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Vintage Speaker Feedback

B

Bannon

New Member
I am relatively new to vintage audio and on a quest for vintage speakers and will appreciate your opinions and feedback. I am looking for a pair of speakers that:
  • will fit well in a mid-century modern design room
  • work in our sunroom that is pre-fab like and mostly windows
  • will sound good when playing classic rock, classical, blues, and jazz through our Cronus Magnum II and SX-850
I've been doing some investigating and these are the speakers I'm focusing on now although I'm open to suggestions:
  • Braun/ADS L810
  • New Large Advent with bullnose cabinet
  • JBL L100 or similar model (these appear to be unobtanium unless I am will to spend more than I'm comfortable with)
  • Pioneer CS-63DX
Given my criteria are any of these standouts? Are there caveats/concerns with any of these?

Thanks for your time and feedback.
 
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First, welcome to AK. You will get so many opinions it will make your head spin. From your list, I would definitely go with the Braun/ADS. Large Advents are good if cost is a factor. If you like Advents, also consider KLH 5,6,33, etc. but make sure tweeters/mids are good as these are becoming hard to find. You might also like Wharfedale W60D or W60E provided all drivers are in good order. Also, AR made a lot of models that are great and reasonably priced. There's also Boston Acoustics, EPI, Vandersteen, and Genesis to name a few more.
 
I agree with the KLH recommendation. They are truly great speakers that can sometimes fly under the radar. I really liked my KLH Model 23's while I had them. They would fit in nicely with mid century modern furniture, and sound very musical and smooth.
 
infullview said:
First, welcome to AK. You will get so many opinions it will make your head spin. From your list, I would definitely go with the Braun/ADS. Large Advents are good if cost is a factor. If you like Advents, also consider KLH 5,6,33, etc. but make sure tweeters/mids are good as these are becoming hard to find. You might also like Wharfedale W60D or W60E provided all drivers are in good order. Also, AR made a lot of models that are great and reasonably priced. There's also Boston Acoustics, EPI, Vandersteen, and Genesis to name a few more.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the welcome and my head is already spinning! The L710s and 810s are frequently recommended. What is it about these speakers that you like?
 
Bannon said:
Thanks for the welcome and my head is already spinning! The L710s and 810s are frequently recommended. What is it about these speakers that you like?
Click to expand...

Welcome Bannon

The ADS L710 and L810's will play your type of music preferences very well and are non fatiguing. If you come across a nice set that doesn't need any work, your in great shape. Should you find some that need new caps in the crossovers and/or speaker work, there is a guy named Richard So in Arizona that will do that for you. But keep in mind when pricing, that if the speakers or crossovers need work, your over all expense might exceed your budget. Still, in my opinion, worth the effort if over all cost is reasonable.

Garry~
 
It used to be easy to listen to speakers and get a sense of what you like - you just went to the various audio stores in the area, and listened to the dozen(s) of models each one had. Now there aren't any stores and actually hearing speakers is not easy. So you are left doing what you have done, which is to ask for suggestions. The problem, of course, is that there are a bazillion speakers out there, and tastes differ (as well as systems). What I like may not be what you like, and describing sound is difficult.
So my suggestion is not necessarily to aim for the holy grail right at first, since you will be getting someone else's holy grail, not necessarily yours. Looking at tag sales, church fairs, craigslist and so on will probably turn up something decent for cheap, and it may be just perfect for you. And try not to get on the upgrade train - too often we move sideways, trading one set of issues for another rather than actually making the big step up that we persuade ourselves we are achieving. (Reality check - not many of us actually follow this advice. I know I don't.)
You can get a lot of pleasure from basic speakers, and it will give you a standard of comparison that will help understand other people's descriptions - compared to the speaker you have, how does this other speaker sound?
 
