Vintage speakers shootout from 1970 s

here I review compare contrast and review some classic vintage speakers from early 1970s
B and w DM4 KEF Cantor,Rogers LS35a, Spendor BC1,Beovox 75s,Monitor audio MA4,Clestion Ditton 15
Patreon link
patreon.com/StereoreviewX

[@boris994]

This yt channel is a gift to us all

[@sosonic12000]

Good work Mr K.. I was commissioned to pull the shopping trolley for mummy on a Friday afternoon weaving through hungry human traffic in busy 1970’s …Ridley Market in Dalston London. Well there were always a reggae sound with decks and homemade chipboard humongous speakers where you literally felt Dennis Brown’s drummer/bass guitarist pounding your diaphragm with the mighty Bass and the horn tweeter sounded overwhelming when v close .. but as you moved away and the sweet spot usually by the fruit and veg area - it sounded amazing!! Apparently the record shop there had a direct link to Trojan records from Jamaica.. But happy memories of a Glastonbury shopping experience as a kid 🎉🔊🔊🔊🔊🔊🔊🔊🔇📣📢

[@stereoreviewx]

@@sosonic12000 great stuff. I would also have been at Ridley Road market with my Nan in the 70s.

[@socksumi]

Wonderful and accurate description of some iconic speakers some of which I've owned or still use now.

[@stereoreviewx]

Great to hear!

[@Ricky-cl5bu]

It’s great to hear what these speakers really sound like there’s nobody else does this great job kelvin

[@ianstreeter5291]

Brilliant reviews as always ...

[@haycrossaudio5474]

Very enjoyable video. Heard and worked on most of these. Great evaluation

[@donny303]

Sticking some furniture felt pads on the bottom of speakers can help save the veneer from being scratched ❤

[@stephenlegg262]

I purchased a pair of Wharfdale Linton speakers in 1972. Brilliant speakers. Why no love for these.

[@stereoreviewx]

ok here's a confession of sorts I built Linton kit when 17 I was disappointed its hard to forget that . 😅

[@raimychai8686]

Im really worry that B&O may fall off when each time Kelvin rotating it at the edge table ..

[@gotcha162]

LoL, same here

[@raimychai8686]

😅

[@peterlarkin762]

Yep , the wobbly table of anxiety is back.

[@TheSoundrookie]

Don't worry, it would probably improve the sound.

[@Mr.-Wint]

Would go through the floor to the basement and yet still operate flawlessly !

[@romsman5998]

Brilliant! Thank you for taking the time. This is a little before my time (80s), but would love to see someone in America do something similar for NA brands ie JBL, Infinity, Advent, AR, Snell, ADS etc..!

[@dismal111]

After messing around with hifi for the last 30 odd years, I wouldn’t waste my money on new speakers again.

[@YouTubes33]

Really enjoy your great videos much more than all the channels that talk about the new Wiim, Eversolo and Fosi stuff. Thanks a lot 😊✌🏻

[@allaboutkalergi5012]

Au contrair - one of my mates had a full B&O system for his 19th birthday about 1979 - stuck in his small bedroom. They did make a couple of affordable systems at the bottom of their extensive range. Looked awesome, but sounded ordinary to my ears, as I was used to my dad's Pioneer and Celestion set up.

[@emeeul]

Which Celestion? I have a recapped (Mundorf) pair of Ditton 33s and they’re amazing, especially with decent power. Even with an H/K 430 twin, they have lovely detail and soundstage.

[@Ricky-cl5bu]

I love the sound of vintage speakers I’ve all the old wharfedale series the super ones they sound great , great review kelvin 😊

[@garethvaughan426]

Great vlog Kelvin, yes I was that teenager in the 70's with the Ditton 15's lol

[@richardjohnston4682]

I have the B&W dm4s and only agree with Kelvin’s appraisal! Great speakers I wouldn’t have known about, but for the man himself!

[@allanthacker6072]

Had mine from new.

[@richardjohnston4682]

@@allanthacker6072 Sound great with a Musical Fidelity A1!

[@hayno7066]

Love these videos! I have a pair of B&O 1702 I got with a system years ago and whatever I attach them to, they always sound good to me. Having seen this I am on the hunt for some more vintage speakers. I don’t know what it is about speakers, but I can’t help buying them when I see a pair needing as home. Great channel.

