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Which speaker around 300$?

Thanks for the answers. They help much to find the ideal choice.

im pretty surprised that some of the forum members says that the sansui au317 is good. its nearly mint and had for a 70 bucks debt. :S

lico: dont you think that the br5 is pretty huge for a room like mine? 18 sqr meters?

oreo: i know that you can find some good deals, but my hesitation about vintage is more complex. dont know how big was the technical upgrading at the speakers and that vintage speaker... can a vintage speaker be as good as some new?

MJWPicMan: thx, for you long post, i found some models of AR, can you tell me which of those worth some demo? (i dont want to go everywhere) there was some AR18, AR17, AR3 and i cant recall the other two at the moment.

i just want to spend my money at the best way.
 
hero said:
Thanks for the answers. They help much to find the ideal choice.

im pretty surprised that some of the forum members says that the sansui au317 is good. its nearly mint and had for a 70 bucks debt. :S

lico: dont you think that the br5 is pretty huge for a room like mine? 18 sqr meters?

oreo: i know that you can find some good deals, but my hesitation about vintage is more complex. dont know how big was the technical upgrading at the speakers and that vintage speaker... can a vintage speaker be as good as some new?

MJWPicMan: thx, for you long post, i found some models of AR, can you tell me which of those worth some demo? (i dont want to go everywhere) there was some AR18, AR17, AR3 and i cant recall the other two at the moment.

i just want to spend my money at the best way.
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Hero

As far as the Sansui goes, there's a big difference between "pretty good" and audiophile. But $70 was a good price for it. Buying audio should be done judiciously. Remember, you get what you pay for, and buying without research usually means you are going to be disappointed in your purchase, often very disappointed.
That said, there are some terrific vintage speakers to be had. Quality vintage can easily sound as good, if not better, than new speakers. $300 is not going to get you a great sounding pair of new speakers. It may get you something serviceable, but I doubt it. Usually all it will get you is junk from a big box electronics store. If you are careful and chose wisely, $300 can get you a pair of quality vintage speakers.
Out of all the ARs you mentioned. I would buy the AR3s. I would also look for the AR3as and AR4s. They're a great sounding classic speaker, clean highs, warm mids and plenty of bass. Plus they are an investment. Because they are collectable they never lose their value. With time, in good shape they actually go up in value. Plus, if I'm not mistaken I believe some of the original ARs are cloth surrounds and never need to be replaced. And get some audio education, do some reading and research. Buying audio without research is like jumping into the pool without looking to see if there's any water in it. You may be in for a crash landing.
 
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hero said:
cubdog: i'm from hungary
i have offer a used MA BR 5 for 250-300, and sometimes mission 752 pops up. lot of heybrook hb1 or hb2
some BW 602?

oreo: yes the list or bay or anything i can make a good deal but pls notice that i cant decide the deal is fair until i dont know what should i have. for example a half priced dunno... sansui speaker (those ar huge) can be less useful then a better jbl for the full price. i dont want to change the speakers every month.

never heard vintage JBL, are those really good? at another forum they were reviewed with some uhmmm... bad vintage sound which cannot be comapared to the modern speakers
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Can't go wrong with B&Ws if what you're after is accurate sound for piano, jazz, vocals but they are little shy on bass. Some of the vintage Sansui, Pioneer are pretty nice and generally have a larger woofer.
 
hero said:
cubdog: i'm from hungary
i have offer a used MA BR 5 for 250-300, and sometimes mission 752 pops up. lot of heybrook hb1 or hb2
some BW 602?
Click to expand...

As a very happy owner of some B&W DM603 S3s, I'll happily second the 602 suggestion.
 
cwall99 said:
As a very happy owner of some B&W DM603 S3s, I'll happily second the 602 suggestion.
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Hero

I'm going to make a final recommendation to you. Do not, repeat DO NOT, buy some speakers you have never heard, like the B&Ws 603s, just because they were recommended to you. A lot of people love and swear by B&Ws. You couldn't pay me to have a pair. I really dislike their presentation, at least the models I've heard. But for some people they're fabulous. And the last thing you want to do is pay to have a set of speakers shipped to you that you've never heard, and bought because they were recommended, and then find out you don't like them.
 
Thanks for the advices again.

MJW: Really thanks for care about my problems. The main thing what you have mentioned, is the reading some hifi related topics and i cant really hear their voice. Today i went to an audio store with a friend of mine (he got me into audio) and he fingered "good" speakers which was 1500+ $. He has some McIntosh at home with vandersteen (if im spelling it right) and an other pair of speaker which was around 3000. So i think all these writings based on personal taste. But i will demo the bw sound anyway.
And thats my problem with vintage: i cant really try out. The models which have some reputation always going some standard price (i can sell if dont like but pricey) but others i dont know anything just some personal review.
Last time comparsion: i cant compare monitor audio to vintage gear since they hooked that on a 4k $ stuff and they were pretty impressive. The only sansui speaker i heard was hooked on a 50 bucks stuff and it neeed some upgrade or repair... (or i hope that was the problem)

Do you know some AR models or some other speakers which have the same "style"?

Hope you've understood me with this grammer.

