No bracing, cabinet resonance, I mean, scientifically and logically, I do believe his measurments, no obligatory A/B test here. But yeah, could be a good idea though. Take a good flat RME Babyface and 2 Earthworks M32r's and then do proper recording, i'd be in.
Agree. Hobbs, Ron, you know there are a crap ton of these out “there” in the wild. With sound clips added and a few people doing the upgrade kit and (assumingely) signing it’s praises, this “kit” could become the default for this line. Now all of the sets that shipped abroad WITH their existing sound warts, well, those will be what they are, but dang fellas, getting some WOM (word of mouth) energy behind this kit could really do some wonders in gaining exposure to a whole world of folks who either didn’t have much if any awareness of GR and/or the right improvements to THIS kit may help open their eyes to all of the other offerings you guys have. “Just sayin’ “
Please, keep doing pre 2000 stuff. Speakers from the 1990's, 1980's, and even the 1970's were awesome!! I used to drool over them, when I went into a Good Guys or Circuit city back in the day. Service merchandise & BEST products had a dedicated speaker room, which was awesome to visit!!! I miss those day!!!
What a treat it is having Danny do this service for us. To actually pay someone for there time to do this would be quite expensive I’m sure. I’m in Canada so sending a speaker is not cheap however I did send my crossovers to Danny to throw together a kit of higher quality parts equal value for my CerwinVega! Speakers and the process and results were allot of fun. I highly recommend if able to, to take advantage of this service from GR Reserch and send him your speaker. It’s a fun hobby upgrading! Thanks GR Team!
i remember having 4 of these driven off a kenwood 9600 receiver at age 18 and thinking this is the best sound i've ever heard! i'm double that now and don't think i could stand them stock for long, learning is fun
Another great video sir. Using the midrange as a fill is so often rewarding as you have proven. These presentations are so informative and, for lifetime audio nuts like me, downright exciting. I've been experimenting over 60 years, but without your expertise, and I may have to get back into it after learning so much from you. Many thanks for all your hard work.
A typical 1970 Japanese big box speaker with lots of drivers they never sounded that good but looked impressive what Richie did is amazing and well worth spending the upgrade on another fantastic job !
Awesome Transformation! We always put our Speakers up on Cement Blocks with thick Rubber mats and a Towel - Not like Today's Stands but really helped back in the day , when we were under the "effects" LOL
I've got a pair of hpm 100s got the hpm40s as well. My experience with them is very good. Solid low end, Lotta detail and clarity, having a hard time believing all your negativity.
Well I think I've already had crossover work done on mine. Different style terminals on these which makes me think somebody's done it already. Probably why I can't hear what you're talking about
These old speakers have a lot of potential but we must invest a good deal of time and money to make them sound as they should! Thanks for all that engineering knowledge you provide!
As a kid, I would go over to my buddy's house and listen to jazz on his HPM-40s. It was a fun speaker, but it didn't image well, and certainly changed a lot when going off-axis. For people who have fond memories of the unique sound of these speakers, and want them to be more like an audiophile speaker, this is the ideal upgrade.
My first set of speakers were Pioneer HPM-40's, the baby brother to these ones. A guy in my dorm had the 100's. I lusted after them, but couldn't afford them. I replaced my 40's many years later with Klipsch Heresy II's. That was a mistake. You did a great job transforming these. If they were mine, i would have even built a new box for them, lining the drivers up properly and mounting them flush, but i understand that's outside the scope of what you do here.
I just ordered the kit, great work was just in the process of fixing my just bought hpm 100 set. I owned them in the late 80ties and sold them in the 90ties. Got them back but new about the filter problems. Was concidering the mv labs filter but you had some better thinking and experience on it. Cant wait to start building the filters. Also got my hands on hpm900 backplates to keep the org filters original. Will also do the bracing of the box. Will come back with the results.
@@veegoss1 yes i got the whole set from danny i also reinforced the inside acording to his advice. The hpm now sound much better the ringing is gone they stage perfectly you can listen the whole day to them with my high end dac and my vintage recordplayer setup. They also have depth now and as danny says they really can compete with modern speakers but with paper cone vintage vibe. Its really a great great upgrade one of the best. Also bass is much tighter than ever heard on a hpm. The original coils are way to thin. Will try to add some pictures dont now if that is possible else send me a pm.
I've watched enough of these videos that I can predict some of the off axis response based on the speaker location and cross over points. Soon as I saw it I thought "wow, the worse off axis response I have seen". Anyone, a fun video and an amazing transformation.
I know a bit of the history of these HPMs and own almost all the versions that were produced. The 100s were designed to sit very high, well above ear level and I learned this at the time they were new, speaking to Pioneer Australia. They installed 4 sets of these in a record shop, with a ton of their amps, etc and I remember the guys telling me that there were designed to sit very high up, not at ear level. Just putting it out there. Id love to see a set of HPM 150s looked at ot the HPM1100s and even the 100s predecessor, the HPM900. I have them and more, if you would like to come to Australia 😂 Great video and as usual, great info. Thanks
We did have someone call us asking about the HPM150s but I don't know if they'll be willing to send one for evaluation. But if we get sent one, well definitely take a look at it.
I love that you are tackling these old speakers! Love love it. Vintage JBL's? I particularly would love to see you do the L-222 Disco or L-220. I have a pair and not that far from you. Maybe we can plan a drop off/visit.
