Good practical everyday advice. As usual. These type of cabinets often need a bit of lifting off the floor. Funny how paper cones remain extremely difficult to improve on. Even more strange is how modern it looks.
Hi Kelvin, it's so wonderful that you're back and doing reviews and giving us the value of your opinion. Is there any chance you could attempt to do a vintage wharfedale review. They tend to be the most common of all the vintage speakers on offer, yet their quality isn't exactly uniform. I've owned most of them myself (Dentons, Lintons, Glendales, Dovedales, Teesdales) and several of their permutations. Some are rubbish and some are glorious.. I'd love to hear you go through them. By the way, if you know anyone with a pair of Dovedale SP2 for sale, please let me know lol
@stereoreviewx they look a bit odd with the grilles removed, but each drive unit is well-designed for the job it has to do. The cabinets are really well-made also with lovely teak veneer and solid teak edges.
Thanks Kelvin.That's a superb pair of speakers considering the price, your review is spot on, I had a pair that I gave to my niece and she's still happy with them.
Tannoy enclosures were always shallower than they were wide. Meridian were the opposite, their M1, M2 and M3 speakers being very narrow at the front with very deep for their size cabinets, Tannoy baffles helped project the sound into the room, while Meridian stated that the narrow baffles on their speakers helped cut sound reflections and gave a greater 3 Dimensional stereo image. Another great show from Kelvin. Keep 'em coming.
I have these, bought 2nd hand many years ago. Had a DIY crossover which I removed and transplanted another from a donor speaker (a Swedish floorstander of similar vintage, can't recall the brand). Paired with a NAD 2030i and a modded Yamaha CDX480 They sound great, to my ear. I called at a high end audio store with my son and he commented that their system was underwhelming 😂 so I guess the old girl is doing something right.
Lovely old speakers. They made a few versions of these. They were made with a Celestion hf1300 like the spendor bc1 and a version with the KEF T15 tweeter. I had the version with the KEF tweeter. I also can't get my head around modern speakers. I'm currently listening to a pair of Cambridge R40 transmission lines from 1972. Classic KEF line up of b139/b110/t27. Awesome speakers!
I have just acquired a pair with the circular 12" goodmans bass / midrange and the KEF T15 tweeter. Superb condition for £50 ! I can't wait to try them but can't ATM as we are between houses. I remember selling the Carnival , Festival & Pageants when I worked in electrical retail in the 70's and always liked the M.short sound. Many thanks for this review as I was unaware of this model.
The Best way to end St Patrick’s day ☘️ with another QUALITY UPLOAD FROM THE MAN HIMSELF KELVIN THE HIFI EXPERT AND ENTHUSIAST.. Kelvin this is London Bermondsey calling.. Keep up the continuing GOOD WORK.. Thank you 🙏👍☮️👍
Great your back kelvin have really missed the reviews. Ust to have a pair of m s festival 2 which were a cracking little speaker. Don’t leave as long nxt time 👍
Like many others who share your passion for vintage audio, really enjoying watching your reviews again after such a long break. I have just acquired an old pair of Linn Kan Mk1s and I'm very impressed with its detail and accuracy in the mids and highs, so would love to hear your views. I tried it with most of my old amps, Sansui, Cyrus etc.. but the best pairing to compensate for the light bass was my Sudden A48 Mk2. I know you have this amp so highly recommend getting it fixed!
Hi, always lovely to watch you and your rev. I want to ask if you know where I can get the drivers for a Monitor Audio MA 14 MK 2 Gold from the 90’s? I can’t find them anywhere. Thank you and keep up the good work! 👍
I have a pair of these still in the box that i also need to review someday. For some reason I was thinking they were mid 70s. I was actually surprised how good they sounded and even more surprised how heavy they were. Thanks for the video.
That dome midrange appears to be the one used in Braun and ADS speakers. It should have a sticky film on it. They’re exceptionally good and revealing also disperse the music all around very well.
Coooool review, thanks👍 I have a question... I own 2 speakers Wharfedale Dovedale 3 (early 70's) and would like to know if it is possible to connect them to modern amplifiers (such as the Musical Fidelity M3Si)? Or maybe it is possible but not recommended? Unfortunately where I live there isn't a shop to do a test and the only option is to buy online... but I would like to avoid spending a lot of money and then discovering that it doesn't work or that the result is terrible.. Sorry for the maybe stupid question, but I'm trying to learn :) Thank you✌
Hi Kelvin, I notice a couple of different versions of the MS400 , one with the EMI elliptical bass driver that you have reviewed here , and what i think may be a later version with a circular bass driver . Also i think its using a different tweeter. Anyway , I am hopefully acquiring a pair this week so i will let you know .
Great information as always Kelvin, last few years I bought a few vintage speakers, from Castle Conway mk1s to Mission 730's there first flagship speaker, I love the sound, The B@W dm14 really need some juice to make them party . I've even found a pair of Kenwood small books that are just crazy good . Anyway looking forward to your next vid mate .
