@@57Techboy Yea, the 'the easing of tensions or strained relations' as relating to audio equipment. Sorry dude, but detent is the correct spelling, and the correct meaning in this case.
I sold hifi in the 70s and Everytime I see a piece that I sold so many memories and stories come to mind. If you ever want to do a segment with great stories from the 70s era, let me know.
the main guy on this channel NEVER talks about sound - he just talks about the looks and the feel of the piece...why is he in control of the conversation - just have him talk when we want to know if the buttons "look nice"
To be fair, sound is subjective and depends on a lot of factors such as room size, whether or not it has been treated, what amp is being used, what speakers are attached to the amp, among other things. It would be impossible to know the sound characteristics of every combination of components out there- too many variables. Also, there have been cases where speakers that sound great in one room sound terrible in another and vice versa
I love the treasure hunting videos. I got into Hi Fi in 1975 and subscribed to Stereo Review and these videos are like a trip down memory lane. Thanks!
Yes I did the same in the 70's. Stereo review was a great read, and I loved the album reviews they had. Without the internet, magazines the the way to go to obtain info on what you were interested. Warm nostalgia
@@FrancesScott-k2nWow! Who peed in your Cheerios today? I was in the Navy then and never seen a Circuit City until the 90s. Doesn't take much to set you off does it?
Fun Fact. You hear the guys talk about the l100 developers going to pioneer but some of those guys helped develop the Marantz HD88 witch as an amazing speaker that in my humble ears are better than the jbl and pioneer.
Kool vintage stuff, had a pioneer SX1280 and SX838 back in the day. Still have (4) Realistic Mach 1 speakers that I replaced the foam surrounds on that fell apart but still sound great with a 80's Technics receiver. Speakers back in the day had nice veneers and were like furniture. Most modern speakers are ugly black boxes.
This video gave me a lot of joy! My girl and I drove from MN to see the Twins take on the White Sox. The other main things we had to do were deciBel and Green Mill. Mission accomplished
14:26 I saw a demo of a driver that looked exactly like that driver, but just the driver by itself. He hooked it up without a crossover and I couldn't believe how good it sounded! Big drivers can ring like crazy and the strange features on the cone must have mitigated resonances really well. Whether it was the same type driver or just an amateur experiment, I don't know. But it definitely sounded good! 😅
Nice presentation guys! You dropped the ball with the AR MST speaker, however. MST stood for Miniature Studio Transducer, and it was conceived as a smaller, more portable version of the classic AR LST which stood for Laboratory Standard Transducer. Unlike the Bose 901s, the LST-MST were ment to be placed flat up aganst the wall, evenly radiating the sound in a 180 degree arc. Both of these fine speakers were far superior to the Bose 901s.
They dropped the ball because they are a bunch of kids with really zero knowledge of how a speaker or a receiver works. They just think it's "cool". It's pathetic and embarrassing and they are such narcissists that they aren't't even self aware. There's a reason Just Audio hires an old man for repair. These kids are simply hipsters. Wrong at least 12 times a day. Have you even seen their receiver reviews? "I don't even know what this knob is for". It's a cringe embarrassment but hey they are making money on sales clicks views and subscribes.
Reminds me of when I used to subscribe to Stereo Review Magazine. The 1st issue I got, the cover page showed a guy with a stack of receivers titled receivers war. I think it was from fall of 78.
I would love a room full of those vintage JBL speakers, even if they were just a talking point. I feel the same way about vintage Tannoy and Wharfedale - there is just something about the early JBL speakers with the grilles off.
On the JVC speaker, those bumps on the woofer cone are to prevent cone bending under high excursion. That "baffle thing" at the top of the speaker is a HORN. I am a bit surprised that you are vintage hifi guys and you don't know what a horn speaker is? Ever heard of Klipsch?
The bumps are for directivity control and were used by Harry Olson of RCA on the RCA LC-1 speaker. Read Olson's book "Acoustical Engineering" for an explanation and drawing. The book is free to read online. Olson knew everything.
Harry Olson was the audio engineering honcho at RCA and was the guy who came up with the bumps seen on the JVC woofer. The bumps were used on the RCA LC1-A coaxial driver used in RCA studio playback and monitor speakers. (There are photos of Elvis and Fritz Reiner listening to in studio playback over LC-1s.) The bumps were for directivity control. Olson's book "Acoustical Engineering" explains the bumps and has a drawing of the LC1-A. The book can be read online for free. If you ever get a chance to hear LC-1s take it; they are superb.
Back during the 1980s I had a JVS receiver with a separate Panasonic turntable and 2 large Pioneer speakers which had great sound also back then the best receivers came from West Germany at the time!
Lenny I disagree on you on the Marantz 2330B's silver face dial. I can see my Marantz 2330B's dial well in bright daylight and at night. Matter of fact its bight blue look at night makes me love my Marantz 2330B. Just Audio did a bang up job upgrading my whole Marantz 2330B including LED's. All indicators are killer bright, clean and well defined. Maybe untouched Marantz 2330B's are hard to see but not mine. The silver on silver Marantz 2330B look reminds me of the clean industrial design of my beloved Hitachi SR-2004. I'm a metal head in that I love the all metal look of vintage monster receivers. For me in descending order it's silver metal faces, layout, lighting, VU Meters, illuminated indicators, buttons, knobs and maybe digital analog that entice me.
I think the reason they made those circular bumps on the woofers was for rigidity. It was like ridged or folded material. It provides extra material in the same space. The circles theory would be too keep waves of distortion from running in a straight line. That's my take on it.
100% for rigidity. Bass is non directional. They can use a thinner material that moves faster because it has less mass, then strengthen it and keep it from losing shape when in motion by making 45 degree bends in the flat surface witch terminate in a circular pattern. Some subwoofers do the same thing but use blocky patterns.