Well, a flat response doesn't necessarily tell the story of how the speaker sounds...it is balanced for sure. But that doesn't mean it will sound better than a new
Better than a new Klipsch? Do u mean before the upgrade? LOL. You’re setting the bar rather low, don’t u think? But truly one of his greatest achievements to date..
Great Danny and Hobbs. So great that Americans dare to send their loved vintage speakers to GR, for a new life, to the next generation. Recycling. But we get to enjoy them for a bit, again. Just imagine how many 70-80 ish speakers there are out there.
Very surprising for me that a correction that good is possible on this big speaker. I thought there would be not much to do about the off-axis response. Good job.
I never had HPM 100’s but in the 80’s I had set of HPM 900’s. Good speakers overall. I really wanted the HPM 1100 but couldn’t afford them back then lol.
Hello. This was a good video. I really like the videos you make where you shed light on a big and common problem when it comes to factory made speakers. I'm talking about the quality of them which is often not that good
Hey Danny, great video and nice to see you measure these. They sound as they look. I'm curious for all the people asking for A/B's, perhaps prior to redesigning the crossover you could record a short 30 second segment using some royalty free music, and after the redesign is finished record the end result. Changes like this are so huge that even a cell phone recording would resolve the differences. Cheers!
you did a fabulous job. before/after i know for a fact that a lot of these used (without upgrades) ended up in Vietnam. Because people posted video on YT.
I owned two sets in the day, one set was the clear acrylic cabinets. I hung the wood set high up in a room with 12 ft ceilings. I replaced the mid range driver and that got rid of a lot of the harshness.
Thank you for picking this speaker and making the video! Everyone seems to love these old HPM-100s so seeing what they put out originally is really interesting! What you have done to them is amazing and I would love to hear the final product! I have a pair of HPM-900s with the graphite drivers that I would love to have reworked by you.
@@morlidor no, they did not listen with their ears, they listened to the "high end" stuff from the brands like Pioneer, JBL and Yamaha, that's why these fossils were "good". They "listened" to prestige...
Yesterday I saw a youtube video comparing this HPM-100 to the JBL L-112, I had the L-112 and repaired the HPM and I must say there are a lot of HPM-100 lovers but this speaker I assure that is the most colored beloved speaker ever, now in your video I understand why it is so colored stock condition, you did an amazing job with the new design crossover, now looks more like the L-112 which only have the caveat of a ringing about 1.8 khz, I will appreciate if you test a good stock condition JBL L-112 to confirm my appreciation, thanks buddy
Heck ya! Now I won't turn my eyes if I ever see a set at a garage sale :) PRoviding I can get some at a great price, i'd be happy to purchase this xover upgrade.
I got a pair for $60 a few months ago on marketplace. Did some work on the cabinets and fixed the pushed in center caps with a vac cleaner. Listed them on FB for $950 and they sold the same day.
Totally agree about upgrading these vintage speakers, even rebuilding them ( most were made with chip ( particle) board yuks ) Unfortunately its the then sound of the models that people get attached to. Upgrade them like the HPM-100 but you will lose the sound that they think is great. No doubt the sound will change for the better but I love the sound the way it is !!! that's what your up against. Hopefully after this video, more people with vintage speakers eg: JBL's will make the jump.
I got a pair of the 100w version a year ago, and messed around with the crossovers a bit and replacing with new polyprop caps. Until any further serious crossover overhaul, I found they greatly improved just by changing the woofer lowpass inductor from 0.6 to 0.9mH
Well done. Have been fooling with speakers since this was a new product. Worked at GRT/Chess/Janus Records and had access to their studio monitors (KLH). Learned from their engineers and been rebuilding the odd speaker pair ever since. This run down was what we all needed back in the day 😊 OBTW - Soviet radar caps make good audio caps, when you can find them ... 🙃
I know it's a lot to make a video and further a lot of time to do the testing and documentation you do. It sure would be great to get still images of the upgrade parts you used (un-assembled and all in 1 photo is fine), then another still image or 2 of the process of upgrading these speakers. Basically just to see what you ended up with as a reference for those of us that decide to follow your upgrade path. In any case, thanks much for the vids! :)
I watched a couple of these videos now, I would really like to see you do the actual upgrades. Make the new crossovers, make the alterations to the cabinet, etc
Greatest transformation of an iconic and popular speaker that I always considered unlistenable. Now they look and sound great... like they should have when they were made but didn't.
This looks like a very interesting rebuild project, I bet their is HUGE room for improvement. If you can find some decent replacement parts and a better cabinet, or maybe a better resonant frequency and more internal bracing and better damping this thing could be a beast! Of course you would probably then have a whole new speaker!
Very cool. Working with vintage mass market speakers myself, I can definitely appreciate what you did in this project/kit and the $800 plus some work to get those to another level without cabinet mods or changing drivers is amazing. Personally I like the sound of the phenolic ring cone tweeters. Very smooth and big enough to effortlessly deliver the treble. I was kind of surprised how poor the Woofer response was. I wonder if they're just worn out or materials degraded with age. The stock Woofers I've pulled from old mass market speakers usually have better frequency responses than the aftermarkets I replace them with. But... the majority of them I've pulled were from speakers that seemed hardly used and despite some cabinets being a little rough, the drivers are usually quite nice. The majority of wire I've pulled seemed really thin, like maybe 20 to 24 gauge and the caps, (and coils if they have any), are usually super tiny, so it looks like those crossovers were very nice for old speakers and if the wire was 18 gauge that's impressive. Plus, if I heard correctly these had insulation on the side panels which is a rare thing, usually there's either not insulation, or a small sheet on the back, or small fiberglass pads tossed in. You didn't mention how thick the cabinet was, but most of them are 1/2", so if that was thicker, that's a big deal too. It's nice to see you having fun with the big old speakers. I love em. They sound... well... BIG 😊
It’s interesting to see how this responded with these old school drivers when you compare it to the ones you had recently that were virtually not worth the effort and you almost scrapped them. Good job on these.
