speakers for classic system

[laidbackdood]

Hi everyone...this is my first post on here...so bear with me!!!
I have been keen on hifi since i was 16 and i am now 49.
I still have a lot of my components from that time and now i am on the hunt for some speakers to top it off....here goes
Ariston Rd40 with linn basik plus arm and linn k9 cartridge.
Nad 3130 amp
Nad 6325 cassette deck(gets little use now)
Panansonic SL-PJ 325 CD player(not a bad sound)
sennheiser HD 250 headphones(excellent!)

I tried the turntable and amp out years ago with a pair of gale 301 and found they sounded awesome but maybe a little hard to drive.....have a chance at getting a pair of 302 for a good price(big brothers to 301)......Are they any easier to drive than the 301? Any thoughts on pairing them up with my components?Havent been able to find any reviews on this speaker or specs....My main listening will be via vinyl....cheers

[blackraven]

Do you have any idea of what the speakers Sensitivity and ohm specs are?

[laidbackdood]

No....I havent been able to find any specs on these speakers at all.

[Mr Peabody]

I'm not familiar with the brand you mentioned. On the affordable but really good for the money look at the JBL Studio, if not opposed to used a great speaker would be Dynaudio, something in the Audience, Excite or DM series would match well with NAD. The DM may be affordable enough to buy new depending on budget.

I'm not big on vintage speakers, most drivers tend to wear out over years. Klipsch is an exception, due to the high efficiency the drivers barely move and last for decades. If interested anything in the Heritage line is decent, the Forte and Chorus are good too. Klipsch are fun for a lot of reasons, they've gotten a bit of a bad rap when letting cheap product into Best Buy, I wouldn't say they are the best for a critical listener though.

[harley .guy07]

Well I found a little information on them and they look like they have a sensitivity of over 90 db which is pretty good but not close to 100 which would make them better for lower power amps like yours. But depending on your listening habits you might be fine. If you listen to your music at lower volumes for the most part you might be fine since they seem to cater to the lower powered side of audio. But I would say that the only thing that might be missing is the dynamic capability when it comes to the occasional cranking it up if that is something you ever do. They are going to be harder to drive than the 301's just due to the speaker themselves being more to drive due to more drivers and more cabinet. It really all depends on your listening habits, but I NAD amps have a very good dynamic headroom for there power rating.

[laidbackdood]

Well I found a little information on them and they look like they have a sensitivity of over 90 db which is pretty good but not close to 100 which would make them better for lower power amps like yours. But depending on your listening habits you might be fine. If you listen to your music at lower volumes for the most part you might be fine since they seem to cater to the lower powered side of audio. But I would say that the only thing that might be missing is the dynamic capability when it comes to the occasional cranking it up if that is something you ever do. They are going to be harder to drive than the 301's just due to the speaker themselves being more to drive due to more drivers and more cabinet. It really all depends on your listening habits, but I NAD amps have a very good dynamic headroom for there power rating.
Thanks for the info provided and comments.....I used to have a pair of kef carina 11 (pity i dont have these anymore) with this set up and they were 89db 1w 1m and they used to pump out a good sound...esp on my turntable.....I no longer have them unfortunately.....was looking at a pair of yamaha ns 45 too.....basically going to buy second hand.....the nad is rated as low power but like all their amps of that time....eg Power envelope....they can push it out without clipping too much.
I was thinking of getting an audio lab pre/power amp combo 100 watts.....c and p i think.......i remember they were an awesome combo of that era with a good quality phono stage...which i want to partner with my ariston rd 40 which i rate highly.I also have a creek amp 50 watts per channel i think model cas 4040.......I have a good idea this is a quality amp(one channel not working,so need to get fixed)
To me modern speakers are more geared to digital and i do appreciate the clarity and preciseness of digital...once you crank it up...i just want to cover my ears! Vinyl up loud is where its at for me.....anymore thoughts much appreciated.

[Mr Peabody]

If you are looking for a warmer speaker, which I presume from your comments, Wharfedale are decent and probably in your budget new. There are some Polk that are revered as well but I'm not familiar enough with them to guide you to the particular model/series.

Modern speakers may have improved and allow more detail but speakers vary greatly in sound, not all would make you hold your ears you just have to find the ones right for you.

What is your budget for speakers?

[E-Stat]

I'm not familiar with the brand you mentioned.
The poster is most likely from the UK as Gale hails from there. I worked for a shop in the 70s that sold the 401s. Nice three way speakers using dual woofers. Due to the driver orientation, they were intended for horizontal use.

