Sansui 5000x drive KEF 104.2?

[J2more11]

Went and heard a set of KEF 104.2 speakers over the weekend, and thinking about buying some, but I’m not sure if my Sansui 5000X will drive them. I have a set of SP 1500s that I have been running but they just sound so muddy to me. I know , through searching through a lot of the posts on the forum that most of the advice would be to ditch the SP 1500s, but I am nostalgic about the look. They were my dads he brought home from Vietnam so they’re purely nostalgic. Is there a way to make them sound better without totally Frankeinsteining them, or Should I ditch them for the likes of KEF, ADS, or some other brands that I’ve heard on here ?

My first post so be gentle on me. Thanks in advance!

 

[Rey1]

I have a 5000X, I match it with 8 ohm speakers only, however, It's rated down to 4 ohms. The SP 1500s might sound better with a recap.

 

[Dswankey]

...I have a set of SP 1500s that I have been running but they just sound so muddy to me. ..They were my dads he brought home from Vietnam .. Is there a way to make them sound better without totally Frankeinsteining them

...The SP 1500s might sound better with a recap.

@J2more11

Welcome to AK and here's hoping you enjoy your stay here.

I'm not sure what or how much you know about speaker internals, as @Rey1 mentioned in his post a recap means replacing the stock 50+ years old capacitors. Capacitors have a finite shelf life and could very well be why the speakers are sounding "muddy" to you as they are not performing up to spec anymore.

New caps are not that expensive and if the actual components (tweeters, woofer) are intact and working correctly it might be more cost effective to have them recapped as opposed to dropping a couple to several hundy on the Kefs.


Here's what the crossover inside a Sansui SP-1500 looks like

 

[jqp]

It is common for Sansui drivers from that era to have hardened surrounds. Have you tried pushing in the woofer cones to see if they move freely? Same goes for the midranges/squawkers. If they feel stiff, a softening of the surrounds with brake fluid will bring them back. They will never sound great with stiff surrounds, even after a recap.