Still owner of one pair of Pioneer HPM-60 speakerboxes from mid '70s. Changed the original woofers for Visaton equivalent two decades ago (due standard foam problem Pioneer woofers). Still loved them but due my age frequency's above 8 KHz i can't hear anymore. Recently bought 2nd hand Pioneer TA-7500 & TX-7500 and the Pioneer headphone the SE 305. Going back to vintage stuff.
that was something! Way back when......Pioneer brought this model out as a copy to the very, very hot selling JBL L-100A back in the day. Hence the copy on driver positioning, woofer cone material and color, and midrange, tweeter driver appearances. Even the port was placed in a similar position as the L-100. Pioneer also made a larger model...believe it was the HMP-200 or 250... don't remember, but it was a larger box with a quartz tweeter in the top.
Great testing impression Danny,I always had a soft spot for big box speakers from the 70's, though I would never buy one today. I am thisclose to buying a pair of classic Legacys, because the price is outstanding and its a boyhood dream. I really wanna get them tested, but I shudder at the shipping costs, lol. Maybe If I drive to texas one day, who knows.
Maybe some of the upgrade is addressing variances in the ancient drivers. I wonder how consistent this upgrade would be for everyone. Often times when I test a pair of vintage speakers their responses are not identical between each other. Especially tweeters with ferrofluid that's gummed up.
...and to think that the HPM100 was one of Pioneer's "greatest". Well, the visual design was great at least! Your service to the audio community is very much appreciated.
Ripping out the 2 middle drivers and putting in a horn with waveguide instead would also work. And the super tweeter would be used from 15k for extra sparkle.
I watch several channels doing these speakers analysis and all of you use different equipment and come up with virtual identical responses but yours is easiest to understand speaking and charts diagrams
That's way there's millions out there and was and still number one for vintage speaker .I have a set that have set that and also have newer speakers that cost over fourty grand each and all ways find my self going back to the Pioneers and thinking of selling the others because they take up to much room but never do it because of the loss in money. My ears aren't computers and HPM is the best speaker on the market that over fourty years old and a piece of under thousand dollars .AMAZING THUFF SPEAKERS AND PROBABLY WILL DYE WITH THIS AS MY NUMBER ONE SPEAKER AND HAVE NEVER HAVE TO EVEN CHANG A PART .
Picked up a pair of these at the flea market in near mint condition just this past weekend. I have to say, I am highly impressed. I've had dozens and dozens of different speakers over the years, and these definitely rate near the top. Not as good as my MB quart floor standers, but impressive nonetheless. Mostly rock and roll speakers, but that's okay.
This is my first time watching your channel. It was very interesting to hear your take on those older speakers. I think it's pretty obvious the older speakers just don't have the build quality and modern performance features. This technology has come a long way, I think the older speakers have the "Vintage Sound," which in today's speak is not great.
I was gonna say almost word for word what you said about the response! That is completely awful. I've been pouring over response graphs for the last couple months looking for new muds for vehicle so seeing this was almost a shock! 😂
Great way to hone your skills! You in testing would NOT design the driver array this way or with this compliment so its easier to get a flatter response, but to redo an improper design to be usable is an art!
HPM-100 has been reviewed and labled as one of best speakers ever made.Some modern speakers have simulated sound quality .You get headache after extended listening.HPM-100 gives soft deep bass and clear vocals.You may use an equalizer to shape the sound to your taste.I have used this speaker for many years .The enclosed frequency response curve doesn't show variations of your graphs .Maybe some units are faulty.
I've never been a fan. I tried... twice in fact to give them a chance but in the end, no depth, no subtlety, no sound stage and they shriek and fatigue when the music gets busy. The HPM 100 is basically a two way speaker with three overlapping tweeters. And tweeters all interfere with each other resulting in a terrible lobiness and off axis frequency response. The midrange driver with it's single 4 mf cap as high pass filter actually cuts in a frequency typical of a tweeter. Most of the midrange is produced by the 12 inch woofer. Worst of all it's hard to cure the gobs of stored energy (and resulting peaks and ringing) in the upper mid and treble ranges. But they're, bright, go loud and have lots of bass so your average rocker will love them.
Just watched both videos of Yamaha NS-1000M and Pioneer HPM-100’s back to back, looks like Yamaha for the win with initial measurements. I had read that the HPM designer was the previous head engineer at JBL, designer of JBL L-100. If so, not a good sign.
