I would like to clarify the history of the Large Advent and it's creator, Henry Kloss (pronounced "close" or thereabouts). a. It's a popular misconception that Henry "invented" the acoustic suspension design. Actually, it was his senior partner, Edgar Vilchur. Henry was more of a facilitator as Edgar was basically a terrible businessman, at least early on. Henry helped improve and develop new AR models and manufacturing methods, along with marketing them all. Not to say that Kloss wasn't perfectly capable of invention. He went on with KLH, Advent, Cambridge Soundworks and Tivoli Audio to pioneer many new technologies. Henry was a real triple threat in the industry as he invented, manufactured and marketed a slew of products that truly shaped audio to this day. You may not love the "new KLH", but it is making its mark and keeping Henry Koss' name on people's lips. One can only hope that the Advent brand will be resurrected as an audiophile brand as well. It's too bad that Edgar Vilchur only gets his due in the smaller high-end audiophile, academic and hearing aid communities. He deserves better. b. The Advent loudspeaker was created by Henry to make money to finance his dream of a projection television - the Video Beam. It was meant to be an affordable audiophile loudspeaker that would sell in droves. It was and did just that. c. Your image of the OLA (original Large Advent, which Henry didn't design, though he may have consulted on) is not the "bullnose". That feature was on the latter NLA (New Large Advent circa 1976). The original is described as the "bevel edge" or simply the walnut Large Advent The differences between the two were significant, but didn't change the sound character much at all. The woofers were the biggest difference along with the cabinet (the baffle was more forward in relation to the decorative front edge to reduce diffraction). The tweeter were "hotter" though. d. Unfortunately, Henry Kloss had only a passing influence on Boston Acoustics. In actuality, it was established by Advent "alumni" Andy Kotsatos and Frank Reed. BA might have been a bigger "mover" had Henry been involved and might have still been a big fish. Thanks for the memories. For anyone that loves the Advent or KLH speakers, either the new KLH Model 5 or 3 or Wharfedale Linton will do you right. I prefer the Wharfedale at this time.
One day my buddy and I walked into his step dads warehouse and asked what are those giant speakers sitting in the corner. He said they are JBL L300 Summits. They were hooked up to a McIntosh amplifier. Never heard anything like it in my life. 20 years later saw his dad again. Asked about the speakers. Still sitting on the same corner. I asked if he would sell them to me. He said give me $150 and they’re yours. No joke. Greatest speaker ever made. Period!
I had something similar happen to me with an immaculate pair of aDs 910s, though the seller didn't go as low as yours; half-price of $900. Originally selling for $1900, but he got so much nonsense from low-ballers that when he found out I had a pair of L810s and agreed that his asking price was still a good deal, but a bit out of my budget, (I thought they were $950/pair, not each.) he said he'd take $900. Then, after talking about shipping, he said he didn't want them shipped 'cause he'd put a lot of work into the cabinets and crossovers and he worried the stands might be damaged as well, so for $50 for gas, he drove 2+hours/each way to deliver them to my house. Eternally grateful to that very generous man! And, the 910s are likely my end-gamers.
RE: JBL... In the early '60s while researching 'HiFi' equipment prior to buying anything...I ran across mention of the virtual pinnacle of speakers, the JBL RANGER PARAGONs...priced at $3800 USD. Don't know if that was each -or- a pair, but Way, way out of reach for me...even Now. Also wish to add highly acclaimed ALTEC-LANSING "VOICE of the THEATER"spkrs owned by a colleague @ NASA in mid '60s. Still enjoying my beautiful walnut-vaneer 1964 HeathKit AS-10 acoustic-suspension bookshelf spkr sys.,licensed by AR[Acoustic Research] DJ-TX
P.S. Re:Heath AS-10 above... both sturdy enclosures have recently been seriously upgraded to a 3-way sys w/very efficient, high wattage spkrs. Fantastic Results.
Bought a pair of JBL L 100's + pioneer sx-750 as freshman in college 1975!!!!!....both the receiver + JBL's are in my in basement....playing LP collection for 25 years.....i'm 65 now....sounds just as kickass now as when i was 18....can only go 1/2 way on volume....get blown away!.....i think i got my money's worth.
In the 80s, I inherited a pair of HPM 100s. When my wife gifted me a pair of Cornwall lls I gave the HPMs to my college-bound son, who happens to have a penchant for great music/sound from a very early age. During his second year both speakers were damaged/blown during a wild party, and he put them in storage at a friend's apt. awaiting my pick-up. They grew legs and walked off. In 1967 I bought a complete ensemble of the best stereo available at the time...AR tt, receiver, AR 3 speakers, AR2 ax speakers, and a reel to reel Sony tape deck. Owned a set of 3D Acoustic speakers following the great reviewer Julian Hirsch. In the early 90s I acquired a dealership for the Klipsch line to complement the Sony's, the Sansui's, the Pioneers, NAD, etc that I was selling through my video store. I still have my Cornwalls, along with my Klipsch surround sound stuff. I live on the shores of a beautiful lake in New Brunswick, Canada. 25 years ago while doing some night time interior painting I moved the Cornwalls out on the deck and my wife says to put on something as a salute to the full moon reflecting on the still waters. Naturally Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" was the choice, among others. I got 2-3 calls from 1.5 miles across the lake to keep on spinning the music.The Cornwalls can do that!
I talked my grandma into opening a silo credit card to get the AT-15 Cerwin Vegas, my neighbors always knew when I was home!! I remember the bass driver blew one of the corners apart and I called Cerwin Vega and they sent me a new one. Thanks grandma ❤
Bought Advents in 1973. Wonderful speakers. Had a toggle switch on the back so people who were underpowered could reduce the high end to protect the tweeters from clipping. One of the guys in our dorm arranged for a dance at the girls' dorm next door, coordinated the music and solicited over a half dozen guys to bring their stereo systems and hook them all together. To say it was sweet would be an understatement. Another time, a friend with the smaller Advents and I did the same thing for our campus ministry group. One of the songs that we played was "Lucky Man" by Emerson, Lake and Palmer. There's a lot of low frequency synthesizer at the end, and the stars aligned and we (by chance) had the speakers placed perfectly to hit resonance in the room on the lowest note. It felt like the room shook and I was surprised that we didn't blow out the windows.
Nice to see my Advents on your list. I had 4 STACKED with the tweeters together. Purchased mine from Sound of Music company in 1976. I loved the smell of the stereo store when you stepped inside the front door. I earned a whopping $2.40 an hour which made the Advents an affordable value. Aerosmith, Foghat, BTO Boston, Styx, Kansas drove the neighborhood crazy with those. Really miss them!
I worked in a Stereo/ TV store from 1977 thru mid 1985. Best time and place ever for a young man as we were in a mall ! I sold a ton of 4311s, AR15s, and even Altecs early on. One of my favorite speakers for the money was Boston Acoustics. I own and still use a set of L96s. ( Reconed the woofers in 2003). Love your channel. It is extremely nostalgic for me because I recognize and have sold many of the things you feature!
At one time I owned two pair of the Sansui SP-X1100 speakers. Those were awesome for straight stereo listening. Over the years, they degraded and the odd size of all of the drivers made it impossible to replace them. My older brother still owns one pair of these. I bought them, along with a whole rack of pro Pioneer equipment while serving in the US Marine Corps. Okinawa, in 1978/79 was a great opportunity to purchase esoteric stereo equipment at a great price. Drivers per side: 2-17" woofers, 2-6 1/2" midranges, 2-2x6 horn tweeters, 2-1 1/2" super tweeters. They would rock the house. In order to isolate the woofers, they placed them in separate cabinets, with the crossover on of half, connected to the other half using an 8-pin tube socket and pins. Very rare and unique.
I had a friend with these, powered by a Sansui AU-X1 Integrated amplifier, with the matching TU-X1 tuner. The bass was prodigious, with no need for sub-woofers.
I set up a sound room that mimics a 1970s audio store I used to love them as a teenager but I couldn’t afford the high end stuff I lived at radio shack when I was a teen. I would but a decent system and was able to put equipment on layaway that was around 1979. But now I have 7 systems set up marantz, onkyo pioneer Sansui Yamaha all 100 watt and above with Ar3a s , hpm 100 , jbl l100 , original large advents , realistic Mach ones , plus closets full of gear this is my premium set up all equipment has been relamped , recapped all is in mint condition. And they are all hooked up to demonstrate. My wife calls it a pawn shop . Most people who see it just don’t get it they see it and are like wow that’s a lot of stereos. Love your channel that you relate to our addiction to the golden age of audio. I spent about 13 years collecting this stuff all along the north east driven miles and miles to get this stuff and every piece has a story as I bought most from the original owners. It’s like your buying a family member lol. Anyway rock on keep the videos going Gary from Long Island.
I just got a pair of AT-15's for free, then ordered a foam kit for the woofers. Now, I just need to find the time to repair them. Can't wait to hear what they really sound like, especially after hearing your comments on them.
Really great line up you presented; those JBL's and HPM-100's were everywhere in the late 70's-early 80's. Each of those speaker brands seems to have a loyal following all these years later. One of my close friends bought a pair of HPM's and I liked them so much, I bought a used pair of HPM-150's...those things were heavy, but the sound was amazing. I added a pair of HPM-1100's a few years later, I miss those days! Thanks for your time on this one!
Another positive for the Heresy; With the Heresy II you should still be able to get the Heresy III upgrade kit from Klipsch ($600/pr last year). This includes all new compression drivers, horns, new woofers, and new crossovers. I did this with mine, and it made a huge difference. Like Kevin says though, they are very forward. Slight eq to bring down 2k does wonders (I use a schiit loki mini+). When I had mine apart, I also took the time to prep the insides of the cabinets and add some NoRez from GR Research. I did have to do some sanding to enlarge the tweeter hole to physically fit the larger magnet through. The pair of II's I bought were $600 in working condition. All in I spent maybe $1400. If I were going to do it again, I'd buy a pair with a dead driver or two for cheap, but with physically good boxes.
Still have a pair of pioneer CS-99A. 15” woofer, 6 speaker 5 way crossover. The cones were made of a wool-paper combination called “free beating”. They only handle 100 watts rms. I bought them on a Navy ships store for $150.00 each in 1972. They we’re starting stateside at $550.00. I have them 6 inches off the floor and upside down. Just a thing. When I shipped everything back, the receiver hadn’t come yet, so I rigged a simple turntable to them and they sounded great, just not enough power to give the boom from the woofers. I think it only had a few watts for the single cone in the turntable speakers. They made these with solid walnut cabinets. The paperwork says they weigh 65lbs, and yes, they are heavy! Not sure what they are worth now, never really bothered to look. The sound is great, especially the bass, it will shake the walls. Good thing there in a house, even now, I like my music sort of loud. Reminds me of many bands I got to see back in the 70’s. Like Zeppelin, Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Genesis, even Kiss. To this day I still tell people that when Kiss was done, I had to go outside and hurl, because they were extraordinarily loud. I wasn’t the only one outside. They played second, with Gentle Giant 1st, and Wishbone Ash last. Wishbone tried to be just as loud, but lots of us left because of that. Bummer! The speakers have passed the test of time, just keep the speakers clean and the wood oiled. The grills are made from woven wood strips over a sheer cloth, no plastic and no foam!
I bought my JBL 4312A Control Monitors in 1986. They have withstood incredibly loud rock music on an almost daily basis for over 35 years and they still sound as great as they did the day that I bought them. They look cool and sound even better.
They are incredible loudspeakers, i have mine since 87,working everyday, and loud, one thing when you place them, and you ve found the good spot , you won t have to crank the volume, because they ll sound very big, like you ll have the impresión that they are like big big speakers,i guess the same will happen with a lot of speakers.. move it to another position, and you might be disapointed as they will sound poor,, positioning is very important, i use them in a very big room, not in a nearfield conditions,, that s why i love them,relatively small speaker for a very big large sound,,, American sound!