Gale Loudspeakers (http://www.gale.co.uk/)

[blackraven]

I second the Wharfedale's but also look at PSB's. The lower priced B6 monitors up through the top of the line Synchrony's are a warmer sounding speaker. NHT Classic three's are another nice monitor.

[ardy]

I'd check out the local ebay for used Spendor speakers.Nice warm sound and images fantastic.Those Gales you are looking at are about 30 years old and probably need to be re-foamed if they haven't been.If you gave a price range it would help with the choices.

[laidbackdood]

They have been renovated recently...so thats good......I have a pair of sony three way speakers and an old marantz pm26.......to my surprise the marantz sounds much better with cd/speakers than the nad.....wheres the nad sounded better with tv/dvd movies etc.
so i am planning to match the ariston/nad/ and the gales......I find the nad is quite a warm sounding amp and the gale 301 were open and airy, if hard to drive but these 302 are a bit more efficent than the 301's.......they should have a similar sound to the 301's.

[hifitommy]

why not look for a bigger amp for the gales. also, do they have the slotted celestion hf1400 tweeter ? if so, they will image better than most speakers. and how about a pic without the grill cloth?

[emaidel]

I remember what was known as "The Gale Loudspeaker" in the late 70's, and early 80's. It had two active woofers, and a tweeter in the center, was beautifully manufactured, and had optional stands that made for a very modern appearance. I remember they were also quite inefficient, and sounded very, very good. I have absolutely no idea whatever their model number was.

What few people know was that, in 1980, ESS purchased the rights from Ira Gale to build The Gale Loudspeaker (after a disastrous bout with having purchased the Dynaco name, and ruining it), and wound up making a decent-sounding speaker, but one that didn't sound anything at all like the original, nor was it manufactured as well. Very few were sold, and of those that did, the walnut veneer strip along the front edge of the speaker often fell off. Not too long afterwards, ESS went bankrupt.

Another "fun" story from the past.

[Mr Peabody]

Good to see you Emaidel.

If the OP's Gales were active he should be able to push it with most any receiver or amp.

[E-Stat]

I remember what was known as "The Gale Loudspeaker" in the late 70's, and early 80's. It had two active woofers, and a tweeter in the center, was beautifully manufactured, and had optional stands that made for a very modern appearance. I remember they were also quite inefficient, and sounded very, very good. I have absolutely no idea whatever their model number was.
if they looked liked this (http://hifiexchange.com.au/image/cache/401.2-400x400.jpg), it was the 401. They were pretty nice, but I preferred two other speakers we sold, the Dahlquist and Magnepan. While the 401s had dual woofers, they weren't active in the sense of having internal amps and active crossovers.

[emaidel]

Yup, that's them! And I agree with your preferences, as I still use my Dahlquist DQ-10's to this very day, albeit with a few modifications (rebuilt woofers, new Emminence APT-80 super tweeters; new Dayton Audio upper bass drivers, and Hi-Fi Tuning fuses both as main fuses, and in the tweeter path).

When I pointed out to the "powers that be" at ESS that their version sounded entirely different, and that the walnut veneer was falling off, I didn't make many friends. I also found Ira Gale's answers to certain questions somewhat bewildering: when asked the value of certain capacitors in the crossover, he had no idea, yet he was supposed to have been the designer of these speakers, and could offer no reason why the ESS counterparts, despite using the identical drivers, sounded so different. The whole enterprise lasted less than a couple of months, and in a way, that was a shame.

[hifitommy]

i would consider the dq10 as a classic that is still appropriate in a current system. i recently spoke with carl marchisoto and asked if the dq10 (mostly his design) was still viable today and he gave an emphatic yes.

having heard the so called sub from dahlquist, i would have to say it is only a woofer (as good as it is) and therefore not in the sub categoory. its truly better to not use the dahlquist woofer but to get a real sub or two (preferred for good stereo).


another item that will make the dq10 shine is a POWERFUL amp such as the hafler 500. i have heard a pair of dq10s witht a rendall research ribbon for a super tweeter powered by the hafler mentioned above and it makes all the difference in the world. it gave them the authority in the bass that had been previously missed and with that amp, one could live without a subwoofer were it a necessity.

with a tube front end such as ARC, cj, or VTL, that would be a VERY nice vintage system that could compete with nearly anything available today of comparable value.