I appreciate these old speakers getting upgrades. However an original unmolested pair of hpm 100s are absoloutely incredible. I have had hundreds of top end speakers and with the right amp and source the hpms can reproduce vocals in such an emotional way that they will make you cry. More so than any other speaker I have ever heard. They also soundstage well and instruments are very lifelike in size. They create a very real listening experience. Frequency response , deadening the cabinets and upgrading crossovers doesnt mean anything if that emotional connection to the music is lost. Ive been on my hifi journey for 35 years and you can have the most expensive speakers with the best components that sound dead and lifeless. The most popular and well regarded speakers often dont have the 'best' components. Dynaco a25s, Ls35as, harbeths, proacs, atc etc don't always have the flattest response, aircoils and all poly capacitors. Also many of their cabinets are meant to move and resonate at certain frequencys. So yes, this upgrade will most likely marginally improve detail... however It may destroy the magic the speaker had as it is not as the designer intended. REMEMBER the original designers spent months if not years LISTENING in various rooms , anechoic chambers etc with many different systems. There is no substitute for listening with the human ear. WAAAAAAY more than just slapping in some expensive capacitors and air coils and running a frequency response recording. A flat frequency response doesnt not equal good... it often means dull and boring... ALSO a flat frequency respose means nothing unless your living room is an anechoic chamber or highly treated recording studio as every living room will instantly change the frequency response DRASTICALLY. Hence why designers often create bumps and dips at certain frequencys to allow for the average listening/ living room. All music producers realise that their super flat response studio monitors are dull and boring to listen too but that is the purpose for them for mixing and mastering. Also remember that the designer of the HPMS was also the designer of possibly the most well regarded vintage american speaker of all time , the JBL L100. He was headhunted by Pioneer to create a speaker that outperforms the Jbl L100 and he succeeded. The designer had access to aircoils and every different capacitor but he chose what he chose. They would have spent months swapping components and endless hours listening, listening, listening with multiple sets of ears, A/Bing with previous incantations ( the ls35a went through hundreds of variations). I wonder how much listening Danny has done before and after? How many pairs of ears? Did he A/B with the original ? Without doing these things, no offense, there is very little value or point spending hundreds of pounds on an upgrade kit. Because how do you know it is a better listening? If A flat frequency response Is all you are going by that means absolutely nothing. The Ls35a was designed to have a large hump in the mid bass. By Dannys standards this would equal a bad speaker. The most avid listeners of Hifi will atest that the Ls35a is one of the greatest speakers ever made. The ls35a has a lossy box, a complex 'cheesy' crossover, baffle reflections, a far from flat frequency response but still 50 years later is regarded as one of the greatest speakers ever made that people pay huge amounts for today. Why??? Because It hadyears of listening and tweaking to the minutest detail, no expense was spared and they were designers werent stuck in a 1 plus 1 = 2 mindset of no res cabinet, expensive air coil and caps, flat frequency response., and thats that. They listened to what sounded good and figured out why It sounded good. A speaker is at the end of the day an instrument that is designed to sound musical and convey emotion in a human way. This cannot always be quantified. Elliot smith could have used the most expensive all solid wood handmade acoustic guitar but chose a plywood Yamaha fg 180. Kurt cobain chose to use a 10$ harmony stella from a thrift store because they werent confined by the notion that expensive always means best Im not sure why danny is saying the cabinets aon the hpm are using thin wood as the cabinets are very thick, certainly thicker than most speakers, they also do have some corner bracing inside. It was obviously a clear decision to allow these speakers to move. The ls35a is also designed to move as has little internal bracing and this speaker had more development and research and human listening tests than any other speaker in the history of mankind. It also has a very unusual , complex and unconventional crossover that doesnt used expensive high guage air coils and capacitors. my only issue with the hpm 100 is that extensive listening can be fatiguing. The high end is incredible and the super tweeter adds air and realism to reverbs and vocals which really makes a difference but there must be some resonances going on in there that can cause fatigue. This is the only reason I sold mine. Do I miss them. YES! If I had the space and money I would definitely find some more.
I really can't disagree more. In their original form they were dreadful. The frequency response was all over the place. Drivers weren't in phase very well and completely out of phase in the off axis. There was a lot of ringing and break up in the drivers themselves. The cabinets buzzed horribly. The old components are complete garbage by today's standards and completely smeared the signal. They were unlistenable. All of those problems and colorations do not cause an emotional connection to the music any more than using an 8 track player as a source. An accurate frequency response does not make a speaker sound lifeless or dead. The frequency response is only a measure of accuracy. Also citing other newer yet cheaply made speakers does not add validity or justify poor quality. There is no magic to be found in the production model. Designers did not spend years in development and listening to create this masterpiece. It was all they could do with the limited technology that they had at the time. This statement is completely false: "A flat frequency response doesnt not equal good... it often means dull and boring... ALSO a flat frequency respose means nothing unless your living room is an anechoic chamber or highly treated recording studio as every living room will instantly change the frequency response DRASTICALLY." A frequency response is the measure of a speaker's accuracy. It can sound dull and boring, or beautiful and dynamic, and still have a flat response. How a speaker sounds is much more than how it measures. Also, an accurate response, especially in the off axis, is more room friendly and will have a much more balanced overall in room response than one that has a jacked up response and cancellation in the off axis. It is the original version that would benefit much more from being in an anechoic chamber or recording studio that would absorb the out of phase off axis issues. This is also completely false: "Hence why designers often create bumps and dips at certain frequencys to allow for the average listening/ living room. All music producers realise that their super flat response studio monitors are dull and boring to listen too but that is the purpose for them for mixing and mastering." No designer ever thinks, all music will sound better if I add some peaks and dips, and if I cause the drivers to be out of phase and cancel the output from one driver to the next. No designer ever thinks that some ringing and driver break up is going to make the music sound better. No designer ever thinks that some cabinet wall buzzing will improve things. If the original recording engineers wanted the music to be that jacked up and disjointed then they would have recorded it that way to start with. The designer did not choose garbage parts because after months of listening he thought the garbage sounded better. What was chosen was chosen because it was cheap. The LS3/5A's are also garbage by today's standards. If they were great the way they were then they would still be making them. Yes the cabinets in this Pioneer speaker are very lightly built. Bracing in the corners is done for ease of assembly, not because corners need bracing. The corners are the least resonant part of the cabinet. The buzz box that these are were built that way because it was cheap to build them that way. The same goes for the LS3/5A. They were lightly built because it was cheap to do so. You need to hear some modern speakers.
