Old Large Advent Speakers?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Paul McShart, Jun 29, 2020.

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  1. Paul McShart

    Paul McShart Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    CA
    Hi all, I'm new here and I was wondering if you all can help me decide on purchasing speakers for my Pioneer SX-990.

    I found this pair of old large advents that need to be refoamed and the guy selling is asking for 100 dollars. I don't know much about speakers, all I know is advents seem to be pretty well revered here.

    Do y'all think this is a good deal and a good match for the amp I have?
     
    BrentB and PhxJohn like this.
  2. JRF

    JRF Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Deep South
    Buy them, refoam them, put new caps in them, hook them up to the Pioneer, put on Led Zeppelin II and enjoy. I still have my Advents and Marantz 2245
     
    bluesaddict, BrentB, pscreed and 13 others like this.
  3. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    Great deal. I have a pair of restored AR 3a's and they were $1,400. The Large Advents were revered in their day.
     
    Bob Y likes this.
  4. jeffmackwood

    jeffmackwood Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ottawa
    I would love to hear a like-new pair of Large Advents again before I die!

    I helped procure a pair in the '70s for my high school's cafeteria. Hooked a cassette deck up to the PA system and did mix tapes. Did Bat Out Of Hell in its entirety one day and caused the lunch monitor to go into fits.

    Jeff
     
    Adam9, Bob Y, Saint Johnny and 2 others like this.
  5. sushimaster

    sushimaster Forum Resident

    I still own my Double stacked New Large Advents.
    I used to have a War of the Bass with my neighbor when I lived in an apartment.
    He would turn his bass up and so I would in turn fire up my Advents.
    Good times.
     
    Bob Y likes this.
  6. Ocean56

    Ocean56 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Waterford, MI USA
    Still have the large Advents I bought new in 1978.
     
  7. ssmith3046

    ssmith3046 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona desert
    Bullnose New Large Advent with a fried egg tweeter. Another great speaker from Mr. Kloss.
     
  8. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    The NLAs are great speakers. Haven't heard the originals but they should sound similar. I wouldn't worry about replacing the crossover caps unless they sound bad. The ones I pulled out of my 44-year-old pair tested fine.

    They are a bit power hungry so not sure if Pioneer will drive them well. On the same token they have a relatively low maximum power handling. They'll let you know when they're straining, the highs will become harsh.

    Definitely worth a re-foam if the rest of the speakers are in good shape.
     
    Bob Y and Saint Johnny like this.
  9. Dr. J.

    Dr. J. Music is in my soul

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    I wish I still had mine. Best all-around budget speaker for rock and jazz. But I've been on the lookout for a pair of KLH Model 5 which my speaker guru told me is like a Large Advent but without the midrange suck out.
     
    Saint Johnny and Helom like this.
  10. Doctor Fine

    Doctor Fine "So Hip It Would Blister Your Brain"

    Much love for all the top "box" speakers back in the day.
    AR, KLH, Advent and Dynaco A25s.
    These were every boy's ticket to stoner heaven back when the girls wore miniskirts.
    Easy on the ears, tight clean bass and not too ugly either.
    (The speakers---not the girls, ha ha).
    It's an era not to be missed.
    The music wasn't too bad either.
     
  11. ssmith3046

    ssmith3046 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona desert
    Keep looking. I found a refurbished pair about 12 years ago. Very efficient speaker and sounds great. I've read it was Henry's answer for the AR-3a. I always used them with my tube systems. The Fisher 500C worked well with them and now I use a Harman Kardon A500 integrated tube amp with them. They're one pair of vintage speakers I'll never sell.
     
    John Murray, Bob Y and Saint Johnny like this.
  12. Onrd

    Onrd I am not a number

    My Advents from 1973 are still going strong. I refoamed them and rebuilt the crossover. Great speakers.
     
  13. Dr. J.

    Dr. J. Music is in my soul

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    I've seen a few pairs but they were cosmetically challenged. Mine were gorgeous with original grill cloth. I compared them side to side with my Polk Monitor 10a's for a few weeks and the Polks came out ahead, mainly in midrange and deep bass. So I sold them for $350 on CL. So maybe I should've said, "I wish I could hear them again for $hits and giggles."
     
    ls35a likes this.
  14. ssmith3046

    ssmith3046 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona desert
    I apologize, I was talking about a pair KLH Model 5 speakers. I didn't make that clear in my original post. I liked the Advents but love the Model 5 speakers.
     
    Saint Johnny, Dr. J. and John Murray like this.
  15. John Murray

    John Murray Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent OH
    Shhhh... the KLH Model 5 is the best kept secret. It was probably one of the best sounding speakers I've ever owned. Wish I still had them. Sold them to a college kid who was going to use it as a home theater system. I have some nice Wharfdale Linton Heritage's now but still miss those KLH's. Had the OLA's as well. Liked them both and they really sound great with rock music.
     
