Speakers

I can't begin to tell you my hate of Amazon's packaging. Almost everyday I get parcels that are so heavy they just fall apart from poor packing. Of course, we get blamed for it. :baah:
 
I don't know why the giant box. Seems like a box just a couple inches bigger and with foam around the inner box would work, but what do I know. I didn't stay at the Holiday Inn Express last night.:laugh:
 
I've packed maybe 50-60,000 packages in my lifetime, maybe more, and most of it was heavy (or I should say high-mass) industrial parts of one type or another. That is one thing I learned early on--use the smallest box possible, and pack the boxes or parts inside almost impossibly tight. We'd paper tape the ends shut, then reinforce with clear plastic tape. Yet we'd have customers (distributors we sold to) return parts to us thrown carelessly into the bottom of the box, and some would get too bashed up to resell.

I've had luck both ways with Amazon packaging. Some are like a fortress and the products inside are secured properly. Others are thrown into boxes too large, the weight shifted all to one side, one strip of tape holding the box shut on each side...not good.

They have somewhat improved with vinyl. They prepackage the records into individual shipping containers upon arrival at their facility. If you end up with an order containing two or more records, they throw those prepackaged records into a larger box and ship it. Ever since then, the vinyl has arrived flawlessly. Singles often don't fare so well, but if it's too damaged, they eat the cost of getting me a replacement. I had one arrive today from Amazon UK (it was ordered from Amazon DE, but shipped out of the UK). The outer box was a bit mangled, but the records were fine inside.

When I used to buy audio equipment in the 80s and 90s, it would always be double-boxed, the inner box padded an inch or two on all sides. Even now, better shippers provide plenty of padding. Amazon is all about volume, and getting "production" out the door.
 
Interesting. I picked up a pair of Dahlquist DQM-9 speakers this afternoon, through a connection in our local audio club. ..... Ordering the foam shortly, and hoping I can get these going by the end of the week.

It should be here tomorrow (Friday). The aluminum trim on the woofers has some light corrosion. So, that'll be part of the cleanup. I'll have a few pics for curiosity sake.
 
Haven't got everything hooked up yet. Had some nasty thunderstorms the last two nights, and I hate to be messing with electronics during that. Also I've got to give some thought to rearranging some stuff in the living room to accommodate the setup. Tonight I applied for a job and straightened up around here some since company is coming this weekend.
 
Don't rush me. :D Had a good time with the friends. Then today half the crew called in sick to work. (Gee, I wonder why.) Trying to decide if I can put the turntable on top of the receiver. I think there's enough air circulation. Got a serious space problem here.
 
No rush! :D

Not a good idea to stick it on top of the receiver--it can pick up hum from the transformers inside, and can pick up vibration also (you may not get feedback, but it can sound muddy). It needs a good, solid surface. Got any furniture you can repurpose as an audio stand? As an alternate idea, they do make wall shelves for turntables. We can kick around a few ideas here if you'd like.

I used to have an old press-board room divider that had my equipment piled on it, and I had everything imaginable. Since I now go for more of a purist approach and keep things simple, I'm using a single rack with only four components (phono stage, preamp, Oppo 105 and power amp--just the basics). It's nice that I now have it contained to one small area.
 
Oh, reminds me. I was probably about 16 years old. Had my system in my bedroom. Speakers on one wall, the turntable on the opposite wall. The system frequently sounded awful--muddy, totally annoying. At other times it was fine. I finally figured out that when I had the turntable's dust cover open, it was acting as a microphone of sorts, and the vibration from the speakers was creating a feedback loop. It didn't howl or anything (they can do that!), but it made the sound very thick and muddy.

Nowadays I will remove the dustcover on my current turntable if I am listening seriously. It is very immune to vibration when the dustcover is open, but I don't take any chances.
 
Nowadays I will remove the dustcover on my current turntable if I am listening seriously. It is very immune to vibration when the dustcover is open, but I don't take any chances.
Removing the dustcover or leaving it open isn't an option with my Techniques linear tracker... the tonearm is attached to the underside of the dustcover! :laugh:
 
Got things unpacked finally. Still pondering arrangement. I think it's time for the cassette tapes to go. They're just taking up space. I'll have to go through them and see if there's anything I might want in the future. That will clear some space. Probably wouldn't hurt to comb through the CDs and DVDs while I'm at it. The available real estate (once the shelf system is dismantled) is the top of an antique blanket chest. I have a couple of other items that live there that need to go elsewhere. The problem child is the big black walnut candle holder. That was made for me by an uncle out of a chunk of wood that came from my grandparents farm. This thing will only fit in certain places since it takes a tall candle. It may be time to do a housecleaning on all the nick-knacks in the adjacent bookshelf and get rid of some additional stuff.
 
