Trying Vintage Speakers

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Rattlin' Bones, Jun 18, 2018.

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  1. Rattlin' Bones

    Rattlin' Bones Grumpy Old Deaf Drummer Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    I am trying out a transition from modern back to vintage. I was looking at some AR 4x and Dynaco A25 and A10's, and even a nice looking set of AR Connoisseur 19's (is mid-80's vintage???).

    My room is kinda small 10x10, but there is a bookshelf with odd-sized books that absorbs some bass and keeps it from reflecting back, and a stairway to right that will allow some bass to escape.

    I currently use a pair of Peachtree D4 speakers with 4" woofer and 1" tweeter. I think an 8" woofer may be too big for my room, but 6" should work.

    I decided to try a set of vintage Dynaco A10's: at 8 ohm with 6.5" woofer and 1.5" tweeter they might perform better than my modern Peachtree D4 at 6 ohm with 4" woofer and 1" tweeter. We'll see when I set it up next week.

    I want to find out if a good performing vintage smallish speaker will outperform a well-regarded modern bookshelf speaker when listening to classical and jazz (my genres), and if vintage (at least the kind of vintage I was looking at) will provide a more musical listening experience.


    I did find it a bit frustrating making a decision on which vintage speakers to buy. Most of the Dynaco A10's and A25' s for sale on eBay or Reverb you can't actually see the woofer or tweeter or surrounds because the covers are not easily removed. So you're taking a chance based on sellers rep and feedback. I hope I got a good one!
     
  2. EdogawaRampo

    EdogawaRampo Senior Member

    I'm a huge AR fan myself. I run a pair of re-issue AR-3a's (a few hundred pairs were specially manufactured for the Japanese market ca. 1990 ~1992). I was able to audition them and pull off the grill to have a look, though. They'd be overkill for your needs, but there were lots of smaller ARs produced through the years.

    Have a look:

    Acoustic Research | The Classic Speaker Pages

    I had a pair of AR-18s about 12 ~ 15 years ago and was amazed at the throw those little speakers had:

    AR18B | The Classic Speaker Pages

    The one pictured needs its surround replaced, but that might be the kind of thing you're looking for. The 18s and some others had an 8-inch woofer.

    The Connoisseur Series looks nice:

    Connoisseur Series Brochure | The Classic Speaker Pages

    I haven't heard them, but AR was still part of Teledyne at that point (mid-80s). I draw the line at when Teledyne sold AR to Jensen in 1989. In 1997 or so I listened to a pair of modern "AR" 9's and just about ran from the room when the salesman turned up the volume. Painful. Bad. To be fair, I don't remember what CD was playing or what the other equipment hooked up was and to what extent that contributed to the bad sound, but I left the store concluding those were not, in fact, ARs.
     
    StimpyWan likes this.
  3. Uglyversal

    Uglyversal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney
    As you've said you are taking a chance with the seller, I like vintage equipment a lot and a great part of what use is vintage but even when in working condition there might be things related to age that affect their performance. Even if they were perfect the only way to really know is to try yourself and see what you think, you might be pleasantly surprised and the again you may not.

    A 4" woofer would certainly not do it for me so I think is worth taking risks but often you do get what you pay. I have liked some AR speakers I've heard in the past but I am not familiar with any Dynaco, at least that I remember.

    Edit: Of course any vintage equipment can be brought back to the same or close original performance by replacing what is needed but I do find that some in original condition still might be good enough for me to leave them untouched.
     
  4. Rattlin' Bones

    Rattlin' Bones Grumpy Old Deaf Drummer Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    Yes, I'm hoping they are in original condition and good enough for me to leave them untouched. The one's I bought had a longer description than some others, and seller has 100% positive rating and deals almost exclusively with vintage hi-fi (save the occasional golf club he sells lol). He also responded quickly to all my messages and pretty much guaranteed there would be no flaws. I have that trail of messages plus his listing description, so if they're not as described it's easy to get eBay and PayPal involved. I've had issues here and there with items not as described and eBay/PayPal have always gotten my money back for me. And it's not like we're talking about $1k; they're a $130 gamble.

     
  5. dadbar

    dadbar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland OR
    The Dynaco A25 woofers don't usually need refoaming so there is much less of a risk there. It is a pretty easy speaker to update...just one cap.
     
    Panama Hotel likes this.
  6. Guth

    Guth Music Lover

    Location:
    Oregon
    In the not too distant past I played around experimenting with a number of older vintage bookshelf speakers in a variety of sizes from the likes of Allison Acoustics, ADS, Fried, Infinity and Snell and I had a great deal of fun while doing so. I hope that you have a similarly fun experience.
     
    Manimal likes this.
  7. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    I have a pair of AR 3a's restored by Vintage AR and a pair of the original AR 6's with the more expensive to build woofer with the magnets surrounding the voice coil instead of behind the voice coil. This resulted in a longer throw and deeper bass. There was also an inductor on the woofer on the original AR 6's. Later AR 6's went to the same woofer as the AR 4 et al.
     
