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System pics 2017

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Bodger said:
Matt,

how did you get the picture in the post. The FAQ was not much help and nothing really showed up by searching. Anyway, thanks for getting my snap out there.
Dave
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You needed to wrap the picture's URL in the IMG tags. You did put the correct tag in at the end of the image, but not at the beginning.
 
coupe-sport said:
Hi Tony - they look great and i'm sure must provide a lot of pleasure. Good to see a pair in such a nicely restored state. Do you know if these were related in any way to the Dalesford D speakers which were similar in style (albeit with a D shape) and IIRC some sort of plastic instead of the aluminium of the 149 ?
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No direct connection as far as I'm aware, i.e. nothing to do with Jim Rogers. The Dalesford Ds came slightly later and were clearly influenced by 149s, but used different drivers and construction, they are apparently rather good though I've never heard a pair.
 
Tony L said:
I had to replace all the drivers in mine as whilst they worked they had clearly drifted off spec and sounded obviously different when panning white noise between them and as a result couldn't hold a stable image (one thing 149s are exceptional at). Thankfully these days it is at least possible to replace them as Falcon Acoustcs are very accurately remanufacturing the correct variant Kef B110 and T27 units, and a pair of each are now in mine. By the time I'd recapped the crossover (cheap) and commissioned some foam grilles (not cheap) it was not a cheap project, but in a marketplace where a pair of Falcon LS3/5As using exactly the same drivers are well over £2k not an exceptionally costly one either. I guess I'm in just over a grand, which is a lot for a pair of 149s, but the cabs and bases are near mint and they should now be working to original specification, i.e. are as close to a brand new pair as is possible in 2017.

PS I'm still amazed no one has run with the cabinet design and construction since, I'm covinced it is a great way to build a pair of speakers with some very real advantages over the typical MDF box. I'd love to hear a modern take on the same idea as drive unit technology, especialy with bass-mid units, has moved on a lot since.
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I keep an eye out. I guess they are so much cheaper than the venerable 5/A because they didn't have the tight, licensed build specification? Build actually seems much more elaborate.
 
drummerman said:
I keep an eye out. I guess they are so much cheaper than the venerable 5/A because they didn't have the tight, licensed build specification? Build actually seems much more elaborate.
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The difference in price at the time was £10-15 quid, which I think amounted to the licensing royalty bung to the BBC for every LS3/5A sold. Jim Rogers had very much earlier in life had some metalworking experience so had figured out how to make the 149 cab quite cheaply (it is rolled out of a single flat sheet of aluminium and joined at the rear, the rest of the cabinet is just two cheap veneered chipboard endcaps sealed and held under tension by a threaded rod). In the current marketplace the LS3/5A attains a remarkable/absurd second hand value due to its now legendary status. The 149 is far more conservatively priced, though it is *very* hard to find a pair with undammaged bases and tops. I looked for several years before pushing the button on a pair and I suspect mine are so clean due to having sat in their (almost complete though missing one foam part) box for a long while. Mine don't have any scratching on the pressed alloy bases, and that really is rare!
 
Tony L said:
The difference in price at the time was £10-15 quid, which I think amounted to the licensing royalty bung to the BBC for every LS3/5A sold. Jim Rogers had very much earlier in life had some metalworking experience so had figured out how to make the 149 cab quite cheaply (it is rolled out of a single flat sheet of aluminium and joined at the rear, the rest of the cabinet is just two cheap veneered chipboard endcaps sealed and held under tension by a threaded rod). In the current marketplace the LS3/5A attains a remarkable/absurd second hand value due to its now legendary status. The 149 is far more conservatively priced, though it is *very* hard to find a pair with undammaged bases and tops. I looked for several years before pushing the button on a pair and I suspect mine are so clean due to having sat in their (almost complete though missing one foam part) box for a long while. Mine don't have any scratching on the pressed alloy bases, and that really is rare!
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If the end caps are often damaged I wouldn't be at all concerned about making a nice new set in solid wood. They're a bit like Gale 401As in that respect IE; a new set of grille cloths and a polish of the end caps (re-chrome if really bad) results in a 'new look' speaker, no matter the age.

Mr Tibbs
 
Being a complete gear-head makes it difficult to settle on any particular system, but this setup is what's currently soothing the savage.