I have two nice, but dated looking, shelves in my family room at the moment. I hate to get rid of them (nothing new is built as well as these), but they are taking up room and attracting clutter. The area around my desk is likewise getting a bit "busy". Luckily I can also gain space by eliminating the CD racks--everything is on the music server now, so it's wasted space for me.
 
Best bet: go "VINTAGE"(!).
The quality level of something $200/$300 40+years-ago WAS in a *whole different universe*; than what anything a big box store would carry (from China) today.
In my view, BEST "all-time-sleeper-amp" (not sacrificing sound quality): Marantz 1060 (made between 1971-1976). 30 watts-per-channel (MORE than enough -- considering: 10wpc can fill a room!) and a whole hunk of metal content (individually-mounted semiconductors for discrete amplification stages).
Speakers: late-1960s Acoustic Research -"A.R."- model 2ax. They were three way (10" woofer/3 1/2" mid/ 3/4" dome tweeter) and, one of the few 8-ohm "sealed cabinet" speakers easy on amps but with the deep bass a ported cabinet (like JBL or all the Asian receiver-brand knockoffs of such) COULD NEVER muster. Also, the earlier units of the A.R. 2ax have the woofer edge made out of *CLOTH* (not foam); so, unless someone really stored them WRONG -- they, 95% of the time, STILL will be in good shape.
 
I have two nice, but dated looking, shelves in my family room at the moment.
I have a huge CD rack that takes up a whole wall in my home office, and of course lately it's attracting more dust than anything else. CDs are like LPs for me -- I have a hard time throwing them out, unless I have replaced them with a newer/better version of the same thing.

The biggest waste of space we have is a huge TV stand in the living room, which contains a 32" tube TV. It seems only yesterday that screen seemed HUGE! Now it's just a big dead thing in the corner, but nobody wants the big stand and it's useless for anything. I keep a bunch of DVDs in it, that's about it. The TV hasn't been turned on in about 7 years. My wife put the whole mess on a local "upcycle" Facebook page as a giveaway and got zero responses.

At least the CD rack hugs the wall and isn't really taking up space I need for something else....
 
I have a huge CD rack that takes up a whole wall in my home office, and of course lately it's attracting more dust than anything else.
There is a tiny part of me that doesn't want to store the CDs away, but where I'm at in the family/listening room, it is taking up wall space I need for other things. I also have a few hundred CDs stored away that I haven't ripped yet. But they were stored away for a reason--they were replaced with better-sounding versions, or titles that were bought for one or two tracks.

I know someone who has an entire spare bedroom with tall and wide CD shelves on all four walls. He is not doing "library rows" yet, but has two additional shelves on a lower level of the house which might hold 1000+ each. So a part of me is glad I don't have that kind of storage issue. :D

CDs are like LPs for me -- I have a hard time throwing them out, unless I have replaced them with a newer/better version of the same thing.
I have things split for now. For vinyl, I have a growing pile of titles I am going to either store away in the basement, or (with some of them) either sell them off, or set them aside as something to hand down in the family. Yet I'm getting at a point where I'm getting a few new things coming in, and it's starting to push my storage capacity a bit. I figure I'm good for maybe 150 additional titles before I need to start purging more stuff, or buying more storage.

The TV hasn't been turned on in about 7 years. My wife put the whole mess on a local "upcycle" Facebook page as a giveaway and got zero responses.
Nobody wants the old CRT TVs anymore. Some of the thrift stores around here won't even accept them anymore. Which is sad, really. I have a nice 27" Mitsubishi in one of the bedrooms that I want to replace with a flat screen for space purposes, but don't want to throw it out. There are a few in the basement as well. The Freecycle and Craigslist aren't much help either, as there's no demand for the old sets. I have a couple that are "vintage" but nobody wants those either.
 
At around 2 to 3K, Vandersteen 2CE, SigII are fabulous speakers, IMHO. Owned mine for 3 years now and they still put a smile on my face.
As they should. They make a really good line of speakers with solid engineering ideas behind them. In a way, they are almost an offshoot of the classic Dahlquist DQ-10 design (the small baffle size, the time-aligned drivers).

I have a pair of 2CEs now (not the Sig or Sig II). I sort of lucked into them--it is one of those situations where a person is moving within a few days, has the speakers to get rid of, and sells them at some absurd low price. They didn't come with Sound Anchor stands but that's OK, since when I'm sitting in one of the listening locations here, the tweeters are actually above ear level, or in another seat, right at ear level.