[@stereoreviewx]

ditto 😄

[@seraphin_creates]

This was a good one🤘 thanks very much for the overview!

[@angelourso4250]

For sure the tweeter in the B&O is a Peerless. I have this one in a pair of speakers I built in the 80's and I still have!

[@MrWallybones]

Kelvin - Love ♥ your enthusiasm, Knowledge, accent, and wit. Your content is of a high quality kind of like a beautiful vintage stereo system. Keep up the good work. ✌

[@peterlarkin762]

Fantastic collection of classics! British and continental speakers sounded quite different back then. Continental speakers focused on all out clarity and neutrality, and they didn't appreciate a slightly warmer bass at the cost of speed (with exceptions). I do have a soft spot for that S30/45/55 series, really good sound. They can be had for less than the Spendors now I think. I've heard the BC1's and I'm not a huge fan, but each to their own:)

[@matthewtaylor7355]

Spendor can b improved by simplifying the crossover into great speakers

[@bigblueocean]

This is ace! Love those Lava lamps.

[@stevekretscher373]

Electrolytic capacitors used in crossovers will be subjet to drying (evaporation) of the electrolyte which causes a drop in capacitance, also known as capacitance loss. The service life is commonly considered to be about 10 years.

[@jameshutton5979]

Another great review from the Headmaster at the Hi-Fi school of hard knocks!

[@ashleysleight1016]

Really enjoy your videos kelvin' your vintage knowledge is great

[@1jhnpennington]

Fantastic, as usual.

[@Ricky-cl5bu]

I was waiting for that speaker to fall off the table the B&O , didn’t do my anxiety any good lol

[@smallspendor]

Have had four out of the seven. The four on the right, that is. Happily listening to the Spendor SP1 (BC1 replacement). Can’t improve on those.

[@raimychai8686]

I have the SP1 too.. just love it

[@yambo59]

Ive still got my Pioneer HPM 100's from the early 80's, still sound great but im almost 65 yrs old now and the damn things are so have I can barely lift them now 😵😪

[@milemilic4859]

Nice selection master Yoda. Teach us 🙌

[@rontoolsie]

Other high performing speakers from the 70s were RAM, Swallow, Tangent and ARC. I used a set of Tangent RS4s that survived upgrades starting from an A60 amp through Naim 42/135s and finally an Audio Research D70 power amp. I had home demos of many other speakers, but none of them were as enjoyable...even Gale 401, Linn Kans and SARAs, Maggie SMG etc.

[@PhillipChapman-xf6ec]

Great reviews Kelvin, would be great to hear your views on Heybrook, another British classic👍👏

[@mikeday62]

After watching Kelvin's videos, I always look for vintage speakers from Britain, Denmark, etc. on ebay. Prices are so much higher here in USA than they were before 2018. There's one nice looking pair of 1970 Celestion Ditton 15 Speakers for $250 shipped.

[@emeeul]

I happened upon a cheap pair of mint Ditton 33s in Maryland last year. Had never heard of them before then. They came with a recapped Fisher X-100-3. That was my lucky day. They sound great, though not really with that amp.

[@mikeherbert1343]

Exchanged my Diiton 15s for a pair of Castle Richmonds. Biggest hifi improvement I ever made forty years ago!

[@matt.pma.kresnaputra5458]

Recently found beovox s45-2 on the side of a road by a park. Gonna source the 2din plugs and check things out

[@bobclarke5913]

What a wonderful video, thanks for another great one

[@D1N02]

Well Bang & Olufsen did use a lot of Philips drivers which are dutch (but may have been made in Belgium).

[@intromortti]

B&O tweeter is Peerless. I have Salora KS 330 speakers (Finnish), they have the same tweeter and woofer drivers.

[@emeeul]

I just replaced a bad tweeter in my Beovox S 45-2 and what was in both unmolested, original cabs was a Philips AD-1062 T8 dome. Mid is a Seas 10FM and woofer is a Peerless 8”, not sure the model.

[@intromortti]

​@@emeeul But in that speaker on the video, that driver is Peerless. Both mids are Philips drivers, and bass driver is Seas.

[@emeeul]

@@intromortti I see that’s a different model sorry. They used a range of drivers from those three manufacturers. Very interesting, thank you.

