Depends upon your ROOM more than anything else (except your wallet, of course!). Try a small set of newer Magneplanars and see what you think about the clarity of listening to the actual recorded music instead of the "horny" sound of horns or the booming of speakers like Advents, JBL's, etc., which were great in the day but have been out-engineered easily by today's designers (no disrespect to Henry Kloss, clearly an audio icon). Whatever you do, LISTEN TO IT IN YOUR ROOM first.
Cheers! |
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So , I graduated in June 1978 from FSU. Went to work in Jacksonville, Fl. My first paychecks at age 22 were a upgrade from my Infinity Pos 2’s to Kef 104AB’s. I paid then $1100 then plus sale tax as a 22 year-old. I had them restored 2 years ago to 100% thinking my 35 yr old son might want them? Restoration included new cabinet veneers, new cross-overs, new foam grills, they are 100% NEW!!! Anyway he doesn’t get it. So I’ll build a new retro system or possibly soon put up for sale and take a loss based on a “perfect restoration. They are beautiful and perfect! They are still wrapped in plastic since I first heard them again in Tampa at The Speaker Exchange who restored them. Glenn the owner is amazing for many decades now!
Bogey2292-AKA Dave
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Another vote for ADS. I’ve owned a bunch, and I still have two pairs of L1290s. They are very good speakers. Also, the surrounds are rubber, so no need for replacement.
I would also cast a strong vote for vintage ARs. The AR9 and 90 are truly remarkable speakers.
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Find a pair of refurbished vintage JBL L100. You'll never look back.
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Big John,
Where is home? I've got a couple of vintage pairs really cheap if I don't have to ship. KLH 17's and EV Wolverines.
Pittsburgh... |
Seldom see them but KLH 17 was a great little speaker . Still is if you recapwhich is simple .
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Klipsch KLF-30s or KLF-20s |
I love that line, “...who has had all of the above mentioned speakers”. What an amazing coincidence that this young thread would mention each and every model that “vintage joe” owned, huh?! |
@atmasphere +1 I got a pair of ’KLH MODEL SEVENTEEN’S that need reconing in great cosmetic, structural and mechanical shape that have been in my ’stereo closet’ for years. Even though they only had the 10" woofer they really hit that ’sweet spot’ in sound for such a low 'vintage' price. And you could put them anywhere, from the bookshelf to the floor. I’m glad I kept them! |
Klipschorns. Or KEF Concertos.
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ads L1290 or L1090 ... mid 80s vintage; I have a pair of the bookshelf speakers in this line in my bedroom and they sound grrrrreat!
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DQ 10’s....what I use. They sound amazing....scored a mint set for $375. Refoamed but 100% original otherwise. You'll need a high current amp for adequate bass response though. |
DCM TimeWindow 3 or JBL L100. |
And yes the DQ 10's I'm a huge fan of them...their imaging is remarkable.... |
Ohm Walsh 2 & 4
Aerial 10t
NHT 3.3
Pinnacle ac850
Spendor BC1
Pro-ac Response 2.5
Infinity Overture 1 |
@lg1
Yep the Quantum would have been a bad match.
I know in the receiver world 160 wpc was "monster" power. Not so much in high end, especially for demanding speakers. And then there's the question of the quality of the amp.
Which leads me to this: I'm going to hedge a bit on my previous Dahlquist DQ-10 recommendation for the OP. They do need high quality, high power amps. Maybe the oft-recommended Advents would work better with his Pioneer. I'll never forget the "disappearing act" I enjoyed with my DQ-10s, but I don't think the SX-1250 would match up very well. Those speakers were very revealing, and I had a really nice front end.
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I have a friend of mine who I call "Vintage Joe". He has had all of the above mentioned speakers. Depending on your price range and room size the best speakers I heard from his system was the IMF 50s and up. Large box style floor standers. I also agree with KEF 104/2s and 105s and Dahlquist DQ-20i's. |
I'd look for vintage Polk in the SRS-SDA series. They were remarkable in my vintage system. Sorry I let them go.
