More people missed you than you can even imagine Kelvin. You seem just like an ordinary guy like a lot of us, who try to get around these greedy high prices by finding a cheaper way to get good sound. So glad to have you back. One of the best ideas and best kept secrets of audio is to stack identical speakers two to a side. Harry Pearson the late editor of The Absolute Sound magazine started out with stacking Advent Loudspeakers. Stacking bookshelf speakers always: 1. Makes the sound bigger and more spacious. For some reason depth is eerily better. 2. Better power handling and dynamics. You don't have to worry about your speakers being too loud and in danger of damage. 3. The bass sounds 20 to 25 hz deeper when you stack. Buying 2 pairs of vintage Era Design (now called Peachtree) D4 bookshelf speakers and stacking them, gave me an amazing glorious sound that was hard to find anything wrong with. They were designed by Michael Kelly who has his own high end speaker company called Aerial Acoustics. It sounded like I had a full range high end speaker for around $300 used, total for 2 pairs. If lined up with care it looked like it was one speaker instead of 2 stacked.
Interesting seriously not something I think I’ve ever come across I thought of so now I nead A second pair of something I might be able to get some DM4 actually Thanks for the tip. K
The best hifi review channel on the tube :) Ruark speakers are super rare in Sweden. I heard Ruark Equinox loudspeakers a long time ago and i thought they sounded very good back then. I think they used very good quality drivers from manufacturers like Vifa, Peerless and Scan Speak in their loudspeakers.
Hi Kelvin- Again, I’m so glad you’re back. I would like to see you review a pair of Kef 104.2s. I have a pair here that I bought in late 85/early 86 that I would love to loan you but I live in L.A.!! LOL! Great philosophical discussion of equipment. So spot on!
Love learning about the vintage stuff we don't see very much over here in Canada. Still have (and listen to) my first system a 1989 Yamaha RX700U receiver with a pair of JBL 830T's. I've got into the newer stuff since those old days but your videos have really given me the vintage HiFi bug over the last year or two. 😃Hope you keep the videos coming! Always find you a pleasure to listen too.
You're style is interesting and nice to listen to. A few years ago I bought 2 pair of KEF C10 from 2 different sellers on EB. Both pair were about $60 each including shipping. They were more than 30 years old, in good condition with small bumps and bruises, but sounded great for the money. I had them wired together in parallel.
Glad to have you back Kelvin. Thought you might have been locked in Audio Gold over the past year.😃Royd is another name that I recall a bit like Ruark. I think Royd started out in the early 80s by Joe Ackroyd. Had a pair of Coniston's with the paper cone but the rear port on the rear had sponge around it which deteriorated over time. Those cottage industry companies are dying out now.
Yes I think I reviewed a ride Sintra small speaker has a steel plate in the back and A really high quality tweeter. Very nice and yeah you know this man was a good designer .
I bet those Sabres are being massively limited by the old caps in the crossover. I have a pair of Ruark Swordsman (the entry level model from the Ruark range at the time), and they used the cheapest Alcap electrolytic caps in the crossover. I changed them for some cheap polypropylene film caps and they really sing now. Bass is particularly tight and impressive, resolution is superb through the mid and treble. The Sabres with the larger, better quality box should have even more upgrade potential. You should send them down to me in Brighton, and I'll see what I can squeeze out of them and send them back for review.
The late Brian O'Rourke was a good friend of mine, and I have a pair of his Sabres, in a box in my office, but the cheaper Swordsman II was by far the best value speaker in the range and sounds better than the Sabre.
@@paphian2990 Good to know. I think my Swordsman have the same drivers as these Sabres, a slightly smaller but sturdy box and a rather drab black finish. They do sound really very good though, and outperform the vast majority of newer budget speakers by some distance (I buy and sell used hifi, so I've heard most). There is absolutely nothing exotic or radical in their design, so where did speaker design lose its way?
