Bargains on ebay?

[Marco]

Lol - I don't like bad small speakers (and sadly, these days, most fall into that category, to my ears), but there are plenty of small vintage speakers I like, including the original Wharfdale Diamonds, and I will fully acknowledge their sonic qualities.

What entranced me with the Chartwells was their sublime midrange, which really projected voices and acoustic instruments into the room with a vibrancy, realism and lack of coloration, which is seldom heard these days.

In the midrange, they sound rather like my Lockwoods, only, erm, 'smaller'!

I'd run the Chartwells, if I had to, WAY before I would bloody ADM9s!!!

Marco.

[DSJR]

ADM9.1Ts are being joined with better 9's and bigga-9's I understand, the floor standars being abandoned mainly due to the costs of doing it right with a large bass unit - I don't think many would buy an active £5K style floor stander blind online..

Unlike you mate, I have compared old and newer LS3/5A's with other smaller and bigger speakers and honestly feel confident in my views re the P3ESR's. Things really have moved on in smaller speaker reproduction..

Actually, what I'd really like to try are the cheapo babies out there on the end of a decent system. There's a "developed and enlarged" NS10 derivative for £120pr which I think could give established audiophool models a real fright -

http://www.studiospares.com/studio-m...r/invt/248000/

The little Q Acoustics may also be great little passives on a better system for all I know - it's some years now since I last heard the likes of MA BR2's and KEF Q1's and similar and the £30 specials from China may well be quite good for all I know

[Marco]

Sure, all I know is that I loved what I heard at the time (about 4 years ago) from the Chartwells, which was incidentally on the end of EAR 509 valve amps...

Have you heard LS3/5as with toobs?

Marco.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Recently bought off eBay: a Cambridge Audio P50 integrated amplifier.

The elegant, slim, ‘low-profile’ look was achieved by using a toroidal mains transformer. I believe Cambridge Audio were one of the first to use toroidal transformers.

Avel Lindberg a UK transformer company developed the toroid mains transformer in the early 70's, but couldn't patent it as it had been done before but not commercially. They were the origin of Naim products as well, but at least Naim knew how to use them. Cambridge just put them in a slim case bolted to the bottom plate with the screw head touching the top plate, creating what is known as a shorted turn, not only did this burn out the transformer but put the primary (mains) voltage on the case, but at quite low current, to give people shocks. I don't know what Stan Curtis was thinking of as he was usually a good designer if not business man.

Cambridge were very lucky they didn't get the arse sued out of them or prosecuted under health and safety, but that was the 70's, no one gave a toss.

So go careful as all Cambridge did was put a bit of insulation above the transformer bolt, if that insulation fails you could be in for a nasty shock.

[Alex_UK]

Regardless of the sound, I'm not sure Barry was intending on spending £1,500 + on speakers for his third system? Although he never said, so I'm just guessing!

[Marco]

Lol - indeed, I doubt it! I was really outlining the sort of speakers I'd likely use in a bedroom system, should I ever assemble such a thing.

My listening room upstairs is right next to our bedroom, so I just open the door and let the tunes in!

Marco.

[Alex_UK]

And there was me thinking one of your Lockwoods is your bedroom!

[Marco]

That's only when our parties get *really* wild!

Marco.

[MartinT]

Cambridge Audio later developed the R40 and R50 transmission line speaker. I did have frequent access to the R50s: a four-way design using the popular combination of KEF B139 woofer, B110 mid, Celestion HF1300 tweeter and STC (Coles) super-tweeter. I liked them, but when I heard the Quads they were what I was looking for.

I had a pair of R40s from the age of 19 (I bought them unfinished from liquidated stock) and they gave me great sound for the next six years. B139, B110 and T27 - classic combo. They were still running well at a friend's house until very recently, sadly now gone.

[MartinT]

Have you heard LS3/5as with toobs?

My friend has a pair of Rogers LS3/5as with an Art Audio Quintet valve amp. Lovely sound.