VPI Aries turntable and VPI JMW-10 arm, Eastern Electric Minimax phono stage, Pass Labs INT-150 integrated amp.

gi.mpl


Elac 310ce speakers...

gi.mpl
 
^^^ Love the whole retro look, very cool and understated, I've heard those Elacs, they are quite amazing and such a big noise from a tiny box!
 
Waxxy;

Beautiful looking system there alright, superb TT choice etc, I'd love to hear your thoughts on that Eastern Electric valve phono-stage please...? Have you changed the stock valves and upgraded I wonder...?

Which cartridge are you using on the unipivot tonearm can I ask..?

Regards; Peter
Scotland
 
Gaius said:
^^^ Love the whole retro look, very cool and understated, I've heard those Elacs, they are quite amazing and such a big noise from a tiny box!
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Thanks for the complements Gaius! The Elacs are amazing speakers. I've had a few high quality mini speakers in my time, and these are as good as any I've heard. They are not for filling large spaces with massive volumes, but at reasonable levels they are quite magical.

Tigerjones said:
How's the Mini Max stage? I loved their pre and power amps when I had them.
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The Minimax is the best phono stage I've tried. Ive had it almost 10 years now and I've tried a few other high quality units in that time but have always returned to the Minimax. The onboard SUTs are exceptional with the right cartridge (Koetsu, Lyra).

ishmac said:
Waxxy;

Beautiful looking system there alright, superb TT choice etc, I'd love to hear your thoughts on that Eastern Electric valve phono-stage please...? Have you changed the stock valves and upgraded I wonder...?

Which cartridge are you using on the unipivot tonearm can I ask..?

Regards; Peter
Scotland
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Thanks ishmac...The Minimax is superb. I've tried numerous different 12ax7 and currently have Telefunken Smooth Plates in the second stage and an Amperex in the first (most crucial) stage. Amazingly enough, swapping out the 6x4 rectifier in the power supply also affects sound quality. The stock valves are good enough to get a handle on the quality of the unit.

The Minimax does not sound like one might think a 12ax7 based phono stage should sound. It's not soft and fluffy at all. If anything, it's a little lean in the bass, but very tight, fast and extended.

I've got 3 armwands for the JMW-10. Current range of cartridges include a Koetsu Urushi, a Lyra Kleos and a modified Denon 103r.
 
Waxxy said:
Being a complete gear-head makes it difficult to settle on any particular system, but this setup is what's currently soothing the savage.

VPI Aries turntable and VPI JMW-10 arm, Eastern Electric Minimax phono stage, Pass Labs INT-150 integrated amp.

gi.mpl


Elac 310ce speakers...

gi.mpl
Click to expand...


Wow, what a lovely room for speakers as big as your plants !:) Those Elacs are lost in there.

Interesting that you counter-balance an Urushi with a Lyra, as I've had 2 of the latter and currently have a Vermillion. What are your thoughts on your choice of this cartridge counterpoint, as it were? Esp. the K in the unipivot (I've one of each arm type). D'you match a cart. to different genres of music?
 
I've got an Eastern Electric as well and tried a set of Gold Dragons, I found them very soft with no drive, lazy sleep inducing, and apart from that I didn't like them. I put the stock valves back in and am much happier.
 
Mike Reed said:
Wow, what a lovely room for speakers as big as your plants !:) Those Elacs are lost in there.

Interesting that you counter-balance an Urushi with a Lyra, as I've had 2 of the latter and currently have a Vermillion. What are your thoughts on your choice of this cartridge counterpoint, as it were? Esp. the K in the unipivot (I've one of each arm type). D'you match a cart. to different genres of music?
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Thanks Mike! I have had larger speakers in the room and may yet go back to a pair in the future, but there is something very appealing sound-wise about small speakers. The speed and lack of box colorations are addictive.

Yes the Koetsu and Lyra are at somewhat at opposite ends of the tonal spectrum, but there are some similarities too...the incredible dynamics and the impeccable tracking of both cartridges for example. I mostly use the Koetsu for acoustic jazz, classical and vocal-centric music, while the Lyra is used for rock / pop / electronic. Both carts work well in the unipivot with viscous fluid damping. I also have some extra weight on the headshell for the Koetsu.

For backround music or parties, I will pull out the Denon.
 
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