View Full Version : Mordaunt Short Signifer
following on from the ebay thread these deserve a thread of their own:)
My never ending quest for speakers may be over,(well at least till next pay day)i bought these last night,they were local to me and boy are they good.
A few years ago i bought some pageant series 2's and for their size and cost they were great,since then ive always lusted over the illusive Signfer model,Mordaunt Shorts top of the range speaker back in the day.
As i was flicking through gum tree they jumped out screaming BUY ME!
The next evening i was staring at them in the flesh.
First impression was their are huge,they make my ditton 66's look anorexic, my monitor audio 952's look like dolls house speakers.
The seller fired up his sony x555es cd player for me to listen and i was bowled over by them.
They simply sound stunning,the best ive heard to date,they beat the ditton 66's,the bass is better defined,you can hear bass guitar notes clearly,the mid and hf is very smooth and detailed too,just as i was enjoying the 952 md's i fear they won't get a look in now.i couldn't wait to get home today to fire them up again.
I have the original bill of sale,stands and boxes,they have been well looked after by previous owners and re-foamed by lockwood audio.
happy days!
https://s26.postimg.org/gzzzpkrwp/SDC10753.jpg
https://s26.postimg.org/he5x2x1e1/SDC10755.jpg
https://s26.postimg.org/ovf4i4qx5/SDC10759.jpg
https://s26.postimg.org/j8irknoeh/SDC10758.jpg
cheers to jez and geoff for the info :)
Audio Al
21-04-2017, 16:22
:eyebrows:
walpurgis
21-04-2017, 16:49
Glad you're enjoying them Jamie. I remember they sounded good, but it's so long ago since I heard any, I can't exactly recall their character.
(I heard the Naim SBL at about the same time and wanted to puke! :lol:)
Wot does the bottom right hand knob do?
Glad you're enjoying them Jamie. I remember they sounded good, but it's so long ago since I heard any, I can't exactly recall their character.
(I heard the Naim SBL at about the same time and wanted to puke! :lol:)
:lol:
Wot does the bottom right hand knob do?
it boosts or cuts the mid/treble :)
Arkless Electronics
21-04-2017, 17:35
Bagsey first refusal if you decide to sell 'em!:eyebrows:
Is the bass as tight as a ducks arse as I remember?
Yes it is which is why i think they are better than the dittons,they imo are a step up.
strange how they didn't catch on,i wonder why?
walpurgis
21-04-2017, 17:48
strange how they didn't catch on,i wonder why?
People may have been put off by the cone midrange driver. Big domes were all the rage back then. Despite not necessarily being better and having a tendency to produce honk like colourations.
ah i see,
the mid cone on these doesn't have a rubber surround,never seen that before.
walpurgis
21-04-2017, 17:57
Didn't B&W employ surroundless yellow fibreglass coned wideband mids?
Glad you're enjoying them Jamie. I remember they sounded good, but it's so long ago since I heard any, I can't exactly recall their character.
(I heard the Naim SBL at about the same time and wanted to puke! :lol:)
Rude........hahaha
but true....:ner:
I have to agree, I still don't understand how the bass was coming from the side rather than the front.
Oh well, Isobariks next.........NOT!!!
here's the original receipt,
https://s26.postimg.org/tjv4dbg3t/img058.jpg
walpurgis
21-04-2017, 19:46
I used to go in that shop. Bought a new Thorens TD150 there if I recall in the mid seventies.
spendorman
21-04-2017, 19:51
I used to go in that shop. Bought a new Thorens TD150 there if I recall in the mid seventies.
Me to, I remember buying many KEF B110's there, also original type Sennheiser HD400 and HD40.
inflation calculator suggest your £487 speakers would cost over £2200 today!!
I have to say the look of a LARGE walnut standmount is the thing I lusted after as a spotty "popular hifi" reading teen.
an itch I finally scratched a few years back with a pair of Yamaha NS500s...the smaller twoway sister of the NS1000.
wifey hated the look...and to be fair the ns500 is a bit bright....sold em on sharpish :(
NIGE.
inflation calculator suggest your £487 speakers would cost over £2200 today!!
.
Take in all the other factors and you could double or even triple that. Great find.
Those look PROPER :respect:
As said previously everything in my instinct software says yes, and I think the woofer looks particularly good.
The company was a little obscure/peripheral, and that may account for lack of sales, but I cannot fathom the date from your receipt though.
They could be real keepers, and you can perhaps improve cabinet deadness with some corner bracing if so.
walpurgis
21-04-2017, 22:09
The company was a little obscure/peripheral
I don't think so. Mordaunt Short were to the forefront of respected makers back then.
legb4rsk
21-04-2017, 23:20
As said previously everything in my instinct software says yes, and I think the woofer looks particularly good.
