Speakers for 70s Pioneer system

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tomblackford
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Speakers for 70s Pioneer system

Unread post by tomblackford »

Hi all,

So - the PL-71 and SX-939 I picked up recently have been a great success and are looking like the basis of an interesting second system for my loft.

I'm trying to come up with something which is a good contrast to my downstairs system based on TD-150, P20, Quad 303, Spendor S3/5r2... so thinking of some big old 70s floor standers to complete the picture. The pioneer has a bit more power than the Quad too.

Sadly I don't think my wife would allow Cubes on aesthetic grounds, but the retro appearance of the Pioneer gear seems to be just-about tolerable so far, and I suspect something like some JBL L100 might just be acceptable

Anybody have any interesting suggestions at that size? I'm thinking Kef Calinda kinda thing but perhaps they are bit to British... trying to resist temptation to pick up some old Harbeth HL Monitors or something too.

I can sometimes find the Spendor's a little dark in my current rig (possibly due to my Denon DL301II cart which seems to be on the warm side of neutral) so I might swap that with the V15III (with JICO SAS) on the Thorens to brighten up the downstairs system a bit.

As such, I'd probably be interested in something a bit more open and airy than the Spendors for upstairs (to compensate for the relatively warm cart likely to be on PL-71 for a bit)...

Appreciate any (positive) suggestions!

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Re: Speakers for 70s Pioneer system

Unread post by karatestu »

Why don't you doc mod something ? Next best thing to cubes ?
DIY FREE ZONE

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Dr Bunsen Honeydew
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Re: Speakers for 70s Pioneer system

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

Goodmans Magnum K or Magnum K2

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Re: Speakers for 70s Pioneer system

Unread post by tomblackford »

Thanks guys. The Goodmans look interesting and I'm guessing they're not subject to the same premiums that contemporary Spendors / Harbeths etc are... I know these have been discussed before on here... do you know if you've previously provided any advice on issues to look out for when buying them (i.e. common failures etc)?

I know I probably should do a Doc Mod... I kinda started on my old Mordant-Shorts but in the end after playing them for a bit (with the foam wadding removed) I just couldn't bring myself to go any further... I'm not sure they would be an easy speaker to start with as there seemed to be additional bracing in the cabinet which would make the steel a bit more tricky...

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Dr Bunsen Honeydew
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Re: Speakers for 70s Pioneer system

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

Original Magnum Ks are best made but need tweeter changed to update them. Magnum K2 are ok, better tweeter, but cheapened cabinet compared with K. Magnum SL's are just cheapened even more and not recommended by me, any renamed versions after that are crap. Then Goodmans went bust. Name is now used to sell genuine cheap Chinese crap.

Din speaker socket needs replacing with 4mm sockets, easy job with a drill.

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Re: Speakers for 70s Pioneer system

Unread post by tomblackford »

Thanks that's saved me a lot of Googling... I have also been doing some digging.... am I right in thinking that these are very similar to Wharfedale Dovedales?

I grew up with a pair of Dovedales on the end of a Quad 33/303 at home (until one conked out)... I remember them shifting a lot of air (and Hawkwind Doremi sounding incredible on them) but I don't have great memories of them otherwise... I'd definitely be hoping for something a bit more lively, but perhaps there were issues upstream.

I see the prices of those have shot up on Ebay... I remember when you could get a pair for £20 on eBay.

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Dr Bunsen Honeydew
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Re: Speakers for 70s Pioneer system

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

They were only similar in that Wharfedale and Goodmans competed with each other, so their ranges had similar price and spec points. The was a bigger version of the Magnum called the Magister with bigger cab and 15 inch bass driver, harder to find. IMO Goodmans were consistently better than Wharfedale.

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Re: Speakers for 70s Pioneer system

Unread post by tomblackford »

Thanks... anybody ever compared the Goodmans to Kef Calinda (much cheaper second hand) or JBL L100 Century (much more expensive second hand)?

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Re: Speakers for 70s Pioneer system

Unread post by tomblackford »

On another note - anybody ever heard these? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/311884052272? ... EBIDX%3AIT

Probably a bit like what I have currently or maybe my brother's JR-149s which sounded surprisingly different to my little Spendors.

@Doc - where do you stand on JR-149? Are they too BBC-related for your taste?

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Re: Speakers for 70s Pioneer system

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

Not my cup of tea, but better than the LS3/5a.

If you want something that small then look at Goodmans Maxim, the early ones have cult status.

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