Anyway i asked you to list some good ones, and if i can i will listen them and maybe buy. I always read about the models you have mentioned, so thanks for the helps. :D
 
Hero

Your grammer is fine. Vandersteen is what I listen to. I have Vandersteen 3A speakers. And I understand it is difficult to listen to vintage gear. I don't know if you have something like Craigslist where you live. I thought you might be able to listen to some different used speakers that people were selling around where you live.
As far as buying unheard goes I stick with my original recommendation of AR or KLH. They are both nice sounding speakers. Warm, accessible, balanced, pretty clean and nice tight bass. AR is the more collectable speaker so they hold their value better. I also like Celestion and Spendor, which are both English speakers. My personal opinion is that any of those will sound better than a lot of the Japanese speakers like Sansui, Kenwood or Pioneer. You might also look for ADS speakers. A lot of the ADS speakers had a dome mid which gave them wide dispersion and warm mids. I think ADS were originally manufactured in Germany and were called ADS Braun, but I could be wrong. In any event ADS are worth investigating. This is kind of what getting involved in audio is all about. It's kind of like buying shoes. You're going to have to try on and wear a few pair to find out what you like.
If you have specific questions Hero leave me a private message with your question and email address, and I'll shoot you an answer. Good Luck.
 
Anybody knows something about the nearly 300$ infinity speakers? What kind of sound they have?
 
i agree, the EPI is the best bang for your buck. Even a pair of Large Advents or vintage KLH 6's, 5's or 24's will do. Craigs has a ton of deals





kfa888 said:
A vintage set of EPI or Genesis speakers will cost about $100 for a nice set and fill that room with great jazz and rock EZ with 50 WPC. No need to spend $300. I like the ones with passive radiators. Some genesis II's would be quite nice for what you are doing. Very good sounding speakers that are EZ to drive and cover a lot of musical tastes.

genesisbk.jpg
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i occasionally run a pair of 6's stacked, the top cabinets upside-down with a 5" air gap between them. i built shelves to accomodate this. all i can say is wow, i know this goes against the techies on here but my ears are the final decision maker.








Poultrygeist said:
I have a pair of these Model Sixes and for $199 it would be hard to find new speakers that sound better. These were the last speakers designed by Henry Kloss. They have that great New England sound just like the vintage KLH's.

http://store.cambridgesoundworks.com/dp/B0034ZZ5W6
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I'm really-not sure how they would sound with that later model Sansui, but if you ever happen to buy a Sansui from the early '70's (either a receiver or one of their integrated amps), then I strongly-recommend hunting down a pair of Wharfedale W60D's or W60E's. I use the W60E's as my mains running off of a Sansui 2000x, and they sound better than any of the comparable east-coast-style speakers I've heard (They're like a cross between an east coast sound and a British sound. Very-engaging and musical). They're extremely-versatile. I listen to everything from '50's/'60's/'70's jazz and classical to classic rock, jazz-fusion, funk/funky R&B, and even modern rock and nu-metal-type stuff. I even listen to my share of electro/techno, and these speakers just love it. If you listen to lots of classic rock, then these are your speakers. Fantastic with funk music. They have a bottom-end you can feel, but it's not overemphasized or unnatural. It's realistic bass that moves you ("Makes you wanna' freaky-deaky"). And the mids and highs are the best I've heard from a speaker of this size/price-range. They somehow reproduce the emotional qualities of music along with the frequencies. I've owned mine for a good 3-4 years now, and they continue to surprise me. Power-handling is 50w RMS per speaker (My 2000x powers them nicely with 39wpc).

If you find a pair, get them off the ground at least 18" and lay them on their sides (They were designed as large bookshelf speakers, but they can also be used as a floorstanding speaker). Getting them on their sides gets the mid-woofer and tweeter vertically-aligned, and I do prefer them positioned this way, but they also sound great standing upright (I'm simply trying to explain how to get the best out of them). Wharfedales in general are designed to work well in smaller rooms. They can throw a mean soundstage if you get them positioned correctly, but they can also work in a nearfield setup (though they're at their best when positioned the way I described). The cabs are extremely-well-built. Furniture-grade all the way. They have big, cast-framed drivers made by Wharfedale. The W60E's have inverted rubber surrounds while the W60D's have cloth ones. No foam-rubber here. A great-sounding, well-made speaker that rivals AR3's and AR3a's but doesn't command the same sky-high prices. Anyway, just a suggestion.

*EDIT* - Whoops, I forgot to post a picture...

121B07544E2BCA6830C69D
 
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gang-twanger: Those wharfedales are so nice, would like to listen but cant find in europe, at the first try.

Others, who said EPI, which models, series you prefer? Do you know something about model 5? 100$ worth it?

Im between the EPI, AR2 and AR4 and KLH6. Any help?

And again, thanks the answers!

hero
 
The EPI 100's are a good choice. I have a pair of EPI TE-70's which are also good but not as good as the Cambridge Sound Model Sixes.
 
Hero. How goes the search? NJWPicman makes a good suggestion with ADS, I have a pair of L690's small 2 way towers, they sound really good. I didn't know about their German origin, which may help you. I never heard anyone say anything negative about ADS, so if you have to buy without hearing them that might be the way to go.
 
There was just a couple pair of Altec Model 14's for $400 on Craigslist & eBay..Boy if you could have come up with the extra C-note you would be extremely Happy ! Backflip material.. :yes:
 
Hi again!

My search about the brauns didnt make anything surprisingly good offer.

About vintage:
But i found an epicure model 100 for 120$, but i think it will need new surrounds.
Some Infinity Rs-6b also availbe, and i work on klh model 6. These around 250-300 $ with transportation.

Can you mention some other speaker from the 80-90 which can be compared to the list? Genre is always jazz and rock.

Or something about missions, i know they arent popular in the us but maybe someone know something?

And as always, thanks for your helpful comments.

Hero
 
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