Do you own (and use) any Vintage speakers

[thegreenline]

I owned a pair of Klipsch Heresy's for over 25 yrs. When I was younger they were great speakers for loud rock and Roll. As I got a little older they seemed to sound a little harsh. They are still a great speaker for HT, they just seemed to get a little bright when doing serious listening after about 45 min to an hour. I now own a pair of AV123 Rocket 750's, and I love them

Thegreenline

[JTurco]

I have a pair of Infinity RSa speakers from 1977 and a SAE SA-70 amp that I got while in High School. Unfortunatly, the Dual turtable did not survive. I bought them in NJ but shipped them to AZ when I went to college. the dry air was not kind to the woofer foam Surrounds and they fell apart in 1985. I loved the speakers so I purchased the infinity replacement woofer and still have them to this day. I fell in love with the briliant highs from the Emit tweeter and deep bass from the 10" woofer. The stout SAE Amp did not fare as well over time and is now in the garage with a short.

It took me a long time to find a replacement for these and recently purhased a paradigm set for my home theater...After thinking about them now I may go home tonight and fire the infinitys up and enjoy them again.

[CliffH]

I have an old pair of DBX speakers I purchased from a liquidator back in the early 80's. Thay are huge. They have 15 inch woofers and put out amazing base. I use these in my basement for music only but are still going strong.

[mcphlar]

I own a pair of Infinity RS IIIB's (2 10" Poly woofers, poly mid, EMIT tweeter) that I have had since I bought them in Germany in 1988. The woofer surrounds deteriorated over time, and I thought I would have to finally give up my beloved speakers. I listened to newer speakers hundreds of times, even auditioning in my home to find the perfect replacement. I eventually spent a little money and a little time and refoamed the woofers myself. A little research (and an incredibly friendly Ebay seller) went a long way.

They function as my L/R in my surround system. I have never found another speaker that makes "the sweet spot" any sweeter in 2 channel listening. They match my center and surrounds superbly (to my ear) in 5.1.

The oak cabinets have held up remarkably well for being moved from Germany to Colorado to Korea to Washington. They are practically bulletproof.

IMHO speakers are the only major component in a modern home theater that actually require the buyer to listen before buying. All the bench testing in the world won't tell you how the speakers sound to YOU - in your own home.

[GrtGrfx]

Originally Posted by mcroachy

ha ha ha *Sarcastic* well my view of vintage is that they are rare to come across, and that they for one sound much better than half the modern rubbish iv had over the last few years. i did how ever have some really old pre 1980s marantz speakers. but some dim wit visiting one day decided to poot a boot through them and damage them something cronic! i have the orginal speaker badge around some where and when i find it ill buzz you and let you know and see what you say to that. plus i used to own a pair of 1970 something Bang & Olufsen speakers but that was a while back that i cant even remember the model.

and as a last after thought though, would you agree that speakers before the 90's were of better quality than some of the stuff today????????? :P

Well, vintage does mean something old and possibly rare, but the word really means something that is regarded as exceptional for its age. The original Hyundai Excel is certainly old and rare, but definitely not vintage. An elderly Jaguar XKE, even with its faults (and there were many), is likely to be considered vintage.

Most people who have been part of our "music appreciation cult" over the last 20 years would probably agree that the big-name electronics companies did not, nor do they now, excel at making speakers. These companies produce speakers to broaden their product lines and make people feel good about having their entire audio systems come from one maker. Unfortunately, Sony turntables and Technics speakers, to name just a few, were not the best products that these companies make. Especially with speakers, I believe the companies that make only speaker products are the ones with the most accurate-sounding speakers. And when you go to the low-end mass-market manufacturers like Technics and Panasonic, well, their speakers are little more than glorified boom-boxes meant to be bundled with low-end electronics.

As far as how old speakers sound, that no doubt depends on a) which brand and model you choose, b) the quality of the signal they get from your receiver/amp, and c) whether you have discriminating ears. I wound up buying newer speakers because, while I thought my '70s Advents had a warm, beautifully-rounded sound, they weren't giving me all the information I had available from my sources. And being discriminating (and having a pretty good ear), I wanted to get more of that sound from the LPs and CDs I played had on them.

So, some 70s-80s-era speakers were plastic crap, and some were very refined (for their era). Many modern speakers have become capable of accuracy and fidelity that earlier-era products simply couldn't attain. That doesn't mean that a pair of high-end speakers of yesterday can't beat a modern rival, just that they have more working against them. People posting here about their vintage finds are justifiably proud of the gear, which were in most cases pretty highly-prized in their day, if not today. I'm just not gonna be feeling that sense of accomplishment from any pair of Technics speakers.

As a point of reference, you can go to almost any Goodwill or other neighborhood thrift store and find a few pairs of Technics, Panasonic, Sony or other big brand speakers for sale (for $10, lol). But, you probably won't find any Polk, NHT, PSB, Advent, KLH, or other more-revered brands; because those don't get thrown out; they are passed on or resold to other enthusiasts.

Don't mean to go hard on ya, but well, most readers of these forums have minimal standards or we wouldn't be passionate about the subject. If you're listening to "modern rubbish, switch brands until you find good stuff in your price range. Best wishes in listening!

[boconnell]

Way back when, I encouraged my mother to buy a pair of KEF 103.2 $950 at the time, and she has kept them ever since. I keep thinking she'll want to change, but I gave up a couple of years ago and bought a pair (used for $300) myself. The corssover board was cracked in one of the speakers, so I removed it and sent it in to a shop in Ohio (I think, can't remember exactly). Came back epoxied and good as new. They are very room sensitive - I've got a Primaluna in a small formal living room which does not suit them well (mainly room, I think), and a larger room with vaulted ceiling that loves them (even though they are driven by Denon HT receiver). My other speakers are Vandy 1Cs, AR.com kit speakers, and NHT Classic Twos. They are better than all three. Fantastic deal on used market - don't know why they aren't snapped up more often.

BTW, my mother is driving them in an apartment living room with a Prmare CDI-10 (CD Receiver, Class D amplification) with GREAT results. They also sounded great with a ROTEL 1062 integrated and NAD 541 CD player.