@@cammontreuil7509 The JBL 4312 can handle huge amounts of power with mimimal distortion at all. I had a par of JBL 4311B and played them for 40 years still all original and sold them s had to move and downsize everything. When I was going to buy the JBL 4311B in 1978 I had heard of and see the Pioneer 100's and I was glad that I didn't buy them as me and everyone who heard my JBL 4311B always loved their sound and very loud volumes as they were also very efficient. It was the studio version of JBL's biggest speaker ever the JBL L100 Century, the speaker that was on the side of the Maxelle cassettes case and commercials. The JBL L4311 Control Monitor was used to record 30 lps that went gold for the sound engineer for the Eagles.
The JBL 4312A were as good or even better than my speaker the JBL 4311B Control Monitor, which I partied with for 40 years then sold them in all like new original condition as nothing ever broke or wore out.
I bought a pair of JBL L100s in 1974 as my all-time favorites, overriding the salesman at Pacific Stereo’s total promotion of his Klipsch preference. To me, when compared side by side, the JBLs blew away the Klipsch with that open air sound. Plus, the JBL grills and cabinetry were esthetically superior. I recently added a pair of ESS AMT 1As with the Heil tweeters, air motion transformers, and passive radiators to supplement my JBLs. What a combination when played together! Beautiful crystal clear sound while also having a dipole effect from the ESS AMTs emanating off the room’s corners. All are powered by my Marantz 2270. Oh, and I just picked up a Marantz 2285B as a new toy.
I had a friend who was a singer, and always bragged about Bose speakers, but did not own any; it got somewhat heated when I informed her that there are many comparable speakers on the market which are better than Bose 901's. I ran into a deal and was able to purchase a pair of 4001's; when I told what I had she inferred that there was no such ting as Bose 4001 speaker, I told her, I forgot that you did not finish high school and you have a tin ear. She never knew what I was talking about. She died young: too much meth usage, I do not have any remorse, addicts are suicidal.
I bought the 4311 when was just out of High School in 1979, was working in a Stereo Repair Shop, got them at the wholesale price of $250 each. I used them at parties with a Marantz 2245, rocked the place. I still own them; they are very rugged speaker. Theas are the iconic 70s Rock speaker, I love them.
The original Heresy is quirky sounding, but under the right conditions, they can shine. Back in my college daze, at the end of the '70s / early '80s, a good friend owned a pair of them, driven by a Macintosh MC 250 tube amp. It took only a few watts to get them going, but when he soaked the Heresy set with the Mac near wide open, they would take it, blasting out massive decibels without breaking up. They sounded like a small concert PA and made my hair stand up. I will never forget the time he put on "Good Lovin" by the Rascals, and turned the Mac up all the way. Ear splitting volume, music clean and clear. I never heard anything like it inside an apartment before or after that.
I bought my D9's 10 years ago. In mint condition. I was worried about the grills so I put them in the cab of my truck. My wife proceeded to put her feet on them and break them in half. 😡 So they've been without the grills ever since. I absolutely love these speakers. Yes I have replaced the foam since. They rock!!!
As a musician, (bass player) Cerwin Vega 18" speakers, in the 70's were the BOMB! I had a Acoustic model 360 pre amp with a folded horn (Amp built in the speaker cabinet) 18" speaker cabinet!! I never had a band or guitar player go louder than my Fender P Bass through this system!!!!
The 4311 was a nearfield monitor before the NS10 was introduced in 1978, the reason why the tweeter and midrange was placed at the bottom, to sit on the meter bridge putting them at ear level, a lot of albums in the 70's were mixed on them for example, Steely Dan, Brian Eno, Quincy Jones "Bruce Swedien etc. Overheads or "farfields" as you were calling them were usually Westlake TM1's
Now I was in the studio Steely Dan used back then. I'm pretty sure they had Altec 604's with subwoofers added. I owned a studio from '84-'86. I don't know of anybody who used 4311's as a near field monitor. Most mixing at that point was done on the main monitors and then checked on Auratones or something similar. The people who were using near field monitors were virtually all using NS-10's (a lifeless speaker if ever I heard one). 4311's were popular as the main speakers in budget studios, ad agencies, and by some producers who traveled between studios so they would have a known reference. They were of course, and remain, very popular as home speakers for musicians and others in the music industry ( I have had the same pair of 4411's, coupled with various subwoofer's, as my home speaker for over 35 years)
Thanks for the memories. I bought a pair of Marantz HD660's in the late 70s. Powered by a Pioneer SX780. Loved those speakers. I thought they compared nicely to the Pioneer HPM100s. Which some friends had. late 80s upgraded to the Klipsch Cornwalls. I was driving them with a Marantz 2500 with optional solid walnut surround. It was a great system. Miss those days.
Great video, I have a pair of D-9's that I absolutely love. Your assessment is spot on, not the most detailed sound, but they will handle anything you throw at them! we used to call them "eviction speakers" LOL!! Whatever you are jamming to your neighbors will be too.
I have, and routinely use a pair of Altec Lansing Model 19 speakers. I have the original manuals and paperwork and I am the 2nd owner. They are big. powerful and a fantastic speaker for music or movies.
I have had mine over 30 years. And have never heard anything equal to them I could afford not just to own but to power. These things take what ever you throw at them!
Back in 1974 I went to Labells in Lakewood Colorado and AB'd JBL L100s, Dynaco A35's, and Klipsch Heresy's. Klipsch, the ones I went with because of the dynamics, the vocals, and even the mid bass was so good. The JBL's had lower "thump", the Dynacos, didn't have the dynamics, but the JBL's just didn't produce the mid range and highs as well. I've moved way beyond those early days and have many found memories doing party sound with the Heresy's with an Advent 300 15 watt receiver. I must mention that I purchased a Citation 12 Deluxe amp and then upgraded to MG10 Magneplaners to up the sound quality. It was that amp/combo that I discovered how different amps can sound coupled to different speaker driver loads. That happened when a friend brought over his Citation 16 amp, a much newer design with many more output transistors, power, and much better TIM specs then the older Citation 12 amp of mine. On the Heresy's the sound improvement was great. In any aspect one could imagine. Better bass, midrange, treble, and even sound stage. But, on the MGII Magneplaners (basically a non reactive load) the sound was less musical with more of a sizzle slightly artificial sound. The older Citation 12 with much simpler circuitry/signal path the sound was smoother and more musical, even considering the MG's should benefit with more power. Well that opened up my mind to how component interfacing can make a huge difference to sound quality. Note that with the Heresy's I did some sound for my girlfriend of that era, who had a wonderful voice and did some music from Karla Bonoff, Joni Mitchell, ect. playing her D9 Martin and using a Revox A77 mic input stage with the Citation 12 amp feeding the Klipsch Heresy's to get some incredible sound in small bar room environments. When we parted company, I gave her the Heresy's.
I think Cerwin Vega are great if you have tone controls. I really like your take on these speakers. I am shocked that there actually is someone who is as honest as you are doing what you are doing.
Personally, I love Klipsch horns. I had a pair of K-Horns for years and now wish I'd never sold them. The mids and highs were absolutely spot on for MY ear. Maybe not yours, but I loved them. Played any kind of music easily and well. As always YMMV. On a second note another absolute FAVORITE were my RTR 280DR towers. AMAZING speakers. I'd buy those again TODAY!
I remember discovering the RTR’s at about the same time as the ADS were brought to my attention. What a great time for home 2 channel hijinx. Awesome stuff everywhere. I don’t run into RTR as much these days but when I do it’s a treat. I’ve tried to explain this enjoyment of 2 channel to my sons but alas not much luck it is one of the few things that their generation was robbed of-oh that and stylish automobiles. Take Care.
As a kid in 1980-81, I bought RTR G80's, then moved to Altec Lansing Model 14's, then in 1988 I bought the LaScalas. Had them ever since. Recently replaced drivers and crossovers with Bob Critz upgrades. Glad I kept them. Kept my wife also!
You do really good videos. I am one of those Heresy freaks, I run four in a huge room with a Macintosh integrated amp. You are 100% correct, Heresy’s ARE weak in bass and the horns can be fatiguing after a long time. I do have a Klipsch sub woofer, which takes care of the low end, control of the source, volume and tone controls can reduce ear fatigue, beyond that, they are great and have a full unique sound. Mine are 40 years old, and survived a fire and a lightning strike. All were professionally checked out at the Klipsch warranty shop, and all are 100%. These things are tough. Again, you are right, it’s just personal preference and all the other speakers you mentioned I have heard and are great. Good choices. Thanks!
Thanks for understanding that it's just personal preference. Some people take it way too seriously. It would be a very boring world if we all liked the same thing :)
This video is right up my alley. I have collected a bunch of older speakers and have restored them. Love it as a hobby. I own 3 pairs of Advent's, Cerwin Vega AT-12s but there are a few of my own honorable mentions. My Polk Audio Monitor 7's and my Dahlquist M907 (same driver as an OLA but with a mid and a Vifa tweeter). Subbed your channel a few weeks ago and I haven't regretted it! Great stuff
I own a pair of DWD speakers. They built here in Fresno during the 70's. They were on my Dads Pioneer SX626 and 1215S Dual turntable. They had come with a lifetime warranty. They are beautiful woodgrain 10" 2 way. After 15 years the guts were upgraded at no charge. Of coarse no longer around. 10 years ago replaced the guts with piles. The cabinets are beautiful now as they were. The sound is outstanding.
Bought my HPM100’s and SX780 receiver in 1979 brand new when I was 18 just starting college Still have them won’t part with them I have other audio equipment (maybe too much) but still go back to them for playing vinyl and cd’s
Thanks for this channel! I grew up with my father's system. 2x Pioneer CS-99a & 4x CS-06. Inherited from him. Still run the 99a through a rebuilt Sansui 7000. Gifted the 06s to a friend who runs them through a mid-90s Denon.
My d9's are wearing their grills but I have to admit pulling them off time to time. Love all the bands you listed at 50 my music taste hasn't changed. I have them running off the pioneer elite vsx99. Really enjoyed watching, I'm all about some old school audio.....and everything else old school Thanks for sharing ✌️
In the seventies you couldn't go wrong with jbl or Corwin Vega usually paired with pioneer relievers, our first home stereo was 7.5 watt Rotel receiver with 2way acoustic research speakers, sounded good actually
Back In The Day, my old roomie and I were running 2 pair of Large Advents, stacked & wired in parallel, driven by a Phase Linear 700 amp. "Live At Leeds" was in heavy rotation back then, regularly rocking the house. I miss those days....
I love your reviews. I shopped for four years before buying the Cerwin Vega HED-15s in 1980. Every Cerwin Vega 15" speaker made after that is a downgrade in my opinion. Consumer Reports rated them with the lowest speaker fatigue and they were supposed to hold their specs longer than their competition at the time. My HED-15s have pleased musicians like John Denver, The Indigo Girls, John McCune, The Guess Who, Savoy Brown, The Russian Rock Opera, and many other performers on stage for decades. I have refoamed them twice and replaced the tweeters once. I matched them with a Kenwood Eleven GX-7 I picked up in Japan a year earlier. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.
I want a Pair of Cerwin Vega Earthquake subwoofers for my house ! People think im crazy but growing up in NY going to the best clubs in NYC I know what these subwoofers can do ! I love Cerwin Vega !
I'm a lucky guy to still have my Large advents furniture grade from 1976 reformed and rocking my garage manager, but I bought JBL L100s, and 4311WX over a dozen years ago. My older friends put JBL in my head long ago. I have one of each R & L with the L100 on the floor tilted on wood JBL stands, and the 4311 on top but firing straight out with tweeters on the bottom but close to the ear when seated. I didn't know they are considered far monitors. I have them 15 feet away from the couch. I hope that is considered appropriate. I love them, and proud to be so fortunate. All the best to you and stay healthy!!
The JBL 4311 is a NEAR field monitor not a far monitor. I know I bought a set of JBL 4311WX new in 1979 for $900 Canadian and sold them last year Oct 2021 in all original components and in perfect condition for $1,200 as I was moving and downsizing. I had originally gone to the JBL store to buy components for my Dream speaker and the salesman said why build it just buy the JBL 4311 WX. So I bought them and I loved them and had about 1,000 parties with them including a few DJ events I did with them. I and all my friends loved them. They were great at low and full blast volume. The guy that bought them off me showed ma a photo of 6 sets of audiophile speakers he had in his basement and said he was looking for a perfect condition set of JBL 4311 for 5 years and after hearing mine loud he paid my asking price. they sounded great with all types of music from Beatles to Led Zeppelin to Enya and classical music and everything in between.
