Speakers - Celestion Ditton 33

Short video on my pair of Celetion Ditton 33 speakers.

Enjoy!

B&W Vs KEF - And the Winner Is?

I wish it were that simple. I'll tell you this much, when pitting the B&W CDM 9NT against the KEF 105.2, I was forced to make a tough decision and admit some uncomfortable truths. First of all, if anyone of you has been following the KEF 105.2 sale on Audiogon, you may have noticed that I've raised the price to $1,500 for the pair. I've also pulled them from CraigsList. Why? Good question. It all came down to some critical listening tests I've done over the past few days.

The fist speaker comparison I performed was between the B&W CDM 9NT and my KEF Reference Two speakers that have been my, well, 'reference' for mid-priced quality loudspeakers for over two years. The result here was that, in almost every way, the B&W beat the KEF Reference Twos. Bass extension, midrange and treble clarity... the list goes on. Not that there was a "night and day" difference. That's why the comparison needed over a month to complete. Had this been a slam dunk, you would have been reading about it in early August. The result? I sold one of my pairs of KEF Reference Twos last night. Still have another pair, in rosewood, that's in my office. I'm keeping these for the time-being, but if you REALLY must have a pair in excellent condition - shoot me a line.

Now, on to the KEF 105.2 story. Posting these great speakers for sale was not an easy choice, but I simply needed the room. The addition of the B&W 801 S2 pair and the CDM 9NT was creating a clutter condition more akin to hording than collecting. After the KEF Reference Two had gone up against the CDM 9NT, I felt it only fair to give the 105.2 one last chance at saving itself. Turns out that the CDM 9NT got a run for its money.

The KEF 105.2 proved equal in the bass - both extension and overall "punch," and much more natural and more mellow in the mids and highs than the B&Ws. Where the Reference Two was lacking clarity in these two critical tonal areas, the 105.2 held onto clarity and brought a true-to-instrument naturalness that I had forgotten they possess. I'm so glad I took the time to listen carefully to these speakers again. After only an hour or so, I pulled the CL sales advert and adjusted the price up to "extreme gear enthusiast" level on Audiogon. If someone wants these for $1,500 - we'll talk, but it's gonna take that kinda scratch for me to consider letting them go.

How did the CDM 9NT compare to the 105.2? Pretty darn well, actually. The one characteristic that takes getting used to on the CDM 9NT is the forwardness (read: brightness) of the midrange. That 6.5" surround-less midrange driver packs a serious punch, and throws vocals right through your eardrums. This is fine for most purposes, and I suppose desirable for movie soundtracks where vocals often are lost, but for casual listening? Notsomuch.

I tested several vocal tracks, but kept coming back to Sade's Diamond Life album. "Your Love is King" sounded cool and natural on the KEF 105.2, but Sade's voice plowed right through me on the CDM 9NT. It actually was quite grating. Switching back to the 105.2, I realized that these KEF speakers offered the kind of "all-day-listening" that most people seek in quality loudspeakers. Listener fatigue can be caused by many things - muddy or sloppy bass is one I've experienced recently, but brightness in the mids and highs is another. Everyone is different though. Upon hearing the same Sade song on the B&W, a friend noted that the detail was amazing. His take was that the KEF's, although plenty good, sounded muted in comparison.

As I've noted before, when it comes to comparing speakers, it all comes down to personal taste. Specs mean nothing once you get past the Best Buy listening room speaker stock and on to more vintage or higher-end, specialty speakers. Whenever possible, take time to listen and compare speakers prior to making a purchasing decision. This is rarely an option, and I've bought plenty of speakers with only hearing a selected track or two, so I'm asking you to do as I say, not as I always do.

You can get speaker recommendations from a friend, an online blog (hello!), or someone who claims to have a golden ear, but the only ears that you have to satisfy are your own. If nothing else, remember this from this post: If a vocal or musical passage seems grating to your ears or even slightly unpleasant, regardless of how the speakers shine in other areas - beware! Remember that these speakers may, eventually, end up in a primary listening space, and all-day listening comfort will become a concern.

So now what? As soon as I hit "publish," I'm going back up to the loft to move the KEF 105.2 back into position and pump some tunes through them, enjoying every single natural, sweet note.

Super Duper Speaker Photos

Have a Facebook account? Go HERE. Amazing-looking speakers. Enjoy!