  8. Rattlin' Bones

    Rattlin' Bones Grumpy Old Deaf Drummer Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    That's good to know. Thanks!!! The A10's I bought should be the same, only smaller.

     
  9. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    Keep in mind that ancient speakers typically do not sound good unless the capacitors have been replaced. After 15 or 20 years their values drift, causing them to sound muddy or otherwise "off."

    I've recapped numerous pairs of '60s and '70s speakers, and they have always benefited from this.
     
  10. fishcane

    fishcane Dirt Farmer

    Location:
    Finger Lakes,NY
    I had a pair of A10s at one time. wish I still had em. Still have A25s from high school tho!
     
  11. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    I'm going to throw something out there, which may be totally off-base...

    Consider auditioning a pair of Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary speakers, which Music Direct sells for $499 (discounted). They are new speakers, yes, but are voiced much like vintage speakers, ie: warm but not dull, and they provide the kind of detail that many vintage speakers can't muster. They even look vintage, with their traditional box cabinets and real wood veneer.

    I'm using a pair in my 8 x 10 room and love them.

    [​IMG]
     
  12. LitHum05

    LitHum05 El Disco es Cultura

    Location:
    Virginia
    How does the bass compare to vintage huge bookshelf speakers?
     
  13. Mitsuman

    Mitsuman Diamond Tone Junkie

    Location:
    Missouri
    I'm going to cast a vote for Polk 7B's as ones to look for. With a recap, they are an amazing sounding speaker, with the silk dome tweeter. They have butyl surrounds on the woofer and passive radiator so no worries about foam rot.

    [​IMG]
     
    Manimal likes this.
  14. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    These! Are the ones I’ve often wanted to try when considering vintage speakers. I think they look cool also.
     
  15. Rattlin' Bones

    Rattlin' Bones Grumpy Old Deaf Drummer Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    Thanks, action pact.

    I'm looking at the Wharfdales right now. The one you recommended has a 5" woofer. I have a 4" now. I'd like to move up to a 6" or 6.5". Not sure move from 4 to 5 is big enough. Wharfdale has some other 6"-6.5" woofer speakers in same price range: Diamond 11.2. Diamond 225, etc. I think I really want a 6" woofer.

    Suggestions???

     
  16. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    That's a difficult question to answer. The bass is more than adequate considering these are small bookshelf speakers, it extends down to the mid 40s. These do not need a subwoofer to satisfy, but they also integrate well with one. I'm using a sub crossed over at around 50hz, and it only kicks in once in a while.

    I think you will be satisfied with the Dentons' presence and bass performance in a 10 x 10 room.
     
  17. Rattlin' Bones

    Rattlin' Bones Grumpy Old Deaf Drummer Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    Nice speakers there, Mitsuman, and 6.5" woofer, but cabinets are 24" tall. I need a speaker with cabinet 20" or less tall.

     
  18. Rattlin' Bones

    Rattlin' Bones Grumpy Old Deaf Drummer Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    I'm not satisfied with a 4". I'm not sure that one inch will be enough of a difference: I think the Peachtree speakers I have now may outperform those anniversary Wharfdale's.

    [QUOTE=" I think you will be satisfied with the Dentons' presence and bass performance in a 10 x 10 room.[/QUOTE]
     
  19. Bingo Bongo

    Bingo Bongo Music gives me Eargasms

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    I would think a tweeter upgrade couldn't hurt on vintage speakers.
     
  20. Mitsuman

    Mitsuman Diamond Tone Junkie

    Location:
    Missouri
    I'm no speaker designer, but having a cabinet with that small volume and a 6" woofer in a vintage speaker might be tough to find. I'm scratching my head trying to think of some.

    Perhaps the A/D/S L470?

    http://img.usaudiomart.com/uploads/large/965515-pristine-pair-of-ads-ads-l470-2-way-speakers.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jun 19, 2018
  21. Rattlin' Bones

    Rattlin' Bones Grumpy Old Deaf Drummer Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    AR 4x and Dynaco A10. AR Connoisseur 19 & 20. That's one reason why I was looking at those models.

     
  22. Mitsuman

    Mitsuman Diamond Tone Junkie

    Location:
    Missouri
    Paper cone tweeters...........some love em' some hate em'. The Connoisseur is a dome tweeter.
     
    Last edited: Jun 19, 2018
  23. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    AR 6 is better than AR 4 or 4x. AR 4xa uses uses the same tweeter as the AR 6 and other newer AR speakers.
     
  24. Rattlin' Bones

    Rattlin' Bones Grumpy Old Deaf Drummer Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    The Connoisseur 19 on eBay looked sweet. I was very tempted, and it's a great price, too. But it may have been the titanium model tweeter, which I didn't want. They had two models. It think the TT may = titanium? Someone else may know.
     
  25. Rattlin' Bones

    Rattlin' Bones Grumpy Old Deaf Drummer Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    It is an 8" woofer, which is too big for my needs. Discussion is around 6" woofers in cabinets 20" or less tall.

     
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