Exactly. 'Cone breakup' is the flexing of the cone itself - a result of being driven from their center via the voice coil, and not around the perimeter. So the cones are not being driven uniformly across their entire surface from center to edge. Stiffening the cone is implemented to compensate for this. Some manufacturers use aluminum, ceramic and other stiff yet lightweight materials to achieve the same result without deforming the surface of the cone. A 'pistonic' motion is a theoretical ideal.
14:18 its called a wave guide and it makes a major difference. weather you want it that wide in home theater is debatable.. thats more of a outdoor wave guide...that top wave guide is probably threaded and can be changed with something much smaller
being a lot older than you, I remember when much of this stuff came on the market. I read about some of it all in Stereo Review. A heads upon those AR speakers. They were VERY highly rated when new. AR was as well known as Bose and had been so for longer than Bose. Also...mentioning that AR speaker and Bose 901in the same sentence, would be irritating the engineers at AR terribly. Bose speakers were not taken seriously and were an irritant because of Bose marketing. They appealed (as today) to people who were not audiophiles but wanted their friends to think so. I have a friend who worked at AR in those days. There was quite a bit of distain for Bose...because of the snake oil marketing and lack of commitment to audio. AR's line of acoustic suspension speakers were the first loudspeakers with relatively flat response, extended bass, wide dispersion, small size, and reasonable cost.
I dip the midrange on my receivers/amps that have one. It's what my ears like, homies - like the "smile" EQ curve. I do it on the Sansui 881, AU-555A, etc. I have a SX-1010. It's awesome. Don't use it much as it's way too powerful.
I sell/flip lower to mid quality stuff in order to buy the better vintage. If it's over 80wpc and has a "mid" knob...it can stick around. Great selection at this store.
Most of this middle of the road stuff was sold at appliance stores or small mass market audio audio marts. There was better gear sold at high-end shops..if you could afford it!
Telling Spencer he doesn’t do speakers Lol ! Hey Spencer loving the La Scalas you demoed for me in March ! I totally thought the ARs were 901s at first glance.... Nice store! Thank you for sharing!
Strange, just went to their Website and it Shows None of the Equipment you just looked at? Hmmm maybe your Vid sold em out? Keep up the good work! You guys Rock.
I have a pair of AR-3a speakers from 1970. At the time they were advertised as "The Best Speaker We Know How to Make". At some point in the mid 1970s, they produced a new larger model Speaker that they called "The AR-LST". It had the same design as these AR-MST speakers you have but is was larger. It had similar drivers to the AR-3a, but I don't remember why it became the "new" Best Speaker We Know How to Make. It was more expensive and larger than the AR-3a but still had the 12 inch woofer. I had never heard of the MST, but it was probably a downsized version with a lower price. Except for the shape of the enclosure, they have NOTHING in common with the Bose 901s. One fascinating thing about the AR speaker line in the 1970s was how similar that sounded overall across the range of models. The main differences were better bass frequency coverage and better dispersion of the higher frequencies as the price and the size of the speaker increased. I have owned AR-4x, AR-6 and AR-7 models as well and still even have a pair of AR-3 models that are cosmetically in poor shape but still sound pretty good. They have original cloth surrounds that never crumbled like the foam surrounds do. My AR-3a set from the 70s had had the foam replaced twice but the latest fix is over 20 years old now and still fine. The foam before failed in about 12 years.
@@carlosoliveira-rc2xt No, I was happy with the AR-3a speakers. However, I have read that the AR-9 was an extremely good speaker. Other excellent AR speakers I have heard but never owned are the AR-2ax, and the AR-5. The AR-5 was identical to the AR-3a except it had a ten inch woofer and was not as deep in the bass response.
@@batvette AR speakers actually had a very similar sound across the entire line. The main difference was performance at the low end and dispersion of the high frequencies. At some point after the Teledyne acquisition, the quality nosedived but they were great in the early years.
The 901 was a completely different type of speaker to the AR MST, which was simply a smaller version of the AR LST and not at all influenced by the 901's shape. Also the Bose 901 was a very unconventional design that used 9 (I think) of the same small drive units firing rearwards!
Probably around the time those were produced, the same cabinet company made cabinets for both AR and Bose and a few others. This was around the mid 70's when Bose was located in Natick Mass. One of my friends drove a shuttle van for Bose to the cabinet company when the only speaker was the 901 series one. He ended up retiring from Bose after more than 40 years.
LXI is the Sears house brand. Not bad.. made by Sanyo I think. Friend of mine's parents had a set of LXI separates in the early 80s.. amp was 75 wpc.. it took a lot of abuse from us at very high volumes when his parents were out.
Literally everyone I encounter at work likes a good tuner and literally no one outside of my work even knows that radio even exists. I enjoy it when it's done right but it's rarely done right anymore.
Pioneer 50 vs. 80. Hands-down the 50 wins. 80 had VU meters, but cheapened components... but still BOTH were and still are EXCELLENT! I KNOW what power they made... don't need affirmation from meters! My ears "get it". And as for the Marantz 2330B: I had 3 of them and on all the FM drifted as the set warmed-up. I have never experienced that with any other Marantz and I've had many: 2010, 2226B, 2230, 2270, 2275, 2252B, 2325, 2500 and 4400. 2110, 2120 and 2130 Tuners as well. As for Pioneer vs. Marantz: Bass is much more natural and abundant on Marantz. Pioneers seem lacking in lower frequencies. Also the Marantz tuners were far behind Pioneer until they discovered the core magic that Pioneer did to get the hottest tuners of the time. Once discovered Marantz caught up quickly starting with the 1976 units beyond. Today that's probably not an issue, but I lived in a mountain community with multipath and signal strength issues... so I chose sets largely on FM performance while many couldn't care less. It's good to see you younger guys appreciate the stuff I grew up with! Keep educating and keep vintage audio alive! As for "then" vs. "now"... I'm sure the claims made by audio manufacturers are no different than back then. Bigger, POWER, MORE, MORE! Might I suggest you watch the Movie "Ruthless People"... as part of it shows a Stereo Shop salesman and some of the "ethics" surrounding the industry at the time.
