What audio system do you have, or plan on getting?

[Bogey]

What is your best guess to how a set of Bose 301's would sound with my '73 Marantz?

[Fëanor]

What is your best guess to how a set of Bose 301's would sound with my '73 Marantz?

Are you thinking of buying the Bose 301's new?  Or are they pre-owned?

No doubt you are aware that the audiophile consensus is that Bose stuff is over-priced junk.  But don't let that stop you if you like them though. 

Buying new in the Bose 301 price range, Paradigm Atom or PSB Alpha B1 would be considered far better choices.

[Coopmv]

Are you thinking of buying the Bose 301's new?  Or are they preowned?

No doubt you are aware that the audiophile consensus is that Bose stuff is over-priced junk.  But don't let that stop you if you like them though. 

When I was an uninitiated college undergrad, I used to think highly of Bose after I heard a demo of its flagship 901 at some NY Hi-Fi show.  Bose is just a tremendous marketing machine.  While I would not call its speakers junk, they are at best a line of overpriced mid-fi speakers ...

[drogulus]

 

Unlike KEF, Quad and Mission, which are now outright owned by the Chinese with all their models made in China,  B&W is still English-owned and the high-end models are still made in the UK.  Your DM 310's are no doubt English-made.

     That's right. I paid about $500 for them in 1991 dollars. Today I think you would be better off with the Canadian small speakers. Paradigm, NHT, and PSB all make good ones.

[Coopmv]

     That's right. I paid about $500 for them in 1991 dollars. Today I think you would be better off with the Canadian small speakers. Paradigm, NHT, and PSB all make good ones.

I have a pair of lightly used PSB Image 2B's in the master bedroom system.  They are nice little bookshelf speakers.  I will buy any of these Canadian-made speakers again in a heartbeat.

[Bogey]

Thanks for the advice.  I am trying to add a bit of crispnees to my old Sansui floor speakers for the late 1960's.  Right now I have some Wharfedale Diamonds:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i.testfreaks.co.uk/images/products/600x400/121/wharfedale-diamond-9-1.561785.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.testfreaks.co.uk/hifi-speakers/wharfedale-diamond-9-1/&usg=__uPTy86_QH4rH0MOASMj1zxzm8eE=&h=400&w=523&sz=69&hl=en&start=13&sig2=KUcGNJc3j0nhy70Zuq453Q&um=1&tbnid=LNTdUFsuX6P0CM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=131&prev=/images%3Fq%3DWharfedale%2BDiamonds%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3DnxC%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=3IcPSvz0OujDtgfqzMSRCA

[Fëanor]

Thanks for the advice.  I am trying to add a bit of crispnees to my old Sansui floor speakers for the late 1960's.  Right now I have some Wharfdale Diamonds:
...

Those Wharfdales have a good rep.  My research indicates that couple more possibilities in the lower price range are the Epos ELS-3 and the Infinity Primus PS162.

[Coopmv]

Those Wharfdales have a good rep.  My research indicates that couple more possibilities in the lower price range are the Epos ELS-3 and the Infinity Primus PS162.

And just about any of these names will provide higher quality sound than the Bose 301's ...

[Herman]

What is your best guess to how a set of Bose 301's would sound with my '73 Marantz?

don't do Bose.

[Bogey]

Those Wharfdales have a good rep.  My research indicates that couple more possibilities in the lower price range are the Epos ELS-3 and the Infinity Primus PS162.

Maybe it is my Sansui 3000s I need to replace.  Is there such a thing as too much warmth?  Are my ears no attuned to a different sound than the one I enjoyed as a youngster in our living room?

[Coopmv]

Maybe it is my Sansui 3000s I need to replace.  Is there such a thing as too much warmth?  Are my ears no attuned to a different sound than the one I enjoyed as a youngster in our living room?

Morning, Bill.  These Sansui 3000s really have the classic 1960's look, the speaker grille in particular. 

[Bogey]

Morning, Bill.  These Sansui 3000s really have the classic 1960's look, the speaker grille in particular. 

Good morning, Stuart.  Indeed.  In fact, the ones I have are the ones my dad originally owned.  I am finding that jazz and some rock sound nice through them, but classical sounds muffled for the most part.

[Coopmv]

Good morning, Stuart.  Indeed.  In fact, the ones I have are the ones my dad originally owned.  I am finding that jazz and some rock sound nice through them, but classical sounds muffled for the most part.

There had been that criticism that Japanese speakers made prior to the late 1980's generally did not play well to the "western" ears.  But much progress has been made since the 90's when both Sony and Pioneer came out with speakers that have garnered some nice reviews ...