@@dannyrichie9743 Danny, there are many old designs that use electrolytic caps that will blow away any of the speakers with your upgrades. And a flat response Is irrellevant in the average living room. Some of the best and most beloved speakers do not have a flat response. You can call the ls3/5a garbage, thats your opinion although It is not one shared by anyone else. If they were garbage they would not be the most sought after speakers to this day that have been unchanged since 1970 and they would not still be revered by thousands of audiophiles that have the most expensive front end equipment and constantly make side by side A/B comparisons with soeakers costing tens of thousands. They would not still be sold in hi end hifi shops up against the latest and greatest modern hifi. You rave about the BRX. I own these and the LS3/5a . The BRX are inferior in everyway apart from maybe "flat frequency response" and possibly slightly more top end detail in their harsh fatiguing unnatural sounding tweeters.
Great work! That’s a huge transformation. Why they never bothered looking into crossover design back in the days. It’s just engineering. Same tech as in the 70-ties caps, coils and resistors…
There was no computer FFT measurement then. Some spl/pen plotter measurements could be done. Also, there wasn’t a real understanding of what mattered for sound quality and the importance off-axis/polar response
@@cbrunhaver It was worse in the 50s..Quad Electrostatics... Without a box and no crossover were poor.. All those fools who think those speakers r classics... Danny wud have bettered those 50s DESIGNS By a mile.. To use an academic comparison... Modern poets r far better than Shelley and Shakespeare types LOL
This deserves an A/B recording of before and after to let us experience the difference. Think of it as marketing.
YES!!!
Someone on here needs to upload or provide a link to an A/B recording. Would be great.
No bracing, cabinet resonance, I mean, scientifically and logically, I do believe his measurments, no obligatory A/B test here.
But yeah, could be a good idea though.
Take a good flat RME Babyface and 2 Earthworks M32r's and then do proper recording, i'd be in.
Agree. Hobbs, Ron, you know there are a crap ton of these out “there” in the wild. With sound clips added and a few people doing the upgrade kit and (assumingely) signing it’s praises, this “kit” could become the default for this line. Now all of the sets that shipped abroad WITH their existing sound warts, well, those will be what they are, but dang fellas, getting some WOM (word of mouth) energy behind this kit could really do some wonders in gaining exposure to a whole world of folks who either didn’t have much if any awareness of GR and/or the right improvements to THIS kit may help open their eyes to all of the other offerings you guys have. “Just sayin’ “
Particularly if they moved the mic during the test to illustrate how much more consistent it is off axis.
Please, keep doing pre 2000 stuff. Speakers from the 1990's, 1980's, and even the 1970's were awesome!! I used to drool over them, when I went into a Good Guys or Circuit city back in the day. Service merchandise & BEST products had a dedicated speaker room, which was awesome to visit!!! I miss those day!!!
I miss Musicraft in the Chicago area.
I love to see the older stuff getting a second chance , well done.
Danny, that frequency response change you did is pure magic. Thank you.
That is the most radical improvement I've ever seen on your channel. Wow!
Looks like a completely different speaker with the changes made. Amazing.
Man! My Mom had a pair of these. I grew up listening to them. What a trip to see these guys. What a great job Danny! This was a great one!
What a treat it is having Danny do this service for us. To actually pay someone for there time to do this would be quite expensive I’m sure. I’m in Canada so sending a speaker is not cheap however I did send my crossovers to Danny to throw together a kit of higher quality parts equal value for my CerwinVega! Speakers and the process and results were allot of fun. I highly recommend if able to, to take advantage of this service from GR Reserch and send him your speaker. It’s a fun hobby upgrading! Thanks GR Team!
It all goes to Danny's Humvee 2024 Fund
The frequency response it's... WHOA!!!
i remember having 4 of these driven off a kenwood 9600 receiver at age 18 and thinking this is the best sound i've ever heard! i'm double that now and don't think i could stand them stock for long, learning is fun
I think the Old Speaker sounded really good w 4-Speakers, A lot better imagining and separation.
Another great video sir. Using the midrange as a fill is so often rewarding as you have proven. These presentations are so informative and, for lifetime audio nuts like me, downright exciting. I've been experimenting over 60 years, but without your expertise, and I may have to get back into it after learning so much from you. Many thanks for all your hard work.
A typical 1970 Japanese big box speaker with lots of drivers they never sounded that good but looked impressive what Richie did is amazing and well worth spending the upgrade on another fantastic job !
These ones are not KABUKI though ( thankfully ). Those on the other hand were terrible.
Danny I can see the same joy in your face I have myself when a project comes together.
Glad to see old speakers being kept alive thank you good video
Fabulous job of correcting an old thrown together design . Prett impressive what you were able to achieve on this . Nice Job !!
That’s one impressive crossover design upgrade. Well done good sir. Well done.
Yay! I was one of the ones that wrote to you and asked. I'm excited for the upgrades! Thanks to you and whoever sent that in!
Thank you for doing this...
Never heard one but I suspected a train wreck response..
Love your stuff man!!
All of the 70's speakers I've listened to sounded like a train wreck. Muddy boomy and horrible.
Wow! That speaker was a mess. Nice work Danny. 💪🏼
Awesome Transformation!