Ever listened to any of these? If so - please share.

Speakers - Bowers & Wilkins CDM 9NT

That's the KEF Reference Two on the right

Just got pair of B&W CDM 9NT last night, so it's a bit early to do a proper review. The deal was simply too sweet to pass up - more than half-off Audiogon Blue Book price. I'll get around to doing a proper write-up on these soon, and I'm also doing a head-to-head with my KEF Reference Two, which, so far, is proving quite interesting. Stay tuned!

Speakers - Bowers & Wilkins 801 Matrix Series 2

While scouring the Web for reviews of the B&W Matrix 801 Series 2 loudspeakers, I came upon one comprehensive review, by Stereophile, and a few forum posts, but nothing else substantial. That's surprising, as this speaker model is heralded as being one of the most popular high-end speakers produced in the past 25 years. Hopefully this review will encourage other 801 owners to chime in and leave comments, so that this speaker can get its fair share of attention.

 

The Purchase 

I've waited for a pair of 801 S2 or S3 (series two or three) speakers to pop up for local purchase for a few years now. The few times I've seen them, I hadn't the available cash, or they were plucked up by another buyer. This time I got lucky. Found this pair on CraigsList in a nearby town, and communicated with the seller a few times throughout the day, finally arranging to meet him for a listen that same evening. As soon as I walked into the room, I knew I'd be leaving with these speakers. There were a couple of finish options for the 801s, and the all black ash was the one I'd been waiting for. Not that big black speakers look great in my family room, but the wood veneer options for these with the brown Fibercrete head units were, in my opinion, atrocious. Of course the sound mattered as well, so my son and I did a test-listen with an acoustic guitar CD, jazz, and some rock. The speakers passed muster on all counts. They were as good as I had hoped.

 

With the help of the seller, my son and I were able to load these beasts into our van. Once home, it took considerable effort to tilt them out of the rear compartment and onto a skateboard which I used as an improvised dolly. From there, it was only about ten feet of travel into the garage, but each inch was a test of balance, strength, and nerves. These are 110 pounds each, 39" high, 23" deep, and absolutely no handles of any kind. Yes, there's a bass port, but that's a hole, not a handle.

 

The Move Inside 

They sat in my garage for four days until the family left on a Saturday. I needed an empty house with plenty of echo room for cursing and grunting that I predicted would accompany the transfer of these speakers into our den. I was right. The three steps from our garage into our kitchen were agonizing. At one point, with neither any room behind or in front of me to rest the speaker on a flat surface, I felt a shock of pain in my lower back. I steadied myself, and then slowly pushed the speaker onto its side and slid it past the threshold into the kitchen.

 

Once in the family room, I drove to my local hardware store and bought eight 2.5" casters and installed them on the speakers. I'm pretty certain these didn't bring the speakers to their optimal listening height, but, since I can't find that info online anywhere, I'll live with this setup until information comes my way. People have suggested using the original Sound Anchor stands built for these speakers, but at $300/pair, I couldn't get myself to pay for something that I think I can eventually improvise with commonly-found building materials. More on that in another post.

 

The Setup 

Once in the den, I disconnected the right Vandersteen 3A Signature and bi-wired the 801 in its place. From the preamp, I was now able to use the balance control to switch back and forth between the other Vandersteen and the new 801. I had prepared for this listening test by transferring several dozen lossless audio files onto my iPod Nano. For this family room system, I use a Keyspan TuneView iPod dock connected to my Sony STRDA555ES receiver that I use as a preamplifier. The Sony is connected to my Aragon 8008 power amplifier.

 

The Sound 

My first impression while listening to both channels was just how apparent the sonic differences are in the Vandersteens and the B&Ws. Where the Vandersteens were laid-back, neutral, and forgiving, the 801s were forward, analytical, precise, and aggressive. Not all of these terms can be immediately likened to sonic fidelity, but they immediately come to mind when i think about the characteristics of these speakers. Speaker reviews are often criticized for using language that's too esoteric, but often, using concrete terms to transpose an emotional, aural experience is a wasted effort. When I write about the 801s being analytical, I'm referring to their honest, uncolored reproduction of sound - all sounds, true to the original recording. There's a wandering bass line in the Beatles Golden Slumbers that snaps to the front of the soundstage on the 801s where it gets lost somewhere in the lower mid-bass on the Vandersteens. The Vandersteens produce silky-smooth mids and highs, but Paul's voice sounded like he was in the room with me on the B&Ws. Some of the vocal realism is also due to the fact that the 801's midrange and tweeter sit at ear-level for my prime listening location. These drivers on the Vandersteens were nearly a foot above my ears. Adjusting my head height a bit revealed more realistic mids and highs on the Vandersteens, but I'd have to sit on two pillows to get that height from my couch. That's not going to happen, and no, tilting the 90 lb 48" tall Vandersteens downward to adopt a more precise driver angle isn't going to happen.