Great review Kelvin, I like the way how you describe how you can predict the sound of a speaker. I can imagine, some reviewers do not like this kind of knowledge to get out there.
My Dad had these (or very similar) MS speakers when we were growing up. I remember the elliptical bass driver when the grilles were off. I don't remember the super tweeter but maybe they did a 2-way version? In any case I remember a very balanced listenable sound from them. Not bright and fatiguing but quite punchy and smooth. Needed a little bass boost on the amp to sound their best!
Those EMI speakers weren't bad in their day ... I've seen them used in many applications both in sealed and vented enclosures the Coles STC super tweeter was used on the Cambridge R50 transmission line speaker too
cheers, would it be an idea to compare such with....ProAc (e.g. studio 200 from 80s) where there was no big bass driver at all but two mid instead and still bass came huge out of there...how it was made to deliver ???
The narrow shape of modern speakers is for wider horizontal dispersion. A wide baffle should theoretically beam the sound in one direction giving you a narrower dispersion.
well it's down to the baffle step, if it's narrower you get a generally deeper soundstage and wider but that is not good for lower frequencies below 80 Hz. the wider baffle does reinforce bass so maybe that's why in this situation but the box seems a bit small for the size of driver it probably work great for slotted port. you could glue a one piece of 1-in stock on the back like a picture frame, and extend it with some board MDF half an inch thick three times it's depth in total put the back on that not too difficult to do and is reversible. you can make it into a transmission line
Another "from the hip" review.... Kelvin .Wonder if you could find some old Goodmans speakers..the RB 20 springs to mind..three way design..made around 1976...just for old times sake..
Interesting review and analysis, thanks. Have you ever encountered the Carver Cube, and have an opinion? Have you ever encountered the Quad ESL57 speakers, and given then a listen? (Not that I have either, as I use a Polk bass and Mirage satelllites ... )
That large tweeter is richly detailed and one gorgeous sounding driver. Those are surely some of the best drive units it was possible to put in a loudspeaker back then. Yes I used to own a pair of MS 400s. The box is much too small for that huge woofer and as such they suffer a lack of bass extension and they also need a bit of EQing to balance out the sound but once done the refinement and subtlety of the upper mids and highs is remarkable. I only wish I knew who manufactured that big tweeter but there is no label on the driver. Could it be a Son Audax or a Peerless or a Scandinavian unit? I don't know but it is an exceedingly fine and rare tweeter.
An Oval Bass Speaker... I would love to see a Graphik of the Measurements. When I was young I had a Diy Loudspeaker and used an oval driver, and back then, for me, it sounded OK. But, slowly but surely, oval speakers disappeared from the scene. There must be a reason why the Industry let go of this kind of bass... I am quite sure, we could see some arguments in the SPL curves...But who Knows. Especially in our days now, an oval speaker could have advantages. The Industry prefers small and deep Cabinets today, to have a better soundstage, and the speaker can disappear better. So, an oval driver would be better? Small in diameter when mounted upright, but still has a lot of membrane space... It´s a riddle to me. One argument could be the stiffness. I mean, a round Speaker membrane is always sturdier than an oval one, except the manufacturer makes a thick and sturdy - but also heavy membrane. But here lies the failure: Who wants a heavy membrane? Modern Speakers are kind of a miracle to me anyway. My speakers, at home, and I mean the main set I have, are JBL 4341 Clones, but with a sturdier and better-damped cabinet than the originals. They are the opposite of a modern speaker from 2024...They are wide, deep, high and massive like a small fridge...(And way to big for my room lol)! That all said, it still is always an inspiration to see Kelvin with old vintage Speakers. It keeps me courious why and how the builders did some things in the past. Especially the british gear. British Speakers most of the time were designed to sound good. And the design process included the use of ears, and not only with measurements!
Great to see another vintage speaker review Kelvin! I like the look of these. The soft dome Tweeter looks indeed like a bigger "Peerless DT10 HFC", the one you see on the early Monitor Audio MA1 series 1. Same EMI bass driver that's on the Monitor Audio MA3. Btw I just bought a pair of MA1 series 2 (Yellow Isophon tweeter) and I find them not so cohesive and a tad dry (I have a Quad 606 behind them). The tweeter makes some work that the B&W Midrange should do, in my opinion. I don't know if to attempt a recap or resell them. I can do it myself but caps ain't that cheap and it's a lot of work. Have you ever heard the MA1 series 2? The B139 deserves one of your reviews anyway
Kelvin! Where the F-- did you get that baffle? 😂 I wish you had one of those for EVERY speaker review!! This video made me wish you could do new equipment too. You describe the sound so well and don’t mince words. If its not good somehow, you say it!
My 400's came with a Kef T15 tweeter. I bought mine about 6 years ago from eBay. Buyer beware; sometimes the Coles supertweeter can fail, it's very hard to notice because the T15 is doing most of the high frequency work .