[DavidRoss]

Bill--

You might find it helpful to visit a high end hi fi equipment dealer to hear for yourself what's available in a comfortable price range for you and to get a sense of what seriously good sound reproduction is like.  A quick web search turned up Cherry Creek Audio in Denver and Denver Audio Designs in Centennial.

[Bogey]

Thanks David.  I am playing around with my system as I type here.  Spinning some Boyce Symphonies (about as sparkly as one can get) I am finding that when just through the Wharfedales the sound is very nice.  Add the Sansuis and there is too much "deep sound".  Very old school.

I believe my biggest problem was attending an audio show last fall where there was 160 rooms of top of the line equipment.  Since then, I have not been totally satisfied with any of the sound I can recreate in my workroom.  I am also finding I am constantly adjusting levels for different discs.  I seem to be doing more of that than just listening for enjoyment.

Just switched off the Sansuis again.  The Wharfedales are much nicer solo for the Boyce.

Another key though that I have found is that when listening to components at shops is that they have them set up with their best amps and also placed perfectly in the room.  Bring them home and the recreation can take a major hit.  Is this a fair comment my friend?

[drogulus]

   

Good morning, Stuart.  Indeed.  In fact, the ones I have are the ones my dad originally owned.  I am finding that jazz and some rock sound nice through them, but classical sounds muffled for the most part.

     I've been prowling around the Web looking for info on the Sansui's and I haven't found anything definitive. These thoughts occur to me, though: A 5-way speaker from the '60s has little chance of sounding like a modern speaker. There are too many things to go wrong: blown drivers, bad caps, loose wires and cracked solder. And even if these speakers have passed inspection from a vintage tech they are reputed to be a little bass shy (!) and limited in the treble. Supposedly the Advents blow these away. I believe it. Of all the speakers produced in the '60s I would pick the Advents to be most likely to stand up on SQ alone. My choice would be to either find a pair or confine my vintage enthusiasm to electronics. Unless you want to score a pair of Ohm F's or Quad's... Those will not be cheap, though.

[Fëanor]

     I've been prowling around the Web looking for info on the Sansui's and I haven't found anything definitive. These thoughts occur to me, though: A 5-way speaker from the '60s has little chance of sounding like a modern speaker. There are too many things to go wrong: blown drivers, bad caps, loose wires and cracked solder. And even if these speakers have passed inspection from a vintage tech they are reputed to be a little bass shy (!) and limited in the treble. Supposedly the Advents blow these away. I believe it. Of all the speakers produced in the '60s I would pick the Advents to be most likely to stand up on SQ alone. My choice would be to either find a pair or confine my vintage enthusiasm to electronics. Unless you want to score a pair of Ohm F's or Quad's... Those will not be cheap, though.

Speaker components do deteriorate over time.  The biggest problem is crumbling foam surrounds on the speaker drivers.  Anything 20+ years old with foam surrounds -- and this includes the otherwise fine Advents -- either has had the foam replace or will need it very soon.

[DavidRoss]

Another key though that I have found is that when listening to components at shops is that they have them set up with their best amps and also placed perfectly in the room.  Bring them home and the recreation can take a major hit.  Is this a fair comment my friend?

Yes, Bill.  However, you cannot make a silk purse--or even a polyester faux-silk purse--out of a sow's ear.  In addition to setting up with optimum equipment chain and acoustic environment, the shop also has the advantage of the "wow" factor on first hearing surprisingly good sound.  With more exposure you get accustomed to it and it "becomes" more ordinary.

The "trick," to me, has been to get reasonably believable sound reproduction offering satisfying mimicry of live music (especially the all-important mid-range) with sufficient clarity to hear musical details (like the crisp shimmer of a drum kit's high hat) without inducing listener fatigue, and at a reasonable price.  It's possible to get equipment that gets these fundamentals right without spending a fortune.  The trade off for loudspeakers is mostly in frequency extension at the extremes and "heft"--that effortless dynamic response that can almost convince you that you're listening to a real orchestra instead of a recording (assuming you also have sufficient clean power to drive such speakers).  The inexpensive speakers we've all been recommending for the past year or so--the PSB, Epos, and Paradigm small "bookshelf" speakers--will all deliver much better sound than most mass-marketed mid-fi brands (like those old Sansuis) costing more.

[Bogey]

So, let's say I enjoy the Wharfedales (bookshelf), but the Sansuis need to go.  Do I go with two sets of bookshelves, or just one pair?  (I guess I can have both functioning and pick and choose though.)

[Papageno]

I have an Albarry Music amplifyer set and two big Rolland's Speakers connected to my Mac.
What happened to Albarry Music by the way? I can't find any reference of the company's existence online.