# Vintage or  modern speakers?



## diodiel

Well, originally i was planning to get something like this NFB-12/5-->KrK rokits/audio engine 2 or 5.. might cost 500-600 in total
   
  then lately ive been reading abt vintage stuff sounding better than modern ones... but then maybe it was just for main stream receivers.. and the story might be different if i just get a dac and an active speaker.
   
  so my other option is for vintage higher models from marantz/pioneer/sansui receiver >Polk Audio RTA 8TL. might cost me 300-600, something like that.. just want some good advice from you guys! since i trust this site alot.
   
   
  anyways i listen to music alternative/pop/hiphop as much as i watch movies, and i also have a pair of aiaiai tma-1 headphones to come along with.


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## cifani090

Vintage.Vintage.Vintage!


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## diodiel

was the option i put for vintage actually good? lol right now i got an akai aa-1125 receiver i got from a thrift store for15$ its pretty good so far


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## Uncle Erik

Vintage receivers and amps are fine. Modern speakers are (generally) better. Computer modeling has moved transducer, cabinet and crossover design along quite well.

There are exceptions. I think the vintage Quad ESLs stack up well against modern designs. ThereMs a reason why their new models are similar to the ESL-63s.


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## trog

I almost nabbed either a pair of Acoustic Research AR18S or JBL DCM CX-07 but ended up with an out of production Polks instead and since i am hardly 2-3 feet away from speakers a T-amp drives them sweetly for me and the whole thing costed me very little too so vintage/used ftw


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## dBel84

I would have to cast a vote for the vintage race too BUT not all vintage is equal. Some of my favourite bookshelfs date back to 80s/90s - Mission 781, Dynaudio .... Buying vintage to me is selecting from the cream of the crop from a "past fad" era. Occasionally things pop up on audiogon or craigslist which are just too good to be true ( and they generally don't hang around for any time ). I had a quick snoop at Agon and these ProAc's caught my eye , possibly still too steep for the budget but there are many deals to be had versus buying new. The best would be to scour the web for an old "highly recommended" list of gear. Strange for me to think of "vintage" as being from the 80s and 90s but I would be weary of most of the 50/6070s era audio and unless you delve into the true treasures aka the Quad ESLs, big horns etc. You could of course take advantage of model clearance sales eg wharfedale recently cleared out a ton of stock and the prices were ridiculously good. Speaking of wharfedale there is a pair of Diamond 9's on this forum for $75 and an instant system for $200. Luckily the choices are endless and there will be a product that will suite your needs at most any price point. And just to stir the argument , modern computer design can achieve wonders - take a look at the new pioneer bookshelf which, at $150 new, is going to be hard to beat. There is a full review with measurements in the latest stereophile. good luck ..dB


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## diodiel

those are some good looking speakers btw! for the last pioneer, youthink they could beat the polk audio rta-8tl i might get it for 50-65 if the guy replies, if not i might jump on that one, i might add a DAC w/ the receiver later on too.
   
  omg those quad esl are so expensive lol
   
   
  EDIT: nvm somebody already bought the 8tls >.<
  Quote: 





dbel84 said:


> I would have to cast a vote for the vintage race too BUT not all vintage is equal. Some of my favourite bookshelfs date back to 80s/90s - Mission 781, Dynaudio .... Buying vintage to me is selecting from the cream of the crop from a "past fad" era. Occasionally things pop up on audiogon or craigslist which are just too good to be true ( and they generally don't hang around for any time ). I had a quick snoop at Agon and these ProAc's caught my eye , possibly still too steep for the budget but there are many deals to be had versus buying new. The best would be to scour the web for an old "highly recommended" list of gear. Strange for me to think of "vintage" as being from the 80s and 90s but I would be weary of most of the 50/6070s era audio and unless you delve into the true treasures aka the Quad ESLs, big horns etc. You could of course take advantage of model clearance sales eg wharfedale recently cleared out a ton of stock and the prices were ridiculously good. Speaking of wharfedale there is a pair of Diamond 9's on this forum for $75 and an instant system for $200. Luckily the choices are endless and there will be a product that will suite your needs at most any price point. And just to stir the argument , modern computer design can achieve wonders - take a look at the new pioneer bookshelf which, at $150 new, is going to be hard to beat. There is a full review with measurements in the latest stereophile. good luck ..dB


 

 ty for your advice guys! thrift store hunting today


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## dBel84

If the polk are in good shape, you would be hard to better that $50-60 spent. Nothing moves air like the mechanics which enable air to be moved ie big floor standing speakers will have much more presence than small monitors which tend to excel at imaging..dB


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## diodiel

Quote: 





dbel84 said:


> If the polk are in good shape, you would be hard to better that $50-60 spent. Nothing moves air like the mechanics which enable air to be moved ie big floor standing speakers will have much more presence than small monitors which tend to excel at imaging..dB


 

 unfortunately its been sold already..
   
  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290206  sales ends at 8/23   maybe i can add a sub http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290035
  http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Speakers/Home+Theater+Speakers/SP-BS41-LR?tab=reviews
   
  man thyre going wild with their discounts


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## cifani090

A good system would be a pair of JBL 4311's or L100's and a Marantz.


