Vintage vs modern speakers - what's your take?

Gee Mugen

You seem to be increasingly refering to me. Have I touched a nerve?

You too seem to be taking things oh too seriously

Shall we give it a rest?

kowtim wrote:Gee Mugen

You seem to be increasingly refering to me. Have I touched a nerve?

You too seem to be taking things oh too seriously

Shall we give it a rest?

No not really, and we made it to page two three already. I couldn't have done it without you! .... yaay !

And i'm still waiting for that blob of araldite to dry up.

Good analogy AH FOO! Cars! But some people get stuck to old gear because they have a sense of true purpose and purity or because they can't afford new modern stuff. Some people keep or hunt and maintain classic Alfas then rave about classic Merc Gullwings or Ferrari GTOs but can't afford them. I have my own opinion but I
would like to hear more reactions.

if u have chance, try search for JBL Paragon and see how much asking for...expand ur knowledge by learning what is Alnico V magnet, what is spider suspension in Isophon..modern stuff is not bad, it is different sound with vintage speaker. what pin point imaging, sound stage..bla bla bla.. I challenge u to just visit a liveband pub, sit in front, listen to the music, see if u can hear the so call pin point imaging..etc. Or just vist the Petronas tower to listen how the ochestra sound like, then you will understand.
Dun listen to others, listen with u own ear.Judge by urself.

wabun wrote:
if u have chance, try search for JBL Paragon and see how much asking for...expand ur knowledge by learning what is Alnico V magnet, what is spider suspension in Isophon..modern stuff is not bad, it is different sound with vintage speaker. what pin point imaging, sound stage..bla bla bla.. I challenge u to just visit a liveband pub, sit in front, listen to the music, see if u can hear the so call pin point imaging..etc. Or just vist the Petronas tower to listen how the ochestra sound like, then you will understand.
Dun listen to others, listen with u own ear.Judge by urself.

BTW, if listening to liveband pub .. Make sure to just check (with your eyes and ears) and see if its really "unplugged" style, or just a bunch of massive JBL, Cerwin-Vega, or Behringer noise boxes on tall tripods blasting out sonic assault. If the latter is the case, sure u can see the lvie performers in front of your eyes, but you can kiss the so called "pin point" sonic imaging sayonara. Unless you count "pin point" imaging as being nearest to which JBL noise box you happen to be seated near to. Then anyone short of suffering from total hearing disability should be able to "pin-point" to the exact sound source already. Sure imaging chun-chun one.

rsbn589 wrote:My take is ESL57. BTW, does anyone know where to audition vintage Tannoy (15" monitor gold or older) or original Tannoy (like GRF, Canterbury etc..) ?

Hi Lee

Had a listen to 'your' pair of ESL 57 this weekend at my brother's place. Highly transparent, excellent tonal accuracy, presence, and atmosphere though the refurbishment have not been completed. But, the bass tends to be "hard".

BTW, how does the stacked pairs sounded?

Regards

mugenfoo wrote:

kowtim wrote:Gee Mugen

You seem to be increasingly refering to me. Have I touched a nerve?

You too seem to be taking things oh too seriously

Shall we give it a rest?

No not really, and we made it to page two three already. I couldn't have done it without you! .... yaay !

And i'm still waiting for that blob of araldite to dry up.

Aww gee Mugen!

Thanks for acknowledging me

Coming from you thats something


Regards

kowtim,

I do like to listen to your system if permit. Nothing much but learning and sharing with others.

kowtim wrote:

mugenfoo wrote:

kowtim wrote:Gee Mugen

You seem to be increasingly refering to me. Have I touched a nerve?

You too seem to be taking things oh too seriously

Shall we give it a rest?

No not really, and we made it to page two three already. I couldn't have done it without you! .... yaay !

And i'm still waiting for that blob of araldite to dry up.

Aww gee Mugen!

Thanks for acknowledging me

Coming from you thats something


Regards

See... told you this is fun !!

Credit goes to you... You make the job easy

Regards

Hi CH

Your welcome to come over. But as I say.. I might have the worst system in Malaysia. But as you can tell, that doesn't worry me. Someone has to have the worst, might as well be me . So be prepared to hear nothing special at all. My interest lie in the listening and appreciation of good music.