One interesting note--based on the serial number, mine were made during the last three months of the 2CE, before they introduced the 2CE Signature. So these actually have some of the Signature parts in them. (Richard Vandersteen wrote this to another owner on his Q&A page on their web site.)

I am bi-wiring them for the time being. Noticed a slight difference--the highs are clearer now, than when I first hooked them up and jumpered the banana plugs together. I thought they were dull at first, but after bi-wiring and getting used to them, everything just falls into place where it should be.

The only thing left to do is spike them to the floor (which may require some really short stands, as I don't want to install spikes in the bottom of these). That will tighten up the bass even more. And of course, I'm still working on positioning these in the room. Naturally, my listening locations are in a null area of the room, so the speakers have good, strong bass...anywhere but in my seat! :laugh:

They're power-hungry, that's for sure. The DQM-9s I had in the system were I think 4-5dB more efficient. I know I've had to turn the preamp up higher for the Vandys. Still have plenty of power on tap though (courtesy of Nelson Pass).

I had a rather disturbing demo of these particular speakers, though. The owner of course had boxes all over the place, and not much furniture left. The speakers were plugged into an Onkyo home theater receiver, and a phone was the music source. Ugh. But he knew full well that his equipment never could do them justice, and didn't use them much. They were handed down to him.

They need new "socks" (a pain, but doable--they have a few tiny holes, and have some faint dust/dirt I can't seem to remove) but otherwise, they're functioning quite well. I could theoretically redo the end caps as well, but these aren't in bad shape. I've had the volume up--no rattles, no malfunctioning drivers.

I'm more a planar/electrostatic guy, but the Vandys sure do a lot right. :agree: I'm hoping they make an appearance at AXPONA next April, as I've wanted to hear other models like the 3A, Treo or Quatro.

I can easily say that a used 2CE is worth a look if anyone is seeking a really affordable audiophile speaker. Just be patient--the deals are out there. The only ones I would avoid are the earlier 2 series (2, and maybe the 2CI) as they used foam surrounds--I'd have to check to be sure at which point they changed over. The 2CEs and beyond all use rubber surrounds.
 
Old CRTs are just millstones. Charities around here won't take them. There was a place down by Ft. Knox that would let people use them for target practice. Good way to work off frustration I guess. :shrug:
 
I have to admit--as much as I was into video for a while, I never saw the end of CRTs coming. Even rear projection sets used three tubes. I can't say it's a bad thing, but on the other hand, there are probably millions of perfectly good CRTs being dumped right now, and they're really not good for anything. Computers now use DVI or even HDMI video, and just about all TVs are HDMI capable as well.
 
I have to admit--as much as I was into video for a while, I never saw the end of CRTs coming. Even rear projection sets used three tubes. I can't say it's a bad thing, but on the other hand, there are probably millions of perfectly good CRTs being dumped right now, and they're really not good for anything. Computers now use DVI or even HDMI video, and just about all TVs are HDMI capable as well.
Very true my vizio 24 inch flat screen uses both HDMI And other traditional video components and RGB Never in the history of tvs and video have we ben able to connect multiple sources into One Tv ( at least thats been my experience with only being able to connect a VHS recorder and having cable tv connected through that VCR How times have changed.
 
So I guess my idea for Klipschorns is out of the question? Or my favorite, the MartinLogan Neolith? :D (I own a pair of MartinLogan Sequel IIs, so I'm biased. :wink: )

Back to reality. You would need something to drive the speakers with, like an amp or receiver (and make sure it has a phono input--some modern equipment does not have one). Running them from a shelf system will not give you their full potential--there is not enough power (which could damage the new speakers), but you could use it in a pinch until something better comes along.

Surprisingly, Pioneer has this line of affordable speakers that have been getting rave reviews. Pioneer hired an audiophile speaker designer, Andrew Jones, to create some new designs for them, and many audiophiles buy these for use in a second system (spare room, den, bedroom) or as computer speakers.

Here is a bookshelf type (priced per pair):

Amazon.com: Pioneer SP-BS22-LR Andrew Jones Designed Bookshelf Loudspeakers(7-1/8” x 12-9/16” x 8-7/16” & weighs 9 lbs 2 oz): Home Audio & Theater

There is also a tower speaker (note that the price here is each, not a pair):

Amazon.com: Pioneer SP-FS52 Andrew Jones Designed Floor standing Loudspeaker (each): Home Audio & Theater

If you get the bookshelf speakers, they have smaller woofers. Some of the comments state that there is "enough" bass but if not, you could grab a matching subwoofer and tuck it into a corner:

Amazon.com: Pioneer SW-8MK2 Andrew Jones Designed 100-Watt Powered Subwoofer: Home Audio & Theater

Those are just one idea. I sometimes suggest vintage speakers, but some of them used foam surrounds on the woofers that deteriorates over time, and it helps to know which brands might be good, and which to avoid. Polk Audio (one example) used rubber surrounds, whereas the earlier Boston Acoustics speakers used the foam, and anything over a dozen years old is likely deteriorating. (I have rebuilt about seven pairs of Boston speakers.)