Hi Guys loved all those Recievers they are beautiful to look at but over here in the UK Am/Fm radio is absolutely rubbish so you are better off buying a vintage amplifier & adding a Dab Tuner. It's always great to Watch your videos many thanks.
I lived through all those Receivers. They all lacked power and 4 ohms or lower would put them into protection if not make them smoke. Also push button (big clunky push switches) source selectors always came off as cheap. Being most are using external amps the power in the receiver is just bypassed so should almost no longer be an issue.
Remember the old SAE stuff? Man, I LUSTED after that in the '80's! The place I bought my Nakamichi BX-300 and B&O Beogram 5500 (that I'm now trying to sell) from in the mid-'80's had some, and had the brochures and dreamed of owning some of that gear. Never could afford it though as a teenager/early-20's kid. Now that I can afford it, it seems they no longer exist. I'm currently lusting after an NAD M28 to drive the 7 Focal Chora 826's in my home theater.
@@LennyFlorentine got it thanks i know exactly where they are located!! hey you guys should have a show on cable like pickers! it would be a smash hit!!
Let's talk about warranty, maybe i didn't hear y'all talking about it, but since these items are "vintage" do y'all offer some sort of warranty or offer component fix or upgrades? like cap changes or tech service? Im sure offering some sort of tech repair or service would be ideal and something folks would be interested in. Thanks!
Those dimples have nothing to do with room standing waves. It’s come from very early RCA studio monitor speakers and more to do with reducing cone breakup.
Re: JVC speaker with lumpy (RCA LC-1) woofers . . . RCA LC-1 drive-unit Availability: poor Serviceability: good Price range: moderately high Imagine a 15" coaxial drive-unit that's so well engineered it doesn't require an electrical crossover between its low- and high-frequency halves. Such a thing exists, albeit in relative obscurity: the RCA LC-1. Introduced in 1947 as the MI-11411, this full-range driver was described by RCA as a "duo-cone" unit-its low- and high-frequency diaphragms had separate voice-coils and separate alnico V magnets-with a high-compliance suspension, a stated frequency range of 25Hz-16kHz, and an acoustical crossover centered at 1600Hz. Notably, the MI-11411 and its progeny were the first speakers to use Kapton voice-coil formers, for enhanced power handling-thanks to the prescience of designer Harry F. Olson, who also invented RCA's iconic 44-A and 77-A microphones. “Four versions in all were made: The LC-1a, LC-1b, and LC-1c are all distinguished from their progenitor by the addition to the bass cone of seven semi-ovoid "acoustic domes" that add a bit of desired mass to the cone, in addition to deflecting the output of the high-frequency driver-the latter effect enhanced by the addition of a stationary two-lobe deflector, referred to in vintage circles as the "butterfly." According to Early Bender, "This brainchild of RCA's brilliant and eccentric Dr. Harry Olson may be the midrange champ among 15" titans." He added that the LC-1 was perhaps the one speaker among his recommendations that received the greatest engineering effort. Jonathan Weiss agrees, adding that the LC-1 is, alongside the Åber-rare Eckmiller, the only time-correct coaxial driver. Asked to describe its sound in a single word, Weiss added, without hesitation, "It's right." RCA produced their own enclosures for pro and domestic LC-1 applications, including the LS-1 wall-mount cabinet and the Olson-designed LS-11 floorstanding cabinet. Weiss says that a previously unpublished Olson design for an LC-1 corner horn has recently come to light; he expects to produce that enclosure before long. - Art Dudley, Stereophile
👍🏽👍🏽🔥🔥Outstanding and cool video , I m curious about LXI receiver , because I only remember them having radios and smaller shelve systems, wasn’t that manufactured for Sears dept stores? I can attest to the pioneer sx1010/ sx939 performance they were superb 74’-76’ , pioneer x2x series were I think 72’-74’
I'm glad vintage stuff is so sought after now, I have a Nakamichi BX-300 and B&O Beogram 5500 I've had since new but have been retired and put in their original boxes since 2013, that I want to sell. I really just want them to go to a good home since I haven't used them in a long time. I enjoyed them for decades, someone else should now. I had an old Pioneer receiver similar to the one in the opening segment but 45wpc, and had a set of those KLH speakers I got from my parents (as part of their set) too. Brings back memories of my first foray into music/hifi.
Panasonic is 18wpc, they had that line & silverface version that was 25 wpc (sa 6700 with cassette) (SA 6800 had 8-track). Look up the sb 1800 thrusters cause they where gorgeous! I have had 3 sets... 1/2" cabs with a 10"woofer/passive and a tweeter. I "upgraded one set with a nice woofer/tweeter and they absolutely thumped!!! 60wpc from factory
WOW ~ Talk about a Flashback in the 70s I had the Pioneer SA-9100 with a pair of JBL L100 and I thought what more could I ask for ~ Then I found a man who owned a pair of Quad 57 and the model 2 tube amp and pre amp who had a wife in Beverly Hills who hated the way the old copper grills looked so we made a trade for them ~ Talk about lucky ~ She thought the foam grills on the JBL's looked so modern ~ Fast forward ~ I still own the Quads ~
LXI was the Sears store label. The guy made a fuss about it, but they were lower quality and made by someone for Sears and are not an actual manufacturer. It would be interesting to know who made it, similar to Realistic sold by Radio Shack.
I tried starting a vintage Pioneer collection, but the 50 and 80 lines have gone up in price within the last several years. And that's just the lower to mid models. Imagine my shock when I saw how much the 650 goes for these days, SMH.
I went Hitachi...an SR-903 (mint for $134), another SR-903 (EXC after a deep cleaning, $115) and a pristine and FULLY (professionally) revised SR-503L for $120. The last unit was purchased for the office as my "spare" 903 is a tad too big. Excellent vintage look with sublime sound...and the SR-903's have some serious power too (Class-G amp technology). I am staying away from the Marantz, Pioneer, Sansui "tax" given the current market. No regrets.