Great story of your 4311s! Do you know what distances that are considered optimal for the far field 4311 monitors should be listened to? And how about the L100s? Any thoughts are cool. Thanks!
@@dboy6896 I owned JBL 4311Wx-A Control Monitors for 42 years sinice new. The components are not vertical they are close together they are NEAR field monitors can be on the console or 5 feet or 20 feet away just move them and adjust them best for you in an small or large rood. They sound incredible at all volumes and distance and music. You hear each instrument with them instead of just sounding good like most speakers. The Eagles sound engineer won 30 gold records and only used the JBL 4311 and keep them away from the walls and floor so they sounded neutral. The sound great with 1 watt or 150 watts. They were the best compact speaker in the world when they cane out and used in bars, homes and with $1 million recording consoles. Mine were JBL 4311WX-A CONTROL MONITORS. They blew away the Boston Acoustics 2 way $900 compact monitors with 1" dome tweeter and 5 inch bass I also owned. The last 20 years I had the JBL 4311 on about 18 inch stands so off the floor and tighter and also at ear level so better.
Thank you for your reply! My 4311s are the same as yours. WX-A walnut models. I have them 26 inches off the floor with the tweeters at ear level when seated. They sound great! I also love knowing so much of my favorite music was mixed using these very speakers. Cheers to you and thank you again!
@@dboy6896 Congratuations on your JBL 4311 WX-A. I loved them and so did my friends for the decades I owned them. I read a great about them. They were the next best thing to LIVE MUSIC. Another great quote is recording studios also liked the fact that they were one of the very rare speakers where is someone dropped their guitar on full volume the JBL 4311 wouldn't self-destruct. Also JBL built them because in the 1970's the big record labels in the US and England asked JBL for a smaller and better Control Room Monitor. Stereo Review in 1974 Julian Hurst the sound engineer reviewed the JBL L100 and they said it could take the full power of their 1,000 watt amplifier and they had only about 1% distortion at high volumes. Also that they sounded extraordinary and sounded very similar to their Reference Monitors. Those were 1974 L100 so our 4311 WX-A were even better than that. Also that their special coated woofer had no polypropylene so the woofer wouldn't disintegrate into dust 25 years later like all the polypropylene speakers and need to be reconned.
I recently bought 3 Marantz t-shirts from your webshop, and I still feel that I owe you guys. You brought me back to those great Hi-Fi days of the past...Priceless. This is a great channel, keep it up! Will count the days to get those T-shirts! And once again, thanks for the outstanding reviews!
I procured the "equivalent" Cerwin Vega's at the time, my freshman year: 1981. Powered by a Sony STR-V55 they could sure shake a dorm room. At that time they were great for the purpose as you say. Just as in the song Ice Ice Baby, "Now that the party is jumpin'. With the bass kicked in and the Vega's are pumpin' " I was literally forced to remove the grill grates from them by my room and dorm mates so they could see the red ring. You are so right about that.
You have credibility with me. My best friend (back in the late 70's) had the JBL 4311's and they introduced me to superior life-like sounding stereo. I in turn bought the HPM-100's and when the cabinets got damaged from shipping them half-way across the globe, I custom build some new cabinets out of cabinet-grade plywood and installed all the original components. Sounded just as good as factory, maybe a little tighter. I currently listen to a vintage pair of Klipsch KG-4's which some say out perform the Heresy at a fraction of the cost. I guess we have (about) the same ear in music. Just for giggles, I would add the Sansui Trip-9's. Cheers!
I was a Radio Shack store manager in the early 80's. Mach One speakers were an easy sell! But I would stack the deck by running Realistic Super tweeters in tandem. It would really make then sparkle!
i purchased my Vegas in the late 70s, dont remember the model # but they were the 10" woofer, mid and tweeter. i still own and use they and i did have to refoam them once...i still love them. a few moths ago driving along i spotted what looked like a big box speaker in the trash, to me it looked like a Cerwin Vega so i hit the brakes hard and went back. i dont normally hunt trash piles but this one i had to look at lol...turns out there were 2 Vegas with the 12" woofer mid and tweeter, but one woofer was missing. i ordered a woofer from Ebay went thru the speakers hooked them up to my vintage Sansui and maaaan they rocked the house! i looked on Ebay to see what they were selling for and i crapped my pants. lol
My dad had Klipsch Klipschorn (aka "corner horn") speakers, all my life. I found out that he sold them a few years ago. It was difficult to keep the tears at bay, when he told me. I still feel like I'm going to inherit them and then I remember. Apparently he custom built his house but left his speakers to fall apart in a storage shed, then sold them for less than they were worth. A scenario I never could have imagined.
I was a musician who worked as an audio consultant/ salesman tech guy at two different hi fi stores able to buy equipment at staff prices. Loved that time in my life. This guy from Sky Labs is very credible and a cool dude who knows what he is talking about.
I have an honorable mention for this list , I bought a pair of Yamaha NS-9191s in 84 overseas to my knowledge they were never available here in the states , they still sound as good as the day I got them ! 250 watt , 5 -way bass reflex , 17" woofer, 5.5" midrange , 3 horn driven tweeters , with overload protection. Paid $230.00 for them ! Best money I ever spent .
I recall in the bad ole 70s when the 15 inch woofer became such as craze, even Radio Shack offered the Mach 1. I could never feel the difference; I never could hear the difference, between a 12 inch and a 15 inch. Though in the real, bad ole 70s, 1974, did see the movie Earthquake in a sensoround theater pumping cerwin vega speakers, but these monsters were huge. I have wondered what a copy of the Earthquake vinyl soundtrack sounds like through the consumer cw D9's, though. My largest is the RSL 3800s with the 12 inch. (And, yes, I have the original movie Earthquake album). I feel like such a relic, some days. LOL, I love it. It is just a red ring around a woofer. LOL. Well said! My RSL 3800s, and the earlier 3600s were the reason Roger Sound Labs were sued by JBL for copyright infringement. My 3800s have a 91 to 93 db of efficiency, and the 3600s were patterned after the JBL 100s (miss maxell tape lol) RSL won the suit, though. Oh, yes still have a High Fidelity magazine with that JBL 100 ad - really a maxell ad).
I bought a pair of Cerwin-Vega S1s in 1980 and kept them for almost 40 years. They were (and remain) unlike anything else Cerwin-Vega ever produced, IMO. Sold them to a friend 2 years ago. He's currently using Crown to power them and they are still simply amazing
Some Boston history: Henry Kloss was at Acoustic Research before he was the "K" in KLH, but it was Ed Villchur at AR who invented the acoustic suspension speaker. Kloss wasn't associated with Boston Acoustics. The company was co-founded by Andy Kosatos, who started with Kloss at Advent. In fact, Kosatos had final say on the sound of the original Large Advent. Ten years later, when getting Boston Acoustics started, Andy was helped by former AR head of production Roy Allison, who let him use his magnetizer at Allison Acoustics.
All real great . When you mention the Vega Red surround , I thought of my first set of real speakers with the Blue surround ( Jenson LS 5 , all four of them with Pioneer SX - 750 ) . I have the JBL L 100 t3 . Still sound great ( changed out the woofers to a better JBL 2204 ) . 30 Years old . High power ( 400 watt rating ) .
Nice video, I have the Cerwin-Vega! AT-15’s and AT-10’s, bought them new as a Teenager, since then I have had to reform them but they are still kicking.
I still have a pair of Mach 2s. I need to refoam them but I'm not getting rid of them. I remember rocking out to them and at that time I thought they were awesome especially at that price point
Im 70 years old and have owned most of the Klipsch speakers atone time or another. I own 4 pair now my main system has the Cornwalls . I have always liked their sound mainly because of the Horns.
P.S. I also worked in a high end stereo store and had the PLEASURE of selling to the public in the late 70's and early 80's. It was the BEST job that I ever had, even though I didn't make much money doing it!!!! Also, selling the HPM-100 was my favorite speaker of the day...built like battleships, they held up very well, sounded great and were priced right! Sold usually to a second or third time buyer who had learned his lessons and appreciated what they were!!!!!!!
A list of truly great speakers. If you are hard of hearing , or would like to become hard of hearing, you might want to pump those Cerwin Vegas on up boy !!
Cerwin-Vega! made a beautiful speaker the S-1. Not many people knew about them. Higher build quality than the mass production models. I know because we sold truckloads of A-123's. I still have a pair of B&W M801s2 speakers in our townhouse in Spring Lake NJ. Just got to listen to them for two weeks while we were in NJ.
Had the Advents listened to Bose 901s kept the Advents, much clearer, then a few years later listened to every speaker available and was blow away by the Celestion speakers. The clarity and sound stage was and still is incredible.
I have a pair of the At-15s. Since 1993 And in 1997 added a pair of Dx-9s to to keep them company. Had the foam rot. But no big deal. Just make sure to do it rite. I have run multiple differnt power amps.over time. In the late 90s i Had a pair of carver A500x amps. One for each set. And yes They would rock!!. Fast forward to 2015. I moved way up the power amp latter. And purchase a Pair of the McIntosh MC1201. Mono amps. Still using the vegas tho. 😊. Hooked to just the At-15s. First test was Dire straits Money for nothin. But on the sacd album. And Yes it would crank! And it sounded amazing clean clean crisp and detail. So much differnt than with the carvers. It could go Crazy Spooky loud without tripping the tweeter protection or blowing the main fuse. To where I Actually got scared. And stopped. Haha. Never had them get to that volume without popping fuzes or makeing the boxes sound like they was gonna rattle apart. So my personal experiences. I say Get a pair of the At 15 or Dx 9. Vegas. And then. If you want better. Look into upgrading the preamp and power amplifier. There is tons of options. That can Make a world of differnce..
As someone who bought sold & traded vintage gear for almost 20 years, I ended up with the Dahlquist DQM-9's. I have put them up against many many speaker brands & models, including the JBL 100's & 4311's... No contest imho. That's why I own 2 pairs. Couldn't live without them. They are SWEET!!! I would also include the ADS 710's & Ohm Walsh 2's which I also own.
Bought a pair of Cerwin Vegas when I was in college. Bought a pair of stands to get them off the floor and tilt up. Made me the Bass head I still am today. The foam around the woofers did rot away. Wish I kept them same as with all my iconic toys and baseball cards. Great video thanks!
Nice video Kevin! I’ve had several on this list and also these really large Jenson speakers which are rock music great! Enjoyed my early ‘80s Heresy’s too! Moved to a larger space a got a deal on some Klipschorns and enjoyed for 3 years! Had to downsize and found my ultimate sweet spot with a pair of ‘80s Klipsch Cornwalls!
A comment about sound. Years ago I purchased a Yamaha DSP receiver that has 7.1 surround. The two front effect speakers make a dramatic difference. I now find the front effect speakers to be a requirement. However the Yamaha does not have an audio mode that uses the center speaker. Consequently I purchased a Denon that does. I now find both are a requirement and with multiple speakers two amps are required. I have enjoyed your videos.
You nailed this post as far as what's on the list in my honest opinion. The Cerwin Vegas are a big speaker. I never found them to be fatigue to listen to..yes a Rock speaker but I has no problem with listening to them with other genres of music. I never cared for the JBL 100..to brash.And the Advent were not my favorite listening pleasure speaker. Good value for the money.My cousin had a pair of the Pioneer HPM 100 and surprisingly I enjoyed them despite there coloring..nice. The Klipsh Heresay are an exceptional value for the money but not my choice..but they are an iconic speaker. Please review ADS 710..Or there floor standing models.Made in Germany by Braun...most definitely a overlooked favorite. Thank you for this post greatly appreciated 🙏.
In the early 80s I was at a electronics store that had these massive speakers that were around 4' tall and the top looked like a air raid trumpet style facing upward made out of a clear acrylic. I do not remember anything about them other than that strange looking top and how big they were. I bought my Cerwin Vegas, a Harman Karden receiver and turn table at that time. I do not remember the diamond stylus brand but it was around 100.00 and was Yellow and white I think. This was 82 or possibly 83. I am a new subscriber to the channel. Thanks for the video. Stay strong brothers.
