music quality of speakers in the 70's vs now

Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
I want one of these:
[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]



I'm running a Bryston 4B, which consists of two separate amplifiers inside. Separate transformers, caps...etc. But you probably remember that from the previous thread on amps
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This was my 1st receiver . Technics SA 300 that's in the shed . I believe it started to smoke . Bought it in '80 and used until '97(?) . It was partnered with a Technics turntable ( w/ Shure stylus cartridge ) , Technics dual cassette deck and Technics SB L70 3 way speakers ( 10" woofer ) .

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OP... before you buy any amp I recommend you go inside to understand
what you're buying... the reason some of the vintage stuff still
sounds great today is due to the top shelve components the factory
anted up... namely Toroidal Transformers and Capacitors...

I think current day speakers coupled with a vintage amp will bring you
the joy you're looking for...

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]
 
I had a high end Pioneer 8 track with radio that I installed in the dash, and two round car speakers I pick up new at a place called Olsen electronics that I installed the back deck in my new 1976 Volare. If I remember correctly those speakers were 6.5 inch round with a small cone in the middle that was just glued around the center of the larger cone, and a very flexible rubber outer edge, and what I remember most about those speakers is they had huge round permanent magnets. I think they said 60 ounce magnet. They sounded great. There was something about them that because of the huge magnet they were supposed to be very efficient and not require a lot of power to drive them. I think the Pioneer dash unit was only rated at something like 14 Watts per channel but it had plenty enough volume with those speakers and sounded great. When I got rid of that car I left the sound system in it, and later regretted not pulling those speakers for future use.

I always use extra heavy gauge wire and solder every connection. Even though that system did not have a lot of Watts I did not want to loose much in the wiring.
 
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I remember maybe late 70s early 80s,about the time when I was in jr high, I would always see people with just raw unbaffled 6x9's either sitting on top often back dash or hanging someplace. Why??
 
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
I remember maybe late 70s early 80s,about the time when I was in jr high, I would always see people with just raw unbaffled 6x9's either sitting on top often back dash or hanging someplace. Why??


Those were the same people that used a bent coat hanger to replace the antenna, and had a hole in the trunk lid where the lock used to be and they punched it out after locking their keys in the trunk.
 
Originally Posted by Dwight_Frye
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
I remember maybe late 70s early 80s,about the time when I was in jr high, I would always see people with just raw unbaffled 6x9's either sitting on top often back dash or hanging someplace. Why??


Those were the same people that used a bent coat hanger to replace the antenna, and had a hole in the trunk lid where the lock used to be and they punched it out after locking their keys in the trunk.


Haha yep! I remember seeing lots of those!
 
I have a hobby of old radios and the sound from tubes is superior to my old ears. Push-pull 6v6 tubes will make you appreciate an orchestra or post war music from vinyl. Our parents and Grand parents had ears too. My 1936 Ford hard a Philco radio that I added modern speakers to, well modern in the 60's, and it was awesome. I tweaked components on the tube cathodes to get that sound.
 
I think I might like 1980s speakers better than '70s speakers, generally.

The problem today with many of them is that many need crossover rebuilds, as many of the original capacitors are now out of spec. Also, many woofers need to be refoamed or reconed.
 
The fact that brick and mortar hi fi shops scarcely exist anymore is a huge determent to finding something you like. Make an appointment to visit a better Best Buy audio 60 miles away to be locked in with a closer selling things with $5 power supplies? No thanks. It was nice to audition gear and I used to have perhaps 10-12 shops to choose from in 3 nearby smaller cities. Most at least offered solid mid fi choices up to very high end. You could frequently negotiate on the prices.

If you have at least decent speakers the real definer of sound quality is the front end gear, not the speakers. A serious audiophile told me that ages ago and I agree.

In the early 70's I had Advents powered by a good Harmon Kardon receiver that fought above it's weight. 1980's Yamaha and Polk 7c's. Went to Adcom amp/pre amp with same Polk's in early 90's. The 7's were made for analog and were Polk's original speaker design. I went with some much ballyhooed Elac debut's a few years ago. Got good glass/aluminum stands, feet on urethane, speakers blu-tacked to stand. I've tried to love them, for 2 years, but need to go back to the Polk's. I need the midrange driver.

There's a reason that the old good vintage gear goes for silly money on ebay and some shops in the past 10 years. Even the gear that really needs work.
 
I'm under the impression serious hifi got better over the decades,
while cheap consumer stereo got worse. That doesn't mean proper
stuff hasn't been excellent in the past, neither all cheap stuff has been
good.
I still listen to music from vinyl (classic rock and jazz from the 50s to
70s mostly). Virtually all my equipment is tweaked in some way. Bigger
and uprated power supply capacitors, bigger toroidal transformers etc..
Built a phono amp (hand selected and paired precision capacitors for
the RIAA section) and a class A power amp according to Nelson Pass'
schematics on my own. I also built several speakers in the past, both
from published and my own proprietary designs. I do own a couple of
turntables from England and Scotland, which aren't too hard to guess,
amplifiers from the US and Scotland and horn speakers from Germany.
However I also have 6 - 7 TB of music mostly FLAC and DSD even though
I prefer vinyl and turntables.
I'm glad I'm no longer on a search on which so many are their entire life
on. Spending time on listening to music makes me happier.
 
My wife bought me a 1938 Fairbanks-Morse console radio for my birthday from an antique store in Phoenix when I lived there. Has a 12 inch electro-dynamic speaker with a paper cone and a ducted bass port. This thing rocks the house. It has push-pull 6V6 tubes and when it hits bass the hardwood floors tremble. Sound is so sweet. It is AM and 2 shortwave bands. It has the sound of the old tube jukeboxes. Awesome. They only built radios foe 3-4 years. The electro-dynamic speaker uses a large coil that is used as a filter choke for the power supply to create the magnetic field for the speaker. So when more power for sound is needed the magnet coil gets more magnetic due to the current for the sound.
 
#18FAN said:
Kinda of a fun read bringing back a vintage unit to current date. This is getting ultra high end and btw you’re going two need two of them for a stereo setup.
https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/amplifiers/MC3500
Click to expand...
Less expensive than I expected! $15,000/unit. The 3-year warranty surprises me, Bryston has lifetime, and the 28B³ is $12,195.00, though of course not directly comparable since the 3500 is tube.
 
Direct_Rejection said:
The best sounding speakers I have had, are KEF bookshelf speakers. Imaging and detail.
Click to expand...
The most accurate speakers I have owned are my 802's, but they can be unforgiving with source material (which I guess is the point, the 801's were the reference speakers at Abbey Road) which is why they aren't my living room speakers now (they briefly replaced my Paradigms in that role when I got them). The Paradigms are a warmer sounding speaker, the imaging is just as good, but they aren't quite as accurate and subsequently are a LOT more forgiving on what you feed them. They can "polish a turd" so to speak, while the B&W's will rub it all over your face.

The B&W's are a fascinating speaker. I had the crossovers gone over at Bryston after I got them "just in case", but they checked out fine, which was surprising given their age. They are horribly inefficient, so if you want them to be loud, you need a lot of amplifier, that's why I bought the Bryston 4B, which would get quite hot feeding them, but never complained. It barely gets warm running the Paradigms at the same volume.

In a bedroom environment where I'm not trying to have them audition every production piece, and the space being smaller, they are easier to listen to. Ultimately, I'd like to feed them with a couple of 4B³ amps at some point when the kids move out and I can bring out the Maracus gear again.
 
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