@@jb678901 The Pioneer-Marantz-Sansui trifecta has become too expensive to obtain these days. I came out better getting good deals on vintage Yamaha, Kenwood and Harman Kardon.
Man, I love that timbre in the Ned right above it but I do have that pine or 9100 along with the matching toner that’s in the same bad condition picked it up at a pawnshop in Baton Rouge Louisiana three months ago but man I’ve got to make a trip up to that audio store because there’s a lot of stuff that I would buy
OK, "detent" steps on the controls. They aren't "VU;s". "Volume Units" - VU meters are specified to have very tight measurement displays. 0 VU is 0.773 volts @ 600 ohms. They do not respond to Peaks, but to a specified average. They have intention slow needle movement to allow reading in bad conditions. So will not display peak output of a power amp. Just because they are analog needle meters does not mean they are VU. And you would not want VU on an amp output. The AR MST's, are designed to be actual book self speakers. They were designed to be against the wall and load to it! And it is an insult to associate them in any way with the Bose 901! Nothing in any way similar. AR used appropriate sized drivers to create a smooth extended response with increased efficiency by wall loading. 901s crammed a bunch of one sized drivers and massive electronic EQ to get them even close to flat. The fascination with HiFi from back in the day can get quite humorous at times. Like when my youngest son showed up with a pair of "Fischer Speakers, they must be good because they were from back then!". What pieces of crap they were. But the name and being old was all he needed. Till I made him get them out of my basement where he was taking up my space!
Yeah speakers from the seventies were not all that good. Not like the receivers and amplifiers and 8-track players and turntables. Of course there is exceptions when it comes to good speakers from the but the majority was just Kabuki
@@danielknepper6884 Not at all my point or the facts. Those horrible JBL L-100s? Klipsch Cornerhorns? Maggie MGIII, Daulquist DQ10, Large Advent, KLH, ... ??? There is a reason these are coming back out. My point was that just because it was from some name and from back in the day does not guarantee it. I think Jensen owned Fischer by then and the stuff was crap. He just assumed....
The vintage gear is nice to look at but belongs in a museum. This old audio is fragile and can break at any time. I was playing my old Sansui 9090 with my vintage Sansui speakers and a woofer failed taking out my Sansui receiver. It’s now going to cost a lot of money to try to fix it.
Looks Bad to the Bone...with one exception...that being the Echo...lol. Add some Defusers hanging from that concrete cieling and add a carpet. The knotches are called Detints. Sx-990 Rocks...
Hello Spencer & Captain Sub: THE JUST AUDIO CREW INVADES CHICAGO !!!!! My best wishes to you all & please be safe, your loyal subscriber and customer. TMP from N.J. The wide horn / tweeter defuses the higher frequencies for more precise off axis listening. !!!!!!😊😊😊😊
jesus - they still have half of the same gear they did when I was there 5 years ago. not sure how the can stay in business like that - or with their prices.
I think that the "notch" is called a detent.
yes thats correct
Actually you’re missing an “e”. Detente is the word your looking for.
@@57Techboy Yea, the 'the easing of tensions or strained relations' as relating to audio equipment.
Sorry dude, but detent is the correct spelling, and the correct meaning in this case.
@@oddeohdood7511 I was raised in a bilingual family. Excuse my French. I’ve always pronounced à la Française with the e at the end.
Stepping
I sold hifi in the 70s and Everytime I see a piece that I sold so many memories and stories come to mind. If you ever want to do a segment with great stories from the 70s era, let me know.
the main guy on this channel NEVER talks about sound - he just talks about the looks and the feel of the piece...why is he in control of the conversation - just have him talk when we want to know if the buttons "look nice"
To be fair, sound is subjective and depends on a lot of factors such as room size, whether or not it has been treated, what amp is being used, what speakers are attached to the amp, among other things. It would be impossible to know the sound characteristics of every combination of components out there- too many variables. Also, there have been cases where speakers that sound great in one room sound terrible in another and vice versa
I love how they did those long, bracket-less shelves !!! Must be holding 6 tons of vintage iron each, great store ! 👍🏼
I love the treasure hunting videos. I got into Hi Fi in 1975 and subscribed to Stereo Review and these videos are like a trip down memory lane. Thanks!
I know the feeling!
Yes I did the same in the 70's. Stereo review was a great read, and I loved the album reviews they had. Without the internet, magazines the the way to go to obtain info on what you were interested. Warm nostalgia
Really ..if you were a subscriber since then then you are lying or missed it because all the gear that is shown could be seen in circut city ....
@@FrancesScott-k2nWow! Who peed in your Cheerios today? I was in the Navy then and never seen a Circuit City until the 90s. Doesn't take much to set you off does it?
I still have all the Marantz gear that I bought in the 70s...great to see young gents into the hobby.
Thanks!
Most everything I own I bought on ebay and reverb. I have never sold any of my equipment.
Fun Fact. You hear the guys talk about the l100 developers going to pioneer but some of those guys helped develop the Marantz HD88 witch as an amazing speaker that in my humble ears are better than the jbl and pioneer.
Is your gear multivoltage?
The NAD is the classiest thing on the shelf.
Kool vintage stuff, had a pioneer SX1280 and SX838 back in the day. Still have (4) Realistic Mach 1 speakers that I replaced the foam surrounds on that fell apart but still sound great with a 80's Technics receiver. Speakers back in the day had nice veneers and were like furniture. Most modern speakers are ugly black boxes.
luv Mach ones
driver adjustments built into the speakers was (primarily) intended for setting to the room's acoustic.
I liked the Yamaha's of that period because you not only had a loudness feature but often an adjustable loudness knob/range as well
Those humps on the woofer, like the ridges on the Polk ones, are probably for stiffness, to prevent cone breakup.
This video gave me a lot of joy! My girl and I drove from MN to see the Twins take on the White Sox. The other main things we had to do were deciBel and Green Mill. Mission accomplished
Green Mill - good call. What a throw-back joint. Really cool.
