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Vintage Speaker Feedback

I have been very happy with the Dynaco A25s and A35s especially since they have butyl rubber surrounds that don’t need replaced. Not terribly expensive either. A25s are pretty common, A35s not so much, but have a slightly better sound due to the enclosure size. I do believe they used the same woofers and tweeters. Buy what you can find now and keep looking, the fun is in the hunt.
 
I have a Cronus Magnum I, ADS L880/1, L880/2 and Ohm C2 ( up graded) and Maggies. I've had New Large Advent (steel frame woofer), KLH 5, Boston Accoustics A100 series 1 with Seas tweeter.
I would rank the Advents at bottom of this list, but still OK. I thought the tweeter was "a bit tizzy". A100 is of similar 10" 2-way design, but it's Seas brand tweeter was superior. The C2 and KLH 5 are warmer than ADS. KLH 5 goes deepest bass. Both are nice speakers, as are the ADS. ADS Series 1 have a tweeter attenuation switch that the series 2 doesn't. Series 2 had stronger components, I've read. But the tweeter switch on series 1, is also handy for tuning.

IMO, that sun room's accoustics will make a rough room to tame with a lot of glass. From your description, without seeing or hearing room. You may have to accept that it's going to likely be bright, and tough to change that.
I would choose a warm speaker rather than bright for a sun room. Music genre comes into play when picking speakers. I listen mainly to jazz. I like to hear a bass, but walls don't have to vibrate. Just my 2 cents.
 
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This is an older thread but I’ll chime in since I have had or have all the speakers the OP mentioned.

The original large advents are readily available, sound very good and should cost the least unless you find a deal on one of the others. The tweeters can be a little fragile and I have seen many blown so keep that in mind. They need refoaming in most cases unless already done.

The JBL’s are a different animal with that west coast sound. Lots of fun, efficient and great for rock. I still have a pair and won’t be getting rid of them. To my ears they can get a little fatiguing if listening for a long period of time. Not as accurate as the others but fun! Rubber surrounds on the woofers that I have never seen needing replacing. These are tough speakers and hold up well unless abused. Prices have gotten very high imo.

ADS L-810 These are a step above the others. Easy to listen to for long periods of time, accurate and very smooth. Bass can get a little boomy (why many prefer the L710s). Still priced reasonably in most cases. Do require more power than the others. Rubber surrounds on the woofers that hold up very well. I really like those dome mids and tweeters. Still have them and bought l1290’s when I found some locally.

hope this helps or you found something you like.
 
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I'm an ADS guy, if you are more into the Jazz, classical, acoustic end of music. Maggie's sound really nice. I was visiting a fellow members house and he's a big Jazz, Classic rock guy. He has Maggie's and they sound really good for Jazz etc. A tad shy in the bass. I'm not sure if they have demanding power requirements. But that's another option. Some like the flat panel looks also. You can never go wrong with ADS 710 or if you need more bass 810. Just my humble opinion.
 
Honestly there are thousands of speakers that would probably work for you. It really is impossible to say absolutely which one would be the best.

If you like decent bass then you want at least an 8" woofer unless you plan on using a subwoofer. Also dome tweeters are where it is at.

And of course there are many new speakers that would probably fit the bill as well.
 
Being a few months behind on this questions, I hope the OP was able to pick something up. Honestly, auditioning will be the most important thing to do. We all hear differently. What one person will say are the best sounding speakers, another will say they hate. If your able to give them a good listen before spending your money, you may be able to push out those that are not up to what your looking for. Now, I will throw in the Polk Audio from back in the day. I have Polk Monitor 10's that I love the sound they produce. I have moved them out of my living room set up to rotate in some Boston Acoustic A400's. Word on the street is the Polk Monitor 7's sound better than the 10's, but I have not heard the 7's so cant help with that comparison.

My Polks are the 10B's. This picture is in the middle of upgrading the tweeters on them. The silver domed tweet is the original one, the black one is the upgraded RD-194. I also recapped them.

20210104_113824.jpg

Now the same set up with the BA A400s

20211115_194946.jpg

Let us know what you decide on.
 
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kermit z said:
Being a few months behind on this questions, I hope the OP was able to pick something up. Honestly, auditioning will be the most important thing to do. We all hear differently. What one person will say are the best sounding speakers, another will say they hate. If your able to give them a good listen before spending your money, you may be able to push out those that are not up to what your looking for. Now, I will throw in the Polk Audio from back in the day. I have Polk Monitor 10's that I love the sound they produce. I have moved them out of my living room set up to rotate in some Boston Acoustic A400's. Word on the street is the Polk Monitor 7's sound better than the 10's, but I have not the 7's so cant help with that comparison.

My Polks are the 10B's. This picture is in the middle of upgrading the tweeters on them. The silver domed tweet is the original one, the black one is the upgraded RD-194. I also recapped them.

