Your favourite retro speakers for a simple loft set up.
- Thread starter novak
- Start date
JezmondTutu
pfm Member
My first proper speaker!
Operajulian
Julian
Slightly bigger cabinets but generally underrated and hence cheap. Monitor Audio 252 speakers.
Midfi-Man
United We Stand!
I hadn't realised that the Chorale line was more expensive than it's brethren, 'when new'. Could one of the reasons for that have been that it shared it's drivers with the original LS3/5a - I'm pretty sure that I have 'em in my 'Concerto's', too (it's a shame that they didn't help your Codas to come up to snuff).
Back to the present: On 'the bay' (UK), today, there is a decent range of prices, ranging from a couple under £100, several between £100 and £200; and 'one or two' at £200 and over.
I share the above, not to dissuade @novak from any other suggestion; but to share what I'm learning here. By and large, it feels like a good place to be. Cheers!
Locheeboy
pfm Member
"B&W DM110i"
Truly, excellent speakers. I had a pair for 20 years. Would not part with them. Driven by mono block Rotel RB250s... sadly, they finally died a lingering death, one by one.
colasblue
pfm Member
Actually the whole range got pared down and cheapened over time.
The original Kef Coda used a T27 and B110 similar to the LS3/5a but was a bigger box. You'll pay a lot of money for a pair of those these days!
Proper speaker with real wood veneers etc!
By contrast the Coda II and Coda III and subsequently the C20 were very much pared down budget designs built to a price and were in a larger box still.
It was chipboard and vinyl wrap for £99 to go with your Dual and NAD
Not quite the same story with the chorale. The original Chorale was bigger than the Coda and had a T27 with a B200
The Chorale III was smaller than the Coda III but actually cost quite a bit more. It used a similar series of pared down drivers but they may have been of better quality.
It was still part of the same chipboard and vinyl wrap budget series though. Because it was more expensive they didn't sell many compared with the coda III's
Your Concertos will be from a different (earlier) era and are a much higher quality product than the budget series we're talking about (as in fact were the original Codas and Chorales).
The original Kef Coda used a T27 and B110 similar to the LS3/5a but was a bigger box. You'll pay a lot of money for a pair of those these days!
Proper speaker with real wood veneers etc!
By contrast the Coda II and Coda III and subsequently the C20 were very much pared down budget designs built to a price and were in a larger box still.
It was chipboard and vinyl wrap for £99 to go with your Dual and NAD
Not quite the same story with the chorale. The original Chorale was bigger than the Coda and had a T27 with a B200
The Chorale III was smaller than the Coda III but actually cost quite a bit more. It used a similar series of pared down drivers but they may have been of better quality.
It was still part of the same chipboard and vinyl wrap budget series though. Because it was more expensive they didn't sell many compared with the coda III's
Your Concertos will be from a different (earlier) era and are a much higher quality product than the budget series we're talking about (as in fact were the original Codas and Chorales).
G.smith310
pfm Member
Mordaunt short pageant 2
Just an unbelievably good speaker and good looking too
Just an unbelievably good speaker and good looking too
In the short time I’ve had my pair I’m astonished at the performance of these 40 year old speakers. Very tempted to have them recapped but then I’d have to stop listening to them for however long it would take to encourage my friend to do the work.
colasblue
pfm Member
You'd think there would be a lot more 252's out there than you ever see. They were a really rated thing in the day. £130 new but you could get a skinflint budget vinyl wrapped version for £99 to compete with the Coda III. It all had to be £99 in those days!
Perhaps they fell apart too? like HB1's. They were a pretty direct competitor to HB1's.
Both were £130 but came in real wood veneer as opposed to vinyl.
I think my old Coda III's are still in use with a brother of a mate.
Mission 700's were also up there in the same league at that time, but they have also largely fallen apart.
Perhaps they fell apart too? like HB1's. They were a pretty direct competitor to HB1's.
Both were £130 but came in real wood veneer as opposed to vinyl.
I think my old Coda III's are still in use with a brother of a mate.
Mission 700's were also up there in the same league at that time, but they have also largely fallen apart.
Simon Dawson
Angry, Ill & Ugly
Some of smaller AR units are excellent VFM, I've got some 18s's that sound great with either a nait3 or A&R A60.
They where sold in Scandinavia (at least) with another name, I think it was Dantax. A-50 was even better.
foxwelljsly
Me too, I ate one sour too.
A pair of early Ruark Sabres went for £75 on e bay recently. I doubt you’ll do any better for under £100.
Fatmarley
"It appears my intelligence circuits have melted"
They seem to be fetching a quite a bit on Ebay. My pair had an upper midrange shout that was apparent on the odd track, and a lack of detail compared to more modern designs. Bass is clean and tight though. I think they'd be great for upgrading with a more modern tweeter. The Sealed JPW P1/AP2/3 are much more detailed, don't have the shout, and have a nice open midrange, with plenty of presence, but they do have a bit of a peaky midbass (very high Q driver). It's as tight as a drum though. I should really try adding some piggyback magnets to my woofers (AP2). It brings the Qts down, and It should help make the bass more linear, by bringing that peaky midbass down.
Kef Coda 8 produce a surprisingly big, expansive sound, and smooth treble, but don't have the tight bass of the sealed ARs and JPWs.