[S Clark]

I ran across a pair of Frazier Monte Carlos today at the local record store.  These were the first speakers that bought with money earned from summer jobs when I was in high school- hey, they had real woofers and tweeters!  The owner had just bought them with a supposedly bad foam surround- but I knew they were accordion surrounds. Like a lost puppy, they followed me home to take apart and try out.  7" two ways, "crossover" is a single cap. 
Now I need another pair of old, low end speakers like a hole in the head... but they are on the workbench in the garage, and they might just stay there.

Have any of the rest of you guys/gals bought something so un-needed just because it was something that you listened to in your youth?

[mresseguie]

I periodically look for Yamaha NS-500 speakers, but I must admit it is not an earnest search.

I'd never heard of your speakers till now.

I'd likely build up a huge supply of speakers if my wife didn't make such a fuss.

[Wind Chaser]

Have any of the rest of you guys/gals bought something so un-needed just because it was something that you listened to in your youth?

Yeah, I come to think of it I had a pair of the Braun L200 in grade 10 - shit I went through a lot of gear when I was in grade 10. Forgot that I bought a used pair about ten years ago.

[S Clark]

Yeah, I come to think of it I had a pair of the Braun L200 in grade 10 - shit I went through a lot of gear when I was in grade 10. Forgot that I bought a used pair about ten years ago.

Never heard them.  Some pics I found showed what looked like a power cord going into the back.  Were they powered?

[Wind Chaser]

No, they're just passive. They were kind of like the Radio Shack Minimus 7, but bigger and 4x the price.

[bummrush]

A Sony str 7065 reciever Oops i misread.

[mlundy57]

Have any of the rest of you guys/gals bought something so un-needed just because it was something that you listened to in your youth?

No but if I run across a pair of EV-7A's in good condition I probably will. I gave in to my wife and gave mine away when we moved to Tulsa in 2008. Big mistake, especially since they were my father's speakers. He got them when he worked for Elcetro-Voice back in the '60s.

Mike

[S Clark]

No but if I run across a pair of EV-7A's in good condition I probably will. I gave in to my wife and gave mine away when we moved to Tulsa in 2008. Big mistake, especially since they were my father's speakers. He got them when he worked for Elcetro-Voice back in the '60s.

Mike

I can see the appeal of that.  My parents had an Emerson console with two full range 8" drivers on either side- stereophonic and solid state!  I listened to hours of Nancy Wilson, Rachmaninoff, Great Motion Picture Themes, Goldfinger, and Sons of the Pioneers.  To this day my taste are all over the place from A to Z... Albinoni to Zeppelin.

[drphoto]

seems like I remember those Minimus 7's weren't half bad. But that was what? 30+ years ago I heard them?

I've been looking at old Marantz integrateds on the 'bay, as a 1030 was my first amp I got in HS.

[jpm]

I've never owned a pair, but since I've been continually tempted to buy a pair of LS3/5a's for decades.  In my very early teens, they were my first experience of what HiFi could sound like. 

When I was a child, my father had built himself an impressive looking pair of speakers from a 3 way Wharfedale kit, but my father was a cabinet maker first and a HiFi enthusiast fifth or sixth. Paired with a Sansui receiver and Garrard turntable, it all looked impressive and sounded much better than a portable radio.

Then, one day at a social gathering hosted by family friends, I found myself captivated by the sound coming from a very underwhelming looking amplifier - A&R Cambridge (now Arcam) A60 paired with some tiny boxes that had Rogers badges on them. All I knew was that it sounded amazing, leaps and bounds better than anything else I'd heard.

Nothing else has ever matched it in terms of the revelation I experienced that day, and the legend of the LS3/5a ensures that I continue to wonder how they'd sound now. Since it's still possible to buy both LS3/5a's and their descendants maybe someone who's compared them might care to comment on the pros and cons of each?

[drphoto]

Wow, I forgot that the infamous BBC monitor was my very first exposure to high end audio (in college) Always wanted a pair.

[Russell Dawkins]

LS3/5As always sounded bloated to me—too much upper bass lower mid—in an attempt, apparently, to compensate for the limited bass extension. The Fried  H had satellites which looked and sounded like LS3/5As, and that was its problem, I think. Due to the mid bass hump before roll-off, they are difficult to mate with a sub.

I think the various small ADS (or A/D/S) speakers were light years ahead, and are still available but, unlike the LS3/5As, at very affordable prices.

In short, I think the various LS3/5A variants are overvalued and all the ADS speakers undervalued.

[drphoto]

Hey Russell. I had a pair of 8" 2 way ADS monitors back in the 80's and they were pretty great. Unfortunately I ruined them by putting them in my hot rod VW bug. Combined with a short lived experiment by Sanyo into high end car audio (discrete component amps) it was fantastic, other than soundstage in the back of car. But the extremes of weather killed them. Don't remember the model name or number.

I have occasionally searched for ADS and never seem to see them.

Thanks for the reminder. Yeah, I would buy those again and could get parts. Not sure of driver source.

Sorry if I derailed the OP's thread.

[Russell Dawkins]

Hey Russell. I had a pair of 8" 2 way ADS monitors back in the 80's and they were pretty great. Unfortunately I ruined them by putting them in my hot rod VW bug. Combined with a short lived experiment by Sanyo into high end car audio (discrete component amps) it was fantastic, other than soundstage in the back of car. But the extremes of weather killed them. Don't remember the model name or number.

I have occasionally searched for ADS and never seem to see them.

Thanks for the reminder. Yeah, I would buy those again and could get parts. Not sure of driver source.

Sorry if I derailed the OP's thread.

I don't think the thread is derailed—those ADS haven't been sold for 20-odd years.
ADS are still available on the used market—and valued by a small fraternity of enthusiasts.
HifiShark.com is very useful for helping with the search for vintage gear. A search just now revealed lots of ADS drivers and a few speakers.

[S Clark]

Absolutely not a derail.  This thread is about nostalgia, and how it cost us a few bucks occasionally.  For some it's an amp, for some a set of speakers.  I've got a dbx record collection and a decoder that never gets used... but I still browse dbx encoded vinyl on ebay occasionally. 

[decal]

A post of mine from another thread.

My first "real"speakers were a set of Sansui SP-7500X "Super Sixteen" circa 1977.

[S Clark]

Wow. A four way with mult. tweeters... and they are a foot apart.  This was a marketing guy's wet dream and an engineer's nightmare.  I'd hate to see how that thing measured.  But I bet it could boom with the best of them.

[charmerci]

I had the ADS L810's in the mid '80's. (My brother just sold them!) After a while, I thought the highs were a bit harsh. Great mid-range and low end though.

[JackD]

Drphoto

Those ADS speakers were probably L-570's. I have two pair of L-570/II's in the audio "storage room" now.

charmerci

I owned L810's and then L810/II's both bought new in the mid-70's.  Great all around speakers, but especially for Rock music of the era.  My son still has the Series II  pair along with my Snell Type A/II's that replaced them.

[drphoto]

Wow, good memories. That car audio was big rocking fun.Dammit, now I gotta go find a pair of ADS..........