Vintage Speakers still rock

[Mosin]

Well, my idea of vintage is old, really old.

I have three pairs of speakers at my house that I listen to...

One pair is KEF 103.2s that were made circa 1980. They are hooked up to a 24-96 card on my computer. Mostly, they play YouTube videos, although there is a turntable attached to that system. In my twisted way, I consider them to be modern.

Then, there is a secondary system that has Magnepan 2.7 speakers from the mid-nineties. Again, I see them as modern.

But...

The main system that gets serious consideration has 1954 RCA LC-1A speakers. I know they are vintage, and I have come to appreciate vintage things. Anyone who can send me a free bottle of Madame Bize Lalou Leroy Chateau burgundy 1959?

Win

 

[Ki Choi]

AR 3a's positioned on their sides at about 24" from the floor with Citation II power amp fed by a ML No. 390S CD/Preamp... simple but still rock after all these years.:b

 

[ac427]

I love the Mission 753's

 

[flez007]

nice Missions! I had a tiny MS73?i with nice stands and played great!

 

[ac427]

nice Missions! I had a tiny MS73?i with nice stands and played great!

Thanks, i have some Mission & Mk. II's as well. Very nice kit.

 

[gagelle]

Old Klipsch speakers can be found at a big discount. My favorites models are Klipschorn, Cornwall, Forte and Forte ll, the KG series, and the KLF series. The best part is that new parts like crossovers. diaphragms and anything you need is in stock from Bob Crites at Critesspeakers.com. He's also one nice guy and easy to deal with.

 

[prerich]

Old Klipsch speakers can be found at a big discount. My favorites models are Klipschorn, Cornwall, Forte and Forte ll, the KG series, and the KLF series. The best part is that new parts like crossovers. diaphragms and anything you need is in stock from Bob Crites at Critesspeakers.com. He's also one nice guy and easy to deal with.

You mean like these

 

[Shaffer]

Old Klipsch speakers can be found at a big discount. My favorites models are Klipschorn, Cornwall, Forte and Forte ll, the KG series, and the KLF series. The best part is that new parts like crossovers. diaphragms and anything you need is in stock from Bob Crites at Critesspeakers.com. He's also one nice guy and easy to deal with.

I bought a pair of Heresy 1.5 from CF last spring and rebuilt them with Crites parts. Lots of fun to listen to music on.

 

[paskinn]

I use 1934 Voigt Domestic Corner Horns.With modern full range drivers/They utterly shock audiophiles with the scale, flowing and wholly natural sound.

 

[mep]

I use 1934 Voigt Domestic Corner Horns.With modern full range drivers/They utterly shock audiophiles with the scale, flowing and wholly natural sound.

How about some pictures?

 

[Ki Choi]

The main system that gets serious consideration has 1954 RCA LC-1A speakers. I know they are vintage, and I have come to appreciate vintage things. Anyone who can send me a free bottle of Madame Bize Lalou Leroy Chateau burgundy 1959?

Win

Can you post some photos of the RCA LC-1As?

Ki

 

[stellavox]

Hi Win,

How you doin'. Hope you are well.

I have the bottle - will bring it to Walterfest 2013.

Charles

 

[DonH50]

IIRC, wasn't the Heresy actually meant to be a center channel speaker for three-channel audio? Good ol' Paul, always ahead of his time...

Stacked Advents driven by a pair of Phase 700's will always have a soft spot for me. Probably sound like %*# if I heard them today, but impressive way back then...

My 1988 Magnepan MG-IIIa's are still the heart of my system, replacing my old (1979, I think) MG-I's.

 

[dingus]

i've heard stacked Large Advents within the last couple of years and they would not be embarrassed by any modern speaker of a similar class. others that hold up really well are the AR Vertical Series speakers (AR9, AR91, AR9Lsi) from the late 70's and early 80's. from close to the same era; big Infinity's, JBL L300's, Allison I, ADS L810 and (though i've not heard the 1230, 1290, 1530, 1590 and others) i would expect their larger speakers of that era would compare well as well.

 

[Biketony]

Just picked up a pair of Bozak concert grands. Made February 1970. Paired with radio shack super tweeters. Added a NAD M-10 Streamer/Amp. The system is really perfect for our basement.

 

[Biketony]

Pictures from in the basement

 

[kach22i]

Pictures from in the basement

Looks comfortable.

Like you have arrived, a sense of place.

 

[audiobomber]

I owned Yamaha NS-1000M speakers in the seventies. Unfortunately at the time I didn't know enough about audio to partner them properly.

I've used 80's vintage amps for decades, Museatex MTR-101 monoblocks. I did have manufacturer's reliability and sonic upgrades to bring them into this century. They are rated for 100W @ 8 ohms, 200W @ 4 ohms, and stable into even lower loads, one of the very few amps capable of driving the infamous 1-ohm Apogee Scintilla.
http://www.museatex.com/mtr.htm

I love these amps, I would never sell them. Clearly Ed Meitner is still proud of them:

"The MTRX class-A/B monoblocks ($130,000/pair), which output 1500W into 4 ohms and 3000W into 2, were designed as an homage to Meitner's previous Museatex MTR-101 monoblocks."
https://www.stereophile.com/content/emm-labs-mighty-amps

 

[hi5harry]

View media item 433A long time ago, I was the gopher at an audio show who went to the room next door and politely asked if my friend could have 5 minutes to show off his system. Because when the system in the next room played, you could hear it loud and clear. The speakers next door were the Von Schweikert VR8's and they were incredible! Fate was kind to me and I ended up with a pair for several years until I moved on, but every time I played them they ROCKED my world.

 

[kach22i]

I didn't want to start a new thread so I'm adding to this old one.

A blog entry on the old Tech HiFi catalogs, I think I still have one somewhere.

Toys for boys: Tech Hifi catalogs of vintage stereo equipment are bizarre fun

Toys for boys: Tech Hifi catalogs of vintage stereo equipment are bizarre fun

This 1981 system, featuring components from Cerwin Vega, Hitachi, Philips, and Audio-Technica, cost $829 at the time. Only the staunchest of old-school stereo dorks remember it today, but from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, Tech Hifi was one of the best-known retailers of audio equipment on...

dangerousminds.net

Also a video in link with some old TV commercials - a hoot.