Vintage Speakers

[StarMountainKid]

Picked up a pair of these "vintage" Pioneer speakers from the '90s. Big cabinets, 15" woofer, 3-way, for my computer. "Vintage" is a polite term for "old". They're in good condition and deliver bass very well. The over-all sound Is acceptable.

I'm  still old school when it comes to stereo equipment. I have a '90s pair of Techniques speakers, too. 

I use this PC eq it posted a while back, which helps defining the quality of the sound of the speakers. I listen to jazz, classical and rock, but I don't bump. These things being old I don't want to over drive them.

Small PC speakers nowadays sound really good for they're small size, it's surprising how good these little speakers can sound. I just like giant speakers, I guess, they fill the room with sound better than desktop speakers. 

[+OverSword]

Those look awesome. Bet they sound better than the blue tooth cylinders people seem to listen to now.

['Walt' E. Kurtz]

What pioneer model are they and what kind of speaker cabels to you use?. I am sort of into hifi as you can tell own a pair of Dynaudio 72se speakers and primares integrated amp i21 and cd21 

[StarMountainKid]

7 minutes ago, Avalanche said:

What pioneer model are they and what kind of speaker cabels to you use?. I am sort of into hifi as you can tell own a pair of Dynaudio 72se speakers and primares integrated amp i21 and cd21 

Pioneer CSG404 speakers, early 1990s. I bought them for $50 from a friend. I'm just using wire as speaker cables. I haven't bought any deluxe cables. 

I think you have a little more invested in your system!   I use mine to listen to music from YouTube through my computer and an amp. If I had the  $$$ to spend, I'd have a better system. 

The problem with YouTube uploads is the variation of sound quality, but I don't wan to buy a bunch of CD's. I like the variety of music on YouTube. Just about everything is there. 

Here's a nice system that PS audio has: nice, also somewhat over my budget:

 

 

['Walt' E. Kurtz]

10 minutes ago, StarMountainKid said:

Pioneer CSG404 speakers, early 1990s. I bought them for $50 from a friend. I'm just using wire as speaker cables. I haven't bought any deluxe cables. 

I think you have a little more invested in your system!   I use mine to listen to music from YouTube through my computer and an amp. If I had the  $$$ to spend, I'd have a better system. 

The problem with YouTube uploads is the variation of sound quality, but I don't wan to buy a bunch of CD's. I like the variety of music on YouTube. Just about everything is there. 

Here's a nice system that PS audio has: nice, also somewhat over my budget:

 

 

Spotify ? Youtube eh their sound quality can be very shifting. I know hifi as a hobby can make you live on nudles for a very long time this is why i am not going to upgrade my system i spent totally 5072 us $ on mine with the turn table 

[StarMountainKid]

14 minutes ago, Avalanche said:

Spotify ? Youtube eh their sound quality can be very shifting. I know hifi as a hobby can make you live on nudles for a very long time this is why i am not going to upgrade my system i spent totally 5072 us $ on mine with the turn table 

Spotify sounds good. I think there is a point of diminishing returns. In other words, does a $10K system sound twice as good as a $5K system? 

I think with proper speaker placement, proper room acoustics, a system can sound very good. The other element is, speakers can only sound as good as the quality of the amplification driving them. 

['Walt' E. Kurtz]

42 minutes ago, StarMountainKid said:

Spotify sounds good. I think there is a point of diminishing returns. In other words, does a $10K system sound twice as good as a $5K system? 

I think with proper speaker placement, proper room acoustics, a system can sound very good. The other element is, speakers can only sound as good as the quality of the amplification driving them. 

If a 10k sounds better than a 5k system?. In general yes ! but there are exeptions some cheeper brands or makes within the 5k price range can sometimes sound like a 10k or 20k system all that you mentioned is important. I advice you to go to a hifi store and listen to some different systems when it comes to hifi its much about finding a sound that you like and that you can afford to buy, lets say that you're only going to use the system to only listen to spotify on then you might not need the best  and to spend so much money. then again its rather silly with those systems who can play better than what the human can hear. 

Edited September 19, 2018 by Avalanche

[StarMountainKid]

Good advice. I'll have to stick to what I've got for the present. I have owned various speaker systems through the years. 

Back  in the '70s I was at a stereo store and listened to all their high end speakers. At the time I thought the Bose 901's sounded better than all of them. Friends used to come to my house just to listen to them. They were a big deal back then.