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FWIW, I owned an SX-1250 back in the day (Bought, brand new @Best Products in Houston, TX in 1977.). I acquired the receiver as the first piece of a system I was building, so auditioning a lot of speakers-from-that-era was next on the agenda. Aside from a brief flirtation with Bose 901 series IIIs, the three finalists from a summer’s worth of haunting Houston stereo shops (of which there were many at that time) were the JBL L-100, the JBL L-65, and the Pioneer HPM 100. At that time, there was usually an SX-1250 or 1050 in stock and set up at these venues so that was a plus.....I wound up with the L-65s and are still listening to them daily. Such great sound and so “of those times”, stylistically! (I”m running them with a PrimaLuna Prologue Classic now.). One bit of info might be useful...I really had my heart set on the big Infinity.Quantum Series speaker’s. I had salesperson after salesperson steer me away from them because, as they would tell me time and again, my “monster receiver”didn’t have the steam for anything bigger than the Quantum 4 and even that pairing was marginal. I thought that it was as simple as “The world's Most powerful receiver is gonna be the perfect match for those badass QLS-1s.” What can I say...I was 18 with too much pocket change! Glad I got talked out of that one... |
Allison Model One
Celestion SL700 - although they are stand mounts and not quite full-range |
ADS or Celestion Ditton 33/66 speakers for lower cost options -great for rock and metal. |
If you keep an eye on the outlet store link on ohmspeakers.com vintage OHM models refurbed with new components regularly come up for sake there for about the same as original cost. Or if you contact OHM there may be others available not posted. Or if you pick up a vintage pair of OHMs elsewhere on the cheap, they provide upgrades and service still for most every model ever made. |
Budget? How vintage is vintage? Some original B&W 801's? |
The Bozak LS-400 and CS-501A are true floor standers that sound very good with all types of music, even though Rudy Bozak was a classical fan. Tannoy is another excellent vintage speaker to search for. Actually their present day Prestige series of speakers have a vintage look, so you could have a new speaker having the proper appearance for your system. It's not a floor stander, but the AR-LST is also an excellent vintage speaker, however they are not found used very often. Have fun in your search!
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What is meant by 'vintage'? Are Snell Bs old enough to be vintage? IMO they were the best speaker Snell made. They go down to 22Hz and are easily driven with 60 watts, although I found 200 watts to be a bit better :)
One a budget the older KLH speakers are very nice if you get one of the bigger models.
But one problem you will run into with vintage speakers from the 50s,60s,70s and 80s is breakups, which contribute to harshness. The KLH speakers I mentioned have a problem with this in their tweeters- you push them, they get harsh. But if you're unconcerned with keeping them original, there are newer tweeters like ribbons that have far better performance. Of course you may be spending more to fix that problem than you spent for the speakers themselves...
BTW the kind of music you like has nothing to do with whether the speaker will be appropriate or not. The requirements a speaker needs to be good at rock are exactly the same as what it needs to be good at classical or folk.
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@helomech: Bob Carver liked the TW's! I will trust his opinion any day over Guttenberg's - who worked at that snooty audio store in NYC (Sound By Singer). |
EPI / EPICURE / Genesis, or ADS speakers I find very pleasing as far as vintage goes. |
I looked up the Time Windows. Apparently opinions on the DCM Time Windows are mixed. Steve owned Bose 501s at the time and still wasn't impressed. https://youtu.be/PCQUgsoTBUc |
DCM Time Windows 1A. Better sounding than any of the above (except the Snell AIII - which I also have). I am now on my third pair of TW’s. First pair bought in 1977, second pair in ’78, last pair bought 2 years ago. Cost $219 + shipping in like-new condition from Ebay. Serial nos. 52779, 52780 (late production). Truly a world-beating speaker with near-perfect pulse and time response! NOT a box speaker. Prism-shaped floor-standers! And amplifier-friendly! |
One of my favorite speakers is the KEF 104/2. They were made between 1984 and 1996. They are very non-fatiguing, exhibiting a rich full midrange and smooth highs with enough bass to satisfy most people. They produce a large 3 dimensional soundstage with superb imaging. They do need some power to get the most out of them.
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<<The Dahlquist DQ-10 would be on my list!>>
I second that. I spent many, many years mesmerized by my DQ-10s' imaging capabilities and tonal accuracy. They were never regarded as speakers with an authoritative bottom end, but the bass was absolutely satisfying and realistically presented (10" woofers if I remember correctly) - IMO far preferable to high-end monitors that, by design, sacrifice the lower octave in favor of mid-range realism.
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Snell Model A, but early 80s Kefs (104/2, 105, 107) would be up there. |
Paired with an SX-1250? HPM 100's :)
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Klipsch Fortes (or IIs)
KEF 104/2s
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Look for a pair of New Large Advents, particularly the ones with the "bull-nose" cabinets. They’re a versatile speaker and sound good with any genre. I recently compared them back-to-back with some new Vandersteen 2Ce Sig IIs ($3K/pair) and returned the 2Ces.
It’s not uncommon for the woofers to need re-foamed but it’s easy to do and re-foam kits are available from many vendors. My pair is all-original except for the foam surrounds and they still sound better than 3/4 of new <$3K speakers I’ve auditioned/owned. I have five pairs of newer speakers in my home at the moment, all of which retail for over $2K and there are only 2 pairs I prefer to the Advents.
Even when I sit them on the floor, they somehow project a soundstage of believable height, and they’re not finnicky when it comes to placement. I usually spend hours dialing-in the placement of speakers but with the Advents, I plop them on the floor, equidistant from the wall, with just a smidge of toe-in and they sound great - no need to bust out the lasers and measuring tape.
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