[mresseguie]

I just bought a decent looking pair of Dynaco A25 speakers from a guy who had an ad on Craigslist. He brought them to my home for an audition, so I could hear them in my systems. I tried powering them with my Nuprime IDA-8 (sounds nice!) and my reference system (sounds nicer!).

I suspect the guy who sold them to me buys old speakers and spruces them up for resale. I have no idea if the caps have been replaced nor when it may have happened. As is, they sound decent. I did notice that poor recordings don't sound so great, and I noticed that they don't play super low, but I didn't expect them to sound like my Daedalus Apollos either.

I think I'll put them in my home office and power them with Folsom's Little Chip amp for a while.

Anyone out there still own a pair?

Michael

[A_shah]

Michael,
have you looked at the possibility of having powered speakers for your desk top system ? I use audioengine HD 6 for my bedroom TV - not that expensive and a pair of powered Kef  LS 50W in my home office , My 22 year old rarely listens to my systems and prefers I phone and earbuds & who rarely venture into my home office - Today told me" Dad Wow those speakers you have really sound good  "-" I am serious " that is  exactly what he said to me !  I told him  I have had  those speakers  for nearly two years! and  now you tell me  they sound better than you Apple i buds !

OB Speakers I do like them.  First time I heard them was the Spatial M3 at WhiteEx home in Sacramento  with Nelson Pass's First watt amp I was surprised at their bass, the next time at the CAS (California Audio Show ) -well maybe it may be worth it for me to get the ones you purchased but I have no place for a new set of speakers maybe the Guest room , but if I did that my wife will kill me !
I still have some stuff in the garage that needs to be sold , looking forward to your review of these OB speakers
Next Saturday SF -Audio society has arranged for a system Hop event for some of the members , one of the member house will be visiting is  Kevin Olson  in Napa - he does reviews on utube for Av reports and I guess he is a well known reviewer
should be interesting , I wish I could pop in one one of the G2G you folks have in WA would be a chance to meet some Ac members there !







Asghar

[HAL]

I have Dynaco A25's.

You have to pull the woofer to see the crossover cap on the rear wall of the cabinet.  IIRC, usually an 8uF electrolytic if it is original.   If it is original probably a good thing to update, along with checking the rotary switch for the tweeter level control.  Some Caig Deoxit works well on the switch.

I replaced the caps with polypropylenes and much better top end.  Not bright just cleaner.

They do not go low, but have decent bass response.  Some of the woofers magnets have lost magnetic field strength, but an impedance sweep will find that.  They are Alnico magnets and can be remagnetized by a woofer repair center.

[dB Cooper]

Like so many audio geeks, A25's wer my first 'real' speakers.

It seems that the cap could be either 5uf or 8uf depending on production date.

The VW Beetle of loudspeakers- seems like just about everybody had a pair at one time or another. Nothing fancy, just a good speaker and great value.

[thunderbrick]

Had a pair back in college.  Wonderful!

Wouldn't mind having a set for the basement system!

[mresseguie]

Once I listened to them in both systems and 8 or 10 songs, I knew the tweeters and woofers were in decent shape. They make music. I got them for $210.

Thunderbrick,

There's a pair for sale in Portland for $250. I'll open them up later this week to see what's inside.

Ashgar,

I'd show you my porn and near porn, but JohnR might get pissed off (or jealous?), and toss this thread.  I, too, have 'extra' gear that I need to sell lest my wife kill me. 
Which speakers did your son like? As for the Wild Burrow OB speakers, I gave a very brief review in the WB thread, but I need to follow up with more detail. Gregfisk is driving to my house this Wednesday and leaving Friday. Alan (aldcoll) will stop by Thursday. I tried to get Mudslide to come, but (shockingly) he has something more important going on.  You could fly up Thursday morning and fly back Friday morning. I could pick you up at the Corvallis airport. Just an idea...

HAL,

Thanks for the information. I'll look into it on Thursday while Alan and Greg are here.

dbCooper,

To my utter amazement, I did not know these A25 speakers existed until 5 or 6 years ago. I was oblivious to hi-end audio while I was in Asia (nearly 20 years!). I may keep them long enough to settle my craving and sell, or I may just hang onto them as an extra 'fun' speaker.

[veloceleste]

I always liked Dynaco A25's and a roommate of mine had A 50's which also sounded very nice. FYI I'm "borrowing" your image and posting it elsewhere. Very funny!

[Wayner]

I have Dynaco A25's.

You have to pull the woofer to see the crossover cap on the rear wall of the cabinet.  IIRC, usually an 8uF electrolytic if it is original.   If it is original probably a good thing to update, along with checking the rotary switch for the tweeter level control.  Some Caig Deoxit works well on the switch.

I replaced the caps with polypropylenes and much better top end.  Not bright just cleaner.

They do not go low, but have decent bass response.  Some of the woofers magnets have lost magnetic field strength, but an impedance sweep will find that.  They are Alnico magnets and can be remagnetized by a woofer repair center.

The 8uf is the cap for an A25XL. The A25 will have a 5uf cap.

[Donald]

My first pair of decent speakers. Replaced some Lafayette Criterion’s. Still have them set up in a bedroom system paired with my vintage Marantz 2270. Still brings a smile to my face with sound and college memories.

[RDavidson]

A25's are pretty nice. Definitely on the warm side and not the most detailed, but very easy and pleasant to listen to overall. For an old speaker that has a more "modern" and dynamic sound, try EPI 100's.

[HAL]

They sound much better after the tweeter cap upgrade.

[mresseguie]

How much money does one spend on new caps for $210 vintage speakers? I know - “As much money as one wants.” Seriously though. Sonicaps? Jupiter beeswax? Dueland? Other???

[RDavidson]

Any, good, new, caps will be a major improvement. I think Sonicaps are great bang for the buck, same with Clarity Caps. Those would be what I'd look at first without going overboard. I'm sure there are other high value choices.