 

I disconnected the other Vandersteen after several minutes of listening to both brands. Once the other 801 was connected, I sat back for some serious fun. The close-mic'd vocals of Julianna Raye sounded amazing. Her sensitive, but not overly-breathy "Dominoes" brought me right into the studio with her, and "White Bicycle" was equally as hypnotic. Karen Carpenters vocals sounded a bit more harsh on the 801s, but then I realized that her vocals are so clean and clear that, again, I felt part of the studio session instead of listening in a home environment. I heard Richard Carpenter move on his piano bench, and the hammer mechanisms inside the piano. Sounds were being revealed that I'd never heard before. The subtle wavering in Karen's well-controlled vocals, the violin bow hair doing an initial, gentle bounce off the strings before moving along them, so many musical discoveries that force me to want to listen to more and music to rediscover sounds I'd not heard before.

 

UPDATE: I switched out the Sony ES receiver for my McIntosh C31V preamplifier/audio controller. I made this change because I didn't need the complicated sound fields and Dolby intrusions on the Sony, and was interested only in two-channel sound, even for my home theater in that room. With the McIntosh, I also have the benefit of a five band EQ broken into frequency steps of 30, 150, 500, 1,500, and 10,000 Hz boost or cut at 12dB. This gives me a great range to tweak the sound, when needed, for various recordings, but especially for movies, where, without the use of a center speaker, vocals can get lost. NOTE: I use the Playstation 3 as our Blu-ray, and have HDMI coming out of it for our TV. I use the PS3 Multi-out analog RCAs for audio. As the McIntosh C31V is an all-analog unit, I'm not using the digital optical from the PS3, but might consider getting a decent DAC and going that route someday.

 

B&W 800 Series Bass Alignment Filter

So far, in my Web searches, there's been more written about the B&W Matrix 800 Series Variable Bass Alignment Filter & Equalizer than the speakers, themselves. I've got an eBay search going for one, and will probably purchase one if I can get it for around $150 or less. Seems like a reasonable experiment, in any case, and can always resell it if I end up not using it. I won't go into details on how this bass alignment filter works, suffice to say it changes the 4th order crossover in the 801s to a 6th order Butterworth crossover, allowing an extra 1/2 octave of deep bass. The nice thing about the McIntosh C31V is that I can eek out quite a bit of bass between the variable loudness and the 30 Hz EQ boost, so this little filter may not make much, if any difference. True, the McIntosh won't let me hear what isn't already reproduce-able, but at that low of a frequency, it's gonna be hard to tell without listening to isolated test tones.

 

Conclusion

I am so very pleased with these speakers. After a hit-and-miss affair with B&W speakers over the years - LOVE the DM640, lukewarm on the 602 and DM100i, like the DM12, did NOT like the 802 Series 80, the fact that these met every one of my expectations speaks volumes and is quite a relief. I've flipped my fair share of speakers, but always hang on to the ones I consider "keepers." I'm glad to say these fall into that category. Full range speakers like the B&W 801 S2 have to step to the plate with a lot to offer. Although one could always throw in a subwoofer to round out the low-end, the idea with these is that you shouldn't have to do that. If I find that a full-range speaker isn't living up to its name, I'll sell it. The 801s are going to stay with me for a very long time. 

Speakers Head-to-Head - KEF Cresta 2 VS KEF 103.2

Just picked up this beautiful pair of KEF Cresta 2 speakers off Craigslist here in the LA area and boy...are they sweet.

Speakers Head-to-Head - Bowers & Wilkins B&W DM12 VS KEF 103.2

I thought I'd use this new loft stereo system as a comparison bed for bookshelf speakers. First up - B&W vs KEF.


I love these little B&W Dm12 speakers. Love them so much, in fact, that I hated to pit them against the KEF 103.2 because I knew they would inevitably pale by comparison. I was [sigh] right. 