[@intromortti]

@@emeeul Those Philips tweeters were very common here in Finland in 2 way compact stereo package speakers with a Philips woofer. I have many of them. Not the best possible sound, but with normal use they last forever. The 8" bass/mid drivers had an aluminum coil and rubber suspension.

[@richh650]

Excellent video!!!

[@EdoDijkgraaf]

Being Dutch I wish B&O was Dutch. Bang and Olufsen is Danish.

[@TheSoundrookie]

You're welcome to have them. Actually you have my blessing to force them to move.

[@SamFirthDesigner]

Hey Kelvin, I have picked up a set of Braun Output C (micro speakers) and they're clearly high class if compromised by the size. I've also learned that there is a connection between A/D/S and Braun and that the larger speakers are very well regarded. I think the British brands really took all of the thunder in the '70s and early '80s, but maybe worth looking up Braun/ A/D/S as they have made some fantastic speakers.

[@stereoreviewx]

I think your onto something euro stuff doesn't get the love it should that's where the bargains are I guess

[@maxine2798]

Don’t forget the Braun version of the QUAD ELS57.

[@SamFirthDesigner]

Never heard of it, cheers. It's called the LE1

[@brucetungsten5714]

Cool comparison - Thx!

[@garethparr9482]

Hi kelvin great review as always. Would you consider doing a review on the b c 1 bigger brothers sometime and also on the sugden A 25 as I feel they somewhat get overlooked compared to bc1 and A 48. Here’s hoping 🤞

[@stereoreviewx]

I have one bc2 and basically its better

[@terryfincham7252]

i was offered a pair of Linn Sara but on listening one of the tweeters wasnt working and the fella wanted £500 which i didnt but the sound of the good one got me wanting good sound now , Hence being here but its like a minefield out there 😊😊😊

[@Smog104]

Kelvin BnO is Danish as you know mate . This is the first mistake if EVER heard you make LOVE STEREO X a brilliant channel

[@TheSoundrookie]

Please don't tell him. I appreciate so much that he lifts some of the burden of shame from us Danes.

[@geraldmcmullon2465]

@@TheSoundrookie B&O have always had the reputation of style over function and lumped in with Bose as over expensive life style systems. In recent years with many of the products doubling in price since launch they seem to be aiming for the ultra rich as even their entry level speakers are now very much over priced. 36% price hike in a year when other manufacturers have increased their price only marginally above inflation. I recently got a pair of CX100 speakers with a Beocenter 9000. I would not have consider these in 1986 and certainly not from the specifications. The CX100 have more bass than the specifications indicate and for bookshelf speakers are very good. I had to replace the foam surrounds to the drive cones but they still work nicely. The Beocenter 9000 has an interface that performs like 21st technology, it isn't, the touch panel is not not what it appears but works like a modern touch screen device. It is elegant, understated and the sound quality was and remains worth the asking price. I would never have thought that from demonstrations in show rooms 30 years ago.

[@stereoreviewx]

I call them all vikings from now on🤣

[@maxine2798]

⁠@@geraldmcmullon2465B&O have and had research facilities that dwarf all but the largest speaker manufacturers. Their kit sounds a lot better than many give it credit for. I’ve have various bits for decades. The design is their choice and why not put some effort into it? I also use CX100s with the Cona sub in my home studio. Speakers on the wall either side of the display monitor. They sound ok - I must update the crossover. But I’d pay a lot more to get better sound and struggle to get a better form factor for my room. Plus they’re white and hang on a white wall

[@Smog104]

@@geraldmcmullon2465 I’m a BnO fan and I’ve been tracking the price rises opposed to bowers and Wilkins and BW have hiked them up but not to the extent of BnO . BnO signature sound is bloody lovely, yes I do buy it for aesthetics too and you pay extra for the design and the superior materials involved . But do I want a rack in my room with industrial cables everywhere with ugly speakers ? Nope so they offer a compromise and a damn good one at a price . They are in a different league to Bose , I’ve got a pair of rose gold Beolab 5s coming soon I could of got a Sonus Faber Olympica nice II for a little less or the III for a little more and these are of course used speakers and a rare edition hence price which will hold abd are absolutely mint . The guy who owns Sausalito audio in California said “ BnO can punch up their with the best of them “ and I beni e that to be true obviously there’s HIFI equipment that’s unbelievably expensive say 100 k just for a turntable or SF top speakers are what 750 k ????? But in general BnO are up there I have two TVs and two hifis by BnO much I bought used and I love it . I am however thinking about the Linn Selekt to pair up with the Beolab 5s I’m only a tradesman no rich person I just love their stuff and Stereo X