I believe Brian O'Rourke made speakers under the company name Diesis before Ruark, and before that made cabinets for other speaker manufacturers. The cabinet quality is usually very good on Diesis and Ruark speakers.
Hi Kel, I had a big bargain at the local recycling depot, a pair of Proac 2000 signature and a pair of Mission 700s for $40 oz (23 quid equivalent), in mintish condition. Pays to visit this place once a week. I think the Proacs were 1100 quid new. I remember when I picked up all ranges of the little Sansui amps around $40 oz but the gear that's surfacing now in the charity shops and recycling is getting to be first rate. Good times ahead.
I just bought a pair of Mission 707s speakers. I had to refoam the woofers, and replace the vifa d19 with Seas d19 tweeters. Very good with my tube amp. But very open, and very dynamic for a British speaker. I'm a huge fan of the Epos Speaker, but nothing like the 707s. I'll keep an eye out for Ruark. I'm looking at B&W dm 4 speakers now.
These were the second set of speakers I purchased, replacing a pair of Castle Durhams in about 1989. They were a good upgrade. They were driven by an NVA amplifier (try finding one of those now!) with my Manticore Mantra turntable on the front end - which I bought in 1986 and still have today. I used them until 2004, by which time they were hooked up to a Cyrus amplifier stack and mounted on quality stands they performed amazingly well for a small and relatively inexpensive speaker. I replaced them with a pair of Spendor S6e which are still in use, now hooked up to a Naim Uniti system. The Spendors are in a different league, as they should be given the price relativity. I sold my Ruarks in a garage sale I had about 10 years ago and got $50 for them. I reckon they were an absolute steal for that money.
You said just what I've been thinking recently about the new speaker by Andrew Jones. It's great marketing by the OEM - you can't fault their approach and they will sell more because of it. Andrew seems like a really nice guy when you see him in vids and I'm sure he knows what he's doing but I'm sure there's also a premium on that SP10 speaker now because his name is attached. And spot on Kelvin... every speaker has been designed by someone!
Wonderful to see another review in a short time. Thank you Kevin. Wow, speaker are well looked after who ever used them before you purchased. In very good condition.
I bought some Heybrook Heylos, maybe 15 years ago (?) from a second hand shop in Plymouth - been rocking them in the living room ever since - they look like remarkebly similar drivers to these!
Ok…… You done it again. I just purchased. A pair of RUARK EPILOGUE Full Wood Face And Rear. 2 WAY REAR PORTED BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS off eBay based on your review. I know, they are not exactly the same as the Sabre you reviewed, but as close as I could find. Been looking for them for awhile and decided to pull the trigger on these hoping they would be real similar. Going to hook them up to the new Sansui eight deluxe I recently purchased. You got me going full tilt. Haha. Let me know what you think. As always, appreciate your reviews and channel.
After 30 years I just replaced my Sabre 2s with Dynaudio Emit 20s (I was using the Ruarks with old Eclipse subs to fill out the bottom end). Not night and day at all, but the Dynaudios just edged the Ruarks for clarity, imaging and depth. Still, given the Emits are now up near £800 the Sabres remain an _absolute steal_ and I sold them to an enthusiast in Scotland who knows the company. The irony is that a few weeks later I decided to set up a second system in my garage/gym... and ended up buying a pair of Ruark Prologue One floorstanders! £2-300 quid second hand and they still beat modern stuff over £1000. Would be good to see you review them, and I recommend searching them out if you want bargain floorstanders that still compete.
I boght it from Laskys in London 3rd of april 1975. Did not use for the last 25 years, it had a burnt circuit board, but now it is in full working order, after service at a fairly local firm.
