The HiFi chat, build and modification thread!

[legrandefromage]

Valve owners normally go for super sensitive models, 93db or more. This has pushed the prices of old super efficient Japanese speakers right up.

Pretty much all those speakers you list will have been designed for big transistor amplification. The Missions are happy on 250W plus amps whereas they are underpowered at less the 80w. Its not the volume, just big transformers to supply lots of current.

Theres no 'better' or 'worse' than either - it what your own ears perceive. Some designs are more forward sounding because there is more information sent to the tweeters at the crossover. Some designs sound muddy and laid back but rarely does age kill a speaker other than the form surrounds. These deteriorate as most of you will know. Flappy speakers leave you wondering why until the cover comes of to reveal powder in place of foam!

So 'old' speakers can easily be revived by either fixing the drivers and/ or replacing the components in the cross-overs. This can benefit more than most snake oil solutions - fact!

Back to your amp - Try a set of Leak sandwich while they are still cheap. They are fun and can produce monster bass. They are quite detailed despite being 40+ year old design.

Look out for the huge easy to drive Japanese multi tweeter behemoths from Sansui, Pioneer and Kenwood/ Trio. They may look a nightmare but given a few updates to the x-over, again, fun.

More recent, by 'recent' I'm talking 1980/90s, try JBL. Their models can be very sensitive and go well with valve

Funny because as I write this, I've go my Quad 33/303/FM3 warming up ready for a trial run along with the Lecson.

 

[legrandefromage]

What the flaimin' 'eck is going on these days?

I have 2x Philips CD 104 and a CD 303 and the prices are mad! Couldnt give these things away a few years ago... Got a Mission DAD 7000 too whilst one is dick swinging!

Havent physically played a CD in a while though

Anyway.

I need a lead:

Anyone want to give it a go?

And I've just remembered - I still have a set of Lentek speakers in the loft...

 

[apache]

Lentek - wow, thats a name I haven't heard in a while. I sold a pair of 3 way 'sandwich' a while back - and I have a pait of Celestion 44's for sale on eBay at the mo for only £99 of your finest British pounds which I'm sure would work well with valves.

CD104's are popular these days because the audio forum folks like them for modifying because they're old tech and easy to work on. Plus they have this weird idea that 14 bit non-oversampling (which is a mod they like to do to the Philips) is better that higher resolution oversampled because audiophiles think that any form of negative feedback is 'baaad'.

Happy to make you a cable. How long? Both plugs?

 

[legrandefromage]

both plugs, 1.5m, 7 pin needs to be right angled

ta

 

[apache]

I'll see what I can do. What's it for?

 

[legrandefromage]

 

[doctor-bond]

Thanks for the feedback chaps: I'd have those 44s Apache, but you are a bit far away.

Pretty much all those speakers you list will have been designed for big transistor amplification. The Missions are happy on 250W plus amps whereas they are underpowered at less the 80w. Its not the volume, just big transformers to supply lots of current.

Allow me a dumb question, but how do you go about working out how much current (and so wattage) a 'speaker will need? I thought that the resistance was the measure: so 15 ohm Leaks do therir thing while offering a high resistance and so needing less current, while 8 ohm Missions do their thing with a lower resistance so calling on more current to do so.

But where 'speakers have a simillar (presumably averaged) resistence (say 8 ohm which seems common) how do you tell if one needs more power than another?

ie I was going on the understading that one 8 ohm 'speaker would be simillar in terms of amp requirements to another 8ohm 'speaker?

 

[apache]

Well, for starters you're talking about impedance rather than resistance, which is kind of like resistance depending on frequency. In other words, it's a 'reactance', or in speaker terms, mainly inductance if you discount the capacitances in the crossover.

Therefore, a typical speaker will present a lower resistance at low frequencies than it will at high (inductor resistance increases with f) so will require more current to control the speaker cone at low f. In practice, as the output impedance on most solid state amps is fractions of an ohm at low f, and resistance of speaker cable is also fractions of an ohm, dont worry too much about it - unless you're using a valve amp - then everything turns on its head - which you'll love because you'll be wearing a shirt made from hair

 

[legrandefromage]

My Bulgin plugs for the Quads have arrived so I'm off to blow myself up.

 

[legrandefromage]

And the Quad 303/33/FM set-up works without a flaw - except maybe the 'stereo' bulb.

But thats it.