Just came back from the Audio Show at Staverton Park. What a soul-crushing and bewildering experience it was. Basic speakers offered for 2 grand, half-decent ones for 5 grand and good ones for 30 grand or more? And the amps they use for demos are usually more than ten grand. Are they trying to kill off their industry? Never again will I go (and pay ten quid) to see such overpriced crap.
So these tweeters with yellow domes are German isophone KK10 modified by Monitor Audio into KK8. The problem is they are usually burnt in Monitor Audio MA5 II, well about half of them. Do you know why? Are they usually burnt in Monitor Audio MA5 ver.1 as well? And do the original KK10 tweeters are really different sounding, the difference is only the domes, yellow seethrough elastic dome in KK8 vs white stiff solid in the original KK10?
You do a great job. I opened an audio and record store in 2010 selling new and preowned audio and records and it is still open today with new owners 14 years later south of Houston! Sweet Spot Audio and Records!
Another top video. I’ve had all sorts of speakers over the years. But I have never owned the Ditton 66’s that I really hanker for.. Makes sense as most but not all of the music that I listen to is from their era.I will keep looking 👍
I have found speaker and amp matching the most difficult thing to get right in hifi - i bought a pair of B&W CDM1 NT and had to reorganise my system around them as they sound that good but getting there with the right amp. Back in the day new stuff was easier to audition, few hifi shops around these days so have to rely on reviews such as yours Kelvin and so take chances on making expensive mistakes is a risk, then there are the cables and interconnects...
A good thing to do when buying vintage is to buy from a seller you trust and who has a good reputation in your audiophile circle. Yes, the price will not be the lowest, but on the other hand, an experienced "vintage dealer" can offer you something that sounds good and won't break the bank 😌
The best hi-fi bargains at the moment are vintage Castle loudspeakers. Gorgeous veneers, understated sonics - no rough edges! - in similar fashion to my Spendor SP2, and very collectable. I have purchased five pairs recently. £95 for a pair of Castle York mk2... and fifty quid for Castle Durham mk1... a steal at the price. Just consider the inflated retail prices of the new IAG Castles! Vintage, "made in Skipton" Castles... get 'em while you can. Great vid, Kelvin...
Interesting that you mentioned this speaker. I still have a pair in the garage (stored) after decades, maybe it's time to dig them out and see how to compare with others (assuming they are till working) :-) @Kelvin, please review it and give us your thoughts, Love your videos. I got my lovely Sansui AU-317 because of you :-)
I found my speakers at a thrift shop. Quart MB 280 for 60.- CHF. Later, I found the Quart mB 390 for 30.- CHF. Swiss francs. Then I found a second pair of Quart MB 280 for 35.- Swiss francs just for the parts. 2 titanium tweeters and 1 good woofer. Love the combined sound. Love your videos!
A friend of mine gave to me a pair of Monitor Audio monitor 3, what do you think about, I couldn 't find any specs on the internet, Ia using Marantz 2238B, mu spare amp is Rotel RA 350. Cheers !!!
I love my KEF Coda II’s that I bought after you spoke about the original ones and then found a review on Cheshire Audio’s RU-vid channel. I can’t articulate like you but all I can say is that they sound rich and warm with surprising base. I suppose they sound musical in common language.It’s a sound that when you play your music you don’t get tired and want to listen all day. I use a Technics class A amp fed by a Linn Sondek or for CD’s my Cyrus 6 CD player.
I agree with some of your views about the MA R252, up to a point. But it’s important to remember that they were truly entry-level hi-fi speakers, selling at about £120/pair in the early 1980s - and at that price (and certainly bearing in mind what you’d get for the inflation-equivalent price today, which would be nearer £450), I think they were very good. Looking at the internal construction, as I have, shows the cabinets were really quite well made and internally braced with thick foam lining and high-quality internal copper wiring hard-wired to the drivers and an OK quality, minimal crossover (with an air-core inductor in the treble circuit). There is definitely the stamp of Robin Marshall’s design genius in there. I think you say that the R252 you had was cheaply finished in vinyl, which makes me wonder whether you had the ‘bargain basement’ 252V model which lacked the cabinet bracing and was vinyl-wrapped, whereas the R252 always had real-wood veneer. The point about the lack of bass is one I’d partly agree with, but I think that has to be considered against the backdrop of current consumer expectations, which seems to be for exaggerated, ‘one-note’ boomy bass. As you’d expect, the R252 doesn’t have masses of low bass, but what it does have is really quite tuneful and rolls off gently, is still there at 40 Hz, and is also very ‘punchy’ with great time resolution - that may be a product of the sealed cabinet (no bass reflex port). Some judicious damping of the stamped-steel woofer baskets and replacing the (by now very old) electrolytic caps in the crossover with good-quality film caps would clean up the sound considerably - leaving (to my mind) a well-balanced speaker that would be hard to match at anywhere near the price with modern kit.