@@stereoreviewx seriously they are Kelvin , I’m a Bang and Olufsen nut both old and new and I’ve posted some of your videos on our Discord community page 👍👍👍
I do believe I could have lived with these speakers. Seen that same tweeter or tweeter cover(?) many times on vintage gear, as well as the Coles (usually or always??) super tweeter, some stated as coming in above 12'kHz but I've never lived with one on board. P.S. I've always invested more in my front end than speakers, maybe because speakers are so blooming different but an upgraded t/t, m.c. fed / phono / amp front end makes any old tosh of a speaker just sound better since my earliest pre-tested upgrades (tho nobody wants to lend out a m.c. but vintage is still best for my speaker money, after successfully doing the re-foaming process on 2 rotted foamed, early 70's B+W's DM70's e/stat hybrids (I now have plans to have re-panelled to make dound 'as if new' above 350'Hz where re-foamed bass rolls off. looking at diagrams online how speakers work with careful handed common sense, re-foaming isn't brain surgery, it's far easier than I ever expected when I first needed to do it, I've not done rubber or cloth yet but it equally can't be difficult, surely(?), from a 15 to 20'yr old memory, a good few of my best recollections of being surprised by satisfyingly detailed & sometimes super-realistic as'if-in-room vocals on not-busy song recordings, esp certain excellent recordings at least still kinda haunt me that was from a pair of kit built KEF Concertos 3-way's with their B139's who's bass worked wonderfully in my not-large flat's rectangular room at the time, (rolled-up sock-pairs in reflex ports put in for some very deep bass recordings, like synth'bass on some CDs) ..sitting no more than about 10'ft away from those speakers placed lengthwise was poss' with speakers & opposite settee 2'ft 6" max' from opposite walls for best wide sound stage. At the time, my friend bought a full working pair of KEF's factory made concertos at a local car boot sale for £35 & we both noticed they were smaller & less deep than my £60 s/h kit pair, cabinet aside identical tho. Their mid & high drivers, I've noticed seemed exactly the same as the (now) super expensive s/h Rogers 2-way I've seen here & heard much about, not that driver's alone make a speaker's sound as they do, far from it, very most likely
Yes I have a great affection for the concertos which I played around with endlessly years ago. Those are three fantastic Drivers and as you say a bigger box would be better. I often imagined some handmade crossover which could be either a two-way just like the Rogers or a three-way like the concerto and you could switch depending on how much noise you could make
I am unsure when the available technology, and cost crossed over into just profit versus sound. I watched such brands as Sansui be mutated into cheap nonsense. Today as an older person I respect the author's intent. I currently run and maintain some Infinity Kappa 9's paired to some IRS Beta's, these are from the late 80's, all have been refoamed, and are quite large. I even just looking at them more deeply understand their design. I did wonder at their looks. Thanks for the review, if you want great audio, just pick what you like.
Would be nice to try this the other way and analyse the speaker before you know how it is built. Can analyse it after as well... but I feel like knowing how the speaker is built is going to make you listen for certain things so you have a preconceived idea of what you're expecting to hear.
@@stereoreviewx no, I have a pair of Mordaunt Short MS55Ti connected to a Quad 405 receiving from a ADI-2 DAC. Was drawn in by the fact you were reviewing some MS speakers.
Vintage 70´s speakers forever ! I tried to adopt "modern" ultraquick small enclosure speakers just to see if im missing out on my usual old speakers , and got disappointed every time. What they gain in pace they lose big time in just every other way compared. They all sound flat and boring to me as well as sometimes too forward and "in you face" kind of sonic presentation. As if they where made to measure good but in reality they dont play well. They dont evoke any emotions at all except amazement for how little has happend in speaker development
I love those mid sized old school speakers. Music I listen to is more detail and not so much thump. Van the man included in the rap, awesome. Keep swinging man.
High kalvin i had a set and just couldn't live with the slow mediocre sound, i paired them with several amps, Sansui 441,551, Creek cas 4040, Denon pma 1080R, even my beloved recapped Sansui AU 505 couldn't bring out the emotion of my best recordings. Dont get me wrong these MS 400's are pretty neat sounding transducers, Front ends used were Ariston Rd11s with infinity black widow plus gold numbered ADC XLM mkii, my modified Lenco l75 with Denon DL103 performed better. To cut a long story short i let the MS 400's go and purchased a set of Canton GLE 70 loudspeakers, much much better. I blame your channel for my vintage hifi addiction.😂😂
Canton speakers have a completely different sound signature, compared to possibly any vintage british manufacturer. If you are into that sound, search which manufacturers followed the "Taunus Sound" philosophy. That's the german area where most german Hi Fi equipment is (or was) designed and made. They used to do awesome drivers (Isophon, Philips, some Peerless too), but the way they put them together resulted in a different sound than say the one you find on old bextrene Kefs and so on.
They sound really fast and detailed with tight bass when Ben Newland gets his hands on them . The original speakers are just his raw materials for transformation ,no new drivers are needed though .
