Speakers from last century that you love

[jjmanda]

ADS L1290.

I greatly enjoyed them for over 25 years.

Me too.

I had Richard So rebuild all components about 4 years ago. So they'll probably out live me.

 

[Saturn94]

Me too.

I had Richard So rebuild all components about 4 years ago. So they'll probably out live me.

Very nice!

Mine were still functioning fine when I replaced them. I miss them sometimes.

 

[Deleted member 58722]

Usually it's "Ok, this reminds me why I paid more for these speakers." The refinement and scale difference is so obvious. (The Thiel 02s are a tad rough and slightly peaked in the upper mids for instance). So I immediately appreciate the difference. On the other hand, with the memory of the Thiels fresh in my mind, I immediately hear what the higher end speakers aren't quite doing that I like in the Thiels.

You'd think that if I were looking for "sound like the old Thiels, but better" the obvious choice would be "newer, more advanced Thiel models." And that is a major reason I've been attracted to Thiel speakers for many years, and still own my larger floor-standing Thiel 2.7s, which use their last most advanced designs. It is that density and liveness to the Thiel sound that I like. And yet...even though I find my big Thiel 2.7s do this aspect better (for my taste) than most speakers I hear, they are still bettered by those cheap old 02 Thiel speakers! They sound just a bit more dynamically, palpably exciting and "alive." Go figure...

I understand, but I would go for the edgy more exciting sound any day. Hence my choice of sound system at home.

 

[Capitol C]

Nice picture in a suitable environment!

The AR3a was once sold in Germany as a package together with an NAD 120 receiver and a Thorens TD 160 turntable. I can still remember this beautiful stereo system very well.

However, I think that loudspeaker development has made great progress.

I agree that there has been a lot of progress on speakers. But AR used a combination of anechoic chambers, measuring in open fields with the speaker pointing up (!) for the really low base, and lots of iterations to do a remarkable job on the AR 3, AR3a line. Restored and set up properly, with the treble pots set closer to max and a little bass boost from the amp, they are better than a lot of modern speakers I've heard. Having said that, they are not as good as my main speakers, and when I put them on stands in the same position of my main speakers, I was very disappointed. They like having their backs to the wall on shelves.

 

[pablolie]

The red speaker is my goto these days, the white one is a German speaker I have had for nearly 30 years and doesn't have a single original driver or crossover... it used standard (at the time top of line) Vifa woofers and tweeters and was very easy to upgrade, plus had a very well designed cabinet. Still love it and it reminds me of how much $ I wasted on "upgrades" that ultimately made little difference.

 

[Multicore]

Heathkit Cotswold​

I grew up listening to these because my dad had them. He upgraded turntables, tuners, amps, R2R and cassette decks but only replaced the Fane woofers in the Cotswolds when they finally rotted. I listened to a lot of music on those as a kid, including BBC TV and FM stereo simulcasts of Proms and operas. My dad's main interest was germanic romanticism. And when I had the chance I played my own LPs on them, including In a Silent Way and Larks Tongues In Aspic.

Looks like this

 

[sarumbear]

Revel Ultima Salon 1998

 

[MattHooper]

Revel Ultima Salon 1998

View attachment 278450

I never liked the looks (those ugly bolted-on side panels, it's like "hey George, we have some leftover sheets of drywall, where should we put 'em?")

But I remember hearing them the first time in the 90's at an NYC store and thinking "damn these things sound neutral!"

 

[Waxx]

Some other speakers of the past i like a lot

The Tannoy Westminster (big old coaxial driver in a huge compound horn) is such a speaker. It's very coloured but sounds very nice to the ears. My former father in law has those (version from 1987) driven by a pair of Manley Labs Neo500 amps (big high power tube amp) in triode modus and i spend hours in front of it with him listening to classical music. The actual version is ridiculous expensive (50K) for what it is, but on it's own it's a very good coloured speaker. Something Tannoy can do very well and also did with smaller models like the Arden or the GRS Memory (and probally a few more i did not hear yet).

I also liked the old Klein & Hummel O98 (1982), an ancestor of the actual Neumann KH310. This was the first K&H speaker i've heared in 1998 and it left a huge impression to be honest. This speaker has long been my reference for studio monitors quality.

And the speaker i grew up with (owned by my father, and amped with various class AB receivers over the years) is the Warfdale Linton 3XP from 1976. It's still a great speaker, and still in good shape at my fathers house (crosssover is rebuild altough). And i still enjoy those each time i visit my father. And it got a lot of bass for speakers of that time and size/alignment i have to say.