The JVC is imitating (poorly) the amazing RCA LC-1A which had a coaxial driver and the bumps acted as a kind of phase plug.
14:26 I saw a demo of a driver that looked exactly like that driver, but just the driver by itself. He hooked it up without a crossover and I couldn't believe how good it sounded! Big drivers can ring like crazy and the strange features on the cone must have mitigated resonances really well. Whether it was the same type driver or just an amateur experiment, I don't know. But it definitely sounded good! 😅
Hard to believe a 2230 sells for $800 now. I saw one person asking $2800. Who knew a 30 watt/ch receiver would ever climb that high?
Nice presentation guys! You dropped the ball with the AR MST speaker, however. MST stood for Miniature Studio Transducer, and it was conceived as a smaller, more portable version of the classic AR LST which stood for Laboratory Standard Transducer. Unlike the Bose 901s, the LST-MST were ment to be placed flat up aganst the wall, evenly radiating the sound in a 180 degree arc. Both of these fine speakers were far superior to the Bose 901s.
They dropped the ball because they are a bunch of kids with really zero knowledge of how a speaker or a receiver works. They just think it's "cool". It's pathetic and embarrassing and they are such narcissists that they aren't't even self aware.
There's a reason Just Audio hires an old man for repair. These kids are simply hipsters. Wrong at least 12 times a day. Have you even seen their receiver reviews? "I don't even know what this knob is for".
It's a cringe embarrassment but hey they are making money on sales clicks views and subscribes.
Oh yeah, they'd smoke the 901s all around, I've never heard a real AR (not Teledyne) I didn't love.
Reminds me of when I used to subscribe to Stereo Review Magazine. The 1st issue I got, the cover page showed a guy with a stack of receivers titled receivers war. I think it was from fall of 78.
I love watching you turn knobs! Flicking switches whatever. I do it myself.
Great stuff there! Thanks for the video guys.
I would love a room full of those vintage JBL speakers, even if they were just a talking point. I feel the same way about vintage Tannoy and Wharfedale - there is just something about the early JBL speakers with the grilles off.
On the JVC speaker, those bumps on the woofer cone are to prevent cone bending under high excursion. That "baffle thing" at the top of the speaker is a HORN. I am a bit surprised that you are vintage hifi guys and you don't know what a horn speaker is? Ever heard of Klipsch?
The bumps are for directivity control and were used by Harry Olson of RCA on the RCA LC-1 speaker. Read Olson's book "Acoustical Engineering" for an explanation and drawing. The book is free to read online. Olson knew everything.
You guys are like three geeks in a candy store. If I was there, I would be geek number four. That place is awesome. A real time capsule.
Harry Olson was the audio engineering honcho at RCA and was the guy who came up with the bumps seen on the JVC woofer. The bumps were used on the RCA LC1-A coaxial driver used in RCA studio playback and monitor speakers. (There are photos of Elvis and Fritz Reiner listening to in studio playback over LC-1s.) The bumps were for directivity control. Olson's book "Acoustical Engineering" explains the bumps and has a drawing of the LC1-A. The book can be read online for free. If you ever get a chance to hear LC-1s take it; they are superb.
Back during the 1980s I had a JVS receiver with a separate Panasonic turntable and 2 large Pioneer speakers which had great sound also back then the best receivers came from West Germany at the time!
My dream speaker from that period? AR 9's!
I still listen to the radio.
Lenny I disagree on you on the Marantz 2330B's silver face dial. I can see my Marantz 2330B's dial well in bright daylight and at night. Matter of fact its bight blue look at night makes me love my Marantz 2330B. Just Audio did a bang up job upgrading my whole Marantz 2330B including LED's. All indicators are killer bright, clean and well defined. Maybe untouched Marantz 2330B's are hard to see but not mine. The silver on silver Marantz 2330B look reminds me of the clean industrial design of my beloved Hitachi SR-2004. I'm a metal head in that I love the all metal look of vintage monster receivers. For me in descending order it's silver metal faces, layout, lighting, VU Meters, illuminated indicators, buttons, knobs and maybe digital analog that entice me.
Great point wolf! Got something coming for you too!
Super clean looking stuff!
I think the reason they made those circular bumps on the woofers was for rigidity. It was like ridged or folded material. It provides extra material in the same space. The circles theory would be too keep waves of distortion from running in a straight line. That's my take on it.
100% for rigidity. Bass is non directional. They can use a thinner material that moves faster because it has less mass, then strengthen it and keep it from losing shape when in motion by making 45 degree bends in the flat surface witch terminate in a circular pattern. Some subwoofers do the same thing but use blocky patterns.
Exactly. 'Cone breakup' is the flexing of the cone itself - a result of being driven from their center via the voice coil, and not around the perimeter. So the cones are not being driven uniformly across their entire surface from center to edge. Stiffening the cone is implemented to compensate for this. Some manufacturers use aluminum, ceramic and other stiff yet lightweight materials to achieve the same result without deforming the surface of the cone. A 'pistonic' motion is a theoretical ideal.
@@oddeohdood7511 thank you for coming up with the word I could not summon - cone breakup.
14:18 its called a wave guide and it makes a major difference. weather you want it that wide in home theater is debatable.. thats more of a outdoor wave guide...that top wave guide is probably threaded and can be changed with something much smaller
being a lot older than you, I remember when much of this stuff came on the market. I read about some of it all in Stereo Review. A heads upon those AR speakers. They were VERY highly rated when new. AR was as well known as Bose and had been so for longer than Bose. Also...mentioning that AR speaker and Bose 901in the same sentence, would be irritating the engineers at AR terribly. Bose speakers were not taken seriously and were an irritant because of Bose marketing. They appealed (as today) to people who were not audiophiles but wanted their friends to think so. I have a friend who worked at AR in those days. There was quite a bit of distain for Bose...because of the snake oil marketing and lack of commitment to audio.