We always put our Speakers up on Cement Blocks with thick Rubber mats and a Towel - Not like Today's Stands but really helped back in the day , when we were under the "effects" LOL
Love those speakers and this is one of my favorite videos that you've done. Old speakers have lots of value and upgradeability too! Thanks!!
Amazing work on the X-over. I tip my hat to you Sir.
I've got a pair of hpm 100s got the hpm40s as well. My experience with them is very good. Solid low end, Lotta detail and clarity, having a hard time believing all your negativity.
What I show is exactly what it is. There is no sugar coating the mess that these are.
@@morlidor The audible improvement after the upgrade is significant. Give it a try and you will hear for yourself.
Well I think I've already had crossover work done on mine. Different style terminals on these which makes me think somebody's done it already. Probably why I can't hear what you're talking about
These old speakers have a lot of potential but we must invest a good deal of time and money to make them sound as they should! Thanks for all that engineering knowledge you provide!
As a kid, I would go over to my buddy's house and listen to jazz on his HPM-40s. It was a fun speaker, but it didn't image well, and certainly changed a lot when going off-axis. For people who have fond memories of the unique sound of these speakers, and want them to be more like an audiophile speaker, this is the ideal upgrade.
Cool story bro.
My first set of speakers were Pioneer HPM-40's, the baby brother to these ones. A guy in my dorm had the 100's. I lusted after them, but couldn't afford them.
I replaced my 40's many years later with Klipsch Heresy II's. That was a mistake.
You did a great job transforming these. If they were mine, i would have even built a new box for them, lining the drivers up properly and mounting them flush, but i understand that's outside the scope of what you do here.
I just ordered the kit, great work was just in the process of fixing my just bought hpm 100 set. I owned them in the late 80ties and sold them in the 90ties. Got them back but new about the filter problems. Was concidering the mv labs filter but you had some better thinking and experience on it. Cant wait to start building the filters. Also got my hands on hpm900 backplates to keep the org filters original. Will also do the bracing of the box. Will come back with the results.
Did you ever complete the upgrade? Would love to hear about your experience and the results of your efforts!
@@veegoss1 yes i got the whole set from danny i also reinforced the inside acording to his advice. The hpm now sound much better the ringing is gone they stage perfectly you can listen the whole day to them with my high end dac and my vintage recordplayer setup. They also have depth now and as danny says they really can compete with modern speakers but with paper cone vintage vibe. Its really a great great upgrade one of the best. Also bass is much tighter than ever heard on a hpm. The original coils are way to thin. Will try to add some pictures dont now if that is possible else send me a pm.
I've watched enough of these videos that I can predict some of the off axis response based on the speaker location and cross over points. Soon as I saw it I thought "wow, the worse off axis response I have seen". Anyone, a fun video and an amazing transformation.
I know a bit of the history of these HPMs and own almost all the versions that were produced. The 100s were designed to sit very high, well above ear level and I learned this at the time they were new, speaking to Pioneer Australia. They installed 4 sets of these in a record shop, with a ton of their amps, etc and I remember the guys telling me that there were designed to sit very high up, not at ear level. Just putting it out there. Id love to see a set of HPM 150s looked at ot the HPM1100s and even the 100s predecessor, the HPM900. I have them and more, if you would like to come to Australia 😂 Great video and as usual, great info. Thanks
We did have someone call us asking about the HPM150s but I don't know if they'll be willing to send one for evaluation. But if we get sent one, well definitely take a look at it.
you are a scholar and a gentleman Daniel my man
I love that you are tackling these old speakers! Love love it. Vintage JBL's? I particularly would love to see you do the L-222 Disco or L-220. I have a pair and not that far from you. Maybe we can plan a drop off/visit.
Danny, you never cease to amaze me. Old speaker better than a new Klipsch. Well done.
Well, a flat response doesn't necessarily tell the story of how the speaker sounds...it is balanced for sure. But that doesn't mean it will sound better than a new
@@davidristic3800 Klipsch?!!
Better than a new Klipsch? Do u mean before the upgrade? LOL. You’re setting the bar rather low, don’t u think? But truly one of his greatest achievements to date..
Great Danny and Hobbs. So great that Americans dare to send their loved vintage speakers to GR, for a new life, to the next generation. Recycling. But we get to enjoy them for a bit, again. Just imagine how many 70-80 ish speakers there are out there.
Very surprising for me that a correction that good is possible on this big speaker. I thought there would be not much to do about the off-axis response. Good job.
I never had HPM 100’s but in the 80’s I had set of HPM 900’s. Good speakers overall. I really wanted the HPM 1100 but couldn’t afford them back then lol.
Hello. This was a good video. I really like the videos you make where you shed light on a big and common problem when it comes to factory made speakers. I'm talking about the quality of them which is often not that good
Danny - You speak way above my paygrade ! - But i cant stop watching ( lol ) Thank you Sir
Hey Danny, great video and nice to see you measure these. They sound as they look. I'm curious for all the people asking for A/B's, perhaps prior to redesigning the crossover you could record a short 30 second segment using some royalty free music, and after the redesign is finished record the end result. Changes like this are so huge that even a cell phone recording would resolve the differences. Cheers!
Well done! Hopefully someone will eventually send in an L-100. I’d be interested in trying an overhaul on mine.
Second that!!
That transformation is just exceptional... Well done Danny!
you did a fabulous job. before/after
i know for a fact that a lot of these used (without upgrades) ended up in Vietnam. Because people posted video on YT.
