Speaker choices

[Ironbark]

G'day folks

I've been trying to choose a set of speakers for my lounge space to replace my current rubbishy set of generic 160w 2.5-ways with 6" "woofers".

These will be driven by a Cambridge Audio 651r receiver which is 175w rms @ 6 ohms or 140w rms @ 8 ohms (both with 2 channels driven). The sources vary but I have the TOTL Cambridge SACD player and a stream magic hooked up today and am experimenting with turntables through a Cambridge 651P phono amp.

The house has 10' ceilings and the room is an irregular sized space which is roughly 6m x 6m (20'x20') with a large opening into a hallway.

I had been going to get a local speaker-maker to customise me some large 3-way floorstanders on a transmission line design.

However, whilst looking at a turntable I came across a pair of JBL L80t s in slightly rough nick that had a certain appeal. They could do with some refurbishment but as a basic concept they started me thinking; how about some vintage speakers?

This same bloke also had a set of Jennings Research Contrara Pedastal mk1s and a pair of ESS AMT-3s both of which were in perfect cosmetic condition (unlike the JBLs!).

The contrara pedestals were in beautiful cabinetry which made me a bit suspicious as I usually equate posh cabinetry with an attempt to distract from less than perfect engineering, however, with their twin 8" drivers they sounded pretty good. I was told they were Peerless? Perhaps not enough oomph for my space though.

The ESS AMT-3s were a different beast altogether with a surprisingly high level of detail and had a feeling of holding a lot in reserve. I think these would be great but given they go down to 4ohms they might be a bit too much for my receiver, which given their character is a bit of a shame.

I'm seriously thinking of buying the JBLs and refurbishing them.

I guess I can always go back to my speaker maker if the idea doesn't work out.

Ironbark

 

[audiosignal]

With no pricing given, I would played it safe and go with the JBL in your situation if you can get it for a good price. JBL has the name recognition so it will be easier to sell later if didn't work out, assuming you can fix up the cabs. Not only that, you already have heard the JBL, unlike with the nonexistent DYI speakers. On the other hand, if the DYI is significantly lower in price, which I doubt, then go with it and customize. You are taking a chance on the sound, but maybe justified if cheap enough.

 

[fredgarvin]

That isn't a well regarded JBL model. Nice ones sell pretty cheaply in the used market. I've seen nice ones from $350-$600 recently. They erre originaly positioned as a mid fi competitor to the likes of Cerwin Vega. I think you can do much better.

As for jbl, there is an L5 on ebay now asking for $700. That's a much better sounding model than the l80t.

 

[Hyfi]

G'day folks

The contrara pedestals were in beautiful cabinetry which made me a bit suspicious as I usually equate posh cabinetry with an attempt to distract from less than perfect engineering,

Ironbark

I would be careful carrying around that assumption

You could listen to a pair of these Diapason Italia Adamantes and change that assumption, or any other similar speaker.

 

[Ironbark]

On the other hand, if the DYI is significantly lower in price, which I doubt, then go with it and customize. You are taking a chance on the sound, but maybe justified if cheap enough.

Ah, well the custom speakers are not a cheap option. The JBL L80Ts are cheap (comparatively).

That isn't a well regarded JBL model. Nice ones sell pretty cheaply in the used market. I've seen nice ones from $350-$600 recently. They erre originaly positioned as a mid fi competitor to the likes of Cerwin Vega. I think you can do much better.

As for jbl, there is an L5 on ebay now asking for $700. That's a much better sounding model than the l80t.

I had been looking for some JBL 240tis for six months but decided they were never going to show up ; which prompted me to have a discussion with a local speaker manufacturer about meeting my needs. The only set of the 240tis that did come up in that time were at a price that I couldn't rationalize.

All this comes from spending some time with a set of the JBL 250tis several years ago and loving them. They were my first aim but I was told they really needed a bucket of power in order to not sound "thin".

I own pairs of 4408As and 120tis and both are awesome in the correct space. Maybe I'll just hold off and keep looking, the problem is that my current generics sound woeful when compared with the other set-ups in the house.

I would be careful carrying around that assumption

You could listen to a pair of these Diapason Italia Adamantes and change that assumption, or any other similar speaker.

Ok, perhaps I should have added "within a price range" to qualify my comment. Given that those little beauties retail for $7,000+ here, they were not on my radar.