Budget Vintage Speakers: warmth with detail

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Phasecorrect, Apr 19, 2017.

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  1. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    Still evaluating... :)
     
  2. Phasecorrect

    Phasecorrect Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    WI
    Wow!
    WOW
     
  3. Phasecorrect

    Phasecorrect Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    WI
    If I found a clean pair I would pull the trigger. Any experience with A 100s?
     
  4. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    These are my first BA's. I bought them at Goodwill for $20 not long ago, and recapped and refoamed them, and they sound pretty nice (depending on amplification).

    I had never refoamed speakers before, so it was a good opportunity to learn. The vinyl veneer is pretty chewed up, so these will also be a good platform for learning how to strip and apply wood veneer too. :)
     
  5. Mitsuman

    Mitsuman Diamond Tone Junkie

    Location:
    Missouri
    I found a pair on Craigslist years ago. I quickly gave them to my daughter for a vintage system I put together for her. They were not my cup of tea at all.

    I am still a big fan of the Polk 7B monitors. The early silk dome tweeter with the pinhole is about perfect, and with the large passive radiator there is plenty of bass. My ears prefer their sound over the vintage Boston's for sure.
     
  6. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    I'm VERY happy that a fellow Ohioan found a pair of Cornwell's, as I have been on the search locally myself, with no luck, but I still say that those are clearly the "funkiest looking Cornwall's EVER"
     
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  7. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Thanks! I got them off of Ebay and it was local pickup from an antique mall in Dayton. The guy said they were from an estate sale and spent their life hooked up an organ. I got new crossovers from Bob Crites and sent him pictures and numbers. He said they were matched vertical horns built in 1971. They more than likely came unfinished from the factory and whoever ordered them did the veneer and grill covers. It sounds like it may have been a church to me. Whatever it is, they are fun.
     
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  8. head_unit

    head_unit Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles CA USA
    That's an example of what I mean-I think.
    - For models which still exist, I'm pretty sure that, for example, Klipsch themselves would tell you a new Heritage model sounds better than an old one: they have improved the horns by changing to a Tractrix geometry, and I would hope the crossovers are somewhat better.* (Here's something wacky, a kind of vaguely LaScala design made out of wood, including the horns, the Simon Mears Audio Ucello Simon Mears Audio Ucello 3-Way Horn Loudspeaker Review
    - But you can't even buy classic Altecs new-they are too busy making little Bluetooth speakers and working with Nick Jonas! Sad face :shake: because those are what started me at a very young age on a path to becoming a loudspeaker engineer.
    - However, you can get newer design horn products in a somewhat different form factor from such as Home page DIY Sound Group .
    - For big-woofer big-wide-but-short-horn designs...Earl Geddes has stopped production of his designs, Bruce Edgar became ill, I'm not sure anyone is filling that classic niche. JBL K2 and an Usher clone, at crazy prices I'm sure. But those horn designs are perhaps not so optimum anyway. Horns should really be round, or elliptical at least, to allow a wave to spread inside more correctly. Many horns are not like that due to ignorant copying or due to other overriding goals such as directionality for PA systems.
    - Maybe the new version of the vintage horn speaker is the modern standalone PA speaker like Stage Right 500-watt, 15-inch Passive PA Speaker - Monoprice.com . If well done, the sound could be comparable or better to those old models.

    *(though frankly I wonder if the crossovers are really as sophisticated as they should be, and due to likely rough impedance from the horns the crossovers should really be active and probably DSP with time delay, but that's another story!)
     
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  9. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    I don't think we would expect Klipsch to say stuff they made 40 years ago is better. Anyone that did would rightfully be fired from the company.

    I do agree their new stuff is likely better. I don't believe that technology moves backwards, it not like we lost the ability to build electronics as a civilization.

    What has changed is the need to build sensitive speakers for low powered amps. What was once the standard is now the exclusive domain of the uber expensive audiophile market. That is my chief motivation to buy vintage horn loaded speakers. If I had the cash to by Devore's, I'm sure that would sound better but I can get the job done with 20 tube watts and Cornwalls of any age.
     
  10. krlpuretone

    krlpuretone Forum Resident

    Location:
    Grantham, NH
    Yes, correct, I've witnessed this myself...
    And they are NOT fun to move around when you take them in, either....
     