Bose is dissed nowadays, but I thought they sounded awesome. 

I'd like to add a subwoofer. The owner of PS Audio has some informative videos on YouTube. He said, if you can hear the sub, it's too loud. It should be subtle, just add enough low end that if it's turned off, something's missing. 

I uses this PC equalizer I posted a while back. If it's used subtly, it can improve the sound of the speakers/acustics of the room. Just a little tweak. With your system, you may not need it. Tone controls are usually frowned on.

I've been a musician all my life, so I know how music is supposed to sound. Nice discussing with you.

 

 

[L.A.T.1961]

6 hours ago, StarMountainKid said:

Picked up a pair of these "vintage" Pioneer speakers from the '90s. Big cabinets, 15" woofer, 3-way, for my computer. "Vintage" is a polite term for "old". They're in good condition and deliver bass very well. The over-all sound Is acceptable.

I'm  still old school when it comes to stereo equipment. I have a '90s pair of Techniques speakers, too. 

I use this PC eq it posted a while back, which helps defining the quality of the sound of the speakers. I listen to jazz, classical and rock, but I don't bump. These things being old I don't want to over drive them.

Small PC speakers nowadays sound really good for they're small size, it's surprising how good these little speakers can sound. I just like giant speakers, I guess, they fill the room with sound better than desktop speakers. 

They look impressive, what size amp do you have? I had a pair of Wharfdale Dovedale's in the 80's that looked about the same size.

I was looking to upgrade the audio on my computer last year and found a Sound Bar, it has improved on the original active speaker set up I used before and the amp is built in.      

[StarMountainKid]

I was using a Denon receiver for a while I bought used from a friend until it exploded recently. Now I'm using some old Radio Shack like 4 watt little amp I was given. I'm looking for something better, to say the least, but the Radio Shack amp actually works pretty well. It's not rocking the house, needless to say.

You can find all these kinds of old speakers on ebay, but what kind of condition they're in is taking a chance. Usually the rubber speaker surround deteriorates with age. The ones I have are still in good shape. 

Avalanch probably knows more about modern speakers than I do. It all depends on how much $$$ you wish to spend. 

I'm old school, so I like large speakers, but modern sound bars do sound good. 

[internetperson]

Sweet deal! You ever go to the audiokarma forums? If not stop by I bet you like it.

Audio equipment is a back-burner hobby for me. I wont spend any real money on it unless it's going into my car. Half the fun of the hobby is buying old crap, fixing it, then enjoying your work. I'm not some audio system expert but you know what sucks is when youre with a friend who got a new 'awesome' system and all you can think of is it sounds like a hollow bag of ass but you don't want to be mean. 

[StarMountainKid]

6 hours ago, internetperson said:

Sweet deal! You ever go to the audiokarma forums? If not stop by I bet you like it.

Audio equipment is a back-burner hobby for me. I wont spend any real money on it unless it's going into my car. Half the fun of the hobby is buying old crap, fixing it, then enjoying your work. I'm not some audio system expert but you know what sucks is when youre with a friend who got a new 'awesome' system and all you can think of is it sounds like a hollow bag of ass but you don't want to be mean. 

Years ago this is the system I had in my car. 2 6" Blaupunkt speakers in small cabinets I made, placed in the front footwells, two tweeters on the dash, Rockford 70W amp, CD player, Equalizer. Simple.

It rocked better than most pro installations I've heard. Clean, high volume, good bass response. It didn't need anything else.

I think some people want loud sound, but aren't really interested in music.

 

[Davros of Skaro]

 

[internetperson]

2 hours ago, Hello Davros Kitty said:

 

I actually have one of these receivers. I bought it for $20 + repair parts (<$10). I'm setting it up in my man cave w/ a 5 disc changer I got for free. 

[Davros of Skaro]

13 hours ago, internetperson said:

I actually have one of these receivers. I bought it for $20 + repair parts (<$10). I'm setting it up in my man cave w/ a 5 disc changer I got for free. 

$30 Total!

That price is insane!

[Coil]

On 19.09.2018 at 8:00 PM, StarMountainKid said:

 

'm  still old school when it comes to stereo equipment. I have a '90s pair of Techniques speakers, too.