I used to have a pair of Fisher D-12 speakers powered by a Pioneer SX-3700. I loved the combo! We hosted many parties together. Would love to have it back!
I had a very similar setup. I had the Pioneer SX-3900 driving my JBL 4311Bs. The Pioneer is long gone (sadly), but the 4311Bs are still my main speakers over 40 years later.
Loved advent back in the day never had the money till I was in the navy,went to buy them and advent changed them to a flat speaker. I bought Epicure 2s very bright great highs and 4 8 inch woofers. Still got them.
I am still using my home made 1976 speakers, which each contain one 15" woofer, two mid-range drivers, and four tweeters. I did have to replace the outer rubber rings on the 2 woofers at one point in time, due to the rubber literally turning to dust. But that only cost about $27 CAD for replacements, plus an hour and a half work per woofer. Those combined with my Soundcraftsmen PE-2217 equalizer, sounds great. And yes, the cops were knocking on my door on one occasion. The two mid-range drivers per speaker are Philips De Forest dome mid-range drivers. The four tweeters per speaker are Philips AD0160 T8 Speakers Driver Speaker Tweeters. I don't recall the woofer manufacturer.
I bought a pair of AT 15 Cerwin Vegas in 91 also. I was in my 30s then, and owned my house, which meant I could crank those suckers crazy loud. One of the first things I did when I bought them was remove all the drivers and seal them with silicone because I heard sounds I believed where from air leaking, and sure enough it really improved the sound. The system I had was a Onkyo Integra preamp with an old school Bose touring amp which put out 400 watts per side at 4 ohms. 250 at 8 ohms. The AT 15 were 6 ohms I think, maybe 4. I measured 120 db + in my living room.
I bought a kenwood stereo system ( Separate components) in 1983 along with a pair of Cerwin Vega speakers (I don't remember the model number), they were some of the best sounding speakers. Nice and clear even at high volume. When I got divorced in 2000, my son took the system and I'm not sure how it happened but my brother ended up with the speakers. They still sound great.
I'm still listening to my original large Advents. But my favorite speakers are my Acoustic Research 3a . Sure, my hearing isn't what it was at 81 y/o but I've heard a zillion speakers and aside from the likes of Magna Planers and such, I'll stick with Henry's acoustic suspension design. Amps, cartridges etc. are fairly high end. One I think you like is my HK 930.
May 2020 I picked up a pair of Cerwin Vega MX-400 in almost mint condition for $650. More than I wanted but these didn't have a scratch and the foam was like new. And I believe they are one of the rarest of all Cerwin Vegas. I tried a couple different NAD receivers and they sounded good. They have an efficiency of 105db so I also tried a 2watt and a 3/4watt tube amplifier. I was blown away with how good the tubes made them sing! If anyone has Cerwin Vega with a high efficiency try a tube amp. You will not be disappointed! Unfortunately I didn't have the room and sold them 6 months ago for what I paid.
I'm using my old refurbished CV VS-120s and one of the new Denon power amps because it's the only amp in a decent price range that will go down to a 4 ohm load. I use the VS-80s for my rears and a large CV center channel from the late 90s. No sub needed really. Amazing low end out of the 12'sdown to 28hz =they go deeper than my commercial series 18 inch JBL's! Thanks for posting this Kevin!
I don't think anyone will argue with your list, those are all good speakers.. I've had a few over the years... A pair of large Acoustic Research studio monitors back in the late '80s, and a pair of Clarks from the '90s and a pair of Advents from the 70's... Today I have a pair of Polk towers.. Got the Advents tucked away in storage, which still work, but I'm afraid if they're pushed too hard they'll blow..
I learn something new every time I watch you videos! Finally it’s been explained to me why the JBL 4311 is designed the way it is ! Major OCD here , I’ve seen them in local audio shops and shied away from them twice now. Great speakers I’m sure and definitely a conversation piece, I enjoy vintage gear that comes with a story! I am a household speaker enthusiast(not $180.000 speakers that need a room full of crossover gear🤣) and this video hit the spot ! Oh man those Cerwin Vega...I wanted them so bad in my twenties And yes because of the red surrounds LOL ! Awesome video thanks!
Cerwin Vegas were my first real speaker I bought in 1985 with my tax return money. Can't remember the model but got them at Circuit City in Maryland on sale for like $300. I replaced them when the foam started crumbling 20 years ago. Wish I knew about re-foaming lol.
I recently bought 1989 Heresy II's and absolutely love them! The sound is huge, wide, dynamic, and detailed. The bass issue can be resolved with some sort of tone control. I use a Schiit Loki, which significantly improves the low end. The only real downside to Heresy's is that they're unforgiving with poor recordings.
I also have some some Heresy IIs in my speaker zoo. The fact that they are sealed yet highly efficient makes bass boost practical with a reasonably robust amp. They are also capable of astonishingly high SPL if NOT bass EQ'd but rather paired with a high output sub, as I have proven by using them as the mains for an outdoor wedding reception dance, crossed to the sub at 150hz. The youthful DJ got REALLY happy with the volume control and I was sure the tweeters would blow but they hung in there without a whimper. They can definitely be improved by EQing the rather forward balance, preferably by actively multiamping them with DSP, well worth the effort for the sonic result and the education in critical listening that you get from the tweaking process.
@@tenorman I'd say modest. I own 9 pairs if you count the LaScala bass cabinets with post-Klipsch drivers. But three of those pairs are flippers, not in use. Reselling the flippers helps pay for the keepers.
Still have my HPM-60M's that I bought new in Oct 1978 at the Larson Barracks Kitzingen, (then) West Germany audio club. Still love them the same now as I did back then. They are still pushed by my original Kenwood KA-5750 Stereo Integrated Amp that I've had since new as well, which I bought at the Rhein-Main AFB, (then) West Germany audio club in Oct 1978.
I'm so happy to see the Large Advents on your list! I've been a fan since I bought my first stereo system when I was 20, and I have never tired of these speakers. I listen to all sorts of music, from Miles Davis to Dropkick Murphys to Tamikrest, and I just think everything sounds great on the Advents. I actually have three sets; one of the "Small Advents" and two "Large". I have a set of the "second generation" Large Advents (with the rounded 'bullnose' cabinets) hooked up to my Pioneer SX1250, and another set of the original ones like you have pictured in your video hooked up to an ancient Harmon Kardon Citation II tube power amp. One speaker I wonder if you've ever come across is the Phase Technology 8.5? About ten years ago I literally found a pair of these sitting on the curb waiting to go out with the garbage pickup. They looked pretty sun-bleached, and the foam surrounds were completely shot, but I knew they were worth investigating. I grabbed them (they are HEAVY speakers!) and took them home, where I ordered a new set of speakers, gave them some TLC with some "Restore-A-Finish" and put them back to work. They are great speakers! I use them in conjunction with a set of Small Advents (both 4 ohm speakers) and the sound is amazing. Thanks for another really enjoyable video. Always fun! Good job. 👍
I still have my Ohm C2 (3-way 10") speakers I originally bought in 1978 and love them. I didn't have the money for the speakers I really wanted at the time, JBL L100s, but loved the sound of these as a runner up. Refoamed them a year ago and they sound just like they did back then, memory serving.
As a guy who spent the late 60s and ALL of the 70s selling HiFi, (and still love classic audio from that era) I could not agree more with your review. I own a pair of Advent large Utilities. (and an Advent 300 receiver used as a preamp) I love the acoustic suspension sound. My go-to speakers in the early 2000 were from NHT. They make a quality speaker at a very affordable price. I remember selling every speaker you mentioned. Anyway Nice job! Just let me now where you are. Love to visit your shop!
Over the past 10 years I've owned many of these or their bigger brothers, CV D9's, HPM 150's, Klipsch Cornwalls and JBL 4311's plus a bunch of other brands. All were fun speakers but once i bought a pair of Acoustic Research AR9's all these were sold off. It was a fun journey!
Very far down, as we have not had a pair come through our doors in 6 years for sale. Incredible speaker, but very rare as most people do not get rid of them.
Like you the Cerwin's where the speakers you wanted to listen to rock with, in high school ! So now all these years later, I have two sets, AT-12's and 280 SE's! I love the sound and the bass from them!
I bought a set of JBL 4311WX new in 1979 for $900 Canadian with tax and sold them last year Oct 2021 in all original components and in perfect condition for $1,200 as I was moving and downsizing. In 1979 I had originally gone to the JBL store to buy components for my own custom build speaker and the salesman said why build it just buy the JBL 4311 WX. So I bought them and I loved them and had about 1,000 parties in 41 years with them including a few DJ events I did with them. I and all my friends loved them. They were great at low and full blast volume. The guy that bought them off me showed ma a photo of 6 sets of audiophile speakers he had in his basement and said he was looking for a perfect condition set of JBL 4311 for 5 years and after hearing mine loud he paid my asking price. they sounded great with all types of music from Beatles to Led Zeppelin to Enya and classical music and everything in between.When I bought the 4311 I took out a bank loan for them from the bank and paid $60 a month for 18 months. When I moved from Montreal to Vancouver I sold almost everything except the JBL 4311 they went in their priginal cartons in the back of my station wagon. I've moved about 30 times in my life and when I moved the first thing I set up was the stereo system. By the way I don't do MP3 sound because the sound is compressed which sucks. I listen to LP's or Cds expect for RUclips. iTunes is compressed sound and most sound out nowadays is compressed, which sucks. That is why my name is UncompressedWAVmusic, which is actually Lossless or FLAC if you are into quality digital sound, unless you are listening to analogue LPS or CD digital sound.
**We are aware the music was too loud in the into** Sorry we are still learning :) Thanks for watching! Kevin
Too loud? As long as I'm hearing distortion it can't get too loud 😀
I would like to clarify the history of the Large Advent and it's creator, Henry Kloss (pronounced "close" or thereabouts).
a. It's a popular misconception that Henry "invented" the acoustic suspension design. Actually, it was his senior partner, Edgar Vilchur. Henry was more of a facilitator as Edgar was basically a terrible businessman, at least early on. Henry helped improve and develop new AR models and manufacturing methods, along with marketing them all. Not to say that Kloss wasn't perfectly capable of invention. He went on with KLH, Advent, Cambridge Soundworks and Tivoli Audio to pioneer many new technologies. Henry was a real triple threat in the industry as he invented, manufactured and marketed a slew of products that truly shaped audio to this day. You may not love the "new KLH", but it is making its mark and keeping Henry Koss' name on people's lips. One can only hope that the Advent brand will be resurrected as an audiophile brand as well. It's too bad that Edgar Vilchur only gets his due in the smaller high-end audiophile, academic and hearing aid communities. He deserves better.
b. The Advent loudspeaker was created by Henry to make money to finance his dream of a projection television - the Video Beam. It was meant to be an affordable audiophile loudspeaker that would sell in droves. It was and did just that.
c. Your image of the OLA (original Large Advent, which Henry didn't design, though he may have consulted on) is not the "bullnose". That feature was on the latter NLA (New Large Advent circa 1976). The original is described as the "bevel edge" or simply the walnut Large Advent The differences between the two were significant, but didn't change the sound character much at all. The woofers were the biggest difference along with the cabinet (the baffle was more forward in relation to the decorative front edge to reduce diffraction). The tweeter were "hotter" though.
d. Unfortunately, Henry Kloss had only a passing influence on Boston Acoustics. In actuality, it was established by Advent "alumni" Andy Kotsatos and Frank Reed. BA might have been a bigger "mover" had Henry been involved and might have still been a big fish.
Thanks for the memories. For anyone that loves the Advent or KLH speakers, either the new KLH Model 5 or 3 or Wharfedale Linton will do you right. I prefer the Wharfedale at this time.
1You should add a Bluetooth module if the power can handle that
bose series 4 great speakers
Yeah, I was gonna mention that, LOL,
One day my buddy and I walked into his step dads warehouse and asked what are those giant speakers sitting in the corner. He said they are JBL L300 Summits. They were hooked up to a McIntosh amplifier. Never heard anything like it in my life. 20 years later saw his dad again. Asked about the speakers. Still sitting on the same corner. I asked if he would sell them to me. He said give me $150 and they’re yours. No joke. Greatest speaker ever made. Period!