  11. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    There is a lot of psychology that goes into this hobby. Reviews, recommendations, anticipations, justifications, expectations and so on. The bass is not the selling point for the speaker. It's the overall sound. Tweeter measurements be damned. They are balanced, have a smooth mid-range and adequate treble. "Sounded better than it should" is the kind of loaded statement that is not near as helpful as spending hours with a set of speakers. To the average non audiophile in the world today, a set of Advents and a vintage Marantz receiver will sound significantly better than 90% of the crap low end receivers and low end speakers being produced today. Is the tweeter dated? Yes it is, but so are all vintage speakers. It lacks the overall refinement of today's finer speakers. But if you heard the Advents on my Thorens and Yamaha amp, elevated off the ground, and gave them a chance, I'm betting you would find those measurements don't tell the story of the sound. You might even like them.

    Henry Kloss is not an audiophile legend because he made poor products. You can get a pair of vintage advents reformed for under $150 with relative ease. Elac's seem to be the modern version, being hailed as the best value speakers out there. I have a pair of UB5's which list at $500. They have better imaging but overall I found them to be inferior to my old beat up Advents. And neither compare with my modern (15 year old) B&W's.
     
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  12. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    nope, you can only like your speakers if they have excellent tweeter data.
     
  13. Phasecorrect

    Phasecorrect Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    WI
    Remember, opinions are like a$$holes, everybody has one. Just for the record, I have over 20+ year's listening experience/ownership with Advents. What they do, they do very well. However, it's always been a value driven line. Nothing wrong with that, it is what it is. In your own words "bass is fantastic" seems to highlight their strength. Every speaker, regardless of price, has pros + cons. Fwiw, I still own Large Advents + Legacies. Even with some shortcomings, their punchy bass does make classic rock come alive. And they can play loud.
     
  14. Phasecorrect

    Phasecorrect Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    WI
    Hahaaaaaa...Oh lord
     
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  15. Snashforce

    Snashforce Living Stereo

    Location:
    NC
    I'm not sure I can comment much about your criteria, but from the list I'd go with the KLH 17. Fun speakers. I like the "east coast sound". The KLH are different from your Advents, but cut from the same cloth. If you decide on Dynaco, go for the A-35 instead of the A-25. Same drivers, but better cabinet, crossover and sound, in my opinion.
     
  16. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    I have the CR 6's, they are one of my favorites, just a good speaker.
     
  17. Snashforce

    Snashforce Living Stereo

    Location:
    NC
    Oops, didn't see that when I posted, enjoy.
     
  18. 926am

    926am Senior Member

    Location:
    rochester, ny
    I love my large ascents. I also just purchased a pair of Boston Acoustic A100s. I look forward to comparing the two.
     
  19. Phasecorrect

    Phasecorrect Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    WI
    Check out the CR 8 or 9. Much better in housed designed Kortec tweeter. I just picked up a pr of 8s for a smaller room.
     
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  20. Thorensman

    Thorensman Forum Resident

    Its like fine old wine.
    70,s receivers big warm sound ,modern? Different because
    Of a different approach or trend
    loudspeakers are the same in this respect
    It's whatever floats your boat really,
     
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  21. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Oh Yeah? Well I'm 41 and have 41 years of Advents listening experience. Although I don't remember all of those years since one of those I was like 2. And the memories of my college years with my Advents are a wee bit sketchy. I was born with them. I still have them set up. And I mostly listen to my B&W's.
     
  22. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Agreed. I think they sound terrific with say AC/DC. Ironic, I've heard they were actually designed to play classical music, and by classical music I don't mean the Who.
     
  23. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    Will do, I've turned others on to these little marvels. If they get better I'm down:)
     
  24. Mitsuman

    Mitsuman Diamond Tone Junkie

    Location:
    Missouri
    If the crossovers have been re-capped, and the drivers are up to spec in both, I'm betting on the Advents. Especially if you are driving both of them with the SX-780. :agree::winkgrin:

    If you aren't sure both sets have had the crossovers replaced, then it's really a crap shoot.
     
  25. tommytune

    tommytune Forum Resident

    Location:
    Iowa
    If you do go with modern speakers, The Usher brand has what you describe above. I listened to the N-6361 and two of the diamond series speakers. They are very laid back, but with great detail, truly good sounding for rock music that can be a little harsh on the upper midrange/lower treble that other speakers produce.
     
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