I also like vintage acoustics for large speaker sizes because they create a more weighty picture of sound than modern columns with small speakers and because of this I was disappointed in them and came to the conclusion that it's better to do diy acoustics on the speakers but I lack an experience in acoustic mixing. Most of all I like the sound of acoustics in the open baffle of this Russian:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy27MoXScEA

Later, he replaced the amplifiers and the sound became more transparent and this is how his final version looks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5ZbfLT4WSY

I bow to him because I did not hear such a weighty, powerful orchestral bass anywhere. His bass shields are heavier with cement and since the speakers do not work in a box but in a shield it does not have any box-like sound inherent in all the usual acoustics.I do not know if I'll decide when to build something like that but I've reached the apotheosis of finding the perfect acoustics in my opinion.

If you want you can tell your opinion about his acoustics because I'm too fascinated by the sound of his system.

 

[StarMountainKid]

6 hours ago, Coil said:

I also like vintage acoustics for large speaker sizes because they create a more weighty picture of sound than modern columns with small speakers and because of this I was disappointed in them and came to the conclusion that it's better to do diy acoustics on the speakers but I lack an experience in acoustic mixing. Most of all I like the sound of acoustics in the open baffle of this Russian:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy27MoXScEA

Later, he replaced the amplifiers and the sound became more transparent and this is how his final version looks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5ZbfLT4WSY

I bow to him because I did not hear such a weighty, powerful orchestral bass anywhere. His bass shields are heavier with cement and since the speakers do not work in a box but in a shield it does not have any box-like sound inherent in all the usual acoustics.I do not know if I'll decide when to build something like that but I've reached the apotheosis of finding the perfect acoustics in my opinion.

If you want you can tell your opinion about his acoustics because I'm too fascinated by the sound of his system.

 

From your description I don't quite understand his speaker system. It does sound good from the video. Looks like he has some good amplifier technology. The bass plays very clear through my speakers from the video.

I'm no expert on acoustics. I think a lot of speaker companies use generic speakers. For instance, my Technics A30 mid range and tweeters are virtually the same as the ones in my Pioneer speaker cabinets.

I think the best idea, whatever you do, is to buy quality components. Also, making sure that the different speakers are matched. In other words, the bass speakers are too loud for the mid-range and tweeters. 

It looks like his large bass speakers are matched by large mid-range speakers. 

Here's a better video of his system:

 

[Coil]

42 minutes ago, StarMountainKid said:

From your description I don't quite understand his speaker system. Looks like he has some good amplifier technology. The bass plays very clear through my speakers from the video.

I'm no expert on acoustics. I think a lot of speaker companies use generic speakers. For instance, my Technics A30 mid range and tweeters are virtually the same as the ones in my Pioneer speaker cabinets.

Here's a better video of his system:

 He uses a computer player (pure music) with an active crossover( fab filterQ  is used in sound recording)from which the signal goes to the dac (rosetta 800) and then goes to the amplifiers. The video you showed there amplifiers from the previous version and the midrange driver beyma 5g40nd which he did not like and in 2016 he replaced the amplifiers with the best ones.

he has such speakers:

Spoiler

 

 beyma sm115k (4 pieces), russian custom midbass 10 "(L1075deep), 6.5" PHL 1130 (best midrange speaker), HF-beyma 150, 18 "- which speaker I do not know.Amplifiers based on tip41 / 42 for hf, midbass and midrange and for bass- 1943/5200 (there are amp schemes)

 

It seemed to me that there was no emotionality in the sound and all the songs did not sound very interesting, but I was impressed with his bass.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

['Walt' E. Kurtz]

I only got basic knowledge about modern speakers. My personal favourites is Dynaudio, B&W, Von Schweikert, when it comes to buying speakers its always good to check any of the bigger forums and also to visit hifi stores and listen to a lot of different systems which is within your budget. I once was and listened to a system just for fun who cost a whopping 113 642,82 us $ was it any good yeah i thought the drum set was in the room.

[StarMountainKid]

I suppose it comes down to how much $$$ you're willing to spend. 

['Walt' E. Kurtz]

1 hour ago, StarMountainKid said:

I suppose it comes down to how much $$$ you're willing to 

Sort of it all up to you if you like the sound or not I would say that you dont have to spend more than 2 272,86 $ to get more than decent speakers which is pricey i know but there is no short cuts to the perfect sound.

['Walt' E. Kurtz]

Oh I was wrong how could i foget that I own a pair of  Yamaha Model HS5  monitor speakers I recommend them :-)

[internetperson]

On 9/24/2018 at 4:24 PM, StarMountainKid said:

I suppose it comes down to how much $$$ you're willing to spend. 

100%