View attachment 2404351

Now the same set up with the BA A400s

View attachment 2404352

Let us know what you decide on.
Click to expand...

Kermit-z
Nice to see that cassettes are alive and well at your place. I’m keeping mine going also. I have boxes of mix tapes my wife made from the DJ vinyl stash at the Park City Ski resort disco bar in the 70s.
 
vintageadict said:
This is an older thread but I’ll chime in since I have had or have all the speakers the OP mentioned.

The original large advents are readily available, sound very good and should cost the least unless you find a deal on one of the others. The tweeters can be a little fragile and I have seen many blown so keep that in mind. They need refoaming in most cases unless already done.

The JBL’s are a different animal with that west coast sound. Lots of fun, efficient and great for rock. I still have a pair and won’t be getting rid of them. To my ears they can get a little fatiguing if listening for a long period of time. Not as accurate as the others but fun! Rubber surrounds on the woofers that I have never seen needing replacing. These are tough speakers and hold up well unless abused. Prices have gotten very high imo.

ADS L-810 These are a step above the others. Easy to listen to for long periods of time, accurate and very smooth. Bass can get a little boomy (why many prefer the L710s). Still priced reasonably in most cases. Do require more power than the others. Rubber surrounds on the woofers that hold up very well. I really like those dome mids and tweeters. Still have them and bought l1290’s when I found some locally.

hope this helps or you found something you like.
Click to expand...

This aligns with my experience having owned the smaller siblings of many of the speakers mentioned by the OP (ADS L520, Advent /1, and JBL L36). The ADS offer the most balanced sound and best build quality (nice veneer with unique metal grills that look upscale). They don't sound "vintage" to me. The JBLs also have terrific cabinets and iconic '70s monitor looks, but I'm not a fan of the forward sound except in small doses (actually prefer my little L20Ts for sound quality). The Advents were pleasant enough but not keepers, especially given the cheap vinyl wrapped cabinet. I would only consider the wood bullnose cabinets if getting a pair of Advents. Finally, based on some time with a pair of Polk 5Jrs, I'd be interested in the larger monitors (5, 7 or 10) if the cabinets were in good shape. I think many of those models were vinyl-wrapped, too?
 
CygnusDen said:
This aligns with my experience having owned the smaller siblings of many of the speakers mentioned by the OP (ADS L520, Advent /1, and JBL L36). The ADS offer the most balanced sound and best build quality (nice veneer with unique metal grills that look upscale). They don't sound "vintage" to me. The JBLs also have terrific cabinets and iconic '70s monitor looks, but I'm not a fan of the forward sound except in small doses (actually prefer my little L20Ts for sound quality). The Advents were pleasant enough but not keepers, especially given the cheap vinyl wrapped cabinet. I would only consider the wood bullnose cabinets if getting a pair of Advents. Finally, based on some time with a pair of Polk 5Jrs, I'd be interested in the larger monitors (5, 7 or 10) if the cabinets were in good shape. I think many of those models were vinyl-wrapped, too?
Click to expand...


My Monitors are vinyl wrapped. I think the late 70's version may have been wood veneer, but I cant confirm that. I'm sure someone can help there.
 
WattNot said:
Kermit-z
Nice to see that cassettes are alive and well at your place. I’m keeping mine going also. I have boxes of mix tapes my wife made from the DJ vinyl stash at the Park City Ski resort disco bar in the 70s.
Click to expand...
Actually it looks like he's ready for almost anything except, perhaps, an 8-track.
 
After poking around my shed through some old HiFi gear I stashed away, I wanted to put something together. I was missing speakers, so off to Ebay and Craigslist. First I found a pair of Advent Baby 2's. Cabinets were great, but one woofer is blown. I went to ebay and ordered a pair of woofers from Advent Laureate's as they are reported to be the same. Will see. While on ebay I threw in a local pickup bid on a pair of Advent Monitor 5's. I won at $39 and picked them up. They are actually Monitor 7 speakers with I think the Peerless tweeter. So, while I wait for the replacement woofers, here is my setup. The Marantz 2230 sounds decent, but I need to clean is a bit and replace the lamps. The 8 track plays OK, but the right channel has an on again/off again relationship with the tapes. I just hooked it all up and will play some CD's tonight after straitening up.
 

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Brier_John,
Welcome to AK and to a great hobby.
If you get any static or scratchy sounds using the knobs and switches on the Marantz, deoxit spray will sometimes clear that up.
Enjoy and keep your progress posted.
Regards,
WattNot
 
Thank you WattNot. I ordered some Deoxit from PartExpress and found a LED light bulb kit for the Marantz from StereoLamps.com

Now I am eagerly waiting the turntable so I can get that fixed up. I bought an SL-Q6 in scrubby looking condition.
 
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