old nice speakers?

Guys,

Very quick question: just moved and now have the luxury of a study room!
As such, I'm thinking of using my pc as source, through an old amp and speakers... haven't got the amp or the speakers yet, but was thinking perhaps you guys could help me with some options.

I listen to classical and acoustic most often. Will probably hear some internet radio too.

My thought was to get something old and cheap that would be good value for money and more than adequate for the job. Any ideas? Don't want to spend more than a couple of hundred quid or less if possible. Thinking old and nice...

Saw on ebay a pair of Monitor Audio R100s... Anyone knows this item? Would it be an option?

Your help greatly appreciated.
Thanks all!

Jack

 

The older B&W 800 matrix are cheap as chips,from about £300 - 1000 for the 805-802.

 

Hi Jack

How about a pair of Spendor BC1 monitors? They can be bought for 100 to 250 pounds depending on condition. BC1s are very neutral with transparent midrange. They are a true classic.

The bass can be a bit loose, but adding a 3 inch diameter port and some foam inside the port will tame it.

If you don't like them, you will be able to sell them without a loss.

Regards
Hon

 

Ive recently been blown away by older vintage gear. I was criminally ignorant of some of the products that are out there, that pee all over new products that are 5 times their price.

Its not just that they are used, some brands seem to have drifted into inobscurity and the prices you can get them for bear no relation to what they do.

Theres still loads of older vintage stuff that I havent heard - I'm 1/5 of the way up a steep learning curve!.

These would be cracking in anyone's study.. https://www.audio-forums.com/as-rediect/showthread.php?t=5852&highlight=jr149
Can be had anywhere from 100 quid+ depending on condition

Theres some other good reccomendations on that thread too.

For the amp, how about a powerhouse receiver - complete with VU meters and radio?

Im not the guy to ask on which model to look for though.

For other decent vintage amps the ''vintage'' page on the hifi world website is brilliant I think.. www.hifiworld.co.uk

 

Jim Rogers JR149 speakers

I agree that the JR149 speakers designed by Jim Rogers are very good. The midrange is superb and there is more bass than the BBC LS35a monitors which use the same B110 and T27 drivers.

It will be very nice to find a pair for 100 pounds nowadays. Sellers usually put them in ebay auction where the price varies from 150 to 350 pounds. A few years ago, they fetched nearly 400 pounds in ebay!

Regards
Hon

 

Ive got a tatty pair (on loan, not mine) from the Emporium that are up for 149. One needs a new piece of speaker grille material is all thats wrong.

I dont really want anyone to buy this pair though!

 

Someone's just put up a link to this amazing looking product -

http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/t-amp_e.html

I thought it relevant to this thread.

It wouldnt be a good match for the JR149's though, which are power hungry. Its so cheap though, you'd have room to splash on a pair of efficient mini monitors on the used market.

Worth thinking about.

 

You can make a tatty pair look really good. Rub down the top wood with some fine sand paper and clean the dirt off, then use some Danish oil to return the wooden tops to their former glory. The bottom metal covers can be sprayed black by any car bodywork company or by yourself. Replacement foam grille can be bought from Graham Hartle [email protected]. You can read Graham's JR149 webpage http://www.jr149.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/JR 149.htm

Regards
Hon

 

Thank you very much for the tips, guys.
Bottleneck, I will have a more detailed look at the pages you suggested. That amp seems amazingly cheap (the one on ebay). Has anyone tried it? Maybe it is another little hidden wonder, like the DAC Michael found there...

I assume none of you heard of the MA RD100 or don't rate it at all. Only asked cause I saw a pair on ebay and it seemed very cheap.

I'll keep you posted on my findings. Have a bit more research to do first...

Jack

 

Jack,

If you are looking for some nice speakers I have a pair of Spendor SP2's I'm about to put on Ebay.
Cosmetically they're about 8/10 with slight marking on the top and some dings on the edges. Acoustically they are perfect. Superb on vocals, classical & jazz but can rock with the best of them. I've replaced them with Spendor SP7's.

I'd be hopeful of getting £250-300 on Ebay . If this is within your price range PM me and I'll send you some pics

 

I think you need the 3R's: Royds, Ruarks or Rega Elas

 

I'd look for some nice Monitor Audio 7's or 9's. They polish up a treat too.

 

I remember the JR149s from the first time round - they were a curiosity and often worked best with the matching sub-woofer. I have to say that you'd be much better off with one of the mould-breaking speakers from the '80s - Mission 770s, Spendor BC1s or Kef 104.2s.

I would also look out for older Tannoy dual concentric speakers - they weren't rated by the hifi press at the time, but they always sounded great and in some ways were ahead of their time.

Flying Red

 

la toilette

I generally concur with the Spendor BC1/BC2 opinions, although I personally prefer the Rogers Studio 1 which was based approximately on the BC1 - much better bass control and if a bass driver dies on a BC1 (which is not that uncommon) you're really gonna struggle to replace it.
Old Tannoys are wonderful also, but prices are high - if you want relatively small cabs avoid IIILZ's, go for Eatons or SRM10b's if you can find them.

 

'I would also look out for older Tannoy dual concentric speakers - they weren't rated by the hifi press at the time, but they always sounded great and in some ways were ahead of their time.'

Whaaaat? Tannoy dual concentrics have been used in all famous recording studios and broadcast studios around the entire globe since the 50's! The only Tannoys that have received bad press were the HPD's with their foam surrounds that decay with age (still sound as good as Monitor Golds when working correctly). Some of the models like the DC lot from th e80's/90's have pretty nasty plastic veneer and cheap looking chipboard cabs, but still sound pretty good. All the professionla studio models are fantastic.

The rule with Tannoys is the older and bigger the better, IMHO.

 

The BC1 appeared in 1969! Shows just how far ahead of their time they were.

 

Precisely. I remember reading reviews in the HiFi press at the time which dismissed Tannoys as being "over bright - ideal for monitoring in the studio, but not the best in a domestic setting."

Whenever I listened to them on dem, I always loved them; thus starting my scepticisim and distrust of the HiFi press.

FR

 

Guys, you are an amazing and humbling fountain of knowledge!

Andrew, thanks for the offer, it is a tad above my limit... as I want to get an old decent amp to go with the speakers as well...

I have been using an old pair of wharfedales at the moment, in the studio. They are the Linton 3XP (in case anyone heard of them). One of the tweeters seems to have packed up or at least one speaker sounds a lot brighter than the other... they are also quite chunky things so I will see if I can replace them without spending much.

I also thought perhaps a Creek 4040 or something like that would be a good cheap amp for the job? I am borrowing a Sansui AU-217 at the minute, which belongs to a friend of mine that is into monitor/recording studio stuff. It's an old amp but I imagine it comes from that lineage.

Cheers everyone!
Jack

 

A friend of mine has an old pair of Royd's, he even has the original 'K-type' stands for them. I know that he was recently talking about digging them out of storage and putting up on ebay.

The K-stands could do with a fresh coat of black paint (Hammerite would be great), but will have to check on the model number of the speakers he has and condition.

If interested send me a PM.

 

Jack,

If you are looking for a very good and inexpensive amp there are 2 QED A240CD's on Ebay at the moment (not mine!). They usually go for less than £40

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3280&item=5745680568&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3280&item=5746452554&rd=1

I bought one of these in 1986 after a good write up in one of the hi-fi rags. It's a little stunner. 40w into 8ohms and a moving magnet phono stage. Nice build quality as well.

I was planning to put mine on Ebay so dug it out for a listen to make sure it was OK. It's not going! I'll keep it as a backup.

Listening to "Mingus Ah Um" at the moment and very nice it is

Andrew