Learning and sharing. Now your talking! Send me a pm and lets work out a time..

Regards

kowtim wrote:Hi CH

Your welcome to come over. But as I say.. I might have the worst system in Malaysia. But as you can tell, that doesn't worry me. Someone has to have the worst, might as well be me . So be prepared to hear nothing special at all. My interest lie in the listening and appreciation of good music.

Learning and sharing. Now your talking! Send me a pm and lets work out a time..

Regards

OK, just in case it's NOT the worst sounding system ....

Pls do allow me to assist further .. i shall whole-heartedly donate this one pair of RCA interconnects.. (that came free with some equipment long spoilt and gone), probably the copper inside already turn green as well.

All yours ... ex-gratis !

1 metre/pair length enough?


I truly believe that even in making a not-so-good (but perhaps not quite the worst yet) sounding system sound crappier, there are also important lessons to be learned in the hifi journey. Ah, this one i not talking-c0ck one.

any views on Harbeth PS3 vs Quad 11L?
are both of these consider vintage? or vintage vs modern?

ora-ito wrote:any views on Harbeth PS3 vs Quad 11L?
are both of these consider vintage? or vintage vs modern?

If we define vintage as "of old, recognized and enduring interest, importance or quality," then the Harbeth HL P3 can be considered as such.

Not sure of the Quad11L though.

tycham wrote:

ora-ito wrote:any views on Harbeth PS3 vs Quad 11L?
are both of these consider vintage? or vintage vs modern?

If we define vintage as "of old, recognized and enduring interest, importance or quality," then the Harbeth HL P3 can be considered as such.

Not sure of the Quad11L though.

Maybe the Quad ESL63 can qualify.

mugenfoo wrote:

OK, just in case it's NOT the worst sounding system ....

Pls do allow me to assist further .. i shall whole-heartedly donate this one pair of RCA interconnects.. (that came free with some equipment long spoilt and gone), probably the copper inside already turn green as well.

All yours ... ex-gratis !

1 metre/pair length enough?


I truly believe that even in making a not-so-good (but perhaps not quite the worst yet) sounding system sound crappier, there are also important lessons to be learned in the hifi journey. Ah, this one i not talking-c0ck one.

Hey Mugen

I tried sending a reply to you... but a intermittent connection sadly put an end to that particular reply

However, for now, thanks...You have directed my train of thought into ways and ideas of how much potential fun there is to be had with you

Bit busy at the mo... but I do have a fun reply up my sleeve




Regards

Mugen, kowtim,

Just like the movies, I love happy endings hehehe.

Wan Azami Hamzah wrote:Mugen, kowtim,

Just like the movies, I love happy endings hehehe.

Ya know Mugen

After reading the above....from what I see, this is not a forum that really wants to actively partake in any serious discussions. Your absolutely right. Its just a forum for people to come and hang loose, chill, be entertained, a platform for some to come to just to look good.

Hardly the place for a serious and boring old guy like me!

And so, carry on doing what your truly capable of doing Mugen.

They deserve it!

Its been fun!

Regards

kowtim wrote:

Wan Azami Hamzah wrote:Mugen, kowtim,

Just like the movies, I love happy endings hehehe.

Ya know Mugen

After reading the above....from what I see, this is not a forum that really wants to actively partake in any serious discussions. Your absolutely right. Its just a forum for people to come and hang loose, chill, be entertained, a platform for some to come to just to look good.

Hardly the place for a serious and boring old guy like me!

And so, carry on doing what your truly capable of doing Mugen.

They deserve it!

Its been fun!

Regards

Well, lets put it this way .. any forum, any thread ... its up to YOU (the beholder) to make it as serious, as funny , as whacked up as YOU wanna make it to be. The rest is just all "by the way" or "noise".

So, feel free to shift your paradigm to whatever suits you. This is a small bit of advice from a young punk to a slightly older guy. Its like semantics: Words mean exactly what you want them to mean.

If one fine day i ever get upset over whatever people posts ... i just stop replying. Why bother trying to correct other people's mindset when they wont listen anyways, you have all to lose, nothing to gain.