And last week i did repair a pair of B&W DM-70i speakers from 1979, and those are also great, showing why B&W got that reputation from (and sadly can't fullfill anymore). I had to redo the crossover (replacing a blown resistor and dried out caps on the woofer section) and replace a blown woofer (with original model woofer sourced by the owners). While listening at my and her place this speaker is gorgious, in looks and sound. The tweeter is an electrostat panel, the woofer a 12" cone driver. The crossover of those is a bit particular, with 2 big transformers on the tweeter filter.

(all pictures are from internet, not the exact speakers i know)

 

[computer-audiophile]

I agree that there has been a lot of progress on speakers. But AR used a combination of anechoic chambers, measuring in open fields with the speaker pointing up (!) for the really low base, and lots of iterations to do a remarkable job on the AR 3, AR3a line. Restored and set up properly, with the treble pots set closer to max and a little bass boost from the amp, they are better than a lot of modern speakers I've heard. Having said that, they are not as good as my main speakers, and when I put them on stands in the same position of my main speakers, I was very disappointed. They like having their backs to the wall on shelves.

Thanks for the pictures.

I had already written it elsewhere: You can also simply like a certain sound of a certain audio component. Not least if you grew up with it. I have such strong memories myself. And I have sometimes even tried to recreate that charming sound of the past in more recent times, for example by experimenting with old radio speakers and tube circuits. Or by listening to mono records.

 

[dualazmak]

Fully active multichannel multi-driver multi-amplifier PC-DSP-based stereo audio setup with YAMAHA NS-1000 (not NS-1000M) together with L&R sub-woofers YAMAHA YST-SW1000 and L&R super-tweeters FOSTEX T925A.

If you would be interested, please visit here and here on my project thread.

 

[Frank Dernie]

and he has these big honking Monitor Audio speakers from the early 80s.

Sound like MA3, Focal tweeter, oval bass driver (EMI iirc) and the famous Peerless K040 mid driver used in several speaker I liked.
I owned a pair and they were great!

 

[Frank Dernie]

I had some great speakers last century!
The aforementioned Monitor Audio MA3 were fantastic, Yamaha NS1000M (in my bedroiom now), ProAc EBS, in front of me in my study as I type, and the Goldmund Epilog 1&2 I still use as my main speakers in my listening room.

I haven't heard modern speakers I like enough more than these to spend money.

I bought a Genelec 8341 to hear what all the fuss was about and it is good, but not good enough to justify changing the Epilogs for the 8361/W371 combo I was considering.
I am using it as the centre channel on a highly non-optimised 5.1 system for films now.

 

[computer-audiophile]

YAMAHA NS-1000 (not NS-1000M)

What is the difference between these Models? (I had NS1000 decades ago, but I have forgotten this detail)

 

[fpitas]

What is the difference between these Models? (I had NS1000 decades ago, but I have forgotten this detail)

Yamaha NS-1000M loudspeaker

It was an audacious design from a company with no prior reputation for making serious loudspeakers, yet it soon became a landmark product. How does it shape up today? There's no such thing as the perfect loudspeaker, nor is there ever likely to be one. Most manufacturers don't even try – theirs...

www.hifinews.com

 

[computer-audiophile]

Yamaha NS-1000M loudspeaker

It was an audacious design from a company with no prior reputation for making serious loudspeakers, yet it soon became a landmark product. How does it shape up today? There's no such thing as the perfect loudspeaker, nor is there ever likely to be one. Most manufacturers don't even try – theirs...

www.hifinews.com

Thanks, now I understand. The 'M' is a modern redesign.

 

[fpitas]

Thanks, now I understand. The 'M' is a modern redesign.

Well, if 1977 is modern: yes It's an attempt at a studio monitor, vs a home speaker.

 

[Frank Dernie]

What is the difference between these Models? (I had NS1000 decades ago, but I have forgotten this detail)

Mainly the cabinet, thicker wall and Rosewood veneer instead of black stain plus no protective mesh over the bass driver..

 

[fpitas]

Talking about studio monitors, I could live with a set of these from last century.

These are actually DIY versions of the Altec 9846A studio monitor, built to look less stark than the original. I think they turned out quite well.

 

[Frank Dernie]

Thanks, now I understand. The 'M' is a modern redesign.

No, that article has wrong picture at the top.
The NS1000M and NS1000 are contemporaries the picture at the top of that article is the new NS5000 which is a modern speaker using different drivers and the ubiquitous piano black finish.