noob on a budget looking for advice on speakers

JohnnyO206

JohnnyO206

New Member
Hello All:

Greetings from Seattle! It's my first post so please be gentle. :rflmao::rflmao:

I just picked up a vintage (and beautiful) Kenwood KR 7600 receiver and a Pioneer PL516 turntable at an estate sale. I'm VERY excited to set these up in my "music room", which is a fully carpeted 14' wide by 21' long room with large screen TV, sectional, 3,000 or so CD's and 100 or so albums (more to come). I plan on mostly playing CD's and vinyl and running the TV through my speakers. For 30+ years I've been missing the warmth and depth of listening to albums on a decent system and now is the time to get back into it!
Unfortunately, I'm lost as to what I should get for speakers...

I know that the KR7600 is rated at 70 watts per channel and I want the ability to "crank it up" once in while but most of the time I'll be listening to CD's and albums at reasonable to somewhat loud levels. Due to space limitations, I'd prefer not to get a separate subwoofer if possible.

Any recommendations for speakers? I'm open to new or vintage but looking to spend less than $500 (feel free to snicker). I saw some ADS L780/2 speakers with stands locally for around $300. They have great reviews and can handle up to 100 watts but I'm worried that they'll be too small for really getting loud.

I'm open to any suggestions. Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge!

John
 
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Those speakers should have no problem filling that room. I think they'd be a good match, and you'd be hard pressed to get anything new that sounds as good for anywhere near that price. But you should listen carefully to them and make sure they're playing properly. Speakers of this age are probably at the point where they will need their capacitors replaced (what we call "recapping"), which with most speakers is a pretty simple job for a DIYer who knows how to solder.
 
Lots of great speakers out there, vintage will look nice with that gear. AR are a highly respected speaker, problem is prices are commensurate on the highly sought after models.

But here's a little secret, the AR58s shares its name with other lesser vinyl clad models so remains in obscurity, but the secret is getting out. The 58s is a true classic AR 12" 3/way with a dome midrange and furniture grade cabinets.

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Picked these up a few yrs ago for $275 through eBay.
 
I have a few sets of speakers and have cycled through a few others on loan from a friend... JBL, Pioneer, OHM, Jensen, KLH and Klipsch. Honestly, my favorite speakers are my Klipsch KG4's which I upgraded with the Crite's titanium diaphragms. The KG4's have high sensitivity, a nice big passive radiator on the back (to give you a nice big full sound) and are relatively inexpensive.
 
Welcome to the AK Crew.

Might have more luck
posting on "Speaker Forum".

This is mostly an "Intro Forum".

Q
 
I'm glad you are open to new speakers because I believe it is always fun to mix vintage with new in a stereo setup.

One speaker to consider is the Klipsch RP-600M bookshelf currently available for under 500 bucks.

Also, this is a great AK thread about modern systems costing under $1,000. In this thread many of the recommended speakers come in around 500 dollars.

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...dern-fans-the-best-1000-system.489389/page-16

Using a vintage receiver, you may want to look for modern speakers that are rated at 6 to 8 ohms. Modern speakers rated at 4 ohms may be an issue with your receiver. Some vintage receivers were not designed for 4 ohm loads.

Cheers,

Snade
 
swechsler said:
Those speakers should have no problem filling that room. I think they'd be a good match, and you'd be hard pressed to get anything new that sounds as good for anywhere near that price. But you should listen carefully to them and make sure they're playing properly. Speakers of this age are probably at the point where they will need their capacitors replaced (what we call "recapping"), which with most speakers is a pretty simple job for a DIYer who knows how to solder.
Click to expand...
Great advice. Thank you!
 
Grenadeslio said:
Lots of great speakers out there, vintage will look nice with that gear. AR are a highly respected speaker, problem is prices are commensurate on the highly sought after models.

But here's a little secret, the AR58s shares its name with other lesser vinyl clad models so remains in obscurity, but the secret is getting out. The 58s is a true classic AR 12" 3/way with a dome midrange and furniture grade cabinets.

View attachment 2068920
View attachment 2068921
View attachment 2068922

Picked these up a few yrs ago for $275 through eBay.
Click to expand...
Wow, those look beautiful. Unfortunately, the closest available ones are in upstate NY. I'll keep my eye out for them. Thanks Grenadeslio!
 
Snade said:
I'm glad you are open to new speakers because I believe it is always fun to mix vintage with new in a stereo setup.

One speaker to consider is the Klipsch RP-600M bookshelf currently available for under 500 bucks.

Also, this is a great AK thread about modern systems costing under $1,000. In this thread many of the recommended speakers come in around 500 dollars.

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...dern-fans-the-best-1000-system.489389/page-16

Using a vintage receiver, you may want to look for modern speakers that are rated at 6 to 8 ohms. Modern speakers rated at 4 ohms may be an issue with your receiver. Some vintage receivers were not designed for 4 ohm loads.

Cheers,

Snade
Click to expand...
Thanks Snade. I'll keep an eye out for the Klipsch RP-600M's. The vintage stereo store that is cleaning up my receiver mentioned Klipsch as well but the ones I've seen are big money. I'll also check out the new speaker thread.
 
JohnnyO206 said:
Will do. Thanks Quadman 2. This place is a bit overwhelming. Spent hours here and just scratching the surface!
Click to expand...


Ah, just take yer time.

You'll get the hang of it
pretty soon, J0206.

And dwell the places you like best.


Catch you in the forums.

Q
 
JohnnyO206 said:
Hello All:

Greetings from Seattle! It's my first post so please be gentle. :rflmao::rflmao:



I'm open to any suggestions. Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge!

John
Click to expand...

Since you did ask :D, I would get the ADS 780/2 with stands first locally for instant gratification. Those are very good speakers, I had a pair for quite some time and mine also came with stands. Then check out the Klipsch RP-600M as Snade suggested and if you get it from Crutchfield, they have a 60 day return policy. And if you are like me, keep both. One can never have too many speakers and I have lost count. And welcome to AK.
 
I know with the pandemic and all it would be tough but finding AK members in your area would be a good start as well so you could maybe audition some of their speakers. Speakers are a funky thing. Your ears make the best decisions out out all of our suggestions. The ADS are always great starting point though. And I do mean starting point... this audio thing will really get you... watch out. One day you will wake up and have a garage full of speakers and an excuse why you can't get rid of any of them. Anyway, my two cents here.
 
Your part of the country can have some amazing deals from time to time.
DCM-QED. I just found a pair for 20 dollars at a thrift store. Kind of rare, but these things are amazing.
Snell E II. If you can find in good shape under 200, a great speaker.
Vandersteen IIce. Under 300 is a steal. Also amazing speaker. Just make sure all drivers work.
Boston Acoustics. Any of their vintage line is good, however, they have not been my cup of tea.
DCM TF600. The sweet spot in the Time Frame line up. Lots of people love them.
Just a few of the vintage speakers I have heard or owned.
Best of luck!
 
I'll lean towards the "new" side of things. In your budget range, I like the Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2. They can be had for roughly $250 pr. Add $150 for a decent pair of stands, and you have a nice system, and you came in under budget!
 
Seattle (and the surrounding areas into Oregon and eastern Washington) is a hot bed of deals, if you're patient. Craigslist is a bit of a scam haven but you can still find great deals there. If you can stand Facebook Marketplace you might do well there.
Goodwill (and other thrift stores) are also great places to shop. You just have to hit them often.
Like others have said, your Kenwood will love vintage speakers. I'm partial to Klipsch myself. Any of the KG line or Heritage line. Heresy I's or III's would be cool. You can often find the 1's for $500 and under.
Good luck on your search!
 
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