old systems as good as new

[Dude#1279435]

Is there any old speakers that you keep because they sounded ahead of their time?

 

[BFreidah]

Martin Logan 'Quest' speakers. Planar technology hasn't changed much since then. Have replaced the electrostatic panels and crossovers over the years so they sound as good as new.

 

[Eppie]

I rebuilt a pair of Kef 103.2 speakers from 1984. Research showed that these were well designed and highly regarded at the time so they were worth saving. The material that the woofers were made from can get brittle and break down with age but they are holding up ok. They sounded very nice on my system leaning towards the warm side (softer highs) so very little ear fatigue with these. I gave them to my daughter and she has been enjoying them for the past 5 years.
I also have a pair of Electrovoice Interface I Series II speakers. They suffered from foam rot so need repair but also sounded good for the year produced (also in the '80s).

KEF 103.2 rebuild

First cab done. I bleached out the water stains back to bare wood colour but any oil or finish went dark all over again, so best I can do without replacing the veneer. Little more teak oil and then several coats of paste wax to bring out a little more shine. With the grills on and lights turned...

forums.audioholics.com

 

[MuchoReverbo]

I have two of the 500 sets of Polk SRTs produced in the 90s. Currently setup as a quasi 10.2 "Seismic System" driven by a 2010 Pioneer Elite SC-09TX receiver (140w x 10) ICE Power.

• Four SRT Mains (Top Satellites + Eight 10" Powered Sub drivers)
• Two SRT Center Speakers
• Four F/x1000 Bi-pole/Di-pole Surround Speakers
• Two PSW1200 LFE Subwoofers (Four 12" Powered Sub Drivers)
• Two SRT SDA Control Centers w/Remotes

 

[Kingnoob]

View attachment 78924

I have two of the 500 sets of Polk SRTs produced in the 90s. Currently setup as a quasi 10.2 "Seismic System" driven by a 2010 Pioneer Elite SC-09TX receiver (140w x 10) ICE Power.

• Four SRT Mains (Top Satellites + Eight 10" Powered Sub drivers)
• Two SRT Center Speakers
• Four F/x1000 Bi-pole/Di-pole Surround Speakers
• Two PSW1200 LFE Subwoofers (Four 12" Powered Sub Drivers)
• Two SRT SDA Control Centers w/Remotes

View attachment 78925

Wow Those are beasts compared to lot of current Polks!! Reserve series looks decent but there smaller tower is just a 2 way like my Klipsch . A $900 each side step .

I rebuilt a pair of Kef 103.2 speakers from 1984. Research showed that these were well designed and highly regarded at the time so they were worth saving. The material that the woofers were made from can get brittle and break down with age but they are holding up ok. They sounded very nice on my system leaning towards the warm side (softer highs) so very little ear fatigue with these. I gave them to my daughter and she has been enjoying them for the past 5 years.
I also have a pair of Electrovoice Interface I Series II speakers. They suffered from foam rot so need repair but also sounded good for the year produced (also in the '80s).

KEF 103.2 rebuild

First cab done. I bleached out the water stains back to bare wood colour but any oil or finish went dark all over again, so best I can do without replacing the veneer. Little more teak oil and then several coats of paste wax to bring out a little more shine. With the grills on and lights turned...

forums.audioholics.com

Wow did you repair them yourself? I don’t know how to fix my speakers not sure Klipsch icon will be worth fixing with repair costs . When they break but they sound good. The original surrounds one already needs fixed . 14-15 years old.

 

[MuchoReverbo]

The SRT system was Matthew Polks ultimate flagship prior to selling Polk Audio in 2006. 500 sets were produced in the 1990s. 250 were sold domestically with the other 250 sets sold overseas. Each SRT set cost $12,000 in 1995 ($26,000 in todays dollars) so you can see why they didn't need to produce a ton of them. I have two of the 250 sets originally sold in the US.

Each tower consists of a top satellite with 9 drivers rated at 1,000 watts. They sit on top of a separate cabinet with dual 10" 300 watt powered subwoofers. The weight of each 2 pc tower is 160 lbs. They utilized the famous Polk Stereo Dimensional Arrays (SDA) which allows adjustment of the soundstage. Each set came with a sound pressure meter to measure the loudness for safe listening levels because they are capable of damaging your ears. They can produce extreme pressure levels at over 120 dB. The bass is earth-shaking, hence the title "seismic system".

I've never heard anything better for home theater. Unlimited. Watching an action flick (especially modern war films) are incredible. Musically, they are very good too but there are better more acoustical speakers for just listening to music. It's hard to be the best of all worlds. Still the SRTs are pretty-amazing in either mode and are capable of delivering ridiculous amounts of window flexing bass and punch.