I saw an old photo of Neil Young in his house and he had JBL L300's in the living room. They are legendary.
I had something similar happen to me with an immaculate pair of aDs 910s, though the seller didn't go as low as yours; half-price of $900. Originally selling for $1900, but he got so much nonsense from low-ballers that when he found out I had a pair of L810s and agreed that his asking price was still a good deal, but a bit out of my budget, (I thought they were $950/pair, not each.) he said he'd take $900. Then, after talking about shipping, he said he didn't want them shipped 'cause he'd put a lot of work into the cabinets and crossovers and he worried the stands might be damaged as well, so for $50 for gas, he drove 2+hours/each way to deliver them to my house.
Eternally grateful to that very generous man! And, the 910s are likely my end-gamers.
What! 150 bucks for a pair of l300s??
RE: JBL... In the early '60s while researching 'HiFi' equipment prior to buying anything...I ran across mention of the virtual pinnacle of speakers, the JBL RANGER PARAGONs...priced at $3800 USD. Don't know if that was each -or- a pair, but Way, way out of reach for me...even Now. Also wish to add highly acclaimed ALTEC-LANSING
"VOICE of the THEATER"spkrs owned by a colleague @ NASA in mid '60s.
Still enjoying my beautiful walnut-vaneer 1964 HeathKit AS-10 acoustic-suspension bookshelf spkr sys.,licensed by AR[Acoustic Research]
DJ-TX
P.S. Re:Heath AS-10 above... both sturdy enclosures have recently been seriously upgraded to a 3-way sys w/very efficient, high wattage spkrs. Fantastic Results.
Bought a pair of JBL L 100's + pioneer sx-750 as freshman in college 1975!!!!!....both the receiver + JBL's are in my in basement....playing LP collection for 25 years.....i'm 65 now....sounds just as kickass now as when i was 18....can only go 1/2 way on volume....get blown away!.....i think i got my money's worth.
In the 80s, I inherited a pair of HPM 100s. When my wife gifted me a pair of Cornwall lls I gave the HPMs to my college-bound son, who happens to have a penchant for great music/sound from a very early age. During his second year both speakers were damaged/blown during a wild party, and he put them in storage at a friend's apt. awaiting my pick-up. They grew legs and walked off. In 1967 I bought a complete ensemble of the best stereo available at the time...AR tt, receiver, AR 3 speakers, AR2 ax speakers, and a reel to reel Sony tape deck. Owned a set of 3D Acoustic speakers following the great reviewer Julian Hirsch. In the early 90s I acquired a dealership for the Klipsch line to complement the Sony's, the Sansui's, the Pioneers, NAD, etc that I was selling through my video store. I still have my Cornwalls, along with my Klipsch surround sound stuff.
I live on the shores of a beautiful lake in New Brunswick, Canada. 25 years ago while doing some night time interior painting I moved the Cornwalls out on the deck and my wife says to put on something as a salute to the full moon reflecting on the still waters. Naturally Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" was the choice, among others. I got 2-3 calls from 1.5 miles across the lake to keep on spinning the music.The Cornwalls can do that!
Epic
❤
I talked my grandma into opening a silo credit card to get the AT-15 Cerwin Vegas, my neighbors always knew when I was home!! I remember the bass driver blew one of the corners apart and I called Cerwin Vega and they sent me a new one. Thanks grandma ❤
Before I got married 30 years ago I bought a pair of Cerwins (vs 120’s) but had no sofa or chairs to sit on. Still have them today. They still rock!
I respect and share your priorities 100%
Bought Advents in 1973. Wonderful speakers. Had a toggle switch on the back so people who were underpowered could reduce the high end to protect the tweeters from clipping.
One of the guys in our dorm arranged for a dance at the girls' dorm next door, coordinated the music and solicited over a half dozen guys to bring their stereo systems and hook them all together. To say it was sweet would be an understatement.
Another time, a friend with the smaller Advents and I did the same thing for our campus ministry group. One of the songs that we played was "Lucky Man" by Emerson, Lake and Palmer. There's a lot of low frequency synthesizer at the end, and the stars aligned and we (by chance) had the speakers placed perfectly to hit resonance in the room on the lowest note. It felt like the room shook and I was surprised that we didn't blow out the windows.
Nice to see my Advents on your list. I had 4 STACKED with the tweeters together. Purchased mine from Sound of Music company in 1976. I loved the smell of the stereo store when you stepped inside the front door. I earned a whopping $2.40 an hour which made the Advents an affordable value. Aerosmith, Foghat, BTO Boston, Styx, Kansas drove the neighborhood crazy with those. Really miss them!
I still have em stacked. Just posted yesterday! ruclips.net/video/e4eZ_h760Bw/видео.html
Me too! In ‘78! Same groups plus steely Dan and Elton John and cream
Saw all of those great bands more than once
What model is your fav?
I believe my Advents cost around $89 each. I also have small advents I think around $50 each. They blew away the ARs.
I worked in a Stereo/ TV store from 1977 thru mid 1985. Best time and place ever for a young man as we were in a mall ! I sold a ton of 4311s, AR15s, and even Altecs early on. One of my favorite speakers for the money was Boston Acoustics. I own and still use a set of L96s. ( Reconed the woofers in 2003). Love your channel. It is extremely nostalgic for me because I recognize and have sold many of the things you feature!
Boston Acoustics certainly had the best value for money in America at the time, just like Bowers & Wilkens in Europe
Why does it take SO LONG for you to finally get to the point? Every video.
My main speakers are the A200s
what did you re-cone with ??
@@jameswoodland5639 At that time there was a shop about 90 miles from me that re-coned JBL speakers.
At one time I owned two pair of the Sansui SP-X1100 speakers. Those were awesome for straight stereo listening. Over the years, they degraded and the odd size of all of the drivers made it impossible to replace them. My older brother still owns one pair of these. I bought them, along with a whole rack of pro Pioneer equipment while serving in the US Marine Corps. Okinawa, in 1978/79 was a great opportunity to purchase esoteric stereo equipment at a great price. Drivers per side: 2-17" woofers, 2-6 1/2" midranges, 2-2x6 horn tweeters, 2-1 1/2" super tweeters. They would rock the house. In order to isolate the woofers, they placed them in separate cabinets, with the crossover on of half, connected to the other half using an 8-pin tube socket and pins. Very rare and unique.
I had a friend with these, powered by a Sansui AU-X1 Integrated amplifier, with the matching TU-X1 tuner. The bass was prodigious, with no need for sub-woofers.
I set up a sound room that mimics a 1970s audio store I used to love them as a teenager but I couldn’t afford the high end stuff I lived at radio shack when I was a teen. I would but a decent system and was able to put equipment on layaway that was around 1979. But now I have 7 systems set up marantz, onkyo pioneer Sansui Yamaha all 100 watt and above with Ar3a s , hpm 100 , jbl l100 , original large advents , realistic Mach ones , plus closets full of gear this is my premium set up all equipment has been relamped , recapped all is in mint condition. And they are all hooked up to demonstrate. My wife calls it a pawn shop . Most people who see it just don’t get it they see it and are like wow that’s a lot of stereos. Love your channel that you relate to our addiction to the golden age of audio. I spent about 13 years collecting this stuff all along the north east driven miles and miles to get this stuff and every piece has a story as I bought most from the original owners. It’s like your buying a family member lol. Anyway rock on keep the videos going
Gary from Long Island.
I just got a pair of AT-15's for free, then ordered a foam kit for the woofers. Now, I just need to find the time to repair them. Can't wait to hear what they really sound like, especially after hearing your comments on them.
You will love them i have 3 pairs of vegas their great!
Really great line up you presented; those JBL's and HPM-100's were everywhere in the late 70's-early 80's. Each of those speaker brands seems to have a loyal following all these years later. One of my close friends bought a pair of HPM's and I liked them so much, I bought a used pair of HPM-150's...those things were heavy, but the sound was amazing. I added a pair of HPM-1100's a few years later, I miss those days! Thanks for your time on this one!
Lose the background music 😱
My buddy had Pioneer HPMs fantastic . I brought my precious Micro Acoustics and ABed them. Ugg, my sounded like everything was rolled off ugg.
I saw a pair with the acrylic see through cabinets on eBay a while back they were priced pretty good
I have a pair of JBL C100 s I bought in 1977. They have been rocked to death and they are still sounding as good as the day I bought them
Another positive for the Heresy; With the Heresy II you should still be able to get the Heresy III upgrade kit from Klipsch ($600/pr last year). This includes all new compression drivers, horns, new woofers, and new crossovers. I did this with mine, and it made a huge difference. Like Kevin says though, they are very forward. Slight eq to bring down 2k does wonders (I use a schiit loki mini+). When I had mine apart, I also took the time to prep the insides of the cabinets and add some NoRez from GR Research. I did have to do some sanding to enlarge the tweeter hole to physically fit the larger magnet through. The pair of II's I bought were $600 in working condition. All in I spent maybe $1400. If I were going to do it again, I'd buy a pair with a dead driver or two for cheap, but with physically good boxes.
Still have a pair of pioneer CS-99A. 15” woofer, 6 speaker 5 way crossover. The cones were made of a wool-paper combination called “free beating”. They only handle 100 watts rms. I bought them on a Navy ships store for $150.00 each in 1972. They we’re starting stateside at $550.00. I have them 6 inches off the floor and upside down. Just a thing. When I shipped everything back, the receiver hadn’t come yet, so I rigged a simple turntable to them and they sounded great, just not enough power to give the boom from the woofers. I think it only had a few watts for the single cone in the turntable speakers. They made these with solid walnut cabinets. The paperwork says they weigh 65lbs, and yes, they are heavy! Not sure what they are worth now, never really bothered to look. The sound is great, especially the bass, it will shake the walls. Good thing there in a house, even now, I like my music sort of loud. Reminds me of many bands I got to see back in the 70’s. Like Zeppelin, Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Genesis, even Kiss. To this day I still tell people that when Kiss was done, I had to go outside and hurl, because they were extraordinarily loud. I wasn’t the only one outside. They played second, with Gentle Giant 1st, and Wishbone Ash last. Wishbone tried to be just as loud, but lots of us left because of that. Bummer!
The speakers have passed the test of time, just keep the speakers clean and the wood oiled. The grills are made from woven wood strips over a sheer cloth, no plastic and no foam!
I bought my JBL 4312A Control Monitors in 1986. They have withstood incredibly loud rock music on an almost daily basis for over 35 years and they still sound as great as they did the day that I bought them. They look cool and sound even better.
You must not play them very load. Tweeters and midranges blow easy on them.
I finally got ride of mine. HPM 100's are way better.
They are incredible loudspeakers, i have mine since 87,working everyday, and loud, one thing when you place them, and you ve found the good spot , you won t have to crank the volume, because they ll sound very big, like you ll have the impresión that they are like big big speakers,i guess the same will happen with a lot of speakers.. move it to another position, and you might be disapointed as they will sound poor,, positioning is very important, i use them in a very big room, not in a nearfield conditions,, that s why i love them,relatively small speaker for a very big large sound,,, American sound!
@@cammontreuil7509 The JBL 4312 can handle huge amounts of power with mimimal distortion at all. I had a par of JBL 4311B and played them for 40 years still all original and sold them s had to move and downsize everything. When I was going to buy the JBL 4311B in 1978 I had heard of and see the Pioneer 100's and I was glad that I didn't buy them as me and everyone who heard my JBL 4311B always loved their sound and very loud volumes as they were also very efficient. It was the studio version of JBL's biggest speaker ever the JBL L100 Century, the speaker that was on the side of the Maxelle cassettes case and commercials. The JBL L4311 Control Monitor was used to record 30 lps that went gold for the sound engineer for the Eagles.
The JBL 4312A were as good or even better than my speaker the JBL 4311B Control Monitor, which I partied with for 40 years then sold them in all like new original condition as nothing ever broke or wore out.
I bought a pair of JBL L100s in 1974 as my all-time favorites, overriding the salesman at Pacific Stereo’s total promotion of his Klipsch preference. To me, when compared side by side, the JBLs blew away the Klipsch with that open air sound. Plus, the JBL grills and cabinetry were esthetically superior. I recently added a pair of ESS AMT 1As with the Heil tweeters, air motion transformers, and passive radiators to supplement my JBLs. What a combination when played together! Beautiful crystal clear sound while also having a dipole effect from the ESS AMTs emanating off the room’s corners. All are powered by my Marantz 2270. Oh, and I just picked up a Marantz 2285B as a new toy.