But the sound is a personal choice, and it might help to find a place to hear speakers to see what you like. These days, though, stores like Best Buy, etc., tend to push buyers to whichever model makes them the most profit, or is based on the misguided opinion of the person selling it. In the end it's your ears, and your money! And you pick (or bring along) the music you listen to, not whatever crap the stores might use. (And they are not above jacking up the bass and treble, and kicking in the loudness button, to "goose up" the speakers to try to make them sound attractive.)


Rudy, your mentioning of Klipschorns is a sign you're my kind of man in thoughts. That or for me Dual Concentric Tannoys is my idea of loudspeakers for life. Those don't have to be upgraded to other speakers. Maintain them. Given my space considerations in Klipsch, the Heresy or Forte is sensible and domestically easy to live with. Or smaller B&W or KEF.
 
If the bass was lacking, or if there was any cracking from the woofers, that would be a sign that the foam is shot. It could be splitting, however. I have had woofers in here for rebuild that were only just beginning to show signs of cracking, where others were so bad that the foam had hunks missing out of it.

Amplifiers can go bad with age also--the capacitors tend to dry out. In many cases the amplifier just drifts out of spec and doesn't sound all that good (which could be anything from a dull lifeless sound, to hum, to a weakened sound). If caps go completely bad, though, they can short out or drift so far off value that they damage the amplifier. I've only had one amplifier self destruct on me due to old caps, and I ended up selling it as-is to some local guy who was going to fix it for himself. With vintage equipment that is 40 or more years old (primarily tube amps, but it could apply to transistor amps as well) , we would use a rheostat to slowly bring the voltage up to 120V. That gives the caps time to settle in rather than shock them with a full load right up front.

It's gone both ways for me. The aforementioned amp quit on me, but I've had other equipment that still works despite being decades old. I totally recapped a preamp of mine that I built in 1982--easy job, long overdue, and parts did not cost much (even going with a higher-end capacitor).

Yes, make sure your gear is serviced and in proper order before you condemn it. I service my long term gear to that mindset.
 
My CVs had the 12" woofers.
I want to say they were D7s.
Couldn't help but think of your late, lamented D7s when I saw this:

Cerwin Vega M-100's - AKA "The Eviction Notice" Speakers | Audiokarma Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums

"Eviction notice" speakers. :laugh:

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This M-100 was basically the larger D9 (15" woofer) but with extra tweeters and mids, and sold on military bases. The efficiency on these is supposedly 107dB/W. (In other words, 107dB sound with one watt input, measured at 1 meter distance. Or in other other words, they're freakin' loud!) The Klipschorns I posted above (the corner horn speakers) are 104dB/W. The average speaker sold today is probably 85-90dB/W efficient.

To put it another way, each 3dB increase in sound level requires a doubling of power. So for a 90dB/W speaker, it requires one watt to play a test tone at 90dB, but requires 32 watts to play it at 105dB. Flip that around and a high-efficiency speaker requires a lot less wattage to play loud. (It doesn't necessarily mean they sound better, though.)

The Klipschorn is often driven with tube power amplifiers of 25 watts or less...even a 3- or 5-watt amp would probably play it louder than many listeners could handle. Back when the speaker was introduced 70 (!!) ago, it was common to see 5-10 watt tube amplifiers.
 
Used to love to watch those base cones vibrate. And that was at a reasonable sound level!
 
Speaking of woofers, I am a little closer to my goal of refurbishing a pair of speakers here. One big hold-up in the project was that I had one bad woofer. The manufacturer no longer offers them, but suggests a replacement, one which I could see from my calculations would have less deep bass. I did calculations on a few others, but that would have meant modifying the cabinet to some degree. I finally saw a listing for the woofer I needed--someone else had the same pair, and the same issue where one of the woofers had failed. He found a suitable replacement pair, but sold off the remaining good one, so I have that on hand now. I can always upgrade the woofers to something else later on, but at least for now I can complete the rebuilding of the electrostatic panels and get these things up and running.
 
An “off-label” speaker event - my cell phone started broadcasting the low power tv station I was watching while I was trying to make a call. Had to switch the tv to a station with no signal.
 
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