JBL L26 update

The JBL L26's got finished off last week and I have been enjoying them exclusively along side of the Pioneer HPM-60's.

There is something about the early JBL's that is wholly unique to these speakers. The bass is just super tight and full, the mid range is not the best on the L26's but the high end is clearly there and it is like a concert in your living room. The fullness and attack more than make up for the mid range. These are fantastic speakers to own and I am glad I am experiencing my second pair.
 

 Crossover before and after with Solen Fast Caps.

Woofer re foamed

JBL L26 Decade

Another pair of JBL L26 speakers arrived this week and these will need the full makeover. This project will include a re foam, re cap of the crossover, new banana plug terminals on the rear and a re finish on the veneer.

I look forward to hearing these speakers again and perhaps I will do a L26 vs. HPM-60 shoot out.....might as well since I have both speakers.

Visonik Euro 7 Speakers

A pair of Visonik Euro 7 speakers arrived last Friday night and I have had the weekend to enjoy these incredible speakers. The drivers are very reminiscent of Braun or A/D/S/ L710 models with twin 6.5" woofers, the unmistakable dome tweeter and the super airy dome tweeter.

The cabinets are a tad bit rough but some elbow grease will get the real walnut veneer back in order.

Sonically these speakers are very close to my Dual CL390's that I love so much. I think this pair of speakers will be keepers in the collection.

More to come on these wonderful speakers.  

Sony STR 7055 Receiver

This beautiful, mid 1970's vintage Sony STR 7055 receiver was acquired yesterday. The STR 7055 was the second highest top of the line in Sony's receiver, bettered by the STR 7065 at that time.

This unit is in mint condition for being 40 years old and needed little cleaning to make it shine. The fuse type bulbs for the face plate need to be replaced and that is about it. While it is opened up I have cleaned out the pots and switches along with the decades of dust.

Vintageknob.org has a more info on the history of this receiver along with all the specs.

From what I have read the unit is conservatively rated at 35WPC, 45WPC at 1K hertz into 8 ohms and 55WPC at 4 ohms with dynamic power of 200 watts at 4 ohms.

I got a chance to listen to this unit for a brief period of time last night and this unit sounds phenomenal. Further searching the interweb, some have compared this model to early Marantz receivers and Sansui  amps. There was even some postings that Sony had their eyes set on MacIntosh amps when building this unit.

The sound is wonderful, full and warm like all units that you would expect from this era. I believe this Sony will be in use for a long time in the sound room.

EPI M100 Versus Mirage 450 Shootout

Up next is the EPI 100's which won out against the late EPI T/E 100 plus and the Acoustic Research AR15's. How are the legendary EPI's going to fair against the Mirage?

Fit and finish: The real wood veneer of the EPI wins hands down against the vinyl veneer of the Mirage 450's. The internal box of the Mirage does have one piece of bracing just above the woofer which helps the front baffle resonance.

Both speakers got a new foam job and recap of the crossover. The EPI's are a 1st. order crossover with a 10uf cap to the tweeter and the woofer rolls off naturally. The Mirage has a 8uf cap 2nd. order crossover for the tweeter and a first order crossover for the woofer.

I like the modern looks of the Mirage but prefer real wood veneer....These two are tied.

Sound: Both speakers have a similar sound signature and both have tight articulate bass. the EPI 100 goes just a tad lower and has a tiny bit more weight to it but both are pretty close in the bass region. Bass lines on bass guitars are easily distinguishable, there is good weight to lower piano keys.

The mid range seems to be a bit smoother with the EPI 100's narrowing the sound stage to a space in front of you. The Mirage tends to expand out the sound stage a bit more. But more or less the mid range is pretty close.

The treble region is where the Mirage takes over. The dome tweeter reveals higher detail in the cymbals and other percussion instruments. For my ears I can just hear a little more of the drum sticks hitting the cymbals.

My conclusion is both speakers have strong points and week points where the other one does not. They are both worthy entry level vintage audio speakers worth picking up. I like the real wood veneer and the deeper bass of the EPI but I also like the looks of the Mirage and the detailed high end of the tweeter.

Both speakers are awesome.

In the end I feel that these speakers are a tie and I could live with either pair of them.

Audio Technica AT-701 Stereophones

A cool pair of vintage Stereophones came my way this week, Audio Technica AT-701.

These stereophones seem to be about a mid to late 70's vintage and in good shape. On first listening impressions the mid range and highs are very nice, as is the stereo imaging. The bass region is a little light but not to bad when used with a loudness switch or a boost in bass.

The fit is very comfortable and the coiling cord stretches for at least 9 feet.

Pretty cool cans for the head.

The brochure line I like the best is the cups that add severe peaks in response.....Um, I don't think that is what you want to say in an advert!

EPI M100 vs. Acoustic Research AR15

Up next is a classic shootout between two speakers that probably competed against each other in the mid 70's the EPI M100 and Acoustic Research AR15.

Both speakers are two way with 8" woofers, one with an inverted dome tweeter and one with a dome tweeter, both are acoustically suspended systems and the cabinets on both are real walnut veneer. Both speakers are crossed over at 1800hz. Both speakers also got new caps and the veneers were sanded and re stained.

I will start he shootout with aesthetics, both speakers are well built with stunning real wood veneer. I painted the fronts of the AR15's with a piano gloss black which gives it a nod in appearance. Also the insets for the woofer and tweeter on the AR15's are better as the drivers sit flush mounted.

The internals are similar in design but the AR15's have a 2nd. order crossover with a 0db/-3db/-6db level switch for the tweeter on the back. The EPI is a 1st. order crossover on the tweeter alone.

I would give the nod to the AR15's in the aesthetic department.

The sound is where the meat of the matter is.

I  had an extensive listening session between these two and here are my thoughts. The EPI once again has digs deeper into the bass region giving the speaker a fuller richer bottom end something the AR15's just can't reach. From the bass region to the lower mid range the EPI's have a smoother transition. I find the EPI's smoother throughout the mid range right up into the mid treble range, this is where the Ar15's take over.

The dome tweeter on the AR15's obviously extend higher and give off a much more spacious stereo image with more detailed revealed in the material. The Ar15's also give off the airiness sound that surrounds you when listening to the music, where as the EPI limit on the upper regions does not throw off the same airiness.

The sound stage and imaging was a little closer together with the EPI's where as the sound stage and imaging was much more expansive with the AR15's.

I found the EPI's to be a bit more efficient than  AR15's. I had to set the tweeter on the AR15's to the -3db setting or the AR15's where just too bright for my room. Perhaps the design was to over come the heavily shagged carpet and drapes of the seventies.

When listening to George Winston's Autumn, I found the piano notes weightier with the EPI's and less shrill. This CD is a great source for finding the resonance of the tweeters with certain piano keys. The AR15's could at times  be a little shrill, more so than the EPI's. 

So what is my final impression? These two speakers are very close to each other and I found myself leaning toward the richness of the bass and mid range of the EPI's over the spaciousness and upper detail of the AR15's. I could listen to both speakers for hours on end and have been doing so with the AR15's to date.

These speakers are both excellent examples of the golden audio era, both are worth having a listen to along the path of vintage audio.

The nod goes to the EPI's by a nose.

Next up will be the EPI M100 vs. Mirage 450's.