Marantz is a good match for them actually most speakers do well with them
I had a friend who was a singer, and always bragged about Bose speakers, but did not own any; it got somewhat heated when I informed her that there are many comparable speakers on the market which are better than Bose 901's. I ran into a deal and was able to purchase a pair of 4001's; when I told what I had she inferred that there was no such ting as Bose 4001 speaker, I told her, I forgot that you did not finish high school and you have a tin ear. She never knew what I was talking about. She died young: too much meth usage, I do not have any remorse, addicts are suicidal.
You have excellent taste in speakers IMO.👍
Those ESS sounded GREAT!
Good taste! All excellent speakers.
I bought the 4311 when was just out of High School in 1979, was working in a Stereo Repair Shop, got them at the wholesale price of $250 each. I used them at parties with a Marantz 2245, rocked the place. I still own them; they are very rugged speaker. Theas are the iconic 70s Rock speaker, I love them.
The original Heresy is quirky sounding, but under the right conditions, they can shine. Back in my college daze, at the end of the '70s / early '80s, a good friend owned a pair of them, driven by a Macintosh MC 250 tube amp. It took only a few watts to get them going, but when he soaked the Heresy set with the Mac near wide open, they would take it, blasting out massive decibels without breaking up. They sounded like a small concert PA and made my hair stand up. I will never forget the time he put on "Good Lovin" by the Rascals, and turned the Mac up all the way. Ear splitting volume, music clean and clear. I never heard anything like it inside an apartment before or after that.
I bought my D9's 10 years ago. In mint condition. I was worried about the grills so I put them in the cab of my truck. My wife proceeded to put her feet on them and break them in half. 😡 So they've been without the grills ever since. I absolutely love these speakers. Yes I have replaced the foam since. They rock!!!
As a musician, (bass player) Cerwin Vega 18" speakers, in the 70's were the BOMB! I had a Acoustic model 360 pre amp with a folded horn (Amp built in the speaker cabinet) 18" speaker cabinet!! I never had a band or guitar player go louder than my Fender P Bass through this system!!!!
Cerwin Vega AT-12s! Excellent for electronic music. 🤘🏻 great video!
The 4311 was a nearfield monitor before the NS10 was introduced in 1978, the reason why the tweeter and midrange was placed at the bottom, to sit on the meter bridge putting them at ear level, a lot of albums in the 70's were mixed on them for example, Steely Dan, Brian Eno, Quincy Jones "Bruce Swedien etc. Overheads or "farfields" as you were calling them were usually Westlake TM1's
Now I was in the studio Steely Dan used back then. I'm pretty sure they had Altec 604's with subwoofers added. I owned a studio from '84-'86. I don't know of anybody who used 4311's as a near field monitor. Most mixing at that point was done on the main monitors and then checked on Auratones or something similar. The people who were using near field monitors were virtually all using NS-10's (a lifeless speaker if ever I heard one). 4311's were popular as the main speakers in budget studios, ad agencies, and by some producers who traveled between studios so they would have a known reference. They were of course, and remain, very popular as home speakers for musicians and others in the music industry ( I have had the same pair of 4411's, coupled with various subwoofer's, as my home speaker for over 35 years)
Yes, the Pioneer HPM-100’s are amazing !
Thanks for the memories. I bought a pair of Marantz HD660's in the late 70s. Powered by a Pioneer SX780. Loved those speakers. I thought they compared nicely to the Pioneer HPM100s. Which some friends had. late 80s upgraded to the Klipsch Cornwalls. I was driving them with a Marantz 2500 with optional solid walnut surround. It was a great system. Miss those days.
Great video, I have a pair of D-9's that I absolutely love. Your assessment is spot on, not the most detailed sound, but they will handle anything you throw at them! we used to call them "eviction speakers" LOL!! Whatever you are jamming to your neighbors will be too.
I have, and routinely use a pair of Altec Lansing Model 19 speakers. I have the original manuals and paperwork and I am the 2nd owner. They are big. powerful and a fantastic speaker for music or movies.
I have had mine over 30 years. And have never heard anything equal to them I could afford not just to own but to power. These things take what ever you throw at them!
I have had A7’s but I downsized to 846 B’s in the house…. I restored a pair of A4’s- that was a fun project
I have the Altec Lansing Valencia since 1975. Still use them as my main speakers.
Back in 1974 I went to Labells in Lakewood Colorado and AB'd JBL L100s, Dynaco A35's, and Klipsch Heresy's. Klipsch, the ones I went with because of the dynamics, the vocals, and even the mid bass was so good. The JBL's had lower "thump", the Dynacos, didn't have the dynamics, but the JBL's just didn't produce the mid range and highs as well. I've moved way beyond those early days and have many found memories doing party sound with the Heresy's with an Advent 300 15 watt receiver. I must mention that I purchased a Citation 12 Deluxe amp and then upgraded to MG10 Magneplaners to up the sound quality. It was that amp/combo that I discovered how different amps can sound coupled to different speaker driver loads. That happened when a friend brought over his Citation 16 amp, a much newer design with many more output transistors, power, and much better TIM specs then the older Citation 12 amp of mine. On the Heresy's the sound improvement was great. In any aspect one could imagine. Better bass, midrange, treble, and even sound stage. But, on the MGII Magneplaners (basically a non reactive load) the sound was less musical with more of a sizzle slightly artificial sound. The older Citation 12 with much simpler circuitry/signal path the sound was smoother and more musical, even considering the MG's should benefit with more power. Well that opened up my mind to how component interfacing can make a huge difference to sound quality. Note that with the Heresy's I did some sound for my girlfriend of that era, who had a wonderful voice and did some music from Karla Bonoff, Joni Mitchell, ect. playing her D9 Martin and using a Revox A77 mic input stage with the Citation 12 amp feeding the Klipsch Heresy's to get some incredible sound in small bar room environments. When we parted company, I gave her the Heresy's.
I think Cerwin Vega are great if you have tone controls. I really like your take on these speakers. I am shocked that there actually is someone who is as honest as you are doing what you are doing.
I'm still running D-9s I bought in the 80s! Fantastic bullet proof speakers!
Personally, I love Klipsch horns. I had a pair of K-Horns for years and now wish I'd never sold them. The mids and highs were absolutely spot on for MY ear. Maybe not yours, but I loved them. Played any kind of music easily and well. As always YMMV. On a second note another absolute FAVORITE were my RTR 280DR towers. AMAZING speakers. I'd buy those again TODAY!
I remember discovering the RTR’s at about the same time as the ADS were brought to my attention. What a great time for home 2 channel hijinx. Awesome stuff everywhere. I don’t run into RTR as much these days but when I do it’s a treat. I’ve tried to explain this enjoyment of 2 channel to my sons but alas not much luck it is one of the few things that their generation was robbed of-oh that and stylish automobiles. Take Care.
As a kid in 1980-81, I bought RTR G80's, then moved to Altec Lansing Model 14's, then in 1988 I bought the LaScalas. Had them ever since. Recently replaced drivers and crossovers with Bob Critz upgrades. Glad I kept them. Kept my wife also!
Stepan, I wish I had purchased some La Scalas at some point in my history. those are amazing speakers sir!@@stepanbandera5206
You do really good videos. I am one of those Heresy freaks, I run four in a huge room with a Macintosh integrated amp. You are 100% correct, Heresy’s ARE weak in bass and the horns can be fatiguing after a long time. I do have a Klipsch sub woofer, which takes care of the low end, control of the source, volume and tone controls can reduce ear fatigue, beyond that, they are great and have a full unique sound. Mine are 40 years old, and survived a fire and a lightning strike. All were professionally checked out at the Klipsch warranty shop, and all are 100%. These things are tough. Again, you are right, it’s just personal preference and all the other speakers you mentioned I have heard and are great. Good choices. Thanks!
Thanks for understanding that it's just personal preference. Some people take it way too seriously. It would be a very boring world if we all liked the same thing :)
This video is right up my alley. I have collected a bunch of older speakers and have restored them. Love it as a hobby. I own 3 pairs of Advent's, Cerwin Vega AT-12s but there are a few of my own honorable mentions. My Polk Audio Monitor 7's and my Dahlquist M907 (same driver as an OLA but with a mid and a Vifa tweeter). Subbed your channel a few weeks ago and I haven't regretted it! Great stuff
I own a pair of DWD speakers. They built here in Fresno during the 70's. They were on my Dads Pioneer SX626 and 1215S Dual turntable. They had come with a lifetime warranty. They are beautiful woodgrain 10" 2 way. After 15 years the guts were upgraded at no charge. Of coarse no longer around. 10 years ago replaced the guts with piles. The cabinets are beautiful now as they were. The sound is outstanding.
Bought my HPM100’s and SX780 receiver in 1979 brand new when I was 18 just starting college Still have them won’t part with them I have other audio equipment (maybe too much) but still go back to them for playing vinyl and cd’s
Still have mine too.
Thanks for this channel!
I grew up with my father's system. 2x Pioneer CS-99a & 4x CS-06.
Inherited from him. Still run the 99a through a rebuilt Sansui 7000. Gifted the 06s to a friend who runs them through a mid-90s Denon.
I run a pair of JBL 4311 Control Monitors and Bose 901's thru a Luxman R-1120 receiver/amp and I love the sound!
My d9's are wearing their grills but I have to admit pulling them off time to time.
Love all the bands you listed at 50 my music taste hasn't changed.
I have them running off the pioneer elite vsx99.
Really enjoyed watching, I'm all about some old school audio.....and everything else old school
Thanks for sharing ✌️
Bought a pair of Polk Monitor 10Bs in 1984. Loved their sound.
In the seventies you couldn't go wrong with jbl or Corwin Vega usually paired with pioneer relievers, our first home stereo was 7.5 watt Rotel receiver with 2way acoustic research speakers, sounded good actually
Back In The Day, my old roomie and I were running 2 pair of Large Advents, stacked & wired in parallel, driven by a Phase Linear 700 amp. "Live At Leeds" was in heavy rotation back then, regularly rocking the house. I miss those days....
I love your reviews. I shopped for four years before buying the Cerwin Vega HED-15s in 1980. Every Cerwin Vega 15" speaker made after that is a downgrade in my opinion. Consumer Reports rated them with the lowest speaker fatigue and they were supposed to hold their specs longer than their competition at the time. My HED-15s have pleased musicians like John Denver, The Indigo Girls, John McCune, The Guess Who, Savoy Brown, The Russian Rock Opera, and many other performers on stage for decades. I have refoamed them twice and replaced the tweeters once. I matched them with a Kenwood Eleven GX-7 I picked up in Japan a year earlier. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.
I want a Pair of Cerwin Vega Earthquake subwoofers for my house ! People think im crazy but growing up in NY going to the best clubs in NYC I know what these subwoofers can do ! I love Cerwin Vega !
I'm a lucky guy to still have my Large advents furniture grade from 1976 reformed and rocking my garage manager, but I bought JBL L100s, and 4311WX over a dozen years ago. My older friends put JBL in my head long ago. I have one of each R & L with the L100 on the floor tilted on wood JBL stands, and the 4311 on top but firing straight out with tweeters on the bottom but close to the ear when seated. I didn't know they are considered far monitors. I have them 15 feet away from the couch. I hope that is considered appropriate. I love them, and proud to be so fortunate. All the best to you and stay healthy!!
The JBL 4311 is a NEAR field monitor not a far monitor. I know I bought a set of JBL 4311WX new in 1979 for $900 Canadian and sold them last year Oct 2021 in all original components and in perfect condition for $1,200 as I was moving and downsizing. I had originally gone to the JBL store to buy components for my Dream speaker and the salesman said why build it just buy the JBL 4311 WX. So I bought them and I loved them and had about 1,000 parties with them including a few DJ events I did with them. I and all my friends loved them. They were great at low and full blast volume. The guy that bought them off me showed ma a photo of 6 sets of audiophile speakers he had in his basement and said he was looking for a perfect condition set of JBL 4311 for 5 years and after hearing mine loud he paid my asking price. they sounded great with all types of music from Beatles to Led Zeppelin to Enya and classical music and everything in between.
