Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

Found a beige Yamaha YST-MS50 for £21 in the local reuse/charity shop.

Might see how it handles (and sounds) and decide if I rip out the OG speakers or not.

Would mean a bit of deconstruction to move the controls.

Okay so actually I also bought a £5 LG mini hifi with busted CD player as well, since it had regular wire outs for the speakers.

TL DR version is I used one side for the sub and ghetto spliced a 3.5mm cable to a phono, and all works fine.

Decision now is whether to open the Yamaha 2.1 and add a few connectors so I can use it with the regular speakers and sub, as well as these speakers in parallel. Or… not.

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https://youtu.be/XEspOD1NHr0?si=vAp992cYdGe4QGAB

https://youtu.be/1H4FuNAByUs?si=pzLL6-If2eu3KCz-

anyone got wharfedale lintons? impressions? should I consider any other better options in that rough size and styling?

Harbeth, Spendor, Chartwell/Graham though all will cost more due to being made in UK, there are some ‘bargains’ to be had ex-dem and used though.
There is also a super Linton just out.
Klipsch Heresy, JBL classic and KLH fives.

I've been in a similar quandary; currently between the Linton's and JBL L82s.
Was very disappointed the Linton's weren't on sale anywhere for black Friday given the new one has recently released, hopefully stores will be looking to clear space in Jan!

I've got a Marantz PM6002 amp and would like some vintageish speakers that don't cost the earth. I would like them to work and not have to be replacing any components. I've been looking at Celestion Dittons and Wharfedales from late 70s. I don't know what I'm doing. Is this all a complete gamble and should I just buy new retro looking stuff? For example, will these be rubbish/trouble? Wharfedale Linton 3XP

Currently have B&W 685s which I don't find a relaxing listen and look a bit too sharp.

They look great and probably won’t be trouble as long as the foam surrounds for the drivers aren’t on their way out.

The other thing to consider is the components in the crossover going out of spec but if they sound good they sound good. I would only get them looked at if there was obvious distortion or if one of the drivers stopped working.

You’re much more likely to get a relaxing listen out of something like that than a modern speaker if that’s what your preference is.

I had some vintage Rogers LS7Ts which were very big, fat and warm. Something about the Rogers Bextrene drivers’ composition meant that the surrounds were not prone to perishing so maybe look at that brand.

I've been looking at Celestion Dittons and Wharfedales from late 70s. I don't know what I'm doing. Is this all a complete gamble and should I just buy new retro looking stuff?

I’m going to say yes but no. You’re looking at 50+ year old speakers with foam surrounds. The speakers were good and had that proper correctly-aligned sound. The problem with them is early polymers and adhesives in general didn’t last that long and there’s a pretty good chance the surrounds or the adhesive will have perished [though note that you can get replacement surrounds for a lot of well-respected speakers].

By well into the 90s, in fact, I’m going to say into the early 00s, speaker technology had not changed much and a good-quality big paper driver in a well-aligned box still had that sound. Don’t limit yourself to 70s stuff. There are plenty of late 80s and 90s speakers which will sound exactly the same but the constituent materials are 10-20 years younger and thus won’t need any attention.

Project over Christmas?

Whilst that might technically be true doesn't moving into 80s / 90s mean the bigger speakers tend to be towers not boxes?

My biggest issue with modern speakers is that drivers tend to be smaller and I prefer the sound of a bigger driver.

Plus towers look shit

If you're gonna get some Dittons get a pair with passive radiators. They've got a floorstanding pair in Dreamhouse Records, and they sound amazing. The sealed enclosure type are a bit thin on bass, which is to be expected.

Thanks all, sound advice. The Celestion's have some sentimental appeal, my dad had some 15s and I remember enjoying pressing the radiator and the effect on the driver. I believe my brother took them to university and were never seen again...

There's a local place with some other options, they don't have a showroom though so no browsing, which is frustrating.

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I’ve got some LS-4a they’re not that great, I wouldn’t go for those - contrary to my previous advice, soz.

Edit - Just because they sound a bit meh, nothing bad but nothing special either. Most vintage boxes will have something outstanding about them, usually warmth or exceptional vocal clarity or pleasantly overblown bass that you don’t get in modern speakers but the LS4As don’t really have any of that.

Interesting, thanks for the info. I think I'll go for the Wharfedales for now, the buyer has accepted £50, so at least it's not a disaster if I don't like them or they crumble to dust during Mr Oizo.

Bargain! Yep, definitely worth the risk at that price.

I wish! I'm going to have to wait a couple more before I have the space or the tools like a 3d printer

getting shot of my LS50 (original) black edition (matte), come with stands,
make me an offer!

collection from south croydon

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New desktop setup:

PC > Topping E70 DAC > Topping PA5 mk.II amp > Blumenstein Orca speakers.

I like it a lot, tracks with acoustic instruments sound incredible.

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Is that a full range driver?

Looks like a Fostex fe103, so yes

£50?

no ta

Indeed. I picked them up randomly on eBay a couple of years ago for less than the value of the drivers alone.

I didn’t make much use of them, until I built a desktop PC last month. I originally wanted to build a valve amp for them, but they go well with the Topping bits.