Vintage Audio part 5 - Speakers

[William]

I know some discussion about speakers came up in the previous discussions, but i figured I would break out a separate thread...

I've got a buddy who is willing to let me adopt some BOSE 501 SERIES II speakers. Has anyone run these before? Comments? A little bigger than what I was looking for but maybe. I'm currently running some smaller JBL speakers as well as a pair of Dayton audio speakers.


What are you driving and what do you recommend? Mrs William will not be keen on big tower speakers so there is that to consider.










William

[gasman]

I had a buddy that had of those exact speakers. I was a bit underwhelmed and friend ended up liking them but he said they were just okay and didn’t really live up to their hype.

[IFRider]

and since you are in New England, good chance to find them locally. Highly recommend the KIII's if you can get towers. Very accurate, warm and amazing for imaging.

The KIIIs are not big towers and sound amazing. Many if not all original suffer foam rot. Good news (really good news) is that you can get factory tuned replacements from Atomic HIFI. I am running a whole home theater with vintage snells and replaced all the drivers, sound is better than anything I demo'd at a reasonable price.

Warren

[mcteague]

Be advised that Bose is a dirty word in the hi-fi world. They have never been known for accurate sound.

Tim

[yinzerniner]

As anyone can recommend a set of wilsons or kharmas but i think that kind cashesh is better spent on houses and gold bullion.

Also depends on your sources. Cd, lossless digital, tubes, lp, solid state, Spotify, etc.

If you're looking at the pit of diminishing returns (roughly $750-1000/ speaker) paradigm, snell, dynaudio, klipsch, def tech, svs, kef, Martin Logan, etc are all great choices. Adding a clean sub for 500 helps immeasurably to fill in the sound and oomph.

If you're worried about depreciation get a set of B&Ws and call it a day.

Further down the rabbit hole you go .......

[kingpin75s]

Speakers are an area where technology has seemingly advanced the most. I really prefer new technology in this one area and run a mix of decades for other components.

IMHO the Revel Concerta2 M16 bookshelf loudspeakers are a great value in small starter HiFi speakers. New or a clean used pair.

If you want to really fill in the sound at some point 1 sub is fine, but stereo subs where you can control the gain and crossover (to as low as maybe 45-50) at a minimum really can create a cohesive 3-way sound with bookshelf speakers. Do not underestimate the effect of stereo subs for stereo listening.

[Ken Robb]

Bose 401s are what we use as rear speakers in our surround system and that's no real test of sound. OTOH they sit behind our seating area, the drivers are almost at ear level and each one has drivers on two planes which works well for surround sound. Leslie had these before we met and she thought they were fine. She is a music teacher with perfect pitch so I don't think they could be awful.

As to Bose' reputation with audiophiles: When the first 901 system came out I borrowed one to audition at home. At first I was impressed by the width of the soundstage on orchestral recordings. Then I tried some solo vocals. They sounded like the singer had a mouth 12 feet wide. :-)

I think Bose has always concentrated on providing a very open diffuse sound and eliminating any "boxiness" from the reproduction of music. This may account for a reaction from some listeners who like to "dissect" all the details of a performance. I admit to being somewhat in the latter group.

I loved Magnaplanars and Quad Electrostatics.
BUT when I brought them home to audition I found that their wonderful sound was so "beamy" that they had to sit in the middle of my room and point just one spot that got their best sound.

I ended up with Vandersteen Model 2s that I ultimately traded in for 2Ci Signatures. They provide me with open sound and great detail.

If your pal wants to give you the Bose or, at least, lend them to you to try, what do you have to lose? Lots of people like them and you may be one of them.

[rnhood]

Whatever you can afford in the Magnepan line is your best deal, assuming you're not going to push them against the wall. I've owned three pair, and a number of other high end speakers. The Magnepans are the real deal. Even the cheapest ones sound very good.

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by William

I've got a buddy who is willing to let me adopt some BOSE 501 SERIES II speakers.

Friends don't let friends listen to Bose.

Seriously.

Some good suggestions already in this thread, but again, since you didn't mention a budget, it's hard to target a recommendation. I will offer this: One of the best values in hi-fi loudspeakers I've come across in my >40 years in the industry (and by "value" I mean performance-per-dollar) is the Monitor Audio Silver Series. They currently make three different floorstanding models and one or two bookshelf variants, but for at least the past decade anything in MA's Silver series was a real sleeper, the sweet-spot in the price/performance game. For the price their sound is amazing. If they sold for twice as much as they did I believe they would still be competitive, and quite possibly still be considered amazing sounding. I sure hope mid-2000s is not considered "vintage" audio, but if you can find a 10-year-old pair of MA Silver floorstanding speakers they will probably be a steal. And your wife will like them better than Bose 501s.

If you really want something more vintage-y, look at ADC [edit: ADS, not ADC], B&W, Klipsch, or KEF. If you can find a ~35-year-old pair of Boston Acoustics BA200s whose drivers haven't disintegrated, snatch those up, they'll kill.

[rodcad]

Heresy. Small but seriously mighty.

[pjm]

I am, right now, listening to Sarah Jarosz on my Totem “The One” stand mounted monitors along with a Totem Lightning subwoofer. Power comes from a Simaudio Moon 340i integrated amp. Source is an Arcam CD36 CD player using the Moons built in DAC. Cable is all Nordost.

The thing I really love about just about all the Totems I’ve heard is that they sound great just about anywhere in the room. It’s not necessary to be sitting right in a sweet spot. Imaging is amazing.

[Ken Robb]

I finally got off my butt and checked our Bose speakers. They are 401s and work great as we use them for the rear speakers in our surround system. I never tried them as main speakers.

[duff_duffy]

I thought Bose sounded good until I swapped them for a set of Pinnacle Classic Gold Speakers. Wow, my ears are still thanking me. Try out a pair or two of speakers in your home, its amazing what a good set of speakers can sound like.

[joosttx]

Dyna audio special 40's are good looking, high quality, bookshelf speakers. If you want to go crazy then the Devore Gibbon 3XL are at the top of the food chain.

[Peter B]

I'm running a pair of Infinitesimal's driven by an NAD D3020 as my laptop sound system. Have a pair of Qbs that today serve as stands for a current pair of Wharfedale Denton 80th driven by the same amp. Good enough for my small space and tinnitus.