New Finds

[luvtolisten]

Well, I recapped and re-foamed my T930's (pic pg. 30). To be honest, I was a little disappointed. They just don't have the same warm BA sound as the A60's or the HD9's I own, which I thought they would only maybe better since they were made by BA and had a MSRP of$850/pr,a larger cabinet and a 10" woofer. Don't get me wrong they're not a bad sounding speaker, they are clear and accurate, okay but not great.To me they are a sterile sounding speaker. They do everything okay, but nothing great. The dynamics just aren't there. The drums are there, but they don't jump out at when called for. The bass is there, but not very low as I would have expected for a 10" woofer. In fact the HD9's with a 6.5 woofer and a 8 ' passive radiator, reaches lower notes. I don't know the correct audio term, but they don't have the fullness you'd expect from a speaker this size. For the size, it sounds a little thin. The mid-range is good, although bit forward for my taste. To summarize, it's not a bad speaker, but not a great one either. On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd probably rate it a 6.

[AudioTedII]

I did a lot of snooping around to find out more about them, found nothing. I haven't listened to them yet, because of what it'll take to get them upstairs to my stereo, and them hook them up! IF their value was based purely on there weight.....I'de be rolling in dough! But I think not!
THX ALL!
Ted

[Mr Peabody]

I ran across your thread on AK while trying to see if I could find any info on your speakers. You've had those babies a few months. From what was posted, at one time Sherwood had made some decent speakers before the original company was sold and if they are as heavy as you say, yours may be a set of the decent ones. The only way to know for sure is to hook them up. Keep in mind the report the crossovers were garbage out of the gate.

[badhabit67]

Hey All
Had to go pick up somethings this morning, so I decided to swing by goodwill. Wasen't a whole lot to chose from. But this Sony, so I went ahead and got it. $2.50,gonna work perfect in my garage. This baby has a remote control,and that is gonna make life a lot easier.The way things are now,my receiver is up high,and I have to use a step ladder to turn it on and off. Hooked a pair of rabbit ears to it,and my test speakers,and it worked.
The remote control is gonna be so nice,not have to climb up,down to turn it up ,and down,on and off.

[dakatabg]

Today I pulled the trigger and got home with a Sansui 8080 receiver for dirty cheap. Yes, it is working just a missing audio muting button and few burned lights. Now I will have to clean it good, adjust the DC offset and bias and it will be ready to make company to her older brother 9090DB.

[luvtolisten]

Another nice pick up Dak! If you don't mind me asking, where do you get most of your finds? (Goodwill?, Craigslist? Estate Sales?)

Is it a complex procedure to adjust the bias output?

[dakatabg]

I do mostly craigslist but you have to hunt a lot to get something good. The good deals go in an hour. At the salvation army and goodwill everything has dried up and nothing good there, if there is something good, they ask a lot of money so no point to even go there!

For me it is easy to adjust the bias or DC offset. You just need a multimeter and the service manual. Very simple!

[badhabit67]

Nice receiver there Dak,a little rough around the edges,but should clean up nicely.
I've always liked that line up of Sansui.

[badhabit67]

Well, I recapped and re-foamed my T930's (pic pg. 30). To be honest, I was a little disappointed. They just don't have the same warm BA sound as the A60's or the HD9's I own, which I thought they would only maybe better since they were made by BA and had a MSRP of$850/pr,a larger cabinet and a 10" woofer. Don't get me wrong they're not a bad sounding speaker, they are clear and accurate, okay but not great.To me they are a sterile sounding speaker. They do everything okay, but nothing great. The dynamics just aren't there. The drums are there, but they don't jump out at when called for. The bass is there, but not very low as I would have expected for a 10" woofer. In fact the HD9's with a 6.5 woofer and a 8 ' passive radiator, reaches lower notes. I don't know the correct audio term, but they don't have the fullness you'd expect from a speaker this size. For the size, it sounds a little thin. The mid-range is good, although bit forward for my taste. To summarize, it's not a bad speaker, but not a great one either. On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd probably rate it a 6.