I owned two sets in the day, one set was the clear acrylic cabinets. I hung the wood set high up in a room with 12 ft ceilings. I replaced the mid range driver and that got rid of a lot of the harshness.
Thank you for picking this speaker and making the video! Everyone seems to love these old HPM-100s so seeing what they put out originally is really interesting! What you have done to them is amazing and I would love to hear the final product! I have a pair of HPM-900s with the graphite drivers that I would love to have reworked by you.
Truly one of your greatest achievements… And I’ve watched All the upgrades, at least once
I find the test results hilarious, people worship these speakers!
Emotions...
@@morlidor no, they did not listen with their ears, they listened to the "high end" stuff from the brands like Pioneer, JBL and Yamaha, that's why these fossils were "good". They "listened" to prestige...
Results you achieved were amazing!
I wish you could have helped me with my own older circa 80s speakers.
Thank you for de-mystifying and giving the speakers an honest open eyed evaluation...
Perfect shirt for this video. Nice work Danny and team!
It was an indoor soccer team that I played for many years ago.
Yesterday I saw a youtube video comparing this HPM-100 to the JBL L-112, I had the L-112 and repaired the HPM and I must say there are a lot of HPM-100 lovers but this speaker I assure that is the most colored beloved speaker ever, now in your video I understand why it is so colored stock condition, you did an amazing job with the new design crossover, now looks more like the L-112 which only have the caveat of a ringing about 1.8 khz, I will appreciate if you test a good stock condition JBL L-112 to confirm my appreciation, thanks buddy
Send one in and we'll find out.
Love my bone stock 100s. I would be afraid to touch them. Great information!!
If you love them in stock form, you'd really love them after the upgrade.
Heck ya! Now I won't turn my eyes if I ever see a set at a garage sale :) PRoviding I can get some at a great price, i'd be happy to purchase this xover upgrade.
I got a pair for $60 a few months ago on marketplace. Did some work on the cabinets and fixed the pushed in center caps with a vac cleaner. Listed them on FB for $950 and they sold the same day.
Totally agree about upgrading these vintage speakers, even rebuilding them ( most were made with chip ( particle) board yuks ) Unfortunately its the then sound of the models that people get attached to. Upgrade them like the HPM-100 but you will lose the sound that they think is great. No doubt the sound will change for the better but I love the sound the way it is !!! that's what your up against. Hopefully after this video, more people with vintage speakers eg: JBL's will make the jump.
I got a pair of the 100w version a year ago, and messed around with the crossovers a bit and replacing with new polyprop caps. Until any further serious crossover overhaul, I found they greatly improved just by changing the woofer lowpass inductor from 0.6 to 0.9mH
Had those back in the Day, that's why I bought JBL L100s and wore em out!
Loved their Recievers though and Have a SX1280 Still Today!
Well done. Have been fooling with speakers since this was a new product. Worked at GRT/Chess/Janus Records and had access to their studio monitors (KLH). Learned from their engineers and been rebuilding the odd speaker pair ever since. This run down was what we all needed back in the day 😊
OBTW - Soviet radar caps make good audio caps, when you can find them ... 🙃
I want one soon as I get some more play money available! Thank you Danny!
I know it's a lot to make a video and further a lot of time to do the testing and documentation you do. It sure would be great to get still images of the upgrade parts you used (un-assembled and all in 1 photo is fine), then another still image or 2 of the process of upgrading these speakers. Basically just to see what you ended up with as a reference for those of us that decide to follow your upgrade path. In any case, thanks much for the vids! :)
Great video, love the vintage fixer uppers.
Shocked you got it so flat, better than modern speakers you worked on
I watched a couple of these videos now, I would really like to see you do the actual upgrades. Make the new crossovers, make the alterations to the cabinet, etc
Greatest transformation of an iconic and popular speaker that I always considered unlistenable. Now they look and sound great... like they should have when they were made but didn't.
You are a speaker magician. 👍
They sound terrific with my 50wpc @ 8 ohms Yamaha amp.
For most people, the super tweeter might as well not be there. Tested, my hearing makes it to 14khz. That’s it.
This was a good one. Lightening in a bottle kind of stuff!
Nice
Damn, some nice work here Danny! 👍
This looks like a very interesting rebuild project, I bet their is HUGE room for improvement. If you can find some decent replacement parts and a better cabinet, or maybe a better resonant frequency and more internal bracing and better damping this thing could be a beast! Of course you would probably then have a whole new speaker!
😂😂😂
At that point why not find some cool new advanced drivers funded by the sale of old vintage to some fan of it ;p
Very cool. Working with vintage mass market speakers myself, I can definitely appreciate what you did in this project/kit and the $800 plus some work to get those to another level without cabinet mods or changing drivers is amazing. Personally I like the sound of the phenolic ring cone tweeters. Very smooth and big enough to effortlessly deliver the treble. I was kind of surprised how poor the Woofer response was. I wonder if they're just worn out or materials degraded with age. The stock Woofers I've pulled from old mass market speakers usually have better frequency responses than the aftermarkets I replace them with. But... the majority of them I've pulled were from speakers that seemed hardly used and despite some cabinets being a little rough, the drivers are usually quite nice. The majority of wire I've pulled seemed really thin, like maybe 20 to 24 gauge and the caps, (and coils if they have any), are usually super tiny, so it looks like those crossovers were very nice for old speakers and if the wire was 18 gauge that's impressive. Plus, if I heard correctly these had insulation on the side panels which is a rare thing, usually there's either not insulation, or a small sheet on the back, or small fiberglass pads tossed in. You didn't mention how thick the cabinet was, but most of them are 1/2", so if that was thicker, that's a big deal too.