[@paulcole8376]

Hi kelvin I have a pair of celestion dl8 mk2 I believe. I would love your opinion on these . I usually run a pioneer sa510 but it needs repairing. Your thoughts would be amazing. Cheers

[@jamesm90]

The BBC designed some great speakers, and money well spent they sold a truck load of them.

[@GentielioGaming]

Nice but you don't get the stero image or stage that is holographic for critical listening allthough while sounding nice.

[@sumahama1981]

Best channel on KZbin! 📺📼

[@legomandk9964]

Nice video. What do you think about Waferdale super linton?

[@D1N02]

My best seventies speakers are the Sansui ES-200

[@trutmaasfull]

The only speakers that’s not is monitors is the B&O.😊 That’s the only there’s made for living room placement! 👍 I’ve got some beovox 2400 from late 60’s, and found out they actually supposed to be corner placed.😊

[@emeeul]

Where did you learn that? I have a Beomaster 2400 with a pair of S 45-2s and they sound great out in open. I’ll try them in a corner.

[@trutmaasfull]

Ooh 😮 it’s beomaster amp you have! Well beovox 2400 is not made like other speakers from B&O, I don’t know about the s45, but beovox 2400 doesn’t sound any good in normal speaker placement! Beovox 2400 looks very similar to klipsch and other corner speakers from the 60’s. Maybe I should try get a pair of s45, there’s a lot of them here in Denmark…😃👍

[@RantingYogi]

I'm wondering why you never seem to mention the DM3s in conversations about classic British speakers? I've got a pair handed down from my great uncle, and they sound incredible!

[@stereoreviewx]

well did review mordant short with same or similar drivers and yes winners

[@peterallen4331]

Any chance of a KEF concerto comparison with something new. I have concertos that I bought in the 70's an they are still going strong.

[@stereoreviewx]

I am a fan tighten the drivers up eh

[@Kouros-t6d]

I'd love Kelvin to include Dynaco a-25....JBL L16....Bose 301/501 (they are very good in the music bathing Kelvin loves so much🙂) and Kef 104ab in his next speaker shootout video....and a sound comparison would be an amazing gift!

[@stereoreviewx]

yes interested in all of those

[@RaymondReeves-db8dr]

Bang and Olufsen Dutch? I think not Try Danish

[@ronichris]

The Bang & Olufsen is not dutch. These are Made In Denmark, famous for their design.

[@stereoreviewx]

it had got a d in it 😛

[@andrewarthurmatthews6685]

I was expecting to see Goodmans speakers that were plentiful in early 70’s but maybe they were not regarded as top notch?

[@stereoreviewx]

I didn't like the rb range but older stuff yes

[@Shaun.Stephens]

@@stereoreviewx I was looking for a Goodmans comment. I have two pairs of Mezzo SLs (one teak, one walnut, not the kitset version) from the 1970s and they sound great. So good in fact that I'll buy any others that I see, for other rooms of for backups / parts. I'd love to hear what you think of them and how they rate against these that you've reviewed. Cheers.

[@careystuart]

Tannoy, Harbeth, Mission, and Lentek left out?!? Love them Spendors and Rogers!!! I actually had 2 pair of the Lenteks. Bought them at a flea market. The seller had NO IDEA what they were, but NEITHER did I !! Until too late. Ha, oh well, Cheers!!

[@stereoreviewx]

Lentek are unknown gems

[@Drackleyrva]

The B&O four driver speaker?! Wow! I still have my B&O Beogram RX turntable from 1986---amazing and works great! Also---please, can you provide a link for the gorgeous lava lamps?

[@stereoreviewx]

Mathimos they are the most expensive though

[@TheRoby1kenobi]

With my marantz model 8B I had Rogers LS3/5a (both 11ohm and 15 ohm, which I prefer) but I found the best sound with kef Chorale (lovely and lively T27 tweeter with the bass extension that LS3/5 missed). The only alternative that I would like to listen to are the spendor bc1. How do you think they compare against the chorale with that tube amp?

