The vast majority of pre-1970 speakers were quite poor compared to modern speakers. But, as I and others above have mentioned, not all vintage speakers are inferior. Many of the best are not particularly practical, but, if you heard them, I am sure the sound would please you. Like modern speakers, there is a VAST array of sound of vintage speakers and not all sound thin or nasal or harsh or rough; but the best are not that easy to find and hear these days. Have you heard a real Western Electric 757 or 753 system for example?
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There are great sounding speakers from the 1930’s that still deliver great sound, albeit not in living room friendly packaging. Shearer-Lansing systems sound good, as are Western Electric theater systems. If you include modern systems built from vintage parts, some fantastic systems can be had that sound better, to me, than any modern system. I’ve heard fantastic systems built around Western Electric compression drivers and horns, Western Electric field coil woofers, Goodmam woofers, Jensen woofers, Jensen/ERPI field coil widerange drivers, IPC compression drivers,and a lot of other such parts.
I like horn-based system for their unmatched dynamics, particularly at low volume levels, but, I don’t like the coloration of the more commonly heard systems like the EV, Altecs, and Klipsch systems mentioned above.
I recently heard a YL system from Japan, probably built in the 1960’s or 1970’s, that I would take over almost any conventional modern system.
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Doyle,
IPC made terrific speakers. The drivers, in particular are still highly prized. You are quite lucky having it. I know of a few mono systems built around vintage drivers. One of my favorite speakers is a mono system that Deja Vu Audio built not long ago that has a big bass cabinet (I believe it is a sealed box) with an 18" woofer and a very old and funky looking Raycon midrange horn and compression driver. The sound is really quite hard to beat.
With vintage parts, the trick is to find pieces that still match 70 years after manufacture. That means that stereo systems are MUCH harder to make than mono systems because the left-right matching has to be quite exact.
Deja Vu Audio (a Northern Virginia retailer who also builds custom speakers) has a small collection of Western Electric 713b drivers because they buy them hoping to get them paired up--they have about six or seven now and none match. Pricing reflects this--you can find single 713b's for as little as $5,000 but matching pairs from a reliable source are well over $20,000 these days.
If one's priority is at the frequency extremes--very deep impactful bass, and extended and well dispersed high frequencies--it is true that modern speakers deliver these qualities at quite modest price levels and in compact packaging. Vintage designs, even with 18" woofers don't go super deep, but they deliver great tone, and nimble sounding bass. This is why I don't necessarily disagree with the OP even though I much prefer speakers utilizing some very vintage drivers.
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While not my favorite, the JBL Hartsfield is still a pretty good vintage speaker.
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I heard the Beveridge system in 1974, I believe, when they were quite new. This was a very nice sounding system, but bass was a bit loose, boomy, and not well integrated with the rest of the spectrum. It may not quite be pre-1970, but, it is a good vintage speaker nonetheless.
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Roxy54,
I agree. I do like the Grand Utopias, but at the modest listening levels I prefer, they don’t have the liveliness of great horn systems. Which is best depends on priorities. For comparable dollars spent, I can get a custom designed horn system with YL horn and compression driver, and 18” Goodman field coil woofer. It won’t go as deep or have the same bass impact as the Grand Utopia, but that kind of bass is not a personal priority.
There are non-horn systems that I also like a lot too, some of them utilizing vintage drivers. I particularly like the Jensen M10 field coil wide range driver (13” driver) with a simple high pass to a tweeter crossed in way on top. The system I heard used an RP 302 tweeter, but my dream system would have a Western Electric 597 field coil tweeter.
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There are MANY good modern speakers that do almost everything well. I like the top end Rockport speakers, Arion Acoustic planar magnetics, Maggies of all sort, and a lot of other modern designs. But, almost all of them are dynamically a touch lifeless at low volume and do not engage my interest in the same way high efficiency systems, particularly horn systems do. Is it a fault of the speaker or the kinds of amps needed to power such speakers? The amps I really like are low power amps, particularly low power tube amps. It doesn’t really matter which is to “blame.”
There are many modern systems that are high efficiency that I do like, but they are not commonly found. I will mention a few I really like: Charney Audio Companion with AER driver (they come with several alternative); Cube Audio Nenuphar Basis (wide range driver system with a built in powered woofer); Songer Audio with field coil wide range drivers (both the single driver and two-way system); Audio Note AN-E.
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Wharfedale and Tannoy are Great Brirain examples, Klangfilm made great theater systems worthy of consideration.
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There are probably one hundred speakers that qualify for the top five. I certainly have heard but a small fraction of the speakers designed as statement products. A friend who attends the Munich show and some shows in Japan throws out names of companies I have never even heard of their names. I doubt that there would be anything close to a consensus of what companies should be near the top of the list if you polled those who have heard a lot of different speakers.
Depending on the type of sound you like, the list would vary greatly and even if my taste differs dramatically from someone else, I would respect that list. If, for example, someone put the Borresen flagship at the top of the list, I know that person favors open top end, speed, clarity and precise imaging (which are all good things), but, my own preference would be for a fuller sound and greater "weight" to the sound. Would I put the Gobel flagship near the top (weighty, big sound)? Maybe, but, it requires a lot of power which means the kind of amps I tend not to favor, so I would not know for sure unless I heard it in a familiar setting (which would never happen). Would I put up for consideration a low-cost speaker with limitations on bass response, high volume capability, etc., but is SO musically satisfying (Charney Audio Companion)? Yes, I might, and not just because it is reasonably price, compact , and practical (it is also high in efficiency); it just plain sounds good. The same with the Songer Audio field coil speakers I've heard--lacking in deep bass, but very musical and reasonably practical. The Rosso Fiorentino speakers? I don't know, I heard and liked them, but, I need to hear them more. It is pretty much impossible for me to make my own list of top fives, never mind someone compiling a more universal top five list. My own personal list would not even have commercial systems on it--I've heard a number of custom builds that sound better than any commercial models I've heard.
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Cherry,
Sorry, no can do, but we can send you to the Munich show where Sibatone (Korean) does a display like that with one set on the floor, the other inverted and suspended in the air. In the U.S., if you ask nicely, Deja Vu Audio in Northern Virginia might play their gigantic 16A horn (you can walk inside if you crouch just a little bit). That horn has a tweeter on top, but no woofers attached, so the bass is thin (555 driver is run full range).
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