That said, I would describe ADS speaker as clean, in many systems a bit bright, and a little sterile sounding. I tend to like a bit more warmth, so the suggestion of KLH makes sense to me. The 17 can be had very cheap and are very nice. The 6s go deeper (and seem freeer of the slight dry woodiness of the very similar Advents), but I think the 23s are a bit better - wonderful for what they are. Be aware that you may need to recap KLHs.
If you come across a working pair of DCM Time Windows, listen carefully - I've never met someone who didn't like how they sound. (but if they have any problems, fixing them is a nightmare)
 
Bannon said:
Thanks for the welcome and my head is already spinning! The L710s and 810s are frequently recommended. What is it about these speakers that you like?
Click to expand...
I have to admit I am a fan of the New England sound. That includes KLH, Advent, BA, ADS, EPI, Genesis, etc. As you can see from my avatar, I am also a fan of English brands such as vintage KEF and Wharfedale. They all have points in common as they have a warmer sound. Most are acoustic suspension and are very musical. They do jazz exceeding well and can thump pretty good for rock 'n roll.
 
Spiceman50 said:
Welcome Bannon

The ADS L710 and L810's will play your type of music preferences very well and are non fatiguing. If you come across a nice set that doesn't need any work, your in great shape. Should you find some that need new caps in the crossovers and/or speaker work, there is a guy named Richard So in Arizona that will do that for you. But keep in mind when pricing, that if the speakers or crossovers need work, your over all expense might exceed your budget. Still, in my opinion, worth the effort if over all cost is reasonable.

Garry~
Click to expand...

Thanks Garry. I hear the term "fatiguing" quite a bit so I looked it up. According to the World of Garp, or in this case Wikipedia, it is defined as "Listener fatigue (also known as listening fatigue or ear fatigue) is a phenomenon that occurs after prolonged exposure to an auditory stimulus. Symptoms include tiredness, discomfort, pain, and loss of sensitivity. Listener fatigue is not a clinically recognized state, but is a term used by many professionals." is not a state I wish to experience!

Thanks again. Like I believe I said, the L710 and L810 along with the NLA are a few of the speakers others have consistently recommended.
 
Nat said:
That said, I would describe ADS speaker as clean, in many systems a bit bright, and a little sterile sounding. I tend to like a bit more warmth, so the suggestion of KLH makes sense to me. The 17 can be had very cheap and are very nice. The 6s go deeper (and seem freeer of the slight dry woodiness of the very similar Advents), but I think the 23s are a bit better - wonderful for what they are. Be aware that you may need to recap KLHs.
If you come across a working pair of DCM Time Windows, listen carefully - I've never met someone who didn't like how they sound. (but if they have any problems, fixing them is a nightmare)
Click to expand...

Thanks for your detailed responses. Yes, wouldn't it be nice to walk into the local hi-fi-fo-fum store and check out some of these beauties but alas, those days are gone.
 
Don't overlook Energy, any of the 22 Series, Paradigm 7se, 9se, 11se (note the lower case 'se'), Mirage SM-1, 300/400/700, Sound Dynamics 10S, 12S, and a lot of the Axiom/Merak offerings out of Dwight, ON, Canada (on the edge of Algonquin Park). Sorry if my suggestions tend to be Canadian, lol!
 
NLA fit the bill for the period you're looking to emulate and are recognized for their sound. I was so impressed that I have a set of original woofers I will build around. Excellent compared to anything out there.
 
easy enough, AR58s, a true AR 12" 3/way from it's dome midrange to it's furniture grade cabinets.
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The typical classic AR 12" 3/way demands high dollar but due to this model sharing its number designation with some lesser models it tends to fly under the radar. Picked up this pristine pair about 3yrs ago for $275.
 
Grenadeslio said:
easy enough, AR58s, a true AR 12" 3/way from it's dome midrange to it's furniture grade cabinets.
View attachment 2333191
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The typical classic AR 12" 3/way demands high dollar but due to this model sharing its number designation with some lesser models it tends to fly under the radar. Picked up this pristine pair about 3yrs ago for $275.
Click to expand...

Those are beauties and I like the stands as well. Where did you get the stands?
 
All the suggestions so far are good, but my preference would be the ADS/Braun. That being said, Advents tend to be easier to find than most of the others and you can usually move them along if you find something better/you like more. With vintage speakers one must also be careful that the original drivers haven't been replaced by something where the only qualification is that it fits. This seems to be particularly common with Advents but can happen with any speaker.
 
Not a bad set on your list. To my ears never heard a set of ADS's that I did not like. I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but have yet to find a perfect set of speakers for my varied listing styles. ADS's seem to do any/everything pretty well.
 
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