Each cabinet has been totally refurbished with new or rebuilt drivers. All 4 amps were rebuilt. The sub drivers were rebuilt by Polk about 16 years ago when they still had an office in Baltimore. Polk had the greatest customer service prior to then. They rebuilt all of the subwoofer drivers for free. That's right.. for free! All I had to pay for was shipping.

Over the years I intentionally accumulated a lot of NOS spare parts to ensure they will be working for years to come. Various NOS spare drivers and even two NOS complete subwoofer amps along with numerous other VHTF parts. Everything remains 100% Polk. No aftermarket parts.

 

[lovinthehd]

I kinda went out of my way to obtain similar speakers to those I never obtained in my youth when they were current (JBL L100 consumer and various similar "monitor" configurations....I found a paid of 4311Bs a few years ago). They more defined the time than predicted....

 

[MuchoReverbo]

I think that's what a lot of us did. I could never afford a new set of Polk SRTs back when they came out, let alone 2 sets. You can occasionally find a partial or complete SRT set for sale for around $3,000-$4,000 for one in "average" condition, but they almost always need the sub drivers rebuilt along with the amps and some cosmetic work to the cabinets. That's enough to scare most buyers off. Parts nowadays are virtually unobtainium but the amps can be rebuilt and if necessary, you can find substitute drivers. I knew I wanted to keep mine though and basically purchased every NOS spare part I could lay my hands on while you could still find some, and most didn't come cheap.

I'm glad I didn't have a set of these when I was young though. They are definitely not suitable for kids because they are capable of causing serious permanent hearing damage if not used responsibly. These are adult speakers.

 

[Kingnoob]

I think that's what a lot of us did. I could never afford a new set of Polk SRTs back when they came out, let alone 2 sets. You can occasionally find a partial or complete SRT set for sale for around $3,000-$4,000 for one in "average" condition, but they almost always need the sub drivers rebuilt along with the amps and some cosmetic work to the cabinets. That's enough to scare most buyers off. Parts nowadays are virtually unobtainium but the amps can be rebuilt and if necessary, you can find substitute drivers. I knew I wanted to keep mine though and basically purchased every NOS spare part I could lay my hands on while you could still find some, and most didn't come cheap.

I'm glad I didn't have a set of these when I was young though. They are definitely not suitable for kids because they are capable of causing serious permanent hearing damage if not used responsibly. These are adult speakers.

View attachment 78975

120 db is way louder than my low tier Klipsch icon can go. Other higher end models can probably get close . Not sure we’re the manual went claimed 100-105-110db or something I forget . Rock concert levels. think it had a hearing damage warning.
No idea Polk made such powerful systems and subs once. The legend series was too $$$it looked nice but got axed .

 

[MuchoReverbo]

The SRT was the only one like this. It was Matthew Polk's last hurrah before exiting the company and they were the most-expensive speakers they ever made. Polk still makes some nice speakers but the manufacturing is now overseas and the Baltimore operation is no longer in existence. A lot of the spare parts I purchased came from retired Polk employees still living in the Baltimore area.

I heard a newer set of Polks a while back that sounded great. They were the Polk Legend L800s. They retailed for $6,000 per pair but I think they are now discontinued.

I like Klipsch speakers too. When I was a kid growing up in the 60's & 70's my Dad had a vintage set of Cornwalls and an Eico tube amp he built as a kit (sort of like a Heathkit) in the early 60's. Man did they sound good. All my friends would comment on how awesome his system sounded. He had a Garrard turntable and a Tandberg reel to reel along with an 8-track deck connected to the Eico amp.

 

[Kingnoob]

The SRT was the only one like this. It was Matthew Polk's last hurrah before exiting the company and they were the most-expensive speakers they ever made. Polk still makes some nice speakers but the manufacturing is now overseas and the Baltimore operation is no longer in existence. A lot of the spare parts I purchased came from retired Polk employees still living in the Baltimore area.

I heard a newer set of Polks a while back that sounded great. They were the Polk Legend L800s. They retailed for $6,000 per pair but I think they are now discontinued.

I like Klipsch speakers too. When I was a kid growing up in the 60's & 70's my Dad had a vintage set of Cornwalls and an Eico tube amp he built as a kit (sort of like a Heathkit) in the early 60's. Man did they sound good. All my friends would comment on how awesome his system sounded. He had a Garrard turntable and a Tandberg reel to reel along with an 8-track deck connected to the Eico amp.

I didn’t realize they were such a value brand , nothing near that high price now ?
r700 look nice but the weight is a lot. And there too big for my room.

Polk Reserve R700 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review

In our in-depth review of Polk Audio's Reserve R700 tower speakers, we look at just how much of the performance of the stellar Legend series has trickled down to the more affordable Reserve series.

www.audioholics.com

But no reason to upgrade for a while . Klipsch heritage look nice , but are way bigger Than my icons and run costly $$. 14 years later still no Klipsch reference 3 ways ?