Once again, the openness of the KEF 103.2 soundstage exceeds any other small speaker I've listened to, including these. In the case of the B&W DM12, however, the difference is not night and day. 


In fact, while most music I played sounded better on the KEFs, Karen Carpenter's close-miked vocals of  "Close to You" sounded too brilliant and harsh on the KEFs, but much more controlled and mellow on the B&Ws. "Infinite Arms" from Band of Horses revealed fewer differences between these two speakers. Both reproduced the sounds with similar sonic characteristics. Still, the fact is, when I closed my eyes, the B&W still sounded "boxy," and with the KEFs, the box disappeared, to leave only the vocals and instruments.


In all fairness, the B&W DM12 and KEF 103.2 are not the same size, and, of course, the cabinet size has impact on the sonic qualities of all speakers. 


That being considered, the B&W DM12 is an excellent mid-sized bookshelf speaker and fully-worthy of consideration if you ever get the chance to purchase a pair. 


Have any experience with either of these speakers? Chime on in :)

Speakers - Technics SB-G910

I've seen a lot of things done with woofers in my day; many of which shouldn't even be legal! But I've never seen a woofer with a clear plastic dust cap. Pretty neat, actually.

These Technics SB-G910 monsters had a LOT of bass, but that's about all I can say for them. Lightweight cabinets shook and rattled when the volume was cranked, but that's what classic house speakers are supposed to do - right?

Notice the latex-gloved hand? Yes, we always wear latex gloves when handling Technics speakers. Don't you?!?

Have any experiences with Technics house speakers from the 80's? Chime on in.

Speakers - B&W DM100i

I've mentioned how much I like collecting great little bookshelf speakers. My goal is to one day have a home large enough to use them all in "mini" systems in several rooms throughout.

In the meantime, I'll keep snagging the ones I want and enjoy them in my garage system, rotating them out every month or so.

Picked up these B&W DM100i at a thrift store for a song! Work great, and sound quite nice. I haven't put them through their paces with acoustic or jazz yet, but they sound terrific with rock and pop.

I'll post a follow-up after I have more time for critical listening.

Any experiences with B&W bookshelf speakers? Chime in!

Speakers - Vandersteen 3A

See the cat's tail in the second photo from the bottom? Yup - that's the reason you're seeing these Vandy's in their birthday suit. Picked these up off local (LA) CraigsList for a song and the socks were in good shape. My cat, Satchmo would have, sooner or later, discovered these wonderful scratching posts and tore the socks, possibly even the rear woofer, to shreds.

With all the best intentions, I decided to set forth and remove the socks, taking care to keep them intact so that I may put them back on in the future should a resale opportunity arise.

Ever removed socks from Vandersteens? There are no less than 100 industrial staples per speaker holding these super-tough socks in place. The first sock removal took over an hour, and the second speaker went a little faster at about 45 minutes. Of course had I realized what a chore it was going to be I would have photographed and documented it for this site. As it stands, if you need any advice on removing the socks from Vandersteen speakers, go ahead and email me or post a comment and I'll be happy to answer specific questions.

So, the good news is that I really like the way the look without the socks! No, this isn't sour grapes, you see I've recently discovered the societal sub-culture of steampunk, and these skinned Vandys reflect the design influence of steampunk perfectly! Love the over-built structure and commanding lines of these speakers. The mat-black sprayed finish and the khaki stapled felt pad accents.

So, how do they sound? Wonderful. I've got a pair of Vandersteen 3A Signature speakers downstairs in the family room, but we use these mostly for gaming and home theater. HORRORS! I know, but they will be around for decades, and will eventually find their way into a dedicated listening room. In the meantime, don't fret - Call of Duty on the PS3 sounds absolutely phenomenal on these puppies. They are NOT going to waste.

I can't tell any difference between the 3A and the 3A signature, sound-wise, but then again, I don't have them set up side-by-side in an A/B test configuration. One is on tile in a very large room with hard surfaces, and these 3As are in my smallish loft with lots of soft surfaces and heavily-padded carpet. There's no way I could say which one sounds better under these conditions.

