Renaissance...?

Docfoster

Not to everyone's tastes.
I like them though.
I've bought a few
(1970s Goodmans and Wharfdales from about £20 - £40) and they all have
merited at least that much. Midrange and tweeter drivers have sometimes
been shot, but I've always been able to find a replacement for not-a-lot of notes.

But the reason I'm posting this is that I've been interested to see prices
for vintage speakers apparently climbing over recent years.
I'll use Goodmans Goodwoods as an example here as I have a pair of these and have
followed prices (mainly as I have looked for spare drivers to store for
future possible replacement).
I bought my Goodmans Goodwoods for £30 about 3 years ago (tweeters were blown, although the seller didn't say / know about this). They even came with a matching Goodmans receiver (that was a bit shit and went to the tip).
Nowadays I never see Goodwoods for less than £50, even if they are completely shagged. The current fleabay crop here go up to £225!

Is there a renaissance in the old beasts of the transducer world going on?

AntiCrap

I had a loan of these for a while from Alan and they were amazing on Magnum A100 mono blocks at 400W.

Tannoy Buckinghams a pairs is on Ebay now.102dB/W

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tannoy-Buckingham-Speakers-/252135360431?hash=item3ab47047af

AntiCrap

And before Ruark's Brian had this company and I had a pair of these also from new, see I told you I was old.

Docfoster

What's the story with the top drivers in those Tannoys...? More retro-sci-fi design-love from Mr. Wonfor...?
I bet they sound luverly...

And the larger of those Diesis looks worth a shout too... :-)

AntiCrap

Diesis I had those DF4's

quickie

I remember the Diesis Solitaire well.

When I worked in the hi-fi shop, my boss had a pair at home, in a tiny room........they sounded lovely.

Suzy6toes

just spotted these

yes, 3 times the price you paid 3 years ago, Doc. but theyre just down the road, so thered be no fuel or postage costs......all I'd need is a slightly bigger house to fit them in to 

8-|

Docfoster

Those are in much better nick than mine were. :-)
And if all drivers are indeed working as advertised, will sound better too!
They're not much bigger than the Wharfdales you're using now...!

(Also, optional upgrade via Paul (RFC) when funds allow!)

uglymusic

Good man (see what I did there?).

Docfoster

Dave, that one's "OK" rather than "good".
You've set yourself a pretty high standard in recent days...

uglymusic

"How do I get to Carnegie Hall?"

"Ugly, you gotta practice"  )

I'm here all week!

Suzy6toes

"They're not much bigger than the Wharfdales you're using now...!"

What, you mean the (lovely, much appreciated) Wharfdales that take up a quarter of my wee living room? 

Docfoster

Another pair join the collection...




A pair of smaller 3 ways... This time Goodmans RB20 (recently refoamed). Picking them up for £26.99 from Weston later on...

uglymusic

You've got it bad.

Suzy6toes

These are just irresistible. Look forward to reading a report on how they sound :-)

Docfoster

All collected. All good.
They sound better than the JPW AP1s that were presenting things in the 2nd system. More balanced overall. Good bass too. More than expected.
(Pictured here being tried out in the main rig).

uglymusic

Cool. Well done Ben.

I think I'll be looking for some sort of local bargain speaker sooner or later for system number three. 

Docfoster

Hmmm.
I wonder...



The legendry Goodmans Magisters...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Goodmans-Vintage-High-Fidelity-G-Magister-Loudspeakers-/181946207941?hash=item2a5cd6cec5:g:tz8AAOSw7hRWP9j4

Bristol too.
With a bit of RFC magic, who knows where it might end...

uglymusic

Er, Chester?

Docfoster

Ah yes.
Thanks Dave.
Another brainfart from yours truly.
Forget that pair then...

uglymusic

Where are they going to go?

Docfoster

Loving the look of these... here


A bit too old, even for me, but love the look and idea of them! :-)

uglymusic

Have you asked Paul about bringing them up to date? :-)

Alan

Docfoster said:

Hmmm.
I wonder...



The legendry Goodmans Magisters...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Goodmans-Vintage-High-Fidelity-G-Magister-Loudspeakers-/181946207941?hash=item2a5cd6cec5:g:tz8AAOSw7hRWP9j4

Bristol too.
With a bit of RFC magic, who knows where it might end...

Ye gods, they are getting pricey!! Linky

They do sound great, but I am unconvinced by that paricular tweeter (which I understand Paul can fix very nicely), and the midrange which seems somewhat unintegrated as it projects a certain shoutiness (like Lowther) which isn't in keeping with the rest of the drivers.

Same story on the Magnum IMO.

However they are a great starting point for some fun and rebuilding (although re-sale value looks to be a consideration now).

Alan

Colin might like these: Diesis on ebay

Docfoster

Alan said:

Docfoster said:

Hmmm.
I wonder...



The legendry Goodmans Magisters...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Goodmans-Vintage-High-Fidelity-G-Magister-Loudspeakers-/181946207941?hash=item2a5cd6cec5:g:tz8AAOSw7hRWP9j4

Bristol too.
With a bit of RFC magic, who knows where it might end...

Ye gods, they are getting pricey!! Linky

They do sound great, but I am unconvinced by that paricular tweeter (which I understand Paul can fix very nicely), and the midrange which seems somewhat unintegrated as it projects a certain shoutiness (like Lowther) which isn't in keeping with the rest of the drivers.

Same story on the Magnum IMO.

However they are a great starting point for some fun and rebuilding (although re-sale value looks to be a consideration now).

I just love those big drivers.
Agreed about the tweeters*.
What good tweeters were about in the 70s...?
Most of those I've heard in my various Goodmans and Wharfdales are definitely the weak link. Hugely improved by modern replacements IMHO.

Edit: *£70 quid...?! clicky

Alan

pfffft! He's having a larf!

That's a later tweeter anyways, most of them had a Philips soft dome (one of the first mass market soft dome tweeter IIRC), which wasn't much cop.

Found it! Philips AD1160/T8. Specs here.



All the Magisters and Magnums had this for many years, right up to the very late SL Magnum I had, which were vastly cheapened over the old K2. For example the basket was pressed steel, rather than a quality large aluminum thing.

From this...



...to this:



So I don't have much confidence in the later ones being superior.

Docfoster

Love this kind of hifi history Alan, thanks.
I've only ever noticed the later tweeter (DT4...?) in the big Goodmans models. Perhaps because they were the ones my Goodwoods had. And they were shagged.

PAC

They were the worst for wear Ben as I seem to remember.  Finding a good intact DT4 is not easy.  TBH, many vintage tweeters are viewed through rose tinted glasses and most tweeters today better them quite considerably, imho anyway.  There are exceptions, as with all these things.

Looking at the photos above, the Buckinghams were awesome speakers.  They were derived from professional monitors (which had the two woofers side by side and the mid/tweeter above).  About 170 lbs weight each! The funny looking tweeter is a dual concentric mid/tweeter in the best Tannoy tradition and the fin things on it were to aid dispersion for smooth off axis response.  

Of all the Pro-monitor series, which included the likes the SRM and Little Red Monitors, the Buckinghams were quite probably the best of the lot but never really caught on in the domestic market due to their sheer bulk!

Docfoster

PAC said:

They were the worst for wear Ben as I seem to remember.  Finding a good intact DT4 is not easy. 

And absolutely no need to in my opinion. The tweeters that you sourced*, fitted and integrated into my Goodmans, I vastly prefer to any 1970s tweeter I've ever heard.

*[Edit] These...Monacor DT300 with wave guides.