[@matanavgust8404]

Why rogers so expensive??

[@geraldmcmullon2465]

Cult. Hype. Spin. They are detailed. Clear. Unforgiving and designed for small spaces, near field and mainly for human voice speech as to be delivered over FM radio (40-15000 Hz). For that they do an excellent job. Originally sold for around £189 in 1980. They lack the bass of the JR149 and even the Kef 101. JR149 needed 60 Watt amps to drive them, Kef 101 are more efficient. Domestic amps of this price range included the 30-40Watt Cambridge P80 and A&R A60. Why the £800-£1250 second hand I don't know. The £800 is roughly the inflation rate since 1980. The new price from Rogers is £2750. I doubt that can be justified by any measure. There are many speaker choices including powered and full active speakers for that price point. If the buyer listens to them first and compares with others it is their choice, their ears, their budget.

[@peterdavidthompson4876]

It's a shame you don't do a video on Richard Allan RA8 speakers the BBC used them!

[@hangtee]

I’m thinking of upgrading from DM4 to a BC1 or BC2, do you think the midrange from the BCs can be as magical as the DM4? Love your videos!

[@stereoreviewx]

well yes bc1 is superior dm4 smore mid orientated though 😜

[@hangtee]

@@stereoreviewx thanks for responding, appreciate the sharing.

[@kenhermansen3888]

B&O is danish

[@peterlarkin762]

Ye Danish company, Danish design. The electrics were usually assembled by Philips in Netherland.

[@slowpawstevet3676]

nicely reviewed Kelvin! i think many of your followers on here are tempted to buy these great speakers you recommend but as they are all around 50 years old there is the question as how they remain a good investment regarding maintenance - i have a number of electrical components (amps, record players) around 50 years old and as they have all been fully serviced and maintained professionally i can be pretty sure they are operating safely and at their best performance. I have been looking for classic large standmount speakers for some time (currently using B&W 602 s2) but not sure what kind of maintenance they would need to guarantee they would be performing at their best, alternatively there is a trend today towards "classic sounding" new speakers such as Mission 770 or Wharfedale Lintons / Dentons.

[@emeeul]

Not much to do - I think they’re more reliable than the amps and receivers. Replace some caps, maybe resistors and transistors, sometimes the surrounds are done (foam) but really that’s it. Maybe drivers with ferrofluid need changing out but I love old speakers - great value with very few parts.

[@peterlarkin762]

Speakers last a long time and don't really need maintenance unless they've got leaky electrolytic capacitors in the crossover. For the most part they get damaged by owners giving them too much power. I've repaired some old B&W's, Dual's, Spendors etc... Apart from broken drivers, issues are: rattles in the box/things loose, damping/ gaskets disintegrated, cables/posts are corroded or gone green, loosed internal connections. Occasionally out of value resistors (Spendor). Rarely bad caps. All easily sorted without a professional tbh.

[@conkelleher8454]

Hi Kelvin, have you any options on the JR 49 or early Linn Cans or maybe the Gale 401a ? The latter being one of my favourites.

[@geraldmcmullon2465]

JR149 and the three way JR150 are great speakers. I ended up with two pairs of JR149 speakers returned from my brother in law and my parents so got a third pair to use one as a centre channel. I powered them with a Meridian G55 five channel amplifier. I also had the super woofer but it would not work with the G55 because of the amplifier it used to filter the low frequencies from the passive speaker output of an amplifier. In buying the JR149 in 1978 and the MkII for my parents in 1983 I listened to the LS3/5A and Kef 101 and other book shelf speakers. The JR149, even with the same drive units had more bass and a better quality but did need a more powerful amplifier to drive them than the Kef 101 for example. I sold the JR set up to get Meridian floor standing D600 speakers which at that tie were cheaper than the JR149 on the second hand market. In 1979-80 I listened to a range of speakers including the Gale 401, Linn Isobarik and Meridian M1. I still have the M1 speakers, 44 years now.

[@michaelvincent8306]

I have spendor bc1 wouldn't swap them for nothing heard loads of new stuff and just laugh

[@AndyBHome]

Is Peerless still the company it used to be? Do they still make very good drivers or did they turn into a badge for Chinese mid-low grade drivers?