But the very act of continuing to post and contribute on (to page-4 perhaps) is becoz i'm having a blast here (and so should the rest). No need to bother taking sides, or building up a majority or whatever. if it's fun, carry on. It it's not, just stop. Simple right? No pride, no ego. Just pure chatter. Could be serious, could all nonsenscical.

Whats wrong for an old guy like you to just hang and chill as well? You're boring only if you think so. No one else passed such judgement on you (at least not me). Nor could they as well unless you let them.

A "platform to look good" ? Now that's a dangerous thought right there... Don't mistake me for this becoz quite the contrary for me will do.

Wan Azami Hamzah wrote:Mugen, kowtim,

Just like the movies, I love happy endings hehehe.

Really ? i dunno about the rest, but i was happy all along!

Imagine if i had to sit around and just wait for that blob of araldite to dry ! ... and the damn instructions said 12 hrs till it cures fully. What else am i to do for 12 straight hours ????

tycham wrote:

rsbn589 wrote:My take is ESL57. BTW, does anyone know where to audition vintage Tannoy (15" monitor gold or older) or original Tannoy (like GRF, Canterbury etc..) ?

Hi Lee

Had a listen to 'your' pair of ESL 57 this weekend at my brother's place. Highly transparent, excellent tonal accuracy, presence, and atmosphere though the refurbishment have not been completed. But, the bass tends to be "hard".

BTW, how does the stacked pairs sounded?

Regards

Hi TY,

You just listened to 60-70% but I guess that the poor "radiators" do a justice as benchmark for chamber music replay.

Rgds.

Mugen,

What were you doing with the damn glue anyway?

(After 2 days Absence.....) still NO Ending ? heh....heh....heh.....
Bro kowtim.....No system is the silliest system you mentioned lately.......
I believe you are preparing somebody " In for a Suprise " or either you are
too humble (well, that is what a good human should be....)
Or, Maybe you have those Vintage Macintosh , Vincent or even the Fabled
75 K Handmade ONGAKU Tube Amps, I dont know.......Or those " Heavy Weight " Sansui......
And I think I can guess why Mugenfoo is too " Trigger Happy " with the
Keyboard on Sunday Morning.....Either He Struck it Rich on the 4D (he did mention a Number on the Voltage Thread) or that he just received his Latest and Newest " Modern " HI FI Gears......well, MF, Congratulation on your latest aquisition on whatever it is.......

Wan Azami Hamzah wrote:Mugen,

What were you doing with the damn glue anyway?

@wan, repairing a hairline crack on my car bumper.


@antak, no, didnt kena 4D, and didn't get any new toy lately. It's all about the glue man ... the glue !

Page 4?

Not yet!

rsbn589 wrote:

tycham wrote:

rsbn589 wrote:My take is ESL57. BTW, does anyone know where to audition vintage Tannoy (15" monitor gold or older) or original Tannoy (like GRF, Canterbury etc..) ?

Hi Lee

Had a listen to 'your' pair of ESL 57 this weekend at my brother's place. Highly transparent, excellent tonal accuracy, presence, and atmosphere though the refurbishment have not been completed. But, the bass tends to be "hard".

BTW, how does the stacked pairs sounded?

Regards

Hi TY,

You just listened to 60-70% but I guess that the poor "radiators" do a justice as benchmark for chamber music replay.

Rgds.

Probably so. Had not listen to chamber music on the 57, but since piano accompaniment from the jazz pieces I heard do have a very nice percussive edge to it, I believe wind and strings instruments would be reproduced just as faithully.

I have an old Aiwa speakers, am certain that it was more than 10 years. The paper speaker starts to even turn in color. The rubber on the speakers seems like harden too. Any remedy for this?

