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Large driver vintage speakers (for Sansui AU-717)

booja30

pfm Member
I recently overhauled a beautiful Sansui AU-717 integrated amp and have been thinking about looking for some vintage speakers to go with it. I'm not looking for the highest fidelity option, but rather something that will give me what I feel I'm missing with my current setup. I listen to a lot of trip-hop, electronic, reggae, dub, etc. I've never owned speakers with large drivers and I think this would be a good opportunity.

So far my dream pair of speakers would be JBL 4312s (original or remake). You can find them in the USA on for around $1750 on sale (new). But in the EU I only see them sold online for €2999. Used ones come up regularly on eBay, Wallapop, etc. But they're often in questionable shape, broken corners, dented domes, bubbling laminate on the front surface. And I'm not sure how repairable they are if a driver fails. There was a pair that sold on PFM last year for £850 and I wish I could go back in time and snag them!

My (evolving) criteria are:

* 12" (or more?) bass drivers
* fairly compact and understated with the grilles on
* mirrored driver layouts
* no JBL butt cheek horns :)

What else should I be looking at?

Anyone have a pair of 4312s collecting dust?
 
We'd be looking Tannoys here or maybe some Goodmans....though Kef Concertos give a good thump for your money.
 
Compact + decent bass extension narrows the field somewhat!

I've had three pairs of KEF Concerto in the past, the first two were incredibly disappointing, shut-in and lifeless in the upper registers. The third was much better but the coloured mids ultimately led me to move them on pretty swiftly.

If size weren't an issue I'd be recommending a pair of IMF TLS 80, they're in a different league to the Concerto both in terms of transparency and effortless scale, and they'll rattle your windows if you want them too. They do need some watts up 'em though as they aren't a high efficiency speaker. Another recommendation would be Ditton 66, though they don't go as low as big IMFs.

The smaller IMF TLS 50 and ALS 40 mk2 also pack one hell of a punch for their size, but their midrange is a little recessed for my liking compared to the bigger models.

If you aren't too fussed about fidelity and want something period-correct to match your Sansui, what about some old-skool Kabuki?
 
My obvious and first choice according to your criteria would be the Tannoy Little Gold Monitor.
I also heard some Fyne Audio and they are very similar. They have a floor stander that is very lively and punchy and rather affordable.
If you want something very cheap and good sounding, almost any vintage speakers with a Kef B200 woofer is also great IMO and more specifically the Tangent TM1 that can be bought for peanuts and really sound great with a deep bass that’s hard to beat for the price.
A pair of Spendor BC2 would rock the place as well !
 
Big IMF's are awesome things.

How about some Cambridge R50's if big IMF's are out of budget?

Lower down the scale I remember really enjoying the bass from a fiends pair of old Leak speakers which had the 'sandwich' woofers. I don't recall the model, they weren't the massive 3090's but probably the biggest of the 'normal' range.
 
Thanks for the recommendations so far. The reason for keeping them small is mostly to keep shipping costs sane. I had a pair of B&W 683 S2s sent from UK (well before Brexit) and they were still £150 to ship via UPS. A palate which many people recommended would have been at £250. Also, we currently rent an apartment in the middle of Valencia, and will be moving again once things get a little more normal. So having boxes that aren't insanely large that I can keep in the piso is a definite plus.

There's a HiFi store on my block that I just realized have the 4312Gs. Well out of my budget but still intriguing. I think small (vintage) Tannoys are my runner up option so far. I like the ones @cooky1257 tends to work on. But these are all big risks considering I've never heard any of them!
 
I think small (vintage) Tannoys are my runner up option so far. I like the ones @cooky1257 tends to work on. But these are all big risks considering I've never heard any of them!

With a relatively compact cabinet, the Devons are a certainly great option and can sound fab in the right room.
 
There's also someone selling only the packaging. So if you can combine these two one way or another...
 
Can't believe Toto Man didn't mention these -

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...nything-about-kenwood-kl-7090-speakers.47885/

Now I haven't re-read the thread he started but I have still got the speakers!

Jim
Thank you for dredging up an embarrassing thread I started when I was an excitable and uninformed teenager, Jim! :p

I still have a pair in the attic, kept for sentimental reasons. My dad brought them down a couple of summers ago to satisfy my desire to hear them once again. I also took the opportunity to sweep them with REW. They didn't fair too badly to be fair and certainly brought back lots of happy memories. Not in the same league my Celestions, Tannoys, IMFs or Rogers, though!
 
Hi Booja,
On the bay I saw someone based in Marbella selling second hand hifi. I remember seeing speakers with large woofers. Let me see if I can find it again...

Would shipping within Spain be more affordable and less risky?
 
Apart from the mirrored drivers the Goodmans Goodwood would fit the bill... not too big, visually unassuming, 12" bass driver...
 
I've used JBL 4311, 4312SE, and presently use 4429s. The 4312 is a great choice, but compression drivers make the 4429 even better. At the present time, I'm using an Exposure XV with the 4429s, and it's a very nice match...
 
I've used JBL 4311, 4312SE, and presently use 4429s. The 4312 is a great choice, but compression drivers make the 4429 even better. At the present time, I'm using an Exposure XV with the 4429s, and it's a very nice match...

I like the 4429 as well (having never heard them though), but the price is even farther out of my range than new 4312s!
 
I had a pair of unrestored Goodwoods that I bought for a laugh; they were dire and not a patch on a nice pair of Tannoy T115 Cambridge that I had at the same time, from the range of 'County' Town models with conventional drivers.
 
I like the 4429 as well (having never heard them though), but the price is even farther out of my range than new 4312s!
I had to sell off some gear that I had laying around, and wasn’t using, to be able to stretch to the 4429s. The big reason why I went that route is the amount of trickle down technology involved in the 4429. It’s the least expensive speaker in the JBL Synthesis line that gets you into compression drivers, and JBL has spent countless hours developing the technology.
The 4312 is a fantastic speaker in every way, and that beautiful Sansui amp you rebuilt would really make them sing. The current 4312SE is my only experience with that model, but I think that there were 4 or 5 versions of the 4312 over the years. JBL will tell you that the current production model sounds the best of all the versions, but I’ve read in other places, that there really isn’t much in it. The current model has a wave guide on the tweeter, and possibly some small changes to the crossover, but I think that’s about it. Vintage 4312s could be a good choice.
 


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