Great story of your 4311s! Do you know what distances that are considered optimal for the far field 4311 monitors should be listened to? And how about the L100s? Any thoughts are cool. Thanks!
@@dboy6896 I owned JBL 4311Wx-A Control Monitors for 42 years sinice new. The components are not vertical they are close together they are NEAR field monitors can be on the console or 5 feet or 20 feet away just move them and adjust them best for you in an small or large rood. They sound incredible at all volumes and distance and music. You hear each instrument with them instead of just sounding good like most speakers. The Eagles sound engineer won 30 gold records and only used the JBL 4311 and keep them away from the walls and floor so they sounded neutral. The sound great with 1 watt or 150 watts. They were the best compact speaker in the world when they cane out and used in bars, homes and with $1 million recording consoles. Mine were JBL 4311WX-A CONTROL MONITORS. They blew away the Boston Acoustics 2 way $900 compact monitors with 1" dome tweeter and 5 inch bass I also owned. The last 20 years I had the JBL 4311 on about 18 inch stands so off the floor and tighter and also at ear level so better.
Thank you for your reply! My 4311s are the same as yours. WX-A walnut models. I have them 26 inches off the floor with the tweeters at ear level when seated. They sound great! I also love knowing so much of my favorite music was mixed using these very speakers. Cheers to you and thank you again!
@@dboy6896 Congratuations on your JBL 4311 WX-A. I loved them and so did my friends for the decades I owned them. I read a great about them. They were the next best thing to LIVE MUSIC. Another great quote is recording studios also liked the fact that they were one of the very rare speakers where is someone dropped their guitar on full volume the JBL 4311 wouldn't self-destruct. Also JBL built them because in the 1970's the big record labels in the US and England asked JBL for a smaller and better Control Room Monitor. Stereo Review in 1974 Julian Hurst the sound engineer reviewed the JBL L100 and they said it could take the full power of their 1,000 watt amplifier and they had only about 1% distortion at high volumes. Also that they sounded extraordinary and sounded very similar to their Reference Monitors. Those were 1974 L100 so our 4311 WX-A were even better than that. Also that their special coated woofer had no polypropylene so the woofer wouldn't disintegrate into dust 25 years later like all the polypropylene speakers and need to be reconned.
I recently bought 3 Marantz t-shirts from your webshop, and I still feel that I owe you guys. You brought me back to those great Hi-Fi days of the past...Priceless. This is a great channel, keep it up! Will count the days to get those T-shirts! And once again, thanks for the outstanding reviews!
Thank you so much! Really appreciate it :)
I procured the "equivalent" Cerwin Vega's at the time, my freshman year: 1981. Powered by a Sony STR-V55 they could sure shake a dorm room. At that time they were great for the purpose as you say. Just as in the song Ice Ice Baby, "Now that the party is jumpin'.
With the bass kicked in and the Vega's are pumpin' "
I was literally forced to remove the grill grates from them by my room and dorm mates so they could see the red ring. You are so right about that.
You have credibility with me. My best friend (back in the late 70's) had the JBL 4311's and they introduced me to superior life-like sounding stereo. I in turn bought the HPM-100's and when the cabinets got damaged from shipping them half-way across the globe, I custom build some new cabinets out of cabinet-grade plywood and installed all the original components. Sounded just as good as factory, maybe a little tighter. I currently listen to a vintage pair of Klipsch KG-4's which some say out perform the Heresy at a fraction of the cost. I guess we have (about) the same ear in music. Just for giggles, I would add the Sansui Trip-9's. Cheers!
I always wanted a set of the Realistic Mach 1's back in the day! I have no idea how they sounded, but they looked badass!
I have them right now and they are badass very efficient but absolutely LOVE powerful AMPS
@@bealssnow9551 I've just picked up some mint mach 2s for 60 bucks just need refoamed
I was a Radio Shack store manager in the early 80's. Mach One speakers were an easy sell! But I would stack the deck by running Realistic Super tweeters in tandem. It would really make then sparkle!
i purchased my Vegas in the late 70s, dont remember the model # but they were the 10" woofer, mid and tweeter. i still own and use they and i did have to refoam them once...i still love them.
a few moths ago driving along i spotted what looked like a big box speaker in the trash, to me it looked like a Cerwin Vega so i hit the brakes hard and went back. i dont normally hunt trash piles but this one i had to look at lol...turns out there were 2 Vegas with the 12" woofer mid and tweeter, but one woofer was missing. i ordered a woofer from Ebay went thru the speakers hooked them up to my vintage Sansui and maaaan they rocked the house! i looked on Ebay to see what they were selling for and i crapped my pants. lol
My dad had Klipsch Klipschorn (aka "corner horn") speakers, all my life. I found out that he sold them a few years ago. It was difficult to keep the tears at bay, when he told me. I still feel like I'm going to inherit them and then I remember.
Apparently he custom built his house but left his speakers to fall apart in a storage shed, then sold them for less than they were worth. A scenario I never could have imagined.
I was a musician who worked as an audio consultant/ salesman tech guy at two different hi fi stores able to buy equipment at staff prices. Loved that time in my life. This guy from Sky Labs is very credible and a cool dude who knows what he is talking about.
POLK MODEL 10.....Should have been on the list !!!!
I have an honorable mention for this list ,
I bought a pair of Yamaha
NS-9191s in 84 overseas
to my knowledge they were never available here in the states , they still sound as good as the day I got them ! 250 watt , 5 -way bass reflex , 17" woofer, 5.5" midrange , 3 horn driven tweeters , with overload protection.
Paid $230.00 for them !
Best money I ever spent .
I recall in the bad ole 70s when the 15 inch woofer became such as craze, even Radio Shack offered the Mach 1. I could never feel the difference; I never could hear the difference, between a 12 inch and a 15 inch. Though in the real, bad ole 70s, 1974, did see the movie Earthquake in a sensoround theater pumping cerwin vega speakers, but these monsters were huge. I have wondered what a copy of the Earthquake vinyl soundtrack sounds like through the consumer cw D9's, though. My largest is the RSL 3800s with the 12 inch. (And, yes, I have the original movie Earthquake album). I feel like such a relic, some days.
LOL, I love it. It is just a red ring around a woofer. LOL. Well said!
My RSL 3800s, and the earlier 3600s were the reason Roger Sound Labs were sued by JBL for copyright infringement. My 3800s have a 91 to 93 db of efficiency, and the 3600s were patterned after the JBL 100s (miss maxell tape lol) RSL won the suit, though. Oh, yes still have a High Fidelity magazine with that JBL 100 ad - really a maxell ad).
I bought a pair of Cerwin-Vega S1s in 1980 and kept them for almost 40 years.
They were (and remain) unlike anything else Cerwin-Vega ever produced, IMO. Sold them to a friend 2 years ago. He's currently using Crown to power them and they are still simply amazing
Some Boston history: Henry Kloss was at Acoustic Research before he was the "K" in KLH, but it was Ed Villchur at AR who invented the acoustic suspension speaker. Kloss wasn't associated with Boston Acoustics. The company was co-founded by Andy Kosatos, who started with Kloss at Advent. In fact, Kosatos had final say on the sound of the original Large Advent. Ten years later, when getting Boston Acoustics started, Andy was helped by former AR head of production Roy Allison, who let him use his magnetizer at Allison Acoustics.
Quite a group of guys and companies.
To make a sports analogy, it was kind of like the coaches (and future coach players) under Hayden Fry in the 80s.
You forgot about Henry Kloss inventing projectors! Happy Holidays from IOWA!!
I still have my KLH Model 24 and I still love 💕 its fabulous warm sound.
I love my HPM 100s, they’ve been my main speakers for the past 5 years. Recently picked up a pair of HPM 60s for my bedroom.
All real great . When you mention the Vega Red surround , I thought of my first set of real speakers with the Blue surround ( Jenson LS 5 , all four of them with Pioneer SX - 750 ) . I have the JBL L 100 t3 . Still sound great ( changed out the woofers to a better JBL 2204 ) . 30 Years old . High power ( 400 watt rating ) .
Nice video, I have the Cerwin-Vega! AT-15’s and AT-10’s, bought them new as a Teenager, since then I have had to reform them but they are still kicking.
Great video and choices. Brings back a lot of memories. Radio Shack's Realistic Mach One's were a party favourite in our home town.
I still have a pair of Mach 2s. I need to refoam them but I'm not getting rid of them. I remember rocking out to them and at that time I thought they were awesome especially at that price point
Im 70 years old and have owned most of the Klipsch speakers atone time or another. I own 4 pair now my main system has the Cornwalls . I have always liked their sound mainly because of the Horns.
P.S. I also worked in a high end stereo store and had the PLEASURE of selling to the public in the late 70's and early 80's. It was the BEST job that I ever had, even though I didn't make much money doing it!!!! Also, selling the HPM-100 was my favorite speaker of the day...built like battleships, they held up very well, sounded great and were priced right! Sold usually to a second or third time buyer who had learned his lessons and appreciated what they were!!!!!!!
its not that, the sound really undone and will just pollute the list, good to have opinion from actual user
i can just place it randomly but for what
A list of truly great speakers. If you are hard of hearing , or would like to become hard of hearing, you might want to pump those Cerwin Vegas on up boy !!
Cerwin-Vega! made a beautiful speaker the S-1. Not many people knew about them. Higher build quality than the mass production models. I know because we sold truckloads of A-123's. I still have a pair of B&W M801s2 speakers in our townhouse in Spring Lake NJ. Just got to listen to them for two weeks while we were in NJ.
I've got an old pair of them with the stainless steel tweeters. They're in storage now. Lol
I have a pair of JBL 166 Horizons that I prchased new in 1979 they still sound so good today,
I have a pair I also bought back in '79 and they are still alive and kicking.
Had the Advents listened to Bose 901s kept the Advents, much clearer, then a few years later listened to every speaker available and was blow away by the Celestion speakers. The clarity and sound stage was and still is incredible.
Do the Celestions match the Advents in the bass?
I have a pair of the At-15s. Since 1993 And in 1997 added a pair of Dx-9s to to keep them company. Had the foam rot. But no big deal. Just make sure to do it rite. I have run multiple differnt power amps.over time. In the late 90s i Had a pair of carver A500x amps. One for each set. And yes They would rock!!. Fast forward to 2015. I moved way up the power amp latter. And purchase a Pair of the McIntosh MC1201. Mono amps. Still using the vegas tho. 😊. Hooked to just the At-15s. First test was Dire straits Money for nothin. But on the sacd album. And Yes it would crank! And it sounded amazing clean clean crisp and detail. So much differnt than with the carvers. It could go Crazy Spooky loud without tripping the tweeter protection or blowing the main fuse. To where I Actually got scared. And stopped. Haha. Never had them get to that volume without popping fuzes or makeing the boxes sound like they was gonna rattle apart. So my personal experiences. I say Get a pair of the At 15 or Dx 9. Vegas. And then. If you want better. Look into upgrading the preamp and power amplifier. There is tons of options. That can Make a world of differnce..
I used to own ADS 810s, which were my holy grail speakers. I always thought the Advents sounded muddy, the CW too bright and the JBLs nearly perfect.
Fun to see speakers I recognize from my youth. Beautiful speakers.
As someone who bought sold & traded vintage gear for almost 20 years, I ended up with the Dahlquist DQM-9's. I have put them up against many many speaker brands & models, including the JBL 100's & 4311's... No contest imho. That's why I own 2 pairs. Couldn't live without them. They are SWEET!!! I would also include the ADS 710's & Ohm Walsh 2's which I also own.
How do these compare to the DQ 10 ???
Yes, plugged into a Marantz 2325 and pre-amp.
Bought a pair of Cerwin Vegas when I was in college. Bought a pair of stands to get them off the floor and tilt up. Made me the Bass head I still am today. The foam around the woofers did rot away. Wish I kept them same as with all my iconic toys and baseball cards. Great video thanks!