I know what you mean,I had A-60 series II,and never really got to like them.Not enough low end,and too bright up top. Also tried a pair of A-200's,and found them lacking also,they get a lot of hype,but they were not my cup of tea.

[luvtolisten]

I do mostly craigslist but you have to hunt a lot to get something good. The good deals go in an hour. At the salvation army and goodwill everything has dried up and nothing good there, if there is something good, they ask a lot of money so no point to even go there!

For me it is easy to adjust the bias or DC offset. You just need a multimeter and the service manual. Very simple!

Thanks Dak. It's about the same here in upstate NY. Goodwill & Salvation Army stores have about dried up here too, and what they do have (and that includes the non quality stuff) seems to be on the high side. In fact I see Goodwill sells on ebay now. It's the same with Craigslist, prices are high, anything old, good or junk is listed as 'vintage" and starts off with a high price. And as you say the good deals are gone in an hour. Sunday, a pair of Klipsch Hersey's were for sale for $200. They were 35 miles away from me, far out in the country. The add also said they had water damage from 10 years ago, but still sound fine. I've heard to stay away from speakers with water damage, (changes the hardness of the wood, which affects performance) but yet I was still thinking about them (they usually go for $400 around here).But when I checked back a couple hours later, the listing was gone.Someone must have jumped on them

[luvtolisten]

I know what you mean,I had A-60 series II,and never really got to like them.Not enough low end,and too bright up top. Also tried a pair of A-200's,and found them lacking also,they get a lot of hype,but they were not my cup of tea.

Funny you mentioned them bh67, I was about to re-post about T930. I was a bit hasty in my thoughts about them. I never really was a big believer in letting surrounds break in, but in this case I do. (First time I used these particular surrounds, made specifically for these BA speakers. I can physically see the woofer moving more now, and now there is more bass as well.They have a more BA sound to them. Much better bass than the A-60's,(no contest) and just as low now as the HD9's but more controlled and smoother. With the woofer sounding better, and filling in the lower end of the Mid's, they don't seem quite a bright as before either, though still a bit bright for my own taste, but not irritating bright.So I would rate these on scale from 1 to 10 , changing them from a 6 to a 7.7, but that's my own personal taste, since they have a warmer sound to them now. I can't compare them to the A -200 's or A-150's since I've never heard either one.

[badhabit67]

ltl:

Alot of folks told me I didn't give them a fair chance,but I consider 6 months plenty of time.
Finally sold both. I've got Epi's,KLH,and Advents-ola's,and have given a listen to a lot of others,just could not get my ears to like the Boston's sound. Everytime I listened to em,than went to something else,just knew it was time for them to go. And there is a lot of debate over new surrounds break-in period,but like you the longer I listened to my Advents after refoam,seemed to get lower and deeper bass. Maybe just my tired old ears.

[Mr Peabody]

Congrats on the 8080.

Just my opinion the last time I heard any Boston Acoustic I listened to them against some Paradigm and Snell. The Paradigm made the Boston sound like mush and the Snell was superior to both. It wouldn't take much with speakers on the market today to better a Boston.

[luvtolisten]

ltl:

Alot of folks told me I didn't give them a fair chance,but I consider 6 months plenty of time.
Finally sold both. I've got Epi's,KLH,and Advents-ola's,and have given a listen to a lot of others,just could not get my ears to like the Boston's sound. Everytime I listened to em,than went to something else,just knew it was time for them to go. And there is a lot of debate over new surrounds break-in period,but like you the longer I listened to my Advents after refoam,seemed to get lower and deeper bass. Maybe just my tired old ears.

bh, surprised you don't like the BA's. I also have EPI's (100's,201's) Epicure 5's (same thing as 100's only the woofer and tweeter are closer together) and Baby Advents (wish I did have the good ones you do), but the Babys are "okay" but not like yours. Never owned them, but I have a friend who has them double stacked and I do like their sound. I have been keeping an eye out for some KLH's. I had a chance last year for some at a garage sale, but it was too hot and I was too lazy to drag them home.But seems like you do like the "New England " sound which BA is considered a part of.
But your right, if you didn't like them after 6 months, you probably still wouldn't like then after 6 years.
By the way, I have tired old ears too. But I'm betting yours are just fine, you just know what you like.
But it sure is nice to be able to buy this stuff now at bargain prices (used) that I used to drool over in my younger years.

