big drivers: alternatives to tannoys and Yams?

picked these up recently:


don't look too promising but I've not had bass like it at home; well controlled and satisfying. Following straight after some Rogers LS7t did miss the mids though and that the leaves the top a bit thin and characterless.

So, standard recommendation for big drivers seems to be Tannoy or Yamaha, but what else is there? Kefkit 3s are now re-installed at home which remind me on a daily basis that boxy colouration really does niggle. And looking in the <£200 try the type to see how I get on category (in the way that the LS7 was a relatively cheap way of trying a big box BBC sound).

 

how big is big?

10" - I've been very impressed with my IPL STL5's. A 3 way, with a 10", a dome mid, and a morel tweeter. If you're a patient man, I'll be selling them when I build a new speaker in a couple of months, or they are available as a kit of course.

They sound great, and plenty of bass.

If you want a 12" or 15", without spending very large sums I'd look at a pair of Tannoy Lancasters. 15", a grandish, and you can build bigger cabs for the drivers in the future if you want. They do need a tweeter over the top I think though, so you may want to budget £300 or so for supertweeters unless you have them.

A pair of JBL 250ti's can be had for circa £1,500. That is a 4 way, with a 14" bass cone. You'll need a big room for these. The jubilee edition is better still.

If you want more sound-wise, you'll need deeper pockets IMO...

Above you have a sub 1k reccomendation, £1k-£1300 and £1.5k plus shipping - all on the used market.

Sub £700 ish... somewhat of a struggle to get speakers with decent bass drivers for that kind of money..(I mean 10" or above)...... and no, personally I don't think 2 or 3 little drivers on a narrow baffle equals one big one...

All of which, just my opinion

 

I'd been looking at the IPLs - with the ribbon tweeter as it now is (I think).
Couple of things had put me off slightly - I think it may have been you that said the bass really does need some welly (sound plausible?) and also that they err on the fun side rather than the refined side - not a bad thing, just different flavours.

Is there anything in the 'toe-dipping' category with JBL? does older get cheaper? Room is 4.5 x 8m

 

JBL 4311 & 4312 are fun - if not delivering exactly BBC levels of accuracy ;-)
Big old Spendors such as BCII & BCIII are well worth investigating.

 

JBL's L100's are great fun, if you're lucky L200, L300's crop up occasionally too. They kick ass, though will be as un Rogers as you can get

 

L100 is essentially the domestic version of the 4311 IIRC. A fine if rather characterful speaker. Wonderful for dub and jazz.
Go back far enough and you'll find plenty of interesting speakers that are rather large by modern standards and go for very little money. They're not ALL good, however.

 

Presumably there is a point at which a speaker is past it's best but still recognisably that which it once was (soundwise), and another at which it really is in need of attention - either to cross over parts or drivers - to sound close to the way it was intended.

Are there rules of thumb on this?

 

Correct Joel-with some xover tweaks I think.
Rule of thumb-foam surrounds go after about 15 years, Some older xover caps also benefit from a swapout, Spares for some are unobtainable, Alnico drivers that have been hammered can need a remag but that's about it as far as I can think.

 

I got a pair of mint JBL L250's for about £450 on eBay last year. http://www.audioheritage.org/html/profiles/jbl/l250.htm
Be patient and you'll get something. The UK is probably one of the best place to get JBL's cheap IMO.

Someone missed a real deal on this system with JBL 120Ti's (one owner and mint according to seller).http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....m=150257197909&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=005

The 120Ti's are worth the Final Price of £420 alone - a classic 3-way design that deserves to come back into fashion.

 

I guess you could add Klipsch to the list. Not sure how often they turn up in the UK?

 

I've seen Heresy's occasionally on fleabay though not looked for a while, always found them tempting.....didn't someone on here have a pair?

 

I think eBay is your best hunting ground for large woofer semi-vintage gear.

No one seems to want wide baffles speakers anymore so go for it!

 

Hi Andy

You did amazingly with those 250's. You'd be hard pressed to get another pair under a grand.

Coda - the IPL's definately need a good amp for their bass to sound good. I wouldnt describe them as unrefined - more refined than my old Living Voice Avatars for example. If you have a small amp, not a good choice though.

 

I've got pair, and TonyL bought some recently. Very nice they are too. Won't be buying any more speakers I don't think

 

A double negative...

 

bottleneck - I'll keep them in mind, would you drop me a pm when the time comes?

I do like the look of the L250 though.

On a slightly different tack, didn't Spendor make some big boxes (300mm drivers?).

And browsing the bay; what are these JBLs:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....m=220248771582&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=012

(no intention of bidding btw)

 

Hi I've put a bid in but not likely to go any higher-feel free collection could be a pain in the petrol tank..

 

See BCII and BCIII. Also LS5/9 and Harbeth M40

4311s and in need of a good refoam by the looks of them.

 

Oops, sorry. L100 Century. Easy mistake to make...

 

M40 - new car first!

BCIII then SA3 then S100 then SP100 seems to be the lineage - are they all a logical progression (sound wise) from the BC1?