AR's line of acoustic suspension speakers were the first loudspeakers with relatively flat response, extended bass, wide dispersion, small size, and reasonable cost.
I listen to the radio, holy crap! FM stereo still sounds great to me. Try it on a 881, 7070, etc.
I’ll take the NAD, thank you.
I dip the midrange on my receivers/amps that have one. It's what my ears like, homies - like the "smile" EQ curve. I do it on the Sansui 881, AU-555A, etc.
I have a SX-1010. It's awesome. Don't use it much as it's way too powerful.
I sell/flip lower to mid quality stuff in order to buy the better vintage. If it's over 80wpc and has a "mid" knob...it can stick around. Great selection at this store.
Lot of magic here
Most of this middle of the road stuff was sold at appliance stores or small mass market audio audio marts. There was better gear sold at high-end shops..if you could afford it!
Telling Spencer he doesn’t do speakers Lol ! Hey Spencer loving the La Scalas you demoed for me in March !
I totally thought the ARs were 901s at first glance....
Nice store! Thank you for sharing!
Yeah we thought there were at first glance as well. Glad you are enjoying the La Scalas! Thanks for flying up to visit!!
I could spend hours in that place.
Strange, just went to their Website and it Shows None of the Equipment you just looked at? Hmmm maybe your Vid sold em out? Keep up the good work! You guys Rock.
I have a pair of AR-3a speakers from 1970. At the time they were advertised as "The Best Speaker We Know How to Make". At some point in the mid 1970s, they produced a new larger model Speaker that they called "The AR-LST". It had the same design as these AR-MST speakers you have but is was larger. It had similar drivers to the AR-3a, but I don't remember why it became the "new" Best Speaker We Know How to Make. It was more expensive and larger than the AR-3a but still had the 12 inch woofer. I had never heard of the MST, but it was probably a downsized version with a lower price. Except for the shape of the enclosure, they have NOTHING in common with the Bose 901s.
One fascinating thing about the AR speaker line in the 1970s was how similar that sounded overall across the range of models. The main differences were
better bass frequency coverage and better dispersion of the higher frequencies as the price and the size of the speaker increased. I have owned AR-4x, AR-6 and AR-7 models as well and still even have a pair of AR-3 models that are cosmetically in poor shape but still sound pretty good. They have original cloth surrounds that never crumbled like the foam surrounds do. My AR-3a set from the 70s had had the foam replaced twice but the latest fix is over 20 years old now and still fine. The foam before failed in about 12 years.
You never got a hold of an AR 9?
@@carlosoliveira-rc2xt
No, I was happy with the AR-3a speakers. However, I have read that the AR-9 was an extremely good speaker. Other excellent AR speakers I have heard but never owned are the AR-2ax, and the AR-5. The AR-5 was identical to the AR-3a except it had a ten inch woofer and was not as deep in the bass response.
I have a pair of AR-11s I picked up at goodwill. Nice, heavy speakers.
@@batvette AR speakers actually had a very similar sound across the entire line. The main difference was performance at the low end and dispersion of the high frequencies. At some point after the Teledyne acquisition, the quality nosedived but they were great in the early years.
I had ARE IN 1967 ALONG WITH THE TURNTABLE MY FIRST PURCHASE OF AUDIO IN BORON AFS CALIFORNIA
Any of you Guys heard of Sherwood Hifi if so what do you think of it ?
I have a technics amplifier SU-V5 from 82, how do I know how many watts it is? Or watts per channel?
I like all vintage integra stereo amplifiers brand. Good quality🙂👍
The 901 was a completely different type of speaker to the AR MST, which was simply a smaller version of the AR LST and not at all influenced by the 901's shape. Also the Bose 901 was a very unconventional design that used 9 (I think) of the same small drive units firing rearwards!
Probably around the time those were produced, the same cabinet company made cabinets for both AR and Bose and a few others. This was around the mid 70's when Bose was located in Natick Mass. One of my friends drove a shuttle van for Bose to the cabinet company when the only speaker was the 901 series one. He ended up retiring from Bose after more than 40 years.
LXI is the Sears house brand. Not bad.. made by Sanyo I think. Friend of mine's parents had a set of LXI separates in the early 80s.. amp was 75 wpc.. it took a lot of abuse from us at very high volumes when his parents were out.
I listen to my sansui 717 tuner at least once a week. So there are folks that still like terrestrial radio!
Literally everyone I encounter at work likes a good tuner and literally no one outside of my work even knows that radio even exists. I enjoy it when it's done right but it's rarely done right anymore.
Biggest mistake I ever made was to get rid of a pair of AR MST's - absolutely fabulous imaging and AR-style sound.
I’ve been to that store! Definitely a dope spot
Pioneer 50 vs. 80. Hands-down the 50 wins. 80 had VU meters, but cheapened components... but still BOTH were and still are EXCELLENT! I KNOW what power they made... don't need affirmation from meters! My ears "get it". And as for the Marantz 2330B: I had 3 of them and on all the FM drifted as the set warmed-up. I have never experienced that with any other Marantz and I've had many: 2010, 2226B, 2230, 2270, 2275, 2252B, 2325, 2500 and 4400. 2110, 2120 and 2130 Tuners as well. As for Pioneer vs. Marantz: Bass is much more natural and abundant on Marantz. Pioneers seem lacking in lower frequencies. Also the Marantz tuners were far behind Pioneer until they discovered the core magic that Pioneer did to get the hottest tuners of the time. Once discovered Marantz caught up quickly starting with the 1976 units beyond. Today that's probably not an issue, but I lived in a mountain community with multipath and signal strength issues... so I chose sets largely on FM performance while many couldn't care less.
It's good to see you younger guys appreciate the stuff I grew up with! Keep educating and keep vintage audio alive! As for "then" vs. "now"... I'm sure the claims made by audio manufacturers are no different than back then. Bigger, POWER, MORE, MORE! Might I suggest you watch the Movie "Ruthless People"... as part of it shows a Stereo Shop salesman and some of the "ethics" surrounding the industry at the time.