The company was a little obscure/peripheral, and that may account for lack of sales, but I cannot fathom the date from your receipt though.
They could be real keepers, and you can perhaps improve cabinet deadness with some corner bracing if so.
The date looks like Jan 12 1980 if that makes sense.Where they around then?
walpurgis
21-04-2017, 23:24
The date looks like Jan 12 1980 if that makes sense.Were they around then?
Sounds about right to me.
just listening to joni mitchell's blue which sounds absolutely fabulous on the signifers :)
I see your keeping them. Thought you might :)
yes they are very good grant,i need to shift the rest of my speakers now,its getting to a point where im close to sleeping vertically !
Firebottle
25-04-2017, 17:47
....its getting to a point where i'm close to sleeping vertically !
I've got an anti-gravity platform if that will help with the sleeping :mental:
It can get crowded with excess speakers... ive several sets too many. Trouble is staying up here you cant shift em. Bloody ipod county uk :doh:
dantheman91
25-04-2017, 19:57
You guys are fine - have you seen my place - :eyebrows: F**k......;)
Above my head Yes :doh:
More to come Friday KLH 55A receiver
walpurgis
26-04-2017, 09:45
yes they are very good grant
The Signifers are very good speakers. Not surprised they've made an impression Jamie.
Mistral47
17-09-2018, 11:38
Purchased a set of almost mint Signifer speakers last weekend and agree - they are spectacular.
Purchased a set of almost mint Signifer speakers last weekend and agree - they are spectacular.
Well done Mark, I've had mine a while now and have no plans to move them on. I love the huge, easy soundstage.
http://i64.tinypic.com/r77ne0.jpg
mightymonoped
17-09-2018, 13:24
Well done Mark, I've had mine a while now and have no plans to move them on. I love the huge, easy soundstage.
http://i64.tinypic.com/r77ne0.jpg
Jealous? Moi?
Would love to hear these as I love the sound I'm getting out of my modest MS400's, I would imagine these would share a lot of the same attributes only bigger and better.
Jealous? Moi?
Would love to hear these as I love the sound I'm getting out of my modest MS400's, I would imagine these would share a lot of the same attributes only bigger and better.
If you ever find your self near here Tony you're very welcome to come and have a listen, I don't charge for tea or coffee either:D
mightymonoped
17-09-2018, 14:05
If you ever find your self near here Tony you're very welcome to come and have a listen, I don't charge for tea or coffee either:D
[emoji106][emoji4]
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Mistral47
18-09-2018, 00:15
Thought I would add a few pics of the Signifershttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180918/07e81797477b62c14d4976a57c38b833.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180918/202cee8cf5fd23e64536b4e20129e9ed.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180918/5ba6367057547fd0dc96f0d1020f776c.jpg
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Wow Mark, they look to be in fabulous condition. They really are quite a rare speaker. I guess you're getting used to them at the moment but I can tell you mine are the best sounding speaker I've ever owned, and I've had a few lol.
Jac Hawk
23-09-2018, 14:55
Very nice indeed, i've always had a soft spot for Mordaunt Short speakers, across the range they are generally overlooked and usually can be had for a lot less than their peers, The Signifers are a speaker i've nearly bought on a number of occasions but never heared.
I've been putting this little job off for ages but finally got on with it today. The Signifiers were originally fitted with spring connections for the speaker cable, I made up some adapters as I didn't want to remove the banana plugs from the cables but it was never really satisfactory.
I bought four gold plated copper binding posts to replace the spring terminals. Fortunately the aforementioned spring jobbies were simple enough to remove without having to cut the plastic mounting plate. The new binding posts fitted neatly into the recesses and don't look out of place. Not sure if there's any difference to the sound but one less connection must be better.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180926/5bfc0e5cd77421eff6e29fd1935ba987.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180926/0fe0d5db4456ae4f0ce2994258390358.jpg
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mightymonoped
26-09-2018, 18:41
I've been putting this little job off for ages but finally got on with it today. The Signifiers were originally fitted with spring connections for the speaker cable, I made up some adapters as I didn't want to remove the banana plugs from the cables but it was never really satisfactory.
I bought four gold plated copper binding posts to replace the spring terminals. Fortunately the aforementioned spring jobbies were simple enough to remove without having to cut the plastic mounting plate. The new binding posts fitted neatly into the recesses and don't look out of place. Not sure if there's any difference to the sound but one less connection must be better.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180926/5bfc0e5cd77421eff6e29fd1935ba987.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180926/0fe0d5db4456ae4f0ce2994258390358.jpg
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Nice! [emoji106]
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