That CAmbridge is an A/B amp, for the record. Also, I had a Nak A/V amp that was like that. I bought one based on how an RE-1 that I once had performed...but it wasn't of the same quality, and kind of dead-sounding. Not AS bad as this Cambridge line was, but still not as good as the old Nakamichi receiver lines like the TA, SR, and RE series.
I have not been to this shop yet but would love to visit. I did buy a pair of ATC SCM7 speakers off them to use for parts to put into a pair of KEF 105 4 speakers that I have. The project worked very well. I am well happy with the results and they sound fantastic. I use a Akai Psm200 pre power amplifier for them. Great service communication and packaging. Brilliant shop. Highly recommend.
Hahhaha you are talking about heavy turntables but what about Rega, they make lightweight turntables which are expencive and preform excellent.........are they really, are Rega decks comparable with big heavy other ones an why? Most of the Rega owners adding Ikea chopping boards under their decks to isolate from unwanted micro vibrations, doing all kind of "upgrades"........i mean, it is a psychological game where people are never pleased with their stereo equipment, forgeting to enjoy and ending with hearing the bearing, upgraded subplatter, pulley and rubber belts and not the music. Hifi is a fun "hobby" but autosuggestive tweaking , upgrading and never being satisfied can sometimes lead you to whole opposite direction, away from the music. Best regards from Germany.
Kevin, I like your videos very much, possibly because they are very you and not at all corporate. I do have a slight problem with them though and it isn't a criticism as such it may well be more how I watch RU-vid than anything else. When you finish I usually don't have time to hit the thumbs up button before either adverts start or another video kicks in. Please only telegraph that a video is nearing the end if it doesn't feel right to you - I would prefer that you keep your natural flowing style than become 'produced'. Regards
The brochure for the Sansui Au 101 states that the continuous power output of 15 Watts (per channel) with an 8Ω load. The power increases slightly to 18 Watts with an 4Ω load. The available power is limited by the low VA rating of the mains transformer. The THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) is less than 0.8% at the rated output. The power amplifier stage is a Class AB design and uses a semi-complementary Darlington design. This is powered from a single 44Vdc supply rail and the audio signal is biased at the midpoint (around 22V). The DC is blocked by AC coupling the audio signal to the speaker connection via an electrolytic capacitor (1000µF, 35V). The damping factor of the amplifier is influenced by the equivalent series resistance of this capacitor. The pre-amplifier is a single transistor Class A stage. This acts as a buffer for the volume control potentiometer. The tone control stage is a simple passive circuit and is placed after the Class A stage. The pre-amplifier is run from a 31Vdc supply rail. This is derived from the 44Vdc rail via a 1.5kΩ dropper resistor. This works with a 470µF decoupling capacitor to provide a low pass filter (cutoff frequency 0.22Hz). The phono amplifier is a Class A, 2-stage cascaded amplifier. The RIAA equalisation curve is provided by a passive RC network as feedback to the first transistor. The high frequency capacitors are either Mylar or Ceramic dielectrics. However, electrolytic capacitors are used as AC coupling between the various audio stages. After 40+ years of service these electrolytic capacitors will probably need replacing.
There is some information on the Pioneer SX550, Sansui Au101, NAD 3020 and Leak Stereo 70 on the web. You will need to Google these websites: classicreceivers, hifiengine and hifi-wiki
You know, Kelvin, I know this video of yours is four years old, but because of this vid, I'm going to try some tube gear again. It's been quite a while since I've had valves in the mix. I've also been into this for over 40 years, and I'd almost forgotten about the potential magic of tubes. Thanks for your efforts.