Nice video Kevin! I’ve had several on this list and also these really large Jenson speakers which are rock music great! Enjoyed my early ‘80s Heresy’s too! Moved to a larger space a got a deal on some Klipschorns and enjoyed for 3 years! Had to downsize and found my ultimate sweet spot with a pair of ‘80s Klipsch Cornwalls!
A comment about sound. Years ago I purchased a Yamaha DSP receiver that has 7.1 surround. The two front effect speakers make a dramatic difference. I now find the front effect speakers to be a requirement. However the Yamaha does not have an audio mode that uses the center speaker. Consequently I purchased a Denon that does. I now find both are a requirement and with multiple speakers two amps are required. I have enjoyed your videos.
You nailed this post as far as what's on the list in my honest opinion. The Cerwin Vegas are a big speaker. I never found them to be fatigue to listen to..yes a Rock speaker but I has no problem with listening to them with other genres of music. I never cared for the JBL 100..to brash.And the Advent were not my favorite listening pleasure speaker. Good value for the money.My cousin had a pair of the Pioneer HPM 100 and surprisingly I enjoyed them despite there coloring..nice. The Klipsh Heresay are an exceptional value for the money but not my choice..but they are an iconic speaker. Please review ADS 710..Or there floor standing models.Made in Germany by Braun...most definitely a overlooked favorite. Thank you for this post greatly appreciated 🙏.
In the early 80s I was at a electronics store that had these massive speakers that were around 4' tall and the top looked like a air raid trumpet style facing upward made out of a clear acrylic. I do not remember anything about them other than that strange looking top and how big they were.
I bought my Cerwin Vegas, a Harman Karden receiver and turn table at that time. I do not remember the diamond stylus brand but it was around 100.00 and was Yellow and white I think.
This was 82 or possibly 83.
I am a new subscriber to the channel. Thanks for the video.
Stay strong brothers.
I used to have a pair of Fisher D-12 speakers powered by a Pioneer SX-3700. I loved the combo! We hosted many parties together. Would love to have it back!
I had a very similar setup. I had the Pioneer SX-3900 driving my JBL 4311Bs. The Pioneer is long gone (sadly), but the 4311Bs are still my main speakers over 40 years later.
Loved advent back in the day never had the money till I was in the navy,went to buy them and advent changed them to a flat speaker. I bought Epicure 2s very bright great highs and 4 8 inch woofers. Still got them.
Love your list! I’m fan of those big efficient cv’s. They work well with tubes. Would love to hear the 4311.
I am still using my home made 1976 speakers, which each contain one 15" woofer, two mid-range drivers, and four tweeters. I did have to replace the outer rubber rings on the 2 woofers at one point in time, due to the rubber literally turning to dust. But that only cost about $27 CAD for replacements, plus an hour and a half work per woofer. Those combined with my Soundcraftsmen PE-2217 equalizer, sounds great. And yes, the cops were knocking on my door on one occasion. The two mid-range drivers per speaker are Philips De Forest dome mid-range drivers. The four tweeters per speaker are Philips AD0160 T8 Speakers Driver Speaker Tweeters. I don't recall the woofer manufacturer.
I bought a pair of AT 15 Cerwin Vegas in 91 also. I was in my 30s then, and owned my house, which meant I could crank those suckers crazy loud. One of the first things I did when I bought them was remove all the drivers and seal them with silicone because I heard sounds I believed where from air leaking, and sure enough it really improved the sound. The system I had was a Onkyo Integra preamp with an old school Bose touring amp which put out 400 watts per side at 4 ohms. 250 at 8 ohms. The AT 15 were 6 ohms I think, maybe 4. I measured 120 db + in my living room.
I bought a kenwood stereo system ( Separate components) in 1983 along with a pair of Cerwin Vega speakers (I don't remember the model number), they were some of the best sounding speakers. Nice and clear even at high volume. When I got divorced in 2000, my son took the system and I'm not sure how it happened but my brother ended up with the speakers. They still sound great.
I'm still listening to my original large Advents. But my favorite speakers are my Acoustic Research 3a . Sure, my hearing isn't what it was at 81 y/o but I've heard a zillion speakers and aside from the likes of Magna Planers and such, I'll stick with Henry's acoustic suspension design. Amps, cartridges etc. are fairly high end. One I think you like is my HK 930.
May 2020 I picked up a pair of Cerwin Vega MX-400 in almost mint condition for $650. More than I wanted but these didn't have a scratch and the foam was like new. And I believe they are one of the rarest of all Cerwin Vegas. I tried a couple different NAD receivers and they sounded good. They have an efficiency of 105db so I also tried a 2watt and a 3/4watt tube amplifier. I was blown away with how good the tubes made them sing! If anyone has Cerwin Vega with a high efficiency try a tube amp. You will not be disappointed! Unfortunately I didn't have the room and sold them 6 months ago for what I paid.
I'm using my old refurbished CV VS-120s and one of the new Denon power amps because it's the only amp in a decent price range that will go down to a 4 ohm load. I use the VS-80s for my rears and a large CV center channel from the late 90s. No sub needed really. Amazing low end out of the 12'sdown to 28hz =they go deeper than my commercial series 18 inch JBL's! Thanks for posting this Kevin!
I don't think anyone will argue with your list, those are all good speakers..
I've had a few over the years... A pair of large Acoustic Research studio monitors back in the late '80s, and a pair of Clarks from the '90s and a pair of Advents from the 70's... Today I have a pair of Polk towers..
Got the Advents tucked away in storage, which still work, but I'm afraid if they're pushed too hard they'll blow..
I learn something new every time I watch you videos!
Finally it’s been explained to me why the JBL 4311 is designed the way it is !
Major OCD here , I’ve seen them in local audio shops and shied away from them twice now.
Great speakers I’m sure and definitely a conversation piece, I enjoy vintage gear that comes with a story!
I am a household speaker enthusiast(not $180.000 speakers that need a room full of crossover gear🤣) and this video hit the spot ! Oh man those Cerwin Vega...I wanted them so bad in my twenties
And yes because of the red surrounds LOL !
Awesome video thanks!
Cerwin Vegas were my first real speaker I bought in 1985 with my tax return money. Can't remember the model but got them at Circuit City in Maryland on sale for like $300. I replaced them when the foam started crumbling 20 years ago. Wish I knew about re-foaming lol.
I recently bought 1989 Heresy II's and absolutely love them! The sound is huge, wide, dynamic, and detailed. The bass issue can be resolved with some sort of tone control. I use a Schiit Loki, which significantly improves the low end. The only real downside to Heresy's is that they're unforgiving with poor recordings.
I also have some some Heresy IIs in my speaker zoo. The fact that they are sealed yet highly efficient makes bass boost practical with a reasonably robust amp. They are also capable of astonishingly high SPL if NOT bass EQ'd but rather paired with a high output sub, as I have proven by using them as the mains for an outdoor wedding reception dance, crossed to the sub at 150hz. The youthful DJ got REALLY happy with the volume control and I was sure the tweeters would blow but they hung in there without a whimper. They can definitely be improved by EQing the rather forward balance, preferably by actively multiamping them with DSP, well worth the effort for the sonic result and the education in critical listening that you get from the tweaking process.
Speaker zoo. 👍👍
@@tenorman Collective nouns: a gaggle of geese, a murder of crows, an embarrassment of Klipsches. 🙄😉
@@naturalverities so 5 pair of Klipsch is a modest embarrassment or severe?
@@tenorman I'd say modest. I own 9 pairs if you count the LaScala bass cabinets with post-Klipsch drivers. But three of those pairs are flippers, not in use. Reselling the flippers helps pay for the keepers.
Still have my HPM-60M's that I bought new in Oct 1978 at the Larson Barracks Kitzingen, (then) West Germany audio club. Still love them the same now as I did back then. They are still pushed by my original Kenwood KA-5750 Stereo Integrated Amp that I've had since new as well, which I bought at the Rhein-Main AFB, (then) West Germany audio club in Oct 1978.
I'm so happy to see the Large Advents on your list! I've been a fan since I bought my first stereo system when I was 20, and I have never tired of these speakers. I listen to all sorts of music, from Miles Davis to Dropkick Murphys to Tamikrest, and I just think everything sounds great on the Advents. I actually have three sets; one of the "Small Advents" and two "Large". I have a set of the "second generation" Large Advents (with the rounded 'bullnose' cabinets) hooked up to my Pioneer SX1250, and another set of the original ones like you have pictured in your video hooked up to an ancient Harmon Kardon Citation II tube power amp.
One speaker I wonder if you've ever come across is the Phase Technology 8.5? About ten years ago I literally found a pair of these sitting on the curb waiting to go out with the garbage pickup. They looked pretty sun-bleached, and the foam surrounds were completely shot, but I knew they were worth investigating. I grabbed them (they are HEAVY speakers!) and took them home, where I ordered a new set of speakers, gave them some TLC with some "Restore-A-Finish" and put them back to work. They are great speakers! I use them in conjunction with a set of Small Advents (both 4 ohm speakers) and the sound is amazing.
Thanks for another really enjoyable video. Always fun! Good job. 👍
I still have my Ohm C2 (3-way 10") speakers I originally bought in 1978 and love them. I didn't have the money for the speakers I really wanted at the time, JBL L100s, but loved the sound of these as a runner up. Refoamed them a year ago and they sound just like they did back then, memory serving.
Tech Hi-Fi was really pushing the C2’s back then.
Any thoughts on the KLHs such as the Model 5, Mod 6, etc? Just curious what you think of those vintage KLH models.
Excellent speakers for sure
As a guy who spent the late 60s and ALL of the 70s selling HiFi, (and still love classic audio from that era) I could not agree more with your review. I own a pair of Advent large Utilities. (and an Advent 300 receiver used as a preamp) I love the acoustic suspension sound. My go-to speakers in the early 2000 were from NHT. They make a quality speaker at a very affordable price. I remember selling every speaker you mentioned. Anyway Nice job! Just let me now where you are. Love to visit your shop!
Over the past 10 years I've owned many of these or their bigger brothers, CV D9's, HPM 150's, Klipsch Cornwalls and JBL 4311's plus a bunch of other brands. All were fun speakers but once i bought a pair of Acoustic Research AR9's all these were sold off. It was a fun journey!
Had a pair of AR9's in 80s great speakers
I purchased a pair of DIATONE DS-35BmkII last week. The build quality and sound coming out of these 1978 speakers is fantastic. Very happy.
How far down on the list are AR 3As? In the early 70's, the Advents were the speakers you bought if you couldn't afford the AR 3A.
Very far down, as we have not had a pair come through our doors in 6 years for sale. Incredible speaker, but very rare as most people do not get rid of them.
Like you the Cerwin's where the speakers you wanted to listen to rock with, in high school ! So now all these years later, I have two sets, AT-12's and 280 SE's! I love the sound and the bass from them!
I bought a set of JBL 4311WX new in 1979 for $900 Canadian with tax and sold them last year Oct 2021 in all original components and in perfect condition for $1,200 as I was moving and downsizing. In 1979 I had originally gone to the JBL store to buy components for my own custom build speaker and the salesman said why build it just buy the JBL 4311 WX. So I bought them and I loved them and had about 1,000 parties in 41 years with them including a few DJ events I did with them. I and all my friends loved them. They were great at low and full blast volume. The guy that bought them off me showed ma a photo of 6 sets of audiophile speakers he had in his basement and said he was looking for a perfect condition set of JBL 4311 for 5 years and after hearing mine loud he paid my asking price. they sounded great with all types of music from Beatles to Led Zeppelin to Enya and classical music and everything in between.When I bought the 4311 I took out a bank loan for them from the bank and paid $60 a month for 18 months. When I moved from Montreal to Vancouver I sold almost everything except the JBL 4311 they went in their priginal cartons in the back of my station wagon. I've moved about 30 times in my life and when I moved the first thing I set up was the stereo system. By the way I don't do MP3 sound because the sound is compressed which sucks. I listen to LP's or Cds expect for RUclips. iTunes is compressed sound and most sound out nowadays is compressed, which sucks. That is why my name is UncompressedWAVmusic, which is actually Lossless or FLAC if you are into quality digital sound, unless you are listening to analogue LPS or CD digital sound.
I have the Pioneer CS 99A's hooked up to the Pioneer SX-9000, bought them in "73 and still sound great to these old ears! 😀