[badhabit67]

luvtolisten;

I don't know about the east coast sound deal,never really got into all that.
All I know is if a pair of speakers have a good bottom end,and don't screem at me,
than I like them. The whole east-west coast sound,don't really know about it. Don't really
care.I don't care were they are built as long as they sound good.
Here's a pic of my OLA'S.

[luvtolisten]

luvtolisten;

I don't know about the east coast sound deal,never really got into all that.
All I know is if a pair of speakers have a good bottom end,and don't screem at me,
than I like them. The whole east-west coast sound,don't really know about it. Don't really
care.I don't care were they are built as long as they sound good.
Here's a pic of my OLA'S.

Nice picture! The cabinets look mint! I recognize the fried egg tweeter. Those are getting harder and harder to find. Especially in that great shape.

[thekid]

Daks-Nice find on the Sansui! Sansui from that era are speacial.

BH-Great pic of the OLA. I miss mine but I had to thin the herd. Stereophile did a write up on them last year I think and the writer was very impressed with a pair he re-foamed.

[badhabit67]

Thanks Kid.

Got to admit I never put a lot ot stock in a break-in period for surrounds.
Until I refoamed these.Seems like the more hours I put on them,the better they sound.
Again, it may just be me. I'm trying to find a real nice pair of bullnosed cabinets to stack with these,this pair is the utility cabinet.There in great shape though.

[Enochrome]

Hey Dakatabg,

Are you selling a Luxman R-1070 on Ebay? Looks like you are from Chicago and this seller is from Southern California. The only reason I ask is because they are using your picture from your gallery of your R-1070.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ht_4248wt_1141

[dakatabg]

No that is not me

[thekid]

I have been looking to replace a cabinet I was using for some audio gear for awhile. I came across this piece listed on CL for $25. Originally the gear was an after thought but I was hoping it might have a decent tube amp in it but that was not the case. Anyway it is a Pilot Console circa 1968. The receiver and Garrard turntable are in excellent shape as is the cabinet. The other really cool thing was that it came with the original owner's manual, schematics, brochure and even the original receipt which is date April 6th 1968. So tomorrow is the 43rd anniversary of when this console was sold.

The tuner section is okay but I went ahead and have my Kenwood KT-8300 hooked up to the AUX inputs and it sounds quite nice. Have no idea who made the receiver and the owner's manual has no specs. It seems to drive the speakers with it quite easily and the speakers themselves are not too bad though I have no idea who made them. All in all a nice little addition.

[luvtolisten]

Nice addition kid! I have an old Magnavox console myself. Love that retro look about them. Yours looks in excellent condition.

[Mr Peabody]

1968..... that's the way to build quality gear.

[thekid]

Nice addition kid! I have an old Magnavox console myself. Love that retro look about them. Yours looks in excellent condition.

Here is some additional pics. Searching around the net I was able to find some more info. Pilot Radio was bought up by Emerson in 65 but continued to market Hi-Fi gear under the Pilot name. No telling who they had building their stereo's but this unit would be dated post-Emerson take over. Also I looked up the EIA codes on the speakers. It looks like the woofer is manufactured by Becker Electronics and the tweeter is CTS. I know nothing about Becker but CTS had a decent reputation on the mids and tweeters.

[Mr Peabody]

If it's the same company Becker used to be the brand in some German auto imports.