Pioneer started the stereo war with their debut of the SX-1010 . The first real monster @ 100 wpc rms. Push pull technology. Amazing sound. I own one as well as the answers to the SX-1010 & it is Devine! The next to rival the pioneer was the Marantz 2325 @ 125 wpc rms. Gorgeous receiver with that signature marantz sound with power beyond all. It was called the velvet hammer. Then Sansui answered back with the 9090DB @ 125 wpc rms. Another gorgeous receiver with a beautiful musical sound and the monster power to rival the competition. Mind you, these receivers pushed way more than the stated wpc they claimed. I’m lucky to own all three currently along with a McIntosh MA6200 @ 100 wpc rms. Another beauty however I must say that my favorite of all is the Pioneer SX-1010. Everything about it. The looks, the feel & most importantly the sound. It sounds better than all I’ve owned. If you ever get a chance, get one. You will not be disappointed. It will push power hungry speakers with ease. It’s rated 8 & 4 ohm speakers. The pioneer pushes my OHM Walsh F’s with ease & it is glorious! I always have a smile on my face when I have that rig combo on. I need nothing else ever.
the valves will be adding distortion of some sort. So you are not getting what's on the record. Just like in a studio adding effects. Might sound nice to your ears which is fine.
Still got one boxed in my loft with some MIssion 730 speakers and Sansui sr 222. I’m going to get them out and try them. Glad I found this channel.😁 I’ll compare the pre with my Kairn. Worth a shot.
@@stereoreviewx They were 751 bookshelf ones when I got them out. After all these years the only thing that’s a bit iffy is the drive belt on the 222. A tiny bit of slippage. I had forgotten how good that old system sounded. My son is claiming it. The receipts were still in the boxes. Moorgate acoustics. 😁
Agree. Bought an active linn system in the 80s. I had to go to get an amp re capped and whilst in the showroom I listened to a modern system. I couldn’t tell a difference. I’m 67 now so my ears are more vintage than my hi fi.
Another great video, thinking of taking Pioneer tx-9500 or a Sansui TU-717 both will need servicing. Any advice please, I'm in Essex/London? It will paired with Technics se a5000 and preamp Technics su a3000.
My NAD 3130 sounds very good with later speakers B&W CDM1 NT - 30 watts is minimum recommended power for these speakers just seem to manage so will try a 60 watt C350 amp soon. The NAD 3020 can sound very bright with the wrong speakers, were very good with my Heybrook HB2's.
No no no, the reverse feature is so you can listen from the behind the band or as if you're a band member and you're playing the drums perspective 🤔 😉 When people jam along with the music, playing or pretending to play along, you need to reverse the band and have the sound go away from you. Disc 1&2 - the amp designer can apply a different amplification stage to the sound. So section 1 might be a 'normal' type of sound and section 2 might be additional stages added to the sound. It only needs 1 input, and the designer puts that through 2 different types of amplifiers. For example, guitar amplifiers can have a crunch amplification and a lead amplification stage and they're switchable. Some guitar amplifiers have 1 input and 4 amplifier sections that you choose 2 to play out of 4. Stereos and guitar amplifiers exist side by side and they play off each other. 1 industry inspires the other and they incorporate what sells and what works in each production stream.
I have a pair of very old 15s from ATC pilot. super heavy cast iron chasey 250w max 8ohm.. I have them screwed to a piece of ply 25mm thick. open baffle
I had 3 of those amps but the leak was a 30 and not a 70 the layout was the same easily removable preamp and power amp modules. which I had to replace the driver transistors with TIP 41s. The Sansui sounded sweet and did have the valve sound. After the NAD 2030, I upgraded (tongue in cheek) to a Quad 22 202 valve setup with an FM tuner I modified it with a Maplin stereo demodulator and made mods to the power amps. Speakers were Ditton 15s AR 18s and JBL the orange things. Jumping ahead 50 years I have a single-ended EL 34 Chinese Duak A9 kit built. The speakers were built in 1995 with homemade Quarter Wavelength single full-range 61/2 inch drivers, I seriously modified them to give me around a sensitivity of 95db 30 Hz flat to 16Khz and gentle roll-off to 18Khz. The cabinet design is a 14-foot baffle structure with a potential of 20Hz. The biggest gripe I have with speakers is the spider suspensions and speakers with a dome dust cover are a compression device by default and inhibit the cone from accurately following the signal, both removed. To flatten the curve I introduced an inducer coil for the low end and a filter cap for the top end. Another moan is directly screwing the speakers into a wooden cabinet, which is totally wrong. A separate heavy concrete baffle with speaker mounts acoustically isolated to a stiff marine ply construction internally lined with bitumen 3 feet tall 1 foot deep and 9 inches wide sounds wonderful. I use 2 different preamps, one analogue and one with a built-in DAC for streaming, both valves. The speakers are an easy load for any amplifier at 4 Ohms.
great to hear all your input thanks . interesting what you say about dust covers some cones just don't deliver in the real world meaning my living room . as opposed to what the technical readout is