It’s so nice to hear and see a reviewer who speaks clear language and without the overly excited “ heyyyy guys “ style of so many reviewers , it’s like chatting to a mate about Hifi , without the pretensions of being an “ expert” . So thanks . Your reviews are honestly subjective and without apology and with some interesting analogies asking questions and pondering things without forcing answers , which I guess is how we all think about much of Hifi . I’d love to hear what you think about Cyrus amplifiers and their aesthetics and how they work with other equipment and speakers such as Tannoy, quad and Rega ? Comparing the older Cyrus and the new with other mid to high end amps would be very interesting . So thanks for some interesting , insightful thoughts
I swapped out the drive units to Monacor SPH-165 and Peerless D27TG35-06, redid the crossover, and added 2 skinny bass ports to the back - much prefer them over my Wharfedale Evo 4.1s which I bought to replace the Sabres. I am not a crossover expert so maybe not optimally balanced, but the information they reveal now is shocking. Buy these to build your 'new' DIY speakers - there are different woofers and tweeters out there worth a play with........
Hello. Have a question. Do you use furniture protection knobs under the speaker box? Many people do not and it gets incredibly unnecessarily worn and scratchy under the box!!
Truly, I don’t worry about the bottom of the box I do put a wooden block on my metal speaker stands like 2 inches thick pine and it does an amazing job off taking the sound away from the speaker like better imaginging
@@stereoreviewx What annoys me quite a bit, especially when I buy used speakers, is that they have so many scratches to notice on the underside and top. people handle that stuff so badly!! It is so easy to put on some soft protective knobs and you avoid this on the underside!! Loudspeakers with plastic foil cannot be repaired easily! Samne with nice hifi devices that are repaired! They are turned upside down on a rough table top without anything soft in between. I see a lot of youtube repairmen who do this and make a lot of scratches on a nice device!!
My Mother is still listening daily, to a pair of W.A.R speakers made in Gloucestershire in the mid seventies, sears 8" bass, Autax soft dome, BBC style closed cabinet, (on target stands), they sound really lovely and are beautifully made. Point being who has heard of W.A.R. ?
@@stereoreviewx Keith Mercer was a drinking mate of my parents, I think he was one half of W.A.R. his, house/workshop amazed me as a kid, full of the techy stuff of a sound engineer.
The science of a closed box is quite simple. When the driver is pushed out, the air pressure in the sealed box decreases. Thus the atmospheric pressure will push the driver back to the resting position. Which allows for quicker/tighter bass. Basically the driver has an air spring pulling it back and that is why it takes more power to push it forwards. I will take a sealed box over ported any day, because I like fast and tuneful bass.
I have a question. I've had the same pair of speakers since about 1986; a pair of Linn Index's. I can only play them at low volume these days due to neighbours but I'm wondering about how some new speakers would sound given the improvements of speaker tech. over the years. The thing that bugs me though is that modern speakers are so tiny. Any advice from anyone would be appreciated, thanks.
Well I think quite a lot of the supposedly improvements are more marketing I mean there are some improvements but it’s not how they describe it and sometimes there’s backward steps for absolutely certain I probably would keep those speakers because you can spend three £400 and get no improvement at all you’ll be disappointed however many stars it gets
If you like the tone of your speakers in your room, my advice would be to spend your money on improving your source. It’s like double bubble, because the extra sound quality going into your amp makes the amp behave better too. The overall sound from your speakers will be boosted without altering the tonal balance you love.
Be great if you could get some Mordaunt Short MS20i Pearls........their last big hit as an independent UK company, got bought out and lost the plot shortly after, fairly modern design given they are 30 years old now....the TDL RTL2's were a fun speaker too, great impact. I loved mine
Thanks for all your reviews. I have a choice to make between 3 vintage speakers. Kef Coda ii, Cantor ii or Ruark Sabre. All about the same price. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Bob
Had a pair of Swordsmans for a few years. Interesting hearing your thoughts on the Sabres, as I think I concurred ... Ok but not a keeper. Always thought they looked better than they sounded!
