What vintage speaker might you use today


Like to find out what "vintage speakers" members would/might use in their current audio set-up

Do you think what made them special was the synergy between them and the amp used, or just the fact they were well designed and performed way above their price tag.??
sunnyjim

Showing 4 responses by salectric

All of the speakers I now own qualify as vintage. From oldest to newest these are:

1. Custom 2-way using 15" Jensen woofer and Altec compression driver in an Altec/Western Electric 32A horn. The cabinet is modern and so are the crossover parts, but the drivers and horns date back to the 1940s.

2. Dyna A25. I bought my first set of A25 speakers new in 1970. These came from EBay in the late 1990s. They still sound really nice.

3. Fulton FMI-80. A classic from late 1970s.

4. Spendor SP-100. I bought my pair in 2001 but the design dates back to the late 1980s.

The Jensen/Altecs and Spendors are my everyday speakers in the hifi system. The Dynas are used in the video room. The Fulton alas is the odd man out.

Except for the Spendors, each of these uses Alnico magnets which may have something to do with the enduring good sound, but that is just a guess. What I do know is that I continue to explore the latest and greatest but so far I haven't heard anything that makes me want to replace my vintage speakers.
Doug Schroeder needs to hear an "extreme" (his word) vintage speaker system.  If he does, I predict he will change his opinion that vintage is only suited for "lower end systems" (his words).  To be clear I am not talking about speakers you will find at yard sales.  For example, I am thinking of the pair of Western Electric 757 speakers at the 2011 RMAF.  That system had an engaging musical realism unlike any modern speaker in my experience.

LarryI, your speaker is hardly modest.  I am sure it sounds very nice by any standard.  My own vintage speakers are further down the scale.  As you may recall, I use a 15" Jensen P15LL woofer in a sealed cabinet similar to the Western Electric 753 with an Altec 802 driver in a 32A horn.  While I am sure it would sound better with a 713 driver, the 802 still sounds good to my ears.
LarryI, as a matter of fact I have tried a Jensen RP-302 tweeter to fill in on the extreme treble; however, I was never satisfied with the blend with the 802/32A.  My crossover includes a small HF boost circuit that helps make the 802-8G closer to full-range in the bent horn.  The very top end is still down slightly but for my tastes that is a price I am willing to pay for the excellent coherency of the 2-way.