Rowrbazzle
Active Member
OK, I know that in the larger scheme of things, this is no big deal -- but I want to share anyway. The thing is -- I'm retired and on a limited fixed income, so even a lot of vintage gear is out of my price range. Also, I live in an area where there is vigorous competition for anything even half good -- and not much available. I've been able to find a few decent vintage amps and receivers since I started my new hobby (the last six months or so), and even swapped a piece of unwanted gear for a nice Sony PS-X60 turntable (with an Empire cartridge) which is going into the shop for some mechanical adjustments. I've been lucky also because I found a used CD store in a nearby community which had some used audio equipment and the proprietor was willing to trade for a box of unwanted CDs (I have lots) -- so I was able to get a Nikko power amp, Marantz 2240 and a few other pieces just for CDs that I would never have listened to anyway. However, the store didn't have any speakers worth acquiring and up until a week ago, I was still trying to find upgrades for my sad, bad thrift store speakers.
I saw these Akais advertised online and googled them. I don't think I found anything on the SW-156 but I found some AK discussions (among others) on SW-155s and most people seemed reasonably positive about them. I knew that the seller didn't have any audio expertise because he was advertising them for $20 each (first time I've ever seen that!!) He said they had belonged to his older brother. I brought a little Pioneer amp and a Discman with me, had him run an extension cord to an AC receptacle in his garage so that I could give them a quick audition. They worked and didn't make any weird noises, so I gave him the $40.
When I got them home and opened them up, I was amazed at the quality of the construction. The cabinets are made from 1" veneer plywood and the speakers are secured with machine screws and nuts. The baffle fabric even looks expensive. They had never been opened before and everything was clean as a whistle inside. I removed the knobs in the back and tried to squirt a little Deoxit into the pots, which did seem to loosen them up a bit. Then I hooked them up to the Marantz.
I know it's all relative -- and I'm sure that there are many, many speakers out there that will outperform them, but for $40, they sound lovely. A good solid bass, very clean mids and highs and lots of definition. And I can actually hear the sound change when I adjust the two pots in the back. (Some cheap speakers that I've owned seem to have controls solely for psychological purposes, i.e., I can't hear anything changing when I manipulate them. ) So while I'm still in the hunt for any good vintage speakers that come my way, the Akai's will do quite nicely in the meantime.
(A neighbor just gave me an old pair of Advance A-II(W) floor speakers that were in his crawl space. They need refoaming and the company was not around for very long, so I have no idea how they will sound when they are repaired. But I'm going to give it a try. Maybe I'll end up with two decent sets of vintage speakers -- and at the right price!!
Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it....
I saw these Akais advertised online and googled them. I don't think I found anything on the SW-156 but I found some AK discussions (among others) on SW-155s and most people seemed reasonably positive about them. I knew that the seller didn't have any audio expertise because he was advertising them for $20 each (first time I've ever seen that!!) He said they had belonged to his older brother. I brought a little Pioneer amp and a Discman with me, had him run an extension cord to an AC receptacle in his garage so that I could give them a quick audition. They worked and didn't make any weird noises, so I gave him the $40.
When I got them home and opened them up, I was amazed at the quality of the construction. The cabinets are made from 1" veneer plywood and the speakers are secured with machine screws and nuts. The baffle fabric even looks expensive. They had never been opened before and everything was clean as a whistle inside. I removed the knobs in the back and tried to squirt a little Deoxit into the pots, which did seem to loosen them up a bit. Then I hooked them up to the Marantz.
I know it's all relative -- and I'm sure that there are many, many speakers out there that will outperform them, but for $40, they sound lovely. A good solid bass, very clean mids and highs and lots of definition. And I can actually hear the sound change when I adjust the two pots in the back. (Some cheap speakers that I've owned seem to have controls solely for psychological purposes, i.e., I can't hear anything changing when I manipulate them. ) So while I'm still in the hunt for any good vintage speakers that come my way, the Akai's will do quite nicely in the meantime.
(A neighbor just gave me an old pair of Advance A-II(W) floor speakers that were in his crawl space. They need refoaming and the company was not around for very long, so I have no idea how they will sound when they are repaired. But I'm going to give it a try. Maybe I'll end up with two decent sets of vintage speakers -- and at the right price!!
Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it....