My recommendation: Look for any Vandersteens after the 2C model as they will have rubber surrounds on the drivers. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the 2C and prior models all had foam surrounds. You can usually find 2CE and above for $500 or so. Try to buy local as shipping these is expensive. If you can find a pair - grab 'em. You might even consider removing the socks as I did. With the socks on they are monolithic and draw no attention to themselves. Without the socks they make a bold statement - either good or bad, depending on your taste and that of your spouse :)

Have anything to add? Please leave a comment or shoot me an email - hificollector88 [at] gmail.com

Speakers - Champman Sound Company SCJ-1

I didn't buy these, just had an opportunity to audition a pair that a guy was trying to unload in a massive gear trade. These were high-end speakers in their day (1978 - 1983), retailing for $1,000/pair. Today's value on a pair would be strictly governed by condition and these needed new surrounds on the woofers and mids.

That yellowish, paper-like material around the cones isn't foam and it isn't quite rubber. It's really more like rice paper and very thin. I'm sure it's some sort of latex, but I've never seen it before on speaker surrounds.

Running my index finger around the edges almost resulted in a puncture. Then again, perhaps this was the way they were designed? Dunno, and without knowing at the time, I passed on the offer.

How did they sound? They sounded quite good. Commanding bass, nice mids and highs. Similar in overall tone to JBL Centuries.

Do you know anything about these speakers? Have any more info on the surround material and whether I shouldn't have passed them up? Send in an email or leave a comment - thanks.

What's it worth?
Good: $200/pair
Fair: $125
As is in photo: $75 if they did need new surrounds.

Speakers - Coral BX-1200

Can you say Kabuki without smiling? These Coral BX-1200 speakers from the late 70's are 5-way, 6-driver speakers with that classic Sansui look and sound.

I especially like the labels on each driver so you know what you're listening to. Of course the question inevitably arises: "Just how many drivers can we pack into a cabinet?" And the answer? As many as you think you need to sell speakers to people who believe in "the more, the better" philosophy. Confused? Me too - it's late and I still have to help clean up the kids' room.

I had these speakers for about a week then traded them and a six pack of domestic beer for a single Boston bookshelf speaker. I think I got the better end of that deal.

Have any experience that's more helpful than mine with Coral speakers? Shouldn't be too hard :) Please shoot me an email or leave a comment.

Thanks!

What's it worth?
Good: $100/pair
Fair: $75
As is in photo: $85

Speakers - BOSE 901 Series VI

I'd always wanted a pair of BOSE 901 speakers, and when a friend called me one Saturday morning from an estate sale in Orange, California saying there was a pair with good driver surrounds for $100, I didn't hesitate, "Grab 'em!" I said over the phone, and felt a satisfying chill run down my spine.

What I forgot about was the fact that these need the BOSE active equalization unit, and I had to buy that separately off of eBay - oh well. Once up and running these sounded terrific. Of course, I also didn't have the stands for them, so I set them atop my JBL Century's for a few weeks while auditioning them. That worked fine, but looked pretty junky. The thought came to mind to purchase stands, but other speakers arrived, and as is the life of a fickle collector, my honeymoon with the 901s soon faded. I stored them for a few months and finally ended up selling them to a buddy of mine.

The main problem with these speakers, for me anyway, was the fact that they were very sensitive to placement. They wanted to be a certain distance from the corners in an otherwise uncluttered space. My room dynamics just didn't lend to the "perfect" listening space for these babies. Other than that - they sounded fine and had terrific imaging with the radiated sound waves. Had to be in the sweet spot though as with most speakers.

Have any experiences with your BOSE 901 speakers? Please leave a comment or shoot me an email.

What's it worth? With BOSE 901 Equalizer and walnut cabinet
Good: $500
Fair: $350
As in photo (no equalizer): $250

Speakers - Lafayette Criterion 2001+

Lesson learned: When it comes to buying used speakers, solid, well-built cabinets and qualtiy binding posts don't always lend toward a good purchase choice. Such was the case with the Lafayette Criterion 2001+ speakers. I listened to them briefly before purchase, but there was a floor buffing machine fifteen feet away, so critical listening wasn't possible. But hey, these were destined to be garage speakers anyway, so who needs a critical listening test?

All I can think of is that the crossover capacitors have lost value over the years because I couldn't imagine these selling from a showroom floor sounding like they did for me - lifeless is the word that comes to mind. There was bass, midrange, and treble, but every source I tried with them sounded as if music was being played out of a tin can over 100 yards of kite string.

