WTD: Yamaha NS-1000M, JBL L100/4310, Klipsch Heresy or Acoustic Research AR3a.

[sazeracrye]

Looking for a well fettled and ready to go pair of Yamaha NS-1000M, JBL L100/4310, Klipsch Heresy or Acoustic Research AR3a speakers. Must be fuss free!

Starting budget around £500 - £800 but quite flexible for really fine examples.

[walpurgis]

Interesting choices there Steve. The AR and Yamaha are comparatively neutral compared to the Klipsch and JBL, which are somewhat 'livelier'. :)

[YNWaN]

Yeah, have to say I thought it rather an odd selection of speakers - given how different they are that is.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Looking for a well fettled and ready to go pair of Yamaha NS-1000M, JBL L100/4310, Klipsch Heresy or Acoustic Research AR3a speakers. Must be fuss free!

Starting budget around £500 - £800 but quite flexible for really fine examples.

I cant see you picking up a pair of NS1000m for 500-800 quid unless they are knackered.

[tankertop]

I have an excellent pair of Klipsch Heresy HBRs that I'm contemplating selling (HBRs are the unfinished, bare wood versions, originally designed to be stained to match one's decor). They've had the Crites upgrades (albeit with better parts) and sing beautifully, especially on the end of my WAD valve amp
.

[sazeracrye]

The reasoning behind choosing these four 'disparate' speakers:

- Heard the Yamaha, JBL and AR's when I was geeky teen haunting Pacific Stereo in Chicago, lusting after Stereo gear I couldn't dream of buying. Wanted them all for different reasons.
- Klipsch, never heard them but have always wanted to try.

To my mind though you never know what stuff is going to sound like till you get it home so variety makes sense.

Thanks for the feedback :)

[YNWaN]

I cant see you picking up a pair of NS1000m for 500-800 quid unless they are knackered.

After my thought regarding disparity, that was my second thought.

[walpurgis]

In my book the AR is the easiest to live with, but needs power and grip to sound at its best. The NS1000 is a brilliant speaker, but can sound awful on the end of the wrong system (or is that make the wrong system sound awful?). The JBL L100 is very dynamic and quite easy to drive, it has noticable colourations and an unsophisticated top end. Nice tight bass for a reflex though. The Heresey has most of the foregoing characteristics and even more colouration, the horn honk I find odd, it's the one out of the four I'd not want.

[sazeracrye]

I reckon the Yamaha's and the Klipsch's could be a good match with my Mastersound compact 845. The JBL's and the AR3a's would be on the end of retro system I am building in my head based on a Marantz 2270 receiver.

[Macca]

There was a member here not so long ago selling 3 pairs of NS1000M - he was asking a grand a pop initially but I think he dropped that to £800 so it is possible. They were mint and had been professionally re-finished in piano black. I remember because I wanted to buy a pair (but not at £800) off of him.

[tankertop]

I reckon the Yamaha's and the Klipsch's could be a good match with my Mastersound compact 845. The JBL's and the AR3a's would be on the end of retro system I am building in my head based on a Marantz 2270 receiver.

Agreed. They'll definitely appreciate some single-ended action. You're more than welcome to bring the 845 over for a listen.:)

[sazeracrye]

There was a member here not so long ago selling 3 pairs of NS1000M - he was asking a grand a pop initially but I think he dropped that to £800 so it is possible. They were mint and had been professionally re-finished in piano black. I remember because I wanted to buy a pair (but not at £800) off of him.

I saw those too Martin and is the price I based my upper limit on. I missed out as the last pair had sold before I PM'd. :doh:

[DSJR]

AR3a's are needy of foam surrounds now I believe, but in terms of fidelity, and a touch of nasality on tone apart, will absolutely trounce JBL L100's in stock form, the crossovers of which deliberately putting a humungous peak in the lower treble and a 'cupped hands' kind of sound in the vocal region. Later versions on the pro market (4310c?) lacked the visuals (crackle painted IIRC) but had later crossovers and the metalised (silver painted?) dome tweeter. These may be a lot cheaper and better than L100/4310 originals possibly.

Hens teeth in the UK, but I must admit that the AR10 Pi were amazingly good, having 90% (IMO) of the very low, midrange colouration of the better bextrene-cone speakers and far better bass as I recall.

Klipsch Hereseys are funky fun screamers, but not at all 'accurate' in tone, nor as ultimately able as the others you mention. NS1000's for me, were in dire need of a big amp with loads of power and control. Not sure how the crossovers and drivers would take a weedy single-ended kind of amp, which I'm *assuming* would struggle to get anything meaningful out of them (happy to be proved wrong though :))

[walpurgis]

AR3a's are needy of foam surrounds now I believe, but in terms of fidelity, and a touch of nasality on tone apart, will absolutely trounce JBL L100's in stock form, the crossovers of which deliberately putting a humungous peak in the lower treble and a 'cupped hands' kind of sound in the vocal region. Later versions on the pro market (4310c?) lacked the visuals (crackle painted IIRC) but had later crossovers and the metalised (silver painted?) dome tweeter. These may be a lot cheaper and better than L100/4310 originals possibly.