Prices looked very reasonable.
Hi Guys loved all those Recievers they are beautiful to look at but over here in the UK Am/Fm radio is absolutely rubbish so you are better off buying a vintage amplifier & adding a Dab Tuner. It's always great to Watch your videos many thanks.
Thanks Rob!
Wow some cool stuff. Those speakers with the weird looking woofers, I didn’t catch who they were made by?
A Bonehead.
Wearing a Black Rifle Coffee shirt in Chicago is just gold, Kudos.
trash
Back when equipment was designed to last
I lived through all those Receivers. They all lacked power and 4 ohms or lower would put them into protection if not make them smoke. Also push button (big clunky push switches) source selectors always came off as cheap. Being most are using external amps the power in the receiver is just bypassed so should almost no longer be an issue.
Smoked my Pioneer SX1280 twice many years ago, not impressed. Bought a Carver M500T amp. Turns off when gets too hot, not smoke like the SX1280.
🔥
If my wife ever approves of my Hi Fi choices, I'll know that I have officially failed and it's time to hang it all up.
Why do I never see any Phase Linear equipment in the used market? When I was shopping in the mid 70's thay were always in the "Best Sound Rooms".
A lot of people hang on to them
Remember the old SAE stuff? Man, I LUSTED after that in the '80's! The place I bought my Nakamichi BX-300 and B&O Beogram 5500 (that I'm now trying to sell) from in the mid-'80's had some, and had the brochures and dreamed of owning some of that gear. Never could afford it though as a teenager/early-20's kid. Now that I can afford it, it seems they no longer exist. I'm currently lusting after an NAD M28 to drive the 7 Focal Chora 826's in my home theater.
The notch you feel when turning a control know is called indentation.
I thought is was called Detent.
@tim h it my be. I remember when there were steps through out a control it was called step click indentation. Although my spelling may not be correct.
@tim h Google says indentation but it's not important.
@@mikedowdell-dl2ul Google lies, it's a detent.
@@kx8960 👍
I am from chicago and I would like to know the name and location of the vintage shop??
Decibel
@@LennyFlorentine got it thanks i know exactly where they are located!! hey you guys should have a show on cable like pickers! it would be a smash hit!!
The clicks on the knobs are called detents
Thrift store and garage sale Mid Fi, jacked up to pay the overhead.
The JVC speakers funky bass driver gives better dispersion is the word. but not really sure it works.
The model 18 and 19. The last of the Saul Marantz USA receivers. The rest of it is really just ok. Superscooe factory built units.
Let's talk about warranty, maybe i didn't hear y'all talking about it, but since these items are "vintage" do y'all offer some sort of warranty or offer component fix or upgrades? like cap changes or tech service? Im sure offering some sort of tech repair or service would be ideal and something folks would be interested in. Thanks!
Those dimples have nothing to do with room standing waves. It’s come from very early RCA studio monitor speakers and more to do with reducing cone breakup.
Interesting!
1:35 Its a detent.
SpeakerCraft is made for whole home audio. It’s a earlier automation amp.
surely something to cry over!!!
The notches on control s are called detents.
When the Spouse dies this is where she gets rid of his "stuff".
Re: JVC speaker with lumpy (RCA LC-1) woofers . . .
RCA LC-1 drive-unit
Availability: poor
Serviceability: good
Price range: moderately high
Imagine a 15" coaxial drive-unit that's so well engineered it doesn't require an electrical crossover between its low- and high-frequency halves. Such a thing exists, albeit in relative obscurity: the RCA LC-1.
Introduced in 1947 as the MI-11411, this full-range driver was described by RCA as a "duo-cone" unit-its low- and high-frequency diaphragms had separate voice-coils and separate alnico V magnets-with a high-compliance suspension, a stated frequency range of 25Hz-16kHz, and an acoustical crossover centered at 1600Hz. Notably, the MI-11411 and its progeny were the first speakers to use Kapton voice-coil formers, for enhanced power handling-thanks to the prescience of designer Harry F. Olson, who also invented RCA's iconic 44-A and 77-A microphones.
“Four versions in all were made: The LC-1a, LC-1b, and LC-1c are all distinguished from their progenitor by the addition to the bass cone of seven semi-ovoid "acoustic domes" that add a bit of desired mass to the cone, in addition to deflecting the output of the high-frequency driver-the latter effect enhanced by the addition of a stationary two-lobe deflector, referred to in vintage circles as the "butterfly."
According to Early Bender, "This brainchild of RCA's brilliant and eccentric Dr. Harry Olson may be the midrange champ among 15" titans." He added that the LC-1 was perhaps the one speaker among his recommendations that received the greatest engineering effort. Jonathan Weiss agrees, adding that the LC-1 is, alongside the Åber-rare Eckmiller, the only time-correct coaxial driver. Asked to describe its sound in a single word, Weiss added, without hesitation, "It's right."
RCA produced their own enclosures for pro and domestic LC-1 applications, including the LS-1 wall-mount cabinet and the Olson-designed LS-11 floorstanding cabinet. Weiss says that a previously unpublished Olson design for an LC-1 corner horn has recently come to light; he expects to produce that enclosure before long.
- Art Dudley, Stereophile
👍🏽👍🏽🔥🔥Outstanding and cool video , I m curious about LXI receiver , because I only remember them having radios and smaller shelve systems, wasn’t that manufactured for Sears dept stores? I can attest to the pioneer sx1010/ sx939 performance they were superb 74’-76’ , pioneer x2x series were I think 72’-74’
I'm glad vintage stuff is so sought after now, I have a Nakamichi BX-300 and B&O Beogram 5500 I've had since new but have been retired and put in their original boxes since 2013, that I want to sell. I really just want them to go to a good home since I haven't used them in a long time. I enjoyed them for decades, someone else should now. I had an old Pioneer receiver similar to the one in the opening segment but 45wpc, and had a set of those KLH speakers I got from my parents (as part of their set) too. Brings back memories of my first foray into music/hifi.