There are various size of " surround " rubberlike material sold in the electronic shop with different sizes for repairing old Woofer.
Even the branded JBL MR Series (mine was MR38) was prone to this type of problem after over 8 years.
Hardening is quite ok, but those JBL MR Series " Surround " (woofer only) even turn brittle with time. I think that explain why they have the Spares available for sale on the internet. (check in google) It doens't matter what Brand you use as long as it is the correct size.
How to do the repair : You carefully peel off the Old material (very very carefully) then you replace with the new one by Gluing it in place (the material has its cellotape type of Glue made from the Factory.
This is the time when you can check your Woofer tweeter and midrange Coil using a Test meter to see whether it is within Factory specs of 4 ,6 or 8 ohms.(whichever your category is) A burned Coil will show you lower reading.
Check also whether the part at the Crossover board is still Glued or Soldered properly or otherwise. I have came across bad Soldering done on an Unbranded Floorstander's crossover Board........

http://www.simplyspeakers.com/2doityourself.htm

The above have everything you need for speakers repair. We have a speakers "Doctor" at Tai Cheong on the 3rd floor of Sim Lim Tower.

AIWA make minicompo speakers where got vintage value one. The guy is just poking fun lah hehe.

My list of highly regarded vintage speakers:
LS3/5A (any Brand)
Harbeths
Spendors
Quads
Tannoys
Rogers
Yamaha (NS1000, NS10)
Anything that had a history for Studio monitoring esp developed for BBC have to be good no nonsense stuff. If it's good for sound engineers its good for you, even today.

Cooltube,

For someone who is relatively young I'm ever so surprised you are a follower of Brit Classics.
Couldn't agree more though. I had a craving for Harbeths and Spendors when in the 70s/early 80s but couldn't afford them.

Two years ago came across a pair of SP1/2 and bought them for a puny 2k a pair. Needed some hardwiring and repair to work (previous owner painted some damping stuff on the midrange tweeter and the woofer surround, removed this silly stuff and replaced the midrange tweeters with new genuine ones bought from Madisound USA, surprisingly cheap ) otherwise immaculate elsewhere. Repair and replacement outlay less than 1k.

Now friends are offering me as much as 8k for them but I'm not parting with these made in heaven babies ever.

Cheers

Cooltube wrote:AIWA make minicompo speakers where got vintage value one. The guy is just poking fun lah hehe.

He said "old" not vintage.

Wan Azami Hamzah wrote:Cooltube,

For someone who is relatively young I'm ever so surprised you are a follower of Brit Classics.
Couldn't agree more though. I had a craving for Harbeths and Spendors when in the 70s/early 80s but couldn't afford them.

Two years ago came across a pair of SP1/2 and bought them for a puny 2k a pair. Needed some hardwiring and repair to work (previous owner painted some damping stuff on the midrange tweeter and the woofer surround, removed this silly stuff and replaced the midrange tweeters with new genuine ones bought from Madisound USA, surprisingly cheap ) otherwise immaculate elsewhere. Repair and replacement outlay less than 1k.

Now friends are offering me as much as 8k for them but I'm not parting with these made in heaven babies ever.

Cheers

Hi Wan

Talking about enthusiasm on Brits classic, I know of this young chap over here in Singapore who flew all the way to the UK just specifically to buy a pair of Leak TL12 monoblocks to power his immaculate pair of Chartwell LS3/5A. Very nice sounding set-up. Told me he paid SGD8k for the amps and 4k for the speakers.

tycham wrote:
Told me he paid SGD8k for the amps and 4k for the speakers.

Whoa!.. I must be sitting on a goldmine then, I've a pair of the same amps boxed up in my store.

Cooltube wrote:AIWA make minicompo speakers where got vintage value one. The guy is just poking fun lah hehe.

Its ok cooltube, I feel dutybound to answer any question asked, when directed
to me.
@tycham, thanks for the speaker repair webs
cooltube, yes, the Spendors you mentioned are sought after and highly rated in
" What Hi Fi Magazine ". On the Japanese side, there was one model SONY SS176 (Couldn't remember the exact letters) It is a Floor Stander and HI FI Grade specially made for Music in the 80's.

Aiwa was acquired by Sony, and wasn;t even in HIFI at all. Anyone who has an Aiwa, be proud because this company is going to be gone, i mean totally

runemaster wrote:Aiwa was acquired by Sony, and wasn;t even in HIFI at all. Anyone who has an Aiwa, be proud because this company is going to be gone, i mean totally

Really?, I once owned an Aiwa TT (some heavy mass resin composite plinth), 50W / channel amplifier slimline based on early Sanyo STK amplifier chip amp which Technics often also implemented in some of their 80's amplifiers, digital synthesizer tuner and AD3100 cassette deck. I believe I still have the original owner's manual of the TT. The system ranked with other brand hifi rack systems at the RM3k -5k price range at that point of time. If those rack systems weren't considered hifi of the day, then what? Aiwa did make some of the best cassette decks that rivalled Akai, (of course not to the finesse and more complicated Nakamichi decks) and I've seen many record shops using them for business purposes at that point of time.

last time Aiwa had the famous 3 head tape decks. Anything better and it would have to have been the Nakamichi Dragon already.

