25 Most Underrated Vintage Speakers

Mikado463 said:
Fond memories of my DQ-10's, long gone but not forgotten !!
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Dizzie said:
Mine were stolen along with the solid walnut stands I built. Moved on to Apogee.
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Speaking of Dahlquist DQ-10s, I have a pair i picked up from an engineering colleague that he obtained in the late 70/early 80s. They were restored by myself back to original condition (with the exception of new binding posts).

After the work was completed, the speakers were moved to the main system and connected with more modern electronics and received signals from digital sources, analog vinyl, and analog tape.

The sound of these now 40+ year old Dahlquist speakers was still impressive all these years later.

I had a close friend, who owned a pair back in the late 70's, visit and we listened to them for several hours. When we were done, his comments were along the lines of saying these speakers sound excellent with modern electronics and he's never heard them like this and they are much better than he ever remembers and has ever heard. He went on to say any Dahlquist owners need the hear these speakers like this.

BTW: I acquired the Dahlquist DQ-10s from my colleague and will use them in a vintage speaker-based system I'm slowly collecting components for.

The finished mirrored pair are shown in this picture below
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P.S. If you want to see more about my restoration project you can visit this link:
https://www.audionirvana.org/forum/andre-s-avenue/off-the-grid/192904-dahlquist-dq-10-restoration

Dre
 
On a trip to the US in the 80s, I visited a New York showroom with KEF Reference 107s on display. I'd never seen these big speakers in the UK - most were exported, so I was on the lookout for a used pair. I found some advertised and bought them in excellent used condition for a few £000.

Not sure if they were "underrated", as the only review I've read was from Stereophile that said about them "Overall, I consider the KEF 107s to be an engineering marvel and, by a clear margin, the best full-range conventional speaker money can buy." They were unconventional and costly when new - Stereophile quoted $3900 in 1986 and $5900 a few years later..

I enjoyed them for a few years before making a big mistake - changing them for ATC Active 50 speakers.
KEF Reference 107 Cutaway.jpg
 
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After Quad ESL 63, Apogee Duetta, Avalon Radian I settled with Avalon Ascent2. In 1990 these speakers were awesome, they still are. Thank you Mr Hansen!
 
I go thru the list and that old saying comes to mind, damned if I can remember it now 'memories make the heart grow fonder' or such. I keep an old pair of personal favorites (25 yo, not the 45-50 yo) that i'll put in rotation once in awhile when my memory tries convincing me otherwise.
 
Beginning in the mid-late 1970s I had more fun over an extended period with Acoustic Research AR9s. Without a doubt the best enjoyment per dollar money (~$1,200 1970s USD) I've ever spent on audio.
 
From that list I’ve owned DCM Time Windows, EPI 100’s, Large Advents, and Spica TC-50’s. The Spica’s and Time Windows were exemplary performers and stayed in my system for years. The Advents and EPi’s not so much . :)
 
As someone who owns original L100’s and Kenrick of Japan modified 4343’s, they can be quite wonderful, but fragile as parts grow older and frail.
 
GSOphile said:
Beginning in the mid-late 1970s I had more fun over an extended period with Acoustic Research AR9s. Without a doubt the best enjoyment per dollar money (~$1,200 1970s USD) I've ever spent on audio.
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My Acoustic Research experience started decades ago with a single original AR1 I bought for next to nothing at a London household auction sale. It was OK but distinctly unimpressive - probably due to its age. Many years later I bought a pair of new AR Teledyne AR94. I suspect these were well short of AR's premium range. They were OK but I found a pair of the KEF Reference 107s I mentioned earlier that were exceptional. The AR3s were very highly thought of for a while, even here in the UK.
 
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