Sony STR-V5 Receiver

Another mid monster receiver happened my way, this 85WPC Sony STR-V5, this one from the end of the golden era in Hifi, 1978.

Weighing in at 41 pounds there is a massive torroidal transformer matched to two 10,000uf filter caps. The build quality is pretty impressive, it is a Sony of course. As the Vintage Knob refers to these as "built like tanks", something you do not see anymore in modern electronics.

Two models rested above the STR-V5 the STR-V6 (115WPC) and the STR-V7 (150WPC).

This receiver is in line but not as powerful as the Kenwood KR-9400 that graced my presence and much smaller that the Rotel RX-1603 Monster that I had.

Big and powerful the Sony is a really nice piece for a Solid State unit.

Altec Lansing Model 9 Speakers

I have had these speakers on the back burner all summer and finally got around to doing a large re foam job on both the woofers and the mid range drivers.

These first generation Altecs 9's are the top of the consumer range before customers went into the Santana's or even higher up the food chain to the 15's, 18's or 19's that are horn loaded.

These speakers came to me in mint condition and their oak veneer cabinets in perfect shape.

They have a large 12" woofer with a 4" mid range and a 3" tweeter, the efficiency is up there at 93db's, which suits a single ended tube amp.

Once I had the box open a replacement of the tweeter cap was an easy upgrade with a Solen 2.2uf cap and installed proper banana plugs.

These speakers are beast, not as large as the JBL CF150's but pretty darn close, the Altecs are a much better build.

The finished product turned out really well, one last thing I need to do is install the cosmetic foam ring around the woofer, I was excited to listen to them and get some pictures up first.

So the big question is how do they sound, well before I begin I have tried them on my Single Ended 4WPC tube amp and a monster Sony STR-V5 at a whopping 85WPC and they are two very different speakers.

In solid state mode at half volume these speakers rock the house to the point of shaking the wooden structure that is the my place. They are loud, but they loose there coherency, the bass gets muddled and the mid range and highs become shrill. At lower volumes they do a nice job with the solid state gear but to the limits of solid state.

When attached to the Single Ended Tube amp, Wow, pure lusciousness! These speakers are incredibly well matched with really nice full bass, like really full. The mid range images wonderfully with zero chestiness in make vocals, female vocals like Mazzy Star are pure heaven. the tweeter is spot on with crisp crisp highs. You do not miss a thing in detail with these speakers. Luscious, it is the only way to sum up the pairing of a tube amp with these speakers, this is what high fidelity is meant to be.

If you google the Altec Model 9's you will find mediocre to satisfying reviews of these speakers, I would suspect that most have only heard these through solid state gear and I understand that. Through a tube amp these are a speaker that is stunning to listen to, it is too bad that most probably listen to these through the wrong type of amplifier.

The Tannoy Oxford Gold's have always been the reference speaker that all others are measured against in my space and these can easily trump the Oxfords.

These are an absolute wonderful find and a very welcome addition to my ever so eclectic collection of speakers.



 

Mission 700 Speakers project

Another re foam job waiting in the wings is this original pair of Mission 700 speakers, the speakers that put Mission on the map in North America.

My real first real pair of speakers I picked up when I was younger was the Mission 700S model, a version or two later than these originals.

The 700 model went on to the last incarnation, the Mission 700 Leading Edge, which I liked.

I had a quick listen to these speakers last night before the foams deteriorated more, I can not wait to get this project finished.

Dynaco A35 Speakers

Legendary Dynaco A35 speakers arrived today in mint condition, this is one speaker that I have read plenty about and have yet to experience until today.

Most of the time I hear more about the Dynaco A25's that are bass reflex, the A35's are acoustic suspension in a larger cabinet.

I prefer acoustic suspension speakers due to their tighter bass response.

So far I am really enjoying the A35's and have them hooked to the tube amp.

Imaging is very open and transparent but not as efficient as other speaker in the collection. I will update the listening session in a few days. So far I like what I hear.

Noresco NEC-571 Speakers

I came across another pair of Noresco speakers, the NEC-571. Super heavy, solidly built with a real wood veneer.

Instead of using Isophone drivers, this unit uses Foster drivers. The woofer seems to be Alnico, the tweeter seems to be a full range 3" driver that acts like a mid range/tweeter, it has an open back on the casket but its own separate box inside the speaker.

These speakers sound pretty solid with deep bass from the 10" woofer. The speaker box is an acoustic suspended design.

Efficiency is pretty good as they sound pretty loud on the tube amp.

They remind me of the ADC 303AX speakers that were featured here a few months ago.

The cabinets sanded out the blemishes pretty nice and a coat of Circa 1850 Terra Nova oil brought back the luster of the Walnut. I pulled the old faded speaker cloth off to reveal the drivers, it needs to be replaced.

A much different offering than the Noresco NE-561 speakers featured here early. These have more bass but not nearly the sound stage as the NE-561's.



 

Akai UC-U2 System update

I found the matching Akai SW-N2 speakers that go with this Akai compact system.

Currently have it running in the kitchen listening through the iPod, great little bedroom/kitchen/den near field set up.

Sherwood S-7210 Receiver

This Sherwood S-7210 also arrived with the Tannoy Mercury Gold M20 and the Marantz Model 28 yesterday. This is my third Sherwood's receiver that I have come across, the other two were the S-7200 and the S7100A.

Although exactly the same frontal appearance as the Sherwood S-7200, this model was rated at 26WPC versus the S-7200 36WPC. Perhaps the difference was the Quadraphonic or Dynaquad 4 channel stereo that was being marketed at the time, really all it was was two pairs of speakers.

Anyway, the build quality of the Sherwood S-7XXX line is outstanding and the sound is really great for early solid state gear. As I have posted before on this blog, Sherwood receivers often get over looked for the Pioneer, Sansui and others which make these units incredible bargains in the vintage hifi world. Early Sherwoods are worth seeking out if the likes of Marantz, Pioneer and others become less value for the money.