Then in Aiwa's latter years, they ventured into bling machines and mini compo stuff.... until it's general demise.

buzz wrote:old-type speakers? nobody write on a speaker model that is still in production since the first model was manufactured in 1946? hey...it's the Klipschorn & i only need 3 watts 2A3 SET. Listen to it and you don't want to hear anything else.

Hi Buzz,

See that you own a klipschorn speaker. I bought Cornwall 1979 recently but doesn't match well with my TRI-A300se amp SET 300B. Hardly any sound from tweeter. Any ideas what should I do?

My vintage speaker collection, all in immaculate condition:
1. Rogers Studio 3 Mk II Teak
2. Mission 752 (non Freedom) Rosewood
3. Proac Tablette II Mahogany
4. Harbeth Compact Teak
5. Spendor SP1/2 Teak

Think this collection will have new additions soon hehe.

I've this thing about vintage British speakers and that untiring musicality.

7810sam wrote:

buzz wrote:old-type speakers? nobody write on a speaker model that is still in production since the first model was manufactured in 1946? hey...it's the Klipschorn & i only need 3 watts 2A3 SET. Listen to it and you don't want to hear anything else.

Hi Buzz,

See that you own a klipschorn speaker. I bought Cornwall 1979 recently but doesn't match well with my TRI-A300se amp SET 300B. Hardly any sound from tweeter. Any ideas what should I do?

Now you're describing the symptoms in greater detail.

Check with a different amp, see if still missing the highs or not.

if the highs are still missing. Perhaps the horn tweeters are blown.

If u got the highs back with a different amp, then maybe the 300B is the cause of the problem. Perhaps the amp's tubes are reaching the end of its lifespan?

No highs, no bass .... either inadequate amp power, or the speaker is just too old and tired already. Time to call for Dr. Kevorkian.

cmboy wrote:

tycham wrote:
Told me he paid SGD8k for the amps and 4k for the speakers.

Whoa!.. I must be sitting on a goldmine then, I've a pair of the same amps boxed up in my store.

Hi, do I have a chance to see the amps if no listening, please

Wan Azami Hamzah wrote:My vintage speaker collection, all in immaculate condition:
1. Rogers Studio 3 Mk II Teak
2. Mission 752 (non Freedom) Rosewood
3. Proac Tablette II Mahogany
4. Harbeth Compact Teak
5. Spendor SP1/2 Teak

Think this collection will have new additions soon hehe.

I've this thing about vintage British speakers and that untiring musicality.

Hi Wan,

Thanks for sharing. I do like and collect the British speakers. Here is my little collection:

1. ESL57
2. Spendor BC1
3. LS3/5A
4. Spendor S100

Regards.

Hi rsbn,

That's one fine collection bro. All top rate classics. Play analogue Beatles, Elvis or Pink Floyd and you're in heaven. Late night with a glass of wine and spin some jazz. Are the LS3/5As Rogers?

Cheers.

Wan Azami Hamzah wrote:Hi rsbn,

Are the LS3/5As Rogers?

Cheers.

Addicted and end up with varies models namely Rogers, Chartwell and KEF.....

Addicted and end up with varies models namely Rogers, Chartwell and KEF..... [/quote]

Ah yes Chartwell, now that's a name I haven't heard for a long while.

Yes, me too....never heard about it. The Not commonly sold Vintage brand Nowadays include Polk Audio and Altec Lansing (Although Altec Lansing are
now mostly into manufacturing Computer Speaker)

Once upon a time, there too were Audiomaster LS3 5A!

But I prefer the Chartwell emblem.

Then there were some other lesser known now but fine Brit speakers like Dean and Heybrook in the 70s. Wonder what happened to them.