    Saint Johnny and ssmith3046 like this.
  16. Greg Carrier

    Greg Carrier Senior Member

    Location:
    Iowa City
    Sometimes I really miss the '70s.
     
  17. joelongwood

    joelongwood Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wading River, NY
    I currently have 3 pair of OLA (1 pair is utility cabs). The 2 walnut pairs are used in a stacked fashion, and to my ears, the sound is incredible. Given the sound they reproduce, at $100 a pair they are a bargain, even if they need refoaming. My Walnut OLAs were a curbside pickup, while the vinyl pair was a gift from a friend. Good luck!
     
    Bob Y and Saint Johnny like this.
  18. SKBubba

    SKBubba Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tennessee
    That's a fair price. I have a pair, got them refoamed recently and they sound excellent. The crossovers were rebuilt decades ago. Even with repairs, hard to beat for that price.
     
  19. Jim0830

    Jim0830 Forum Resident

    Larger Advents had been my dream speaker from high school on. I loved the East Coast Sound AR's, KLH and of course Advent. All Speakers Henry Kloss had a hand in. The West Coast Sound of Altec Lansing, Cerwin Vega and JBL all seemed too bright and over the top. I started off with a pair of original Larger Advents in my sophomore year 1976. My goal then was to have double Larger Advents. In 1978 I managed to grab second pair of original Larger Advents. By then the newer model had come out and the appearance was different and the grill cloth was much darker. I managed to score the OLA's and at a good price. Everyone wanted the newer model, but I asked and they still had a few OLA's. Luckily I had a monster Sansui 9090 receiver which had 110wRMS, but more importantly excelled at driving low impedance loads. The OLA's were essentially about a 5 or 6 ohm load across most of their range. I had double original Larger Advents until 1985 when I went to triples, adding a pair of NLA's. They were too much for my relatively small listening room so the NLAs went out to the Living Room. They served me until 2015 when I got my current speakers. I do not regret any of my time with the Advents.

    For those of you wondering the difference between the OLA's and the NLA's there were some noticeable differences. I got to hear these speakers in the same room side by side. The appearance was different. The OLA's had a light tan grill cloth with a wood moulded frame surrounding the grill cloth. The NLA's had a darker brown grill cloth and the wood frame around the grill cloth was a wood half-round. The NLA's were more modern looking, the OLA's were products of their times and kind of classic looking. In the sound department the NLA's had a more extended high end and a little more controlled bass. They were a little more open than the OLA. One pair NLA's versus one pari OLA's I would give the NLA's the slight edge. But I liked the sound of both speakers. Double OLA's vs Single NLA's were no contest. There was something about two pairs of Larger Advents that was a little magical. They sounded much better than a single pair, almost like a different speaker. I read about it in The Absolute Sound and they were right. They raved about triple Advents which I also tried, but my listening room couldn't handle all that greatness.

    I would gobble up those Advents and get them fixed. They were/are great speakers.
     
  20. Cardanken

    Cardanken Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Minneapolis
    :righton:

    [​IMG]
     
  21. Dr. J.

    Dr. J. Music is in my soul

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    Yep, that is the vintage rig to run with them. Mine was similar: OLA + 2230 + TD150 mk.ii Properly restored, this system will make all but the high-end audiophiles happy.
     
    No Blue Skies and Cardanken like this.
  22. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    If it's this set right here, I would say go for it!

    The Advent Loudspeaker in walnut. | Vintage speakers, Loudspeaker, Utility cabinets
     
  23. Jim0830

    Jim0830 Forum Resident

    What vintage are those? My Larger Advents had a bevelled wood molding surrounding the grill cloth, and my grill cloth was a little more off-white/tan than yours. Mine were c/a 1976.
     
    Cardanken likes this.
  24. rocnred

    rocnred Southwest Desert Freak-a-zoid

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    I swapped out my pair, that I bought new in 1990, last year. I had them re-foamed in Los Angeles by a company that repairs speakers for recording studios in 1998. They did an excellent job and they still sound fantastic.
    I am trying to sell them, but so far I have never felt like anyone was worthy. I think I have an emotional attachment to them.

    The re-foaming thing is weird. Seems to be a common problem with these speakers. I see a bunch of them for sale and they all need re-foaming. Most people do not know how or where to go for that. But once you do, you will never look back. I have run them with an NAD, Carver, Harman Kardon, and then finally a Marantz receiver.

    [​IMG]
     
  25. Cardanken

    Cardanken Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Minneapolis
    I'm not really sure. I picked them up at an antique shop 3 or 4 years ago because they looked clean and the foam was intact.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    ILovethebassclarinet likes this.
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