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Speaker Upgrade for Sansui 7070, Considering Linton, Denton, KLH 3 or 5

kennycrippen

kennycrippen

Member
I've been searching the forums but don't see a lot about pairing some of the newer "vintage" looking speakers that have recently been produced with a true vintage receiver.

My current set up is Sansui 7070, Dual 1229 w/ Shure M95Xe, with a pair of Sansui SP2000. I've used this set up for quite a number of years and have always wondered what different speakers would sound like.

Recently I got the bug again and have been checking out Wharfedale Linton/Denton and KLH Model 3 or 5. Looking for advice/thoughts on what would sound best with my set up. My room size is roughly 15' by 30'. Half of that is used as living room/listening space and the other half has the dining room table.

I'm not opposed to trying out a different set of vintage speakers; I've read good things on here about the large Advents and AR. My end goal is to find whatever is going to sound the best with what I've got. Thank you!
 
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For a little more context: I listen to a pretty wide range of music. Rock, Classic Rock, Electronic/Synthwave, etc. Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Cure, Supertramp, Tom Petty, Bowie, Chromatics, LCD Soundsystem, Smashing Pumpkins, Ride, Converge, Neurosis, Taylor Swift to name a few.

The 7070 produces around 60 WPC into 8 ohms. https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/sansui/7070.shtml

The Denton 80th are very reasonably priced at $500 right now, but I'm curious if they will produce enough bass for the size of my room. I don't mind the sound of my current SP2000, but the bass on those tends to sound a bit muddy to me on guitar heavy records. Perhaps a different cartridge would help with that? I'm not experienced enough with different equipment to know for sure.

I've considered going with the Dentons with the possibility of adding a sub later if needed. I've also considered adding a sub to my current setup and buying some speaker stands to improve sound staging. There are just so many options and I'm curious to hear what others think. :)
 
kennycrippen said:
If my memory serves correctly no it wasn’t. Had some bulbs replaced and cleaning done. I could probably dig up the receipt to figure out exactly what was done.
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I'd be hesitant to make any sizeable investment in speakers until I was confident the receiver is operating to spec. Not so much because of sonics, but moreso to avert any risk of damage to the speakers in the event the receiver takes a nose dive. Blowing a driver or drivers on sp2000's isn't such a big deal, but would be on any of the speakers you're looking at. That said, I don't think you could hardly go wrong with any of the speakers you're considering and there are also plenty of vintage speakers that could do that Sansui more justice than the sp2000's. I had DCM TF600's with an 8080db in a bedroom system and that was a great sounding combination. A clean pair of those could be had for less than $250 if you can locate a set (they're not scarce). Also consider some of the larger ADS models.
 
tomlinmgt said:
I'd be hesitant to make any sizeable investment in speakers until I was confident the receiver is operating to spec. Not so much because of sonics, but moreso to avert any risk of damage to the speakers in the event the receiver takes a nose dive. Blowing a driver or drivers on sp2000's isn't such a big deal, but would be on any of the speakers you're looking at. That said, I don't think you could hardly go wrong with any of the speakers you're considering and there are also plenty of vintage speakers that could do that Sansui more justice than the sp2000's. I had DCM TF600's with an 8080db in a bedroom system and that was a great sounding combination. A clean pair of those could be had for less than $250 if you can locate a set (they're not scarce). Also consider some of the larger ADS models.
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Excellent advice and input, thank you very much! The 7070 is due for a trip in for some more bulb replacement anyway. Step 1 will be dropping off for service.
 
kennycrippen said:
Excellent advice and input, thank you very much! The 7070 is due for a trip in for some more bulb replacement anyway. Step 1 will be dropping off for service.
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somewhat old thread, but curious did you ever find new speaker matches for your Sansui 7070? I have just acquired a 7070 of my own and was thinking of upgrading speakers as well.
 
