jeffbook
Active Member
Dahlquist DQ10, modified to DSQ10a specs, (mirror imaged), added a DQ1w subwoofer at some point. These lasted until I met Siegfried Linkwitz in 2002.
I still love and use the pair of Quad Esl 57s I bought in 1974Altough i rate new speakers like the ones from Neumann high, i still love vintage speakers also, with their quirks and so. I have these old 1976 Goodman Mezzo SL speakers (grills are removed for inspection) that i use from time to time and they are so good sounding i should use them more. And even after 47 years of age, they are still technically mint (and still decent looking). I only recapped the crossover and replaced the resistor in it also about 5 years ago as the elco's were dried out. New caps are non polar elco's (Mundorf because i could get them cheap and easy), and the resistor is a simple jantzen ceramic one... And i rate these far above a lot of modern ones while i paid (long time ago) about 50€ for them...
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What are the speaker from the past (pre 2000) that you still love?
The pro audio aesthetic. I like it, too.Tannoy DMT 15 main monitors were my first exposure to those magnificent large coaxials in the 90ies and at the time their very industrial look also impressed me.
Random internet video:
i heard them at a dealer (who sold vmps out of his home in dc) in the early 90's. i'm pretty sure they weigh significantly more than 150lbs; 250 sounds more like it. i bought a pair of the vmps larger subs from him, which comprise the low end of the super tower iii - active 15" & 12" drivers and passive slot loaded 15" driver - and they weigh 140lbs each. the dealer bought a copy of kraftwerk's electric cafe, which i'd brought over to demo the speakers. yes, the s/t iii's are great speakers, but my budget was only looking for subs to pair w/my thiel 3.5's. i still have my larger subs, w/upgraded drivers; recently supplemented by another pair of the lowboy style larger subs. they provide a truly accurate tuneful low end, flat to 17hz, and they do a decent job of pressurizing my almost 20k cu/ft space, when called for.VMPS SUPER TOWER III - 1994
• Mass loaded with user adjustable bass damping; -3dB at 14Hz.
• Sensitivity 95dB/1W/1m.
• Power handling 800W rms into 6 Ohms.
• 78" height, 18.5" wide, 18" deep.
• Drivers: 15", 12", 2-10" Woofers, 4-5" Mid-Ranges, 4-1" Soft-Dome & 1 Ribbon Tweeter.
• Weight approx. 150 lbs.
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I bought the VMPS SuperTower III in 1994. They have been amazingly sturdy and were moved between an office and several different homes. The bottom of the cabinet contains a 15" passive radiator. It's accessible by removing the bottom wood stand. The foam surround on the passive radiator required a replacement but everything else is original. They can fill a room unlike any other speaker I own.
I was also going to say M&K - I bought a pair of their satellite speakers (1b, I think) used in 2005 or so, and paired them with an NAD camp/preamp from around then. They have color, but they still sound great, even compared to my modern KEF and Linn speakers.While at a stereo shop in the early 80s, browsing at upper mid-fi, the dealer said "listen to this new-fangled satellite speakers plus a subwoofer system by M&K." Took 'em home. Used 'em for over 20 years, replaced satellite drivers twice and crossovers once, subwoofer driver and plate amp once, always with help from the factory.
In the early 2000s, I upgraded to their active studio monitors, the MPS-2510, and a MPS-5410 sub (also 20th century models), and used these for ~15 years, until a lightning surge ended their life.
If you remember, "bookshelf speakers" in the 1970s were actually kinda large, if you wanted any bass at all, at least. M&K (Miller & Kreisel, MKSound, M&K Sound) downsized the box by limiting the satellite/bookshelf to 80 Hz bass, and made the subwoofer handle the rest. And the move towards 5.1 was born. I don't know if they were "first" in any of this, but they were pretty influential.
As I recall, several of the Infinity IRS series of speakers were line arrays. As for MTM/D'appollito speakers, I can recall a number of options on the market in the late 80s and 90s from various Danish manufacturers, including a brand as mainstream as Jamo, which had several offerings. Some of my favorites back then were MTM speakers, like the Audiovector 3X, or the super esoteric DIY speaker, the HF-275. Maybe not something you could find everywhere, but if it showed up in tiny Denmark... It wasn't *that* rare.Not sure that MTM and vertical line arrays are ground-breaking, but they are certainly a 21st century thing.
Agreed. But the floodgates opened in the 2000s. Until then I constantly read dire warnings that MTM could not possibly work. Problem was, nobody told the MTM that!As I recall, several of the Infinity IRS series of speakers were line arrays. As for MTM/D'appollito speakers, I can recall a number of options on the market in the late 80s and 90s from various Danish manufacturers, including a brand as mainstream as Jamo, which had several offerings. Some of my favorites back then were MTM speakers, like the Audiovector 3X, or the super esoteric DIY speaker, the HF-275. Maybe not something you could find everywhere, but if it showed up in tiny Denmark... It wasn't *that* rare.
Maybe in the USA not, but i saw them also a lot in the 90's in Belgium. My music teacher in high school had Focal Aria 5's, and that were MTM's from the eraly 1990's, sold widely across Europe. They looked like this (picture of internet). He could not stop brag about them in the music lessons and brought them to school so we could hear them also. Denon had a variation of those. And other brands also.Agreed. But the floodgates opened in the 2000s. Until then I constantly read dire warnings that MTM could not possibly work. Problem was, nobody told the MTM that!
We all lived in mortal terror of the power dip at the crossoverMaybe in the USA not, but i saw them also a lot in the 90's in Belgium. My music teacher in high school had Focal Aria 5's, and that were MTM's from the eraly 1990's, sold widely across Europe. They looked like this (picture of internet). He could not stop brag about them in the music lessons and brought them to school so we could hear them also. Denon had a variation of those. And other brands also.
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