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## diodiel

Quote: 





cifani090 said:


> A good system would be a pair of JBL 4311's or L100's and a Marantz.


 

  
  oh man i saw a 350$ one for 4311's im just not familiar in finding how good the condition is... http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/ele/2556462268.html


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## wuwhere

The thing about vintage speakers is the drivers deteriorate in time because of the materials they are made of.


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## cifani090

Quote: 





diodiel said:


> oh man i saw a 350$ one for 4311's im just not familiar in finding how good the condition is... http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/ele/2556462268.html


 

 Wow, thats a little high. Of course vintage re-sellers will say "condition is everything" but as long as they have been re-foamed recently and are working that that should be fine. For $350 they better be *mint* with original packaging, manuals,etc. Otherwise thats wayyy to high, my friend Tom has pair for $200 with some scratches, but work fine.


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## diodiel

ohhh it did looked super aged on the pic ill just be looking for a good one around my area thanks bro! btw i liked my akai receiver that i got from the thrift store better than my 6.1 htr yamaha already 
  Quote: 





cifani090 said:


> Wow, thats a little high. Of course vintage re-sellers will say "condition is everything" but as long as they have been re-foamed recently and are working that that should be fine. For $350 they better be *mint* with original packaging, manuals,etc. Otherwise thats wayyy to high, my friend Tom has pair for $200 with some scratches, but work fine.


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## chronicled

Yeah thanks to the huge variety of features of modern receivers each part, the headohone out, the dac, suffer. But then again vintage receivers cost a boat load in the past as well; comparable to $2000 or so today.


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## mjcmt

There is lots of good vintage gear out there, but like anything else, some is good and some so-so. There is a likelihood they may need repairs in the near future from failing components.
  Generally but not alway true, vintage gear has a strong midrange presence with gently rolled off frequency extremes, but they are not thin sounding like some modern components.
   
  I've tried various pieces and always seem to move them on for one reason or another, but I'm very selective about my gear.


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## cifani090

Quote: 





mjcmt said:


> There is lots of good vintage gear out there, but like anything else, some is good and some so-so. There is a likelihood they may need repairs in the near future from failing components.
> Generally but not alway true, vintage gear has a strong midrange presence with gently rolled off frequency extremes, but they are not thin sounding like some modern components.
> 
> I've tried various pieces and always seem to move them on for one reason or another, but I'm very selective about my gear.


 

 What are the speakers if your profile picture?


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## mjcmt

1978 Altec Lansing Model 15's in a vintage system. I'm keeping an out for some Koss Pro-4a to complete it.


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## RexAeterna

you should look into yamaha gear as well. yamaha has not only known for their legendary power amps and receivers that were known to be kings for low impedance driving under 4ohms but also has some of the best passive studio monitors ever made and even highly regarded to this day as one of the best still. the yamaha ns10 and NS-10M studio's are something to check out.

also lot of great Advent speakers too. Advent during the 70's were the first to have woofers to dig deep under 40hz and down to 20hz but required massive force and power from your amp due to it's acoustic suspension design. i forgot what Advent speakers they were but they are well known for their crazy bass extension. i would look into technics as well if going vintage. technic are very under-rated and under appreciated everywhere for their speakers. you can find nice pair of technics sb-6000A or SB-7000A for under couple hundred easily. if going little bit modern from technics the SB-t200 and SB-t300 are something to look at. 

only modern speakers i really enjoy are the Pioneer sp-fs51-lr floor towers and for modern active studio monitors i really enjoyed the yamaha hs50m speakers.


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## Subsequence

From what i understand about the NS-10's is that people use them because they sound bad but people know them, ie if you can make something sound good on the NS-10's you can make it sound good on anything. If you're not going to do any mixing i would look at something else.


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## RexAeterna

subsequence said:


> From what i understand about the NS-10's is that people use them because they sound bad but people know them, ie if you can make something sound good on the NS-10's you can make it sound good on anything. If you're not going to do any mixing i would look at something else.




you sure? they were highly regarded for being very revealing monitors and some people didn't like them cause they thought the speakers were at fault for their own bad mixing techniques. people might not like them either cause they can't really extend below around 50-100hz but had flat response from 100hz-20khz. i would just throw in a custom built subwoofer if looking for deep lows. other then that they can have some of the best clean midrange around if not overdriven from an amplifier.

EDIT: nevermind. sorry i read you wrong. sorry again bud. i would still get them personally for their flat response but that's if the person enjoys ''natural'' response sound and not something for a certain coloration but since op wants bass. i would look into the technics i suggested. they're known to have some powerful deep bass extension.


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## Subsequence

Haha no worries  I have not heard them personally but that's what i've gathered from people who use them professionally. I like monitor's as well for their neutrality and i use some Focal Solo 6's(not vintage) for my small pc setup and love them to death.


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## Spareribs

I have a set of rare vintage Marantz speakers, I think from the 80s that I got from a thrift store. They are pretty good I must say but nothing really spectacular. I use it with a tube amp in my bedroom.


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