I gave these to my neighbor who, for whatever reason, really liked their sound. Maybe he represented the target demographic back in 1979 for the Criterion 2001+. Sound quality is such a personal thing. I'm glad he's happy with them. Now if I can only get him to take my 1981 Realistic receiver, we'd both be thrilled.

Have anything you'd like to share about your Criterion speakers? Please leave a comment or shoot me an email.

What's it worth?
Good: $85/pair
Fair: $45/pair
As in photo: $45/pair

Speakers - Yamaha NS-225

Here was another classic impulse buy from a yard sale. I had no room for these Yamaha NS-225 loudspeakers, nor did I have a particular need for them, but at the $7 asking price, there was no way I was going to walk off the lawn without them.

On first listen, they sounded quite good, especially at low volume. The tweeter looks identical to the one used on the higher-end NS-series from the late 1970s through the 1980s, and I assume it is the same model. The woofer, although paper-coned and somewhat flimsy-looking, held up well to the Pink Floyd I pumped through them over the weekend.

By the way, a quick Orion Blue Book lookup tells me these sold for $350 in 1978 and 1979, and the current used retail is $46 - $58. That's a respectable resale for 30-year-old Yamaha two-way speakers. These might be keepers. . .but it's all about the sound, not the monetary value, right?

They capably handled everything I threw at them and kept their smoothness through most musical passages. There was a distinct ringing in some high-frequency passages, but, after listening to them at high levels throughout most of the afternoon, I ascertained that the ringing was coming from inside my head, not the tweeters.

These Yamaha NS-225's were in very good physical shape for their age (let's leave the personal comments about my own physical shape for another time, shall we?) and sounded every bit as good as I'd hoped.

Have any experience with Yamaha NS-series speakers? Chime in by sending me an email or leaving a comment on this post.

What's it worth?
Good: $75/pair
Fair: $45/pair
As in photo: $45/pair

Speakers - Rectilinear XIa

Another thrift shop find, these Rectilinear XIa speakers were surprisingly smooth! I usually don't buy speakers without first examining the drivers, but the grills on these were apparently put in place to stay in place. I kept the pair in my garage for a few months until the Celestion Ditton 33 pair arrived to relieve their shift. During their stay they filled the space with pleasant full-range sound. Lots of bass for their size, and pronounced if not overbearing highs.

Unfortunately, lack of storage space forced me to make some tough decisions, and since my wife wouldn't approve my idea of moving the washing machine and dryer to the dog run, the speakers had to go.

Honestly though, I've always hated the name Rectilinear. Although part of me appreciates the name as suggesting high-tech and futuristic, another part of me equates it to an unpleasant-sounding anatomical descriptor, as in "We entered the patient rectilinearly, and removed his spleen."

I know, "grow up!"

Have any experiences with your Rectilinear speakers? Send 'em on in - thanks.

What's it worth?
Good: $75/pair
Fair: $60/pair
As in photo: $60/pair

Spoooky Speakers - Criterion 200A

Criterion 200A loudspeakers - A Ghost Story

I usually pass on mediocre speakers when I find them, especially ones without a strong positive or negative legacy. That being said, I found myself in a particular state of resale weakness brought on by a combination of hunger, boredom, and impatience while waiting for my wife to finish shopping next door at Ross. Yes, the Goodwill shelves were overflowing with Halloween paraphrenalia, but I couldn't be distracted by plastic bats and witch costumes as I was headed to the back wall - my usual haunt, the electronics section.

Every great once in a while I'll find something here, my BIC Venture Formula Six speakers come to mind. Picked up the pair for six dollars, just slightly less than the equivalent value of the gas it took to haul the hefty hulks home. On this occasion though, there were no treasures, only a pair of surprisingly-well kept pair of Criterion 200A loudspeakers for, gasp, $5.

To deny that this was an impulse purchase would be a shameful journalistic betise. Sometimes you just have to buy speakers - if you're a gear collector, you know exactly what I mean. Alcoholics can't pass a bar without stopping for a drink, audioholics can't pass a thrift store without buying speakers - same difference. In fact, the $5 was worth the excitement of plugging them into my garage receiver, turning the volume knob up slowly, and breathlessly waiting for the intoxicating, embrionic timbrals of acoustic energy to seep from beneath the grill cloth.