@Damien A After lots of research I ended up not breaking the bank and going with a pair of Polk Monitor 10 Series 2. They were around $200 and sound vastly better than the Sansui SP2000 I had been using. The guy I bought them from also had a set of Polk Monitor 7s for sale that also sounded great. I would recommend either! I went with the 10s because they sounded a little warmer. The 7s were very clear and detailed. I didn't get the chance to hear the 7s hooked up to my 7070 but I'm very happy with the 10s.

Last weekend I installed hurricane nuts with new Armacell foam insulation around the passive radiator and woofers which helped tighten up the bass. Next I'll be recapping the crossovers. I was happy with the sound before hurricane nuts and am currently happy with the sound before rebuilding crossovers but it's fun to tinker. The 10s would sound good as is but there's always the option to make small improvements. And there's a wealth of information here and on the Polk forums.
 
Thanks for the response! Funny enough I’ve been using Polk monitor series m4s with my other receivers, so maybe I’ll look for the bigger models to pair with my 7070. I love the sound Polk speakers have. Thanks for the info!
 
Damien A said:
Thanks for the response! Funny enough I’ve been using Polk monitor series m4s with my other receivers, so maybe I’ll look for the bigger models to pair with my 7070. I love the sound Polk speakers have. Thanks for the info!
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Happy to! Forgot to mention I also swapped out the tweeters with the new RDO-198. Got them from Midwest Speaker.

Also forgot to mention I have a second 7070 in my office and have a pair of ELAC Debut Reference hooked up. I also like them a lot and they work well for my office but they'd benefit from a sub to round out the bass. I prefer the Polks and they were half the price. :)
 
kennycrippen said:
Happy to! Forgot to mention I also swapped out the tweeters with the new RDO-198. Got them from Midwest Speaker.

Also forgot to mention I have a second 7070 in my office and have a pair of ELAC Debut Reference hooked up. I also like them a lot and they work well for my office but they'd benefit from a sub to round out the bass. I prefer the Polks and they were half the price. :)
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Do you use a subwoofer with the Polk 10s? Or do they sound great without one? I actually have located a pair of Polk 10s as well, hopefully checking them out tomorrow.
 
You won't need a sub, these go deeper than any other 6". I have S4 combined with the cabinets from from some seriously crappy Wharfdales with 8"radiator, just tossed them together and wow. The 90's Polks with the Dynamic Balance 1" soft dome, "S" series, ( "gunship" gray finish) are out of this world recapped with paper in oil or poly film caps and Mills or Jantzen resistor. The early Polk woofers do clean mids worthy of ScanSpeak, squarish plastic tweeters pretty much sound like a plastic tweeter. The S series turn up on CL now and then, much less than the early Polks. And cheap than the earlies, they just don't have the "mystique". PS SDA-12 on CL Raleigh NC, if ya got 2K to spend and a U-Haul and some nephews....
 
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I am listening to these as they are really good, usual main speakers are Parts Express Cnote, except they are 4 woofers and those play as deep and way cleaner than anyone's sub I have heard ( these are sleepers!) . Unless it was Altec 19 in a really good room. I live in a trailer, 79' = about a 26hz cut off. Said that to say the S10 have a clean solid bass, but I do notice not quite as deep as the PE Godzillas or the Dynawaves. But they are solid. On the other hand they are about 3' out from the wall as it's a pain to move the PE's. Waitng to find a matching 10uf paper in oil, courtesy of the local HVAC dumpsters. . PS rears are DCM TF600, DCM were great speakers, poorly marketed, same price range, really clean mids, do need a sub, but these are rears in a Hafler hookup. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafler_circuit Any way DCM come on the market for the same money as 80's Polk. PS DCM Timeframe or Timewindows have "orange drop" film caps, Polk you will be pulling the electrolytics. Madisound has a great tutorial on why you need to buy a 2 ohm resistor when swapping out electrolytics. These S10's have electrolytic bypassed with a small film cap. Sorry 90% soy and 10% beef don't make it a burger.....
 
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