Vintage Speakers For A Vintage System

[AudioSoul]

My system right now is a Thorens TD-125/ Fidelity Research FR-54 arm using a Denon DL-103 with Counterpoint SA-1000 preamp and Forte Model 1A 50w class A amp. I am looking for some floor standing speakers that aren't to big for this system. I listen to all different kinds of music. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Audio Fan]

Oh boy, be prepared to get a cornucopia of suggestions. You have a very good amp, but not gobs of power, so you probably want to avoid the power hungry models like Maggies or Inifinity, etc.

There are some good threads that cover some of the AK favorites, so you may want to review those. Most often, it is limited to what you can find locally, your budget, etc. Some brands that seem to get overall good AK reviews are ADS, DCM TimeWindows, OHM, but there are many others. A floor standing model that flies under the radar, but is somewhat hard to find is the original Cambridge Soundworks Tower I (not the II or III). I have a set of Pioneer TZ-9 that is outstanding. The last two are arguably not "vintage", but are good choices nonetheless.

 

[Dave_1962]

 

[Jimrgrado]

I've got Jbl l80t , AR 3 pioneer cs 88 Cerwin vegas. 3 sansui receivers a NAD av.But believe it or not my favorite is the cheapest least raved. Well maybee not.My marantz 2230 is so sweet but combined with 4 of the not so popular marantz imperial 7's I can't beleive how well my 66 year old ears can hear every note the vibrating guitar strings or the most minute tap on the symbols. I've been to most of major historical concerts in my youth. Greatfull dead, eagles, stones, b.b. kink Freddie king allman bros, santana, doobies,grand funk,Chicago etc. I had the big Mc Intoch with altec lancing speakers and KLH's pioneer quads Kenwood but that sweet little marantz is what rock my soul. But that's just me.

 

[gladiator335]

I would suggest EPI 202, but not sure about sensitivity...if your amplifier would be enough...

 

[nj pheonix]

I was thinking
Dynaco A25 (or 35)
Kornwalls
Bozak 302s
Warfdale w70s or 90s
Altecs
Quads?

 

[gdmoore28]

I'm not even a big Klipsch fan, but Cornwalls seem the obvious starting point. They will tell you everything that you might like or dislike in a speaker. And you just might love them. But for floorstanders, that's definitely where I would start.

GeeDeeEmm

 

[AudioSoul]

Thank you for the suggestion. I will look into them. I have owned a lot of speakers but never horns....

 

[djnagle]

What is your budget? listening level? Budget? Room size? Budget? WAF? and budget?

 

[djnagle]

The JBL 250 Ti are wonderful

 

[Blue Shadow]

Price range and the volume you like to listen to would cut that cornucopia down to a long list. With that long list you can scour your local sources and find something.

 

[AudioSoul]

I'm thinking in the $1000 range, the room is 15x35 and no waf problem...

 

[gdmoore28]

I'm thinking in the $1000 range, the room is 15x35 and no waf problem...

Good. To my previous suggestion for Klipsch Cornwalls, add Altec Model Nineteen or Altec Model Fourteen.

Or, depending on where you live, there is a beautiful, gorgeous pair of Heathkit AS101s on ebay right now - for $600! These are identical to Altec Valencias, but in much, much nicer cabinets.

GeeDeeEmm

 

[Drum]

For that price range you could get these. Biggest disadvantage is WAF and you don't have that.

Bass will beat any heritage Klipsch and they are still fairly efficient and quite accurate. Also not fatiguing.

ADS 1530

25-20,000 +or - 3 db
18-28,000 hz + or - 5 db
150 watts max, 300 peak
95 db efficient.

Pics

http://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649243293-ads-1530-speakers/images/1117159/

http://sportsbil.com/ads/l-1530-ownersmanual-1981.pdf

http://sportsbil.com/ads/1980-brochure.pdf

 

[cratz2]

They offer more refinement vs huge amounts of slam, but if I were looking for something right now and I had your gear, there is a pair of Meadowlark Kestral Hot Rods on my local craigslist that I'd snatch up in a moment. Very lively, open, dynamic speakers. They don't get down into the 20 Hz range with any authority, but I'm usually pretty happy with speakers that get into the 30s.

That's a pretty nice system you have.

 

[Roadrash]

Sonab OA12
Sonab OA14
Allison Two
50 wpc is plenty for the OA12 and the Allisons, I can only assume it would suffice for the larger Sonabs too.

 

[BMWCCA]

The JBL 250 Ti are wonderful

Agreed, but that would certainly bust his budget, especially after he got the new amp needed to drive them!

 

[yesshows77]

Some vintage floor standing choices (omitting power hungry and hard to drive models) within the stated budget:
ADS L1530
ADS L1230
ADS L1590
ADS L1290
ADS L1090
ADS L910
ADS M20
Allison Acoustics One
Celestion Ditton 66
DCM TF-1000 or TF-2000
EPI M400 or M500
Epicure 3.0
ESS AMT-3
Fried Studio IV
Genesis Physics 3+
IMF TLS-80 II
KEF 104/2
KEF 105/2
Marantz Imperial 9
Norman Labs Model 9
Polk SDA's
RTR 300D or 600D
Sony SS-M7
Thiel CS 3.5
Vandersteen 2ce
VMPS Tower II

 

[shacky]

I would think that Class A amp would pair well with Klipsch. I like and have Forte's

 

[Djcoolray]

The DL-103 does well with the early CV's, but the B&W 301 series are better for detail and soundstage....