Wait a tick - no sound? Just a little more volume, still smiling. . .a little static, some faint rumblings, a little more volume, some screeching sounds, more rumbling, a sound like a cat being skinned alive, not smiling any more. . .the sound of a machine gun being fed into a garbage disposal, a moan, and finally something that sounded like an espresso machine exploding. . . I turned the volume down, brought both speakers off the work bench and placed them in my trunk. Drove directly back to Goodwill, and took advantage of the seven day return policy.

I told the clerk the speakers didn't work and she looked up at me, smiled and said "Oh, okay, we'll recycle them." But the very next day, Halloween, in fact, as I walked with my daughter through the isles in search of a plastic pumpkin to put her treats in, there they were. In exactly the same spot along the back wall, flanked by stacks of VCRs and early 80s black-faced AV receivers, a veritable graveyard of fetid, decrepid technology, the speakers stood there mocking me. I almost said something to one of the sales associates, but they were all in costume, and I've always had a hard time disucssing serious matters with anyone wearing a rainbow wig and glitter lip gloss on their eyebrows. The store is spooky enough without all that, and after all, the clerk told me the truth - they DID recycle them.

Speakers - KEF Reference Three

KEF Reference 3, KEF Reference Three, KEF 3, if only there existed a standard name for these speakers I'd have had a much easier time researching them. As it stands though, I couldn't have made a better choice.

My appreciation with KEF started over a year ago with my purchase of the KEF Reference 105 series 2 speakers. These blew me away, and still do to this day. The modern Reference Series had high ratings and I was pleased to find a pair of the three's on Audiogon this past week.

How do they sound? Amazing. Brilliant. Commanding bass, crystal clear highs. This is a tiny listening space representing about one half of my loft. These speakers are much too big for this room but the way I trade out speakers these will find their way downstairs as soon as the wife takes off shopping for the afternoon :)

More on their sound later as I have more time for critical listening. Suffice to say, I'm blown away - and very pleased with this purchase.

Speakers - B&W 802 Series 80 - Initial Thoughts

There were two pairs of these early 80's beauties listed on our Los Angeles CraigsList in the past four days. I found the first pair Thursday evening and the sellers wanted only $400 for them. I caught the advert 2 hours after it was posted, and it turns out I was too late.

Bummed, but determined and now on a mission to find another pair, I kept looking. Then, Sunday morning another pair showed up for sale in the San Fernando Valley for $600 - more in-line with their true value of ~$800 or so. The advert was posted at 11:41PM, and I responded at 5:05AM - SCORE! See, the early bird DOES get the worm. . .or the loudspeaker.

I only had time to haul these up to the loft and plug them in last night. Listened for just a few moments, but it's too early to write up a judgment. More photos and a review coming soon.

Have any experiences with the B&W 802 Series 80 speakers? Let us know what you think: hificollector88 [at] gmail.com or leave a comment.

Speakers - Canton Fonum 400

Picked up these German-made Canton Fonum 400 speakers at a flea market. No fleas, but some could be hiding in that front baffle material - yes, fellow audio enthusiasts, that's felt - Groovy Baby! These are 20 years old, and came with an MSRP of $750. These are pretty rare speakers, and I had to go to Audio Karma to find info on them. You can read the thread HERE.

How do they sound? Excellent. Uncolored, a bit bright, but hey - that's what tone controls are for, right? Terrific bottom end for their size. There's a port hiddin behind the felt and you can just make it out on the right front of the speaker between the woofer and midrange.

Any experience with Canton speakers? I'd like to hear your stories.

In the meantime, I'm gonna go crank some Boston on mine and wake up the neighbors :)

UPDATE - 8.30.2023 - Found this info in a forum, so it HAS to be right :D   :

Common

* Manufacturer: Canton
* Model: Fonum 400
* Model years: 1988-1990
* Manufactured in: Germany
* Color: Black
* Dimensions: 260 x 460 x 250 mm (WxHxD)
* Weight: 8.5 Kg
* New price approx:


Specifications

* Construction: 3-way bass reflex, compact speaker
* Chassis:
o Woofer: 220 mm
o Midrange: 28 mm dome
o Tweeter: 20 mm dome
* Power Handling: 70 / 110 watts (Nom)
* Efficiency: 89.5 dB
* Frequency response: 35 - 26,000 Hz
* Transition areas: 900/5000 Hz
* 8 Ohm Impedance: 8 ohms