What annoys me quite a bit, especially when I buy used speakers, is that they have so many scratches to notice on the underside and top. people handle that stuff so badly!! It is so easy to put on some soft protective knobs and you avoid this on the underside!! Loudspeakers with plastic foil cannot be repaired easily! Samne with nice hifi devices that are repaired! They are turned upside down on a rough table top without anything soft in between. I see a lot of youtube repairmen who do this and make a lot of scratches on a nice device!!
Well, generally speaking, I would say, Goodmans never made it to the high end of hi-fi But the good manners you talk of has a big driver is a three-way system and a bet it would outperform loads of £400 speakers today Certainly give some big scale to the sound
hi thanks a lot for this old gems hunting 60 pounds these days don't buy a single decent woofer imho i have found that best sound usually comes from heavy cabinets i don't know if these are heavy kindest regards gino
@@stereoreviewx Hi Thank you for the very kind and valuable advice I think that it could be a matter of vibes control I remember your video where you very well suggested to tighten the drivers screws that could get loose with age I would like to see more bolts used at least for the big woofers Thanks again and kindest regards gino
I have an idea for a video, perhaps... You could try doing some simple revisions to secondhand speakers and seeing how it affects them. Rotating the drivers and maybe changing the capacitors for new? If you have two pair you could still do an A/B comparison
All I can think of is hutch sliding over the bonnet of a Gran Torino, Thanks.🤣 When I was a kid in the 70's he stopped at the traffic lights next to me In Catford (London) Imagine that hutch next to you at the lights in the 70's he was in something a bit rubbish though like a renault 5 I was in a MK1 Cortina. Must have been acting at Catford theatre I asked my dad to race him from the lights, my dad gracefully declined my baiting.
Around that time I had a pair of Celestion Ditton 15's which were very popular but I didn't like them. They lacked the detail and presence that I wanted, particularly at low volumes. I replaced them with the B&W DM110's which I really liked. How these would compare to the Ruark's would be interesting. My money would be on the B&W's which I considered a great budget speaker.
There is lots of good vintage stuff out there. I have two pairs of BNS (232 E12s, Dutch so you probably won't know them) speakers with about the same form factor paid about 60 euro's per set. One closed the other ported. Ported one is a bit more sensitive (90db vs 89db) so whenever I switch them the E12s sounds livelier, but that's mostly volume. For any length of listening I prefer the closed box one. I think is has the same or very similar bass driver as that Ruark (Seas?) and a Vifa tweeter the well known D19TD-05 3/4" I think they probably are a bit brighter than the Ruark, the way you describe them. You might want to check your camera settings, I'm getting a very rosy view of you over here.
Capacitor technology has moved on, any of these old speakers with new polypropelene capacitors eg clarity cap esa, and metal oxide non inductive resistors will be a huge upgrade.
Yes! I also prefer my older (closed box) Gales to new Missions which I smashed under the bed and just the dust falls upon them. They are not perfect, but have their solid, decent character, have their own juicy, tight rhytm. Missions (LV2 or sthing like that) look good, but the sound is kinda muddy, boomy, lazy...Kelvin, put your hands on some Gales and review them too.
I remember these being well-liked in their day. £60 would be a good buying price for a tidy pair, but you’d need to check that the bottoms weren’t too badly scratched up by a lack of respect from an owner or reviewer. What sacrilege!
Lmao! Your absolutely right Kelvin about everything is designed! Andrew just has that ego about his name being mentioned all the time. I do have a pair of Elacs DBR-62's and they are great speakers for the money in my opinion. I find that vintage speakers aren't as detailed as more modern speakers in general. Would you agree?
Well, if you’re just saying the word detail, I would agree that within that word is things like depth of field and the realistic sound of the instrument So I kind of agree, really I wish the speakers today were just better they disappoint me. A lot doesn’t seem like they learn
@@stereoreviewx Instrument separation is noticeable as well depending on the recording of course. Us audiophiles are always searching for that perfect live sound that is impossible to get out of speakers of any era.
I have lots of speakers and one of those is 2 sets of what would have been ultra high end 80s bookshelves. They are still astonishing and basically flawless in sound.
