18 replies to this topic

[rancho_gordo]

I have great speakers but I have to confess they are from 1978 and very large and very ugly. They sound pretty great but I'm wondering if there have been any advancements in the last couple of years. I realize i was in high school when I bought these and maybe it's time to look into something new.
I don't need the volume I used to but clarity and depth are key.
WHere do you even buy this kind of thing now? Pacific Stereo closed years ago.
Help me, please.

[Stone]

I have Totem Hawks. They're excellent.

[AaronS]

I have ten year old Vandersteen's I'm pretty happy with, but the ones my Dad bought last year blow them out of the water. I used this site when I was considering replacing my CD player.

http://www.audiogon.com/

[Peter Creasey]

I have great speakers but I have to confess they are from 1978 and very large and very ugly.

Steve, I shudder to think of getting rid of my old L W Erath electronic speakers. Yes, vintage '60s or early '70s but still incredible.

[FoodDabbler]

It's hard to get around speaker size if you want good sound. No matter
what the improvements in technology, you need something that can create
sound waves that hit your eardrum in the precise way that's needed to seem
clear and deep and rich. It's essentially impossible to do that with small
speakers (although flat panel ones might be good, I am told, and will save
you a few inches of depth).

[Sneakeater]

I have 20-year-old Thiel 1.5s that aren't that big, and sound great.

They weren't that expensive 20 years ago. But I make no representations about the expense of their current iteration.

I also have no idea what the current iteration sounds like. (Their inventor died a few years ago, and the company is still selling the final versions he came up with.)

[hollywood]

I have great speakers but I have to confess they are from 1978 and very large and very ugly. They sound pretty great but I'm wondering if there have been any advancements in the last couple of years. I realize i was in high school when I bought these and maybe it's time to look into something new.
I don't need the volume I used to but clarity and depth are key.
WHere do you even buy this kind of thing now? Pacific Stereo closed years ago.
Help me, please.

Not to answer your question, but bizarrely I was drving around the Valley the other day and came across a building (in Canoga Park approximately) that had the words "Pacific Stereo" painted on its exterior. It was the proverbial blast from the past.

eta: the building currently houses an auto repair shop.

[rancho_gordo]

I still have my pacific stereo receiver. it's waiting for me to hook up my turntable that needs a phono mag, whatever that is. I know it's essential but what is it?

Anyway, hooked up the hold speakers and god what a great sound compared to the crappy little bookshelf speakers I've had to make due with these last years. And they're so pretty! They compliment any decor!



That wood thing on top was for carpeted floors and helped defeat muffling. I tried them and with wood, it's too bright.

I do find myself short of cash as I buy this or that for my new place and I was thinking of holding off on new speakers. What can I do to better their look? Contact paper? Paint? the covers are hanging on by a thread but I can live with them. It's the pretend wood look i need help with. Spray paint them black?

without the cover:

[rancho_gordo]

I'm just noticing, it's upside down, isn't it?
this move is killing me.

[rancho_gordo]

Nostalgia.

[Sneakeater]

I strongly urge you not to spraypaint them or do anything to their exterior. It really risks affecting the sound.

[Sneakeater]

Is Phono Mag a magnetic cartridge (or an input/output line coming from a magnetic cartridge)?

[GordonCooks]

I have some vintage KEF 105s I use with my jazz system that still sound excellent.

I probably use my surround sound system in my media room for the most listening and it's just a middle of the road Klipsch setup - again, excellent and clear.

But the B&W bookshelf speakers I bought to replace my vintage, had in high school AR18's, are above and beyond.

[FoodDabbler]

My understanding of a phono mag is that it's a unit (or cartridge) that converts
the vibrations of your phonograph/turntable needle into electromagnetic signals
that can be fed to your receiver (or amplifier). It should be part of your turntable
already and the output from the turntable can be fed into the phono mag input
jack on the reciver. That jack is meant to accept low level signals, though, so
if your turntable does some pre-amplification on its own the phono mag jack
may not be the right one to use.

[rancho_gordo]

My understanding of a phono mag is that it's a unit (or cartridge) that converts
the vibrations of your phonograph/turntable needle into electromagnetic signals
that can be fed to your receiver (or amplifier). It should be part of your turntable
already and the output from the turntable can be fed into the phono mag input
jack on the reciver. That jack is meant to accept low level signals, though, so
if your turntable does some pre-amplification on its own the phono mag jack
may not be the right one to use.

ah ha! Good to know.

Sneakyeater sez

I strongly urge you not to spraypaint them or do anything to their exterior. It really risks affecting the sound.

Really? They're printed vinyl over what must be particle board. they are sooooo ugly.
What if I papered the front and back and just painted the sides and top?