The Onkyo M508 is awesome
There is another video with common systems we used to see in stereo shops mastroleo
Panasonic is 18wpc, they had that line & silverface version that was 25 wpc (sa 6700 with cassette)
(SA 6800 had 8-track). Look up the sb 1800 thrusters cause they where gorgeous! I have had 3 sets...
1/2" cabs with a 10"woofer/passive and a tweeter. I "upgraded one set with a nice woofer/tweeter and they absolutely thumped!!! 60wpc from factory
Lenny, I think they're called detents, what you're calling notches.
Lenny, you are not an idiot, they are called "Detents".
You are drooling..LOL
Decibel is a cool audio shop. They sell Harbeth- so they MUST be cool. ( I just wish they sold Magnepan. )
WOW ~ Talk about a Flashback in the 70s I had the Pioneer SA-9100 with a pair of JBL L100 and I thought what more could I ask for ~ Then I found a man who owned a pair of Quad 57 and the model 2 tube amp and pre amp who had a wife in Beverly Hills who hated the way the old copper grills looked so we made a trade for them ~ Talk about lucky ~ She thought the foam grills on the JBL's looked so modern ~ Fast forward ~ I still own the Quads ~
LXI was the Sears store label. The guy made a fuss about it, but they were lower quality and made by someone for Sears and are not an actual manufacturer. It would be interesting to know who made it, similar to Realistic sold by Radio Shack.
It changed so much it's hard to even keep up on who made what for who
@@LennyFlorentine I think Radio Shack/Realistic was Scott.
love the "TOTAL RECALL" speaker if you know what i mean
I tried starting a vintage Pioneer collection, but the 50 and 80 lines have gone up in price within the last several years. And that's just the lower to mid models. Imagine my shock when I saw how much the 650 goes for these days, SMH.
I went Hitachi...an SR-903 (mint for $134), another SR-903 (EXC after a deep cleaning, $115) and a pristine and FULLY (professionally) revised SR-503L for $120. The last unit was purchased for the office as my "spare" 903 is a tad too big. Excellent vintage look with sublime sound...and the SR-903's have some serious power too (Class-G amp technology).
I am staying away from the Marantz, Pioneer, Sansui "tax" given the current market. No regrets.
@@jb678901 The Pioneer-Marantz-Sansui trifecta has become too expensive to obtain these days. I came out better getting good deals on vintage Yamaha, Kenwood and Harman Kardon.
They have exploded $$$$$
I sure as hell wish I hadn't given away my SX1050 Receiver to my brother in law. At the time, just didn't have space to keep my old gear.
@@pervertedalchemist9944
Toshiba sounds awesome & is overlooked often. cheaper too
I love my SX1010, it shakes the house.
Man, I love that timbre in the Ned right above it but I do have that pine or 9100 along with the matching toner that’s in the same bad condition picked it up at a pawnshop in Baton Rouge Louisiana three months ago but man I’ve got to make a trip up to that audio store because there’s a lot of stuff that I would buy
OK, "detent" steps on the controls.
They aren't "VU;s". "Volume Units" - VU meters are specified to have very tight measurement displays. 0 VU is 0.773 volts @ 600 ohms. They do not respond to Peaks, but to a specified average. They have intention slow needle movement to allow reading in bad conditions. So will not display peak output of a power amp. Just because they are analog needle meters does not mean they are VU. And you would not want VU on an amp output.
The AR MST's, are designed to be actual book self speakers. They were designed to be against the wall and load to it! And it is an insult to associate them in any way with the Bose 901! Nothing in any way similar. AR used appropriate sized drivers to create a smooth extended response with increased efficiency by wall loading. 901s crammed a bunch of one sized drivers and massive electronic EQ to get them even close to flat.
The fascination with HiFi from back in the day can get quite humorous at times. Like when my youngest son showed up with a pair of "Fischer Speakers, they must be good because they were from back then!". What pieces of crap they were. But the name and being old was all he needed. Till I made him get them out of my basement where he was taking up my space!
Yeah speakers from the seventies were not all that good. Not like the receivers and amplifiers and 8-track players and turntables. Of course there is exceptions when it comes to good speakers from the but the majority was just Kabuki
@@danielknepper6884 Not at all my point or the facts. Those horrible JBL L-100s? Klipsch Cornerhorns? Maggie MGIII, Daulquist DQ10, Large Advent, KLH, ... ??? There is a reason these are coming back out.
My point was that just because it was from some name and from back in the day does not guarantee it. I think Jensen owned Fischer by then and the stuff was crap. He just assumed....
The vintage gear is nice to look at but belongs in a museum. This old audio is fragile and can break at any time. I was playing my old Sansui 9090 with my vintage Sansui speakers and a woofer failed taking out my Sansui receiver. It’s now going to cost a lot of money to try to fix it.
Ah but thats the beauty of it, this stuff can be fixed. New stuff is designed not to be.
Costs a lot of money to fix anything good 👍
Thanks
Attenuated volume control aka notches.
Looks Bad to the Bone...with one exception...that being the Echo...lol. Add some Defusers hanging from that concrete cieling and add a carpet. The knotches are called Detints. Sx-990 Rocks...
Thanks Red!
@@LennyFlorentine No Pro Blem ah...
See any Fried speakers?
I don't think. Those always sound good to me but look kinda rough imo
Been to this Store on northside
Hello Spencer & Captain Sub: THE JUST AUDIO CREW INVADES CHICAGO !!!!! My best wishes to you all & please be safe, your loyal subscriber and customer. TMP from N.J. The wide horn / tweeter defuses the higher frequencies for more precise off axis listening. !!!!!!😊😊😊😊
jesus - they still have half of the same gear they did when I was there 5 years ago. not sure how the can stay in business like that - or with their prices.
Maann...thats so cool about the USA. No such stores in Germany.
I can’t even find a stereo store never mind a vintage stereo shop…😢
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