[@freemenofengland2880]

How would the Celestion Ditton 25 or SL6 stack up against these?

[@CP-qe2ym]

Tannoy ?

[@patman2443]

dutch or danish.... who cares? ;-)

[@peterlarkin762]

Kinda both init.

[@TheSoundrookie]

I do. As a Dane I wish they were Dutch.

[@INeedsMoneys]

@@TheSoundrookiebruh, i feel u 😂

[@jhuc2869]

Probably better off with vintage jbl or Tannoy as recone kits are available. All 70’s gear is way past its expected lifespan.

[@emeeul]

Curiously though, they often still sound great. Most parts are repairable in ways newer speakers sometimes aren’t. I have speakers from the 60s that still sound great - I’m not sure what the design life was, but the cabs and drivers are often wonderfully constructed.

[@jhuc2869]

@@emeeulGood luck with an open voice coil on any of those drivers. You might be able to patch it up with a generic replacement, but a Mylar or Bextrene replacement recone kit, hmm. Key thing is to not pay much for the gear in the first place (getting a bit hard these days for the pieces that are worth having).

[@andrewarthurmatthews6685]

Disagree

[@emeeul]

@@jhuc2869 Probably. I have about a dozen pairs of vintage speakers and rotate them often. Hopefully a voice coil doesn’t go anytime soon. If so, I’ll have spare units to listen to.

[@jhuc2869]

@@emeeul Enjoy, but don’t overlook some of the newer gear as the sector is on the brink of ceasing to exist in any sort of mainstream way and needs its adherents to be forward looking as well as nostalgic (have had great results driving vintage alnico AR’s with a modern class d amp!!)

[@richardpaine5923]

Too thin

[@tommy..980]

Don’t really care for the sound quality of European sounds.. to fatiguing for my ears… But that’s just me!!!

[@gaborozorai3714]

There's no such thing as European sound. Typical German, Italian and French are all different. And since when is GB not Europe?

[@ganck1147]

Of all the european spks, i like british sound signature best. There’s some magic in that bextrene cone.

[@geraldmcmullon2465]

From the 60 through the 70s there were some clear distinctions listening to British, Continental (mostly German), Japanese and USA designed speakers. More so than in the amplifiers or cassettes. Turntables also seemed to have distinct flavours. Some Japanese companies had the speakers designed and developed in the UK because of that difference in buyer preference. There were also distinct looks in the control panels of the electronics with the British classical designs less flashy, minimalistic (Quad, Lecson, Meridian, Naim, A&R, Cambridge Audio, Leak) and the German industrial designs from Telefunken, Grundig, Uher, Beyerdynamic, Blaupunkt, Canton, Visonik echoed by the Dutch Philips and even the Philips owned UK Pye. Very different today with modern designs from the likes of Elac and Dynaudio.

[@geraldmcmullon2465]

@@gaborozorai3714 I tend to agree now but not so sure back in the 70s. Telefunken and Philips and Grundig had a similar look distinct and sound compared to UK based hi-fi products matched by a difference in the sound. Quad, Linn, Meridian. Mission, A&R, Cambridge Audio where more minimalist in design. Japanese products had more knobs, sliders, dials and flashy VU meters in a large empty box.

[@gaborozorai3714]

@@geraldmcmullon2465 Sure, it was different back then. It was when audiophile hi-fi was born, sound quality above features and looks, and Britain played a massive role in that.

[@rodduncan1183]

I still own & listen to my Warfdale E30's & your trying to indicate that Warfdale shouldn't be there. Sorry I think your a fake & incomperdent

[@enchantress7940]

I have some Dovedale 3’s modified with a front baffle hole cut out, insulated and an uprated KEF tweeter. They are the kit versions that were built by the buyer. They sound sweet and detailed. Best thing they only cost £20 for the pair, minus the KEF tweeters that I had lying about. You can’t beat vintage for that warm, detailed sound

[@sexytasmin]

My pick would be the Ditton 15’s Kelvin. I chose them for a friend that wanted a hi fi system in the 70’s. They sounded very good.

[@fuckinellitsraymo]

Tap the woofers and the cabinet but don't try that with the tweeters.

[@stereoreviewx]

you suck tweeters

[@1jhnpennington]

Fantastic, as usual.