Old Amps New Speakers?

[TwistyTony]

I'm an 80's 90's audiophile, who has been away from it for awhile.
I'm starting kinda new... want to combine audiophile listening experience in a theater type room.

I picked up some Klipsch Forte II's, in great shape. They sound wonderful, given, my love affair with some JBL L65 Jubals powered by an old M80 Yamaha.

Do the NEW speakers with 20 years of technology, and exotic materials sound better then the old classics? In general? My last home had Modern JBL speakers, and it wasn't mind bending, as I recall.

Anyone had some serious A/B time with some classics? Forte II's against some new Klipsch RP 8000's

New Yamaha Aventage Receivers against old M80 poweramps? Wondering if time has made a difference in speakers and Amps, or if Chinese manufacturing and shipping light weight new amps has made state of the art, a step behind??? Thanks for the dialog and opinions.

For the record, these Forte II's seem to image better then anything I recall having listened to. The bass isn't that tight base I have experienced with JBL subwoofers in my last modern system (circa 2006), but the imaging is so transparent I can't look at the speaker and hear music coming from it, it's a legit soundstage. Amazing. Is that the "Legendary Klipsch Horn"

Cheers

 

[toxcrusadr]

That's like asking if new cars are better than old ones. Which make and model with which options?

There is quality and there is crap in both cases.

 

[toxcrusadr]

You might find this thread interesting.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/new-modern-day-speaker-suck.855061/#post-12383155

 

[TwistyTony]

You might find this thread interesting.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/new-modern-day-speaker-suck.855061/#post-12383155

That’s a great read. Thanks.

Speaker wise. I recently gave new life to some Klipsch Forte II’s.
Specifically wondering how these compare the be new Klipsch RP8000’s?

The other question is if I can successfully mix these in with a 5.2 w/ATMOS, means adding subs, and a center channel as well as four inceling speakers for the Rears and use the middle locations for ATMOS. (I've been told this is more content rich and practical then strait 7.1, without ATMOS--I'm already wired this way--so can't do both, ATMOS and Middles)

I planned on a new Yamaha AVENTAGE 1080.

Looking for wisdom from the forum here.

I think the imaging on the Klipsch Forte II’s is very good.

I agree with others in that tweeters have maybe come along way—? But was interested in the opinions of others who may have first hand experience with A/B being modern high end (like Klipsch Referece Premier series) titanium tweeters vs the vintage ones in my Fortes.

I think there’s little substitute for a self amplified high quality sub, or in my case two of them. That would more then make up for whatever the Fortes May have lacked or have lost in their 40 years...

Thanks for joining me in this new journey. I love music and love a great sounding movie experience as well.

My last true audio love was my JBL L65 Jubals and a Yamaha M80 power amp...

I still have the drivers from the JBL’s...I have a hunch the crystal Jubal Tweeter is the part of that speaker that would be hard to replace. I’ll bet the modern subs would cover that big porter cabinets high energy bass, and the midrange paper cone was probably the weak spot of that speaker. The cabinets are gone.

I still have the M80, but with only two channels, it’s application in the homes main entertainment room is limited.

Thanks again for the input and opinions.

 

[Rex81]

I've been all over the place with my gear through the years. I started with vintage receivers and vintage speakers (including Klipsch Forte II and Chorus II), then started moving to modern separates because I found that even the "monster" vintage receivers wimped out on harder to drive speakers like Polk SDAs. Then I found a few pairs of newer speakers I really liked that were still a reasonable price. As of a couple months ago, I was running a modern Parasound amp and a Bluesound Node 2i (DAC/Steamer/Preamp all in one) that I really liked. But my needs changed and I wanted to merge my 2 channel music system with my home theater. A friend of mine was selling his Yamaha Aventage 1060 (2016 version) so I gave it a shot.

I was blown away by the sound quality and versatility of the Aventage. A lot of audiophiles dismiss any home theater receiver right away. They say they try to do too much in their price point so can't possibly compete with high quality separates. I can unequivocally say this is incorrect. What Yamaha accomplished with these receivers is nothing short of amazing. So many useful features (full DSP, wi-fi streaming, app integration, two-way bluetooth, full sub control, bi-amp, phono preamp, Atmos, etc, etc). And the sound is clear and powerful. I sold my separates right away and couldn't be happier with my Aventage.

I think you would be very happy with an Aventage receiver powering a full home theater setup with Forte II as your fronts. If you want to listen to dedicated two channel music, just run it in Pure Direct mode. It will turn off all other channels as well as all processing of the signal. Nice and clean. When you want to watch TV or movies, take it out of Pure Direct and let it run. It can all be controlled with the included remote control or an app on your phone. Simple.

 

[SaSi]

Loudspeaker technology has improved over the years. As has amplifier technology, material (components) and quality control.

Now, whether the above are implemented into every new build, I can vouch it is not. However, there are examples of new amplifiers that can blow away spectacular vintage ones, as with loudspeakers. And several examples of vintage loudspeakers and amplifiers that can blow away most recent ones.

I'm sticking with KEF loudspeakers, mostly due to sentimental reasons, for being the company that made drivers I used to make DIY speakers back in the late seventies and more recently. My most used and loved ones are the Reference 105 and the Reference 107. I like the 107 more and it is more recent than the 105, see the trend here?

I also use vintage amplifiers, my most beloved one being the Technics SE-9060, again mostly for sentimental reasons. It is however a very well built unit and for what it is, it delivers. I am certain that a high quality, modern amplifier, would deliver much better results but it would probably cost 10x as much or more than I had to spend for the vintage one.

It is the same with modern loudspeakers. To better the KEF Reference 107 with a contemporary model, I am sure I can't do much unless I spend in excess of 2-3.000 $/euro whatever. I have never listened to a coaxial driver (Uni-Q as KEF themselves call it) in which KEF have invested and focused since the '90s. I am sure a KEF Blade will blow away the R107 but it will also blow away my savings at about $14.000 for the small model and much more for the original, larger one.

If budget was no issue, buying modern equipment would be ideal, as no restoration is needed and service is supposedly available. But to get similar results compared to vintage equipment (restored that is) may well cost 20x as much. So, with restoration being cheap for me (DIY) its obvious what is the better choice for me. You should consider your options, capabilities and budget to reach a viable decision.