Hens teeth in the UK, but I must admit that the AR10 Pi were amazingly good, having 90% (IMO) of the very low, midrange colouration of the better bextrene-cone speakers and far better bass as I recall.

Klipsch Hereseys are funky fun screamers, but not at all 'accurate' in tone, nor as ultimately able as the others you mention. NS1000's for me, were in dire need of a big amp with loads of power and control. Not sure how the crossovers and drivers would take a weedy single-ended kind of amp, which I'm *assuming* would struggle to get anything meaningful out of them (happy to be proved wrong though :))

That's about the size of it Dave (my earlier comments hinted at the same but not in depth). I recall seeing AR3 speakers with doped cloth roll surrounds, which presumably won't rot out, I'm guessing that's the first AR3, not the 'a' or 'improved' versions. The AR5 is also worth looking out for, it's a cracker, quite rare and basically an AR3 with 10" bass driver instead of 12".

[sazeracrye]

NS1000's for me, were in dire need of a big amp with loads of power and control. Not sure how the crossovers and drivers would take a weedy single-ended kind of amp, which I'm *assuming* would struggle to get anything meaningful out of them (happy to be proved wrong though :))

After scouring the forums here in the UK and the US the converse seems to be true, the consensus being that the NS1000's sound best with valves. I have not heard them with valves, only on the end of my sister's Yamaha CR something or other receiver back in the late 70's. I am hoping the chatter on the forums is accurate since I have sorted a pair with Angus (Phonomac of this parish) that he will be refinishing for me, Angus is an absolute gent by the way. I will report back on how the Yammies mate up with the Mastersound once I have the speakers.

Having said that I am still in the market for the JBL L100's/4310's (white cone) or the AR 3A's for the retro system I have planned.

As always thanks for the feedback :)

[YNWaN]

Myself and a friend both own NS-1000Ms and we both use them with powerful (by valve standards) transistor amplifiers. I've heard them a number of times driven by valve amps, which works fine, but the sound hasn't impressed me.

[Ulysses]

I had the same query when I bought my pair of ns1000 and the consensus from folk who owned yammies and had tried both valve and transistor amps was that transistor are the best all rounder. I've heard them with valves and some were good but definitely not low powered single ended. Even some lowish powered transistor amplifiers will not be up to the job. I know this because my old audiolab 8000a could not adequately drive them (I actually thought the speakers were faulty). It was only when I hooked them up to my Luxman 505u transistor (100watt) amp that natural sound was revealed. Bad recordings are laid bare with these speakers, but this is a good thing as you can de-clutter and send them off to the bin, or if you're cruel give them to the charity shops;-).

Anyway for a more experienced opinion have a read:
http://www.hi-fiworld.co.uk/index.php/letters/331-june-2011-issue.html?start=3





After scouring the forums here in the UK and the US the converse seems to be true, the consensus being that the NS1000's sound best with valves. I have not heard them with valves, only on the end of my sister's Yamaha CR something or other receiver back in the late 70's. I am hoping the chatter on the forums is accurate since I have sorted a pair with Angus (Phonomac of this parish) that he will be refinishing for me, Angus is an absolute gent by the way. I will report back on how the Yammies mate up with the Mastersound once I have the speakers.

Having said that I am still in the market for the JBL L100's/4310's (white cone) or the AR 3A's for the retro system I have planned.

As always thanks for the feedback :)

[sazeracrye]

Hopefully the 30w per side of the Mastersound Compact 845 will be enough to drive the Yamaha's. Proof will be in the pudding when I get them in August.

[istari_knight]

Nice condition pair of AR3a here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acoustic-Research-AR-3a-Improved-/221494239400?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Speaker_Parts&hash=item339215e0a8

[walpurgis]

Nice condition pair of AR3a here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acoustic-Research-AR-3a-Improved-/221494239400?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Speaker_Parts&hash=item339215e0a8

Those look well worth grabbing. Looks like an easy restore job. Not far from you James, are you going for it? :)

[istari_knight]

I would have done but I'm in a different county now ! Could always get family to pickup though :hmm:

[walpurgis]

I'm in a different county now !

So you are. I'd not noticed. :)

[sazeracrye]

Thanks for the heads up, on my watch list

Nice condition pair of AR3a here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acoustic-Research-AR-3a-Improved-/221494239400?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Speaker_Parts&hash=item339215e0a8