It's nice to see you having fun with the big old speakers. I love em. They sound... well... BIG 😊
It’s interesting to see how this responded with these old school drivers when you compare it to the ones you had recently that were virtually not worth the effort and you almost scrapped them. Good job on these.
Thanks for the insightful video. I wonder now how the JBL L100 compares.
Still owner of one pair of Pioneer HPM-60 speakerboxes from mid '70s. Changed the original woofers for Visaton equivalent two decades ago (due standard foam problem Pioneer woofers). Still loved them but due my age frequency's above 8 KHz i can't hear anymore. Recently bought 2nd hand Pioneer TA-7500 & TX-7500 and the Pioneer headphone the SE 305. Going back to vintage stuff.
that was something! Way back when......Pioneer brought this model out as a copy to the very, very hot selling JBL L-100A back in the day. Hence the copy on driver positioning, woofer cone material and color, and midrange, tweeter driver appearances. Even the port was placed in a similar position as the L-100. Pioneer also made a larger model...believe it was the HMP-200 or 250... don't remember, but it was a larger box with a quartz tweeter in the top.
HPM-150
Bart Locanthi designed both speakers.
@@morlidor quite debatable; just say it was different.
Great testing impression Danny,I always had a soft spot for big box speakers from the 70's, though I would never buy one today. I am thisclose to buying a pair of classic Legacys, because the price is outstanding and its a boyhood dream. I really wanna get them tested, but I shudder at the shipping costs, lol. Maybe If I drive to texas one day, who knows.
Maybe some of the upgrade is addressing variances in the ancient drivers. I wonder how consistent this upgrade would be for everyone. Often times when I test a pair of vintage speakers their responses are not identical between each other. Especially tweeters with ferrofluid that's gummed up.
Would every 1 like the upgrades... The differences in frequency response of different components.. They cud sound very different
I like a big box and I cannot lie.
You otha brothas can't deny.
@@dannyrichie9743 The open baffles make my cry.
...and to think that the HPM100 was one of Pioneer's "greatest". Well, the visual design was great at least! Your service to the audio community is very much appreciated.
Fantastic video! Fantastic work!
Love to see what the new crossover looks like.
Using an Pioneer sx950 wcerwin vega SL-15. Got it for the 15 incher, highs are wicked good. Nice mellow mids.
Ripping out the 2 middle drivers and putting in a horn with waveguide instead would also work. And the super tweeter would be used from 15k for extra sparkle.
Wow its amazing how you fixed this speaker
I watch several channels doing these speakers analysis and all of you use different equipment and come up with virtual identical responses but yours is easiest to understand speaking and charts diagrams
That's way there's millions out there and was and still number one for vintage speaker .I have a set that have set that and also have newer speakers that cost over fourty grand each and all ways find my self going back to the Pioneers and thinking of selling the others because they take up to much room but never do it because of the loss in money. My ears aren't computers and HPM is the best speaker on the market that over fourty years old and a piece of under thousand dollars .AMAZING THUFF SPEAKERS AND PROBABLY WILL DYE WITH THIS AS MY NUMBER ONE SPEAKER AND HAVE NEVER HAVE TO EVEN CHANG A PART .
Sounds blissful.
Good gas light upgrade thumbs up.
Picked up a pair of these at the flea market in near mint condition just this past weekend. I have to say, I am highly impressed. I've had dozens and dozens of different speakers over the years, and these definitely rate near the top. Not as good as my MB quart floor standers, but impressive nonetheless. Mostly rock and roll speakers, but that's okay.
They are ten times better after the upgrade.
Amazing work, really. Still waiting for someone to send Danny some Jamo Concert VII's.
This is my first time watching your channel. It was very interesting to hear your take on those older speakers. I think it's pretty obvious the older speakers just don't have the build quality and modern performance features. This technology has come a long way, I think the older speakers have the "Vintage Sound," which in today's speak is not great.
I was gonna say almost word for word what you said about the response! That is completely awful. I've been pouring over response graphs for the last couple months looking for new muds for vehicle so seeing this was almost a shock! 😂
Great way to hone your skills!
You in testing would NOT design the driver array this way or with this compliment so its easier to get a flatter response, but to redo an improper design to be usable is an art!
HPM-100 has been reviewed and labled as one of best speakers ever made.Some modern speakers have simulated sound quality .You get headache after extended listening.HPM-100 gives soft deep bass and clear vocals.You may use an equalizer to shape the sound to your taste.I have used this speaker for many years .The enclosed frequency response curve doesn't show variations of your graphs .Maybe some units are faulty.
I've never been a fan. I tried... twice in fact to give them a chance but in the end, no depth, no subtlety, no sound stage and they shriek and fatigue when the music gets busy. The HPM 100 is basically a two way speaker with three overlapping tweeters. And tweeters all interfere with each other resulting in a terrible lobiness and off axis frequency response. The midrange driver with it's single 4 mf cap as high pass filter actually cuts in a frequency typical of a tweeter. Most of the midrange is produced by the 12 inch woofer. Worst of all it's hard to cure the gobs of stored energy (and resulting peaks and ringing) in the upper mid and treble ranges. But they're, bright, go loud and have lots of bass so your average rocker will love them.
I would say that the guy that design the original crossover should be a dentist or a painter 😁
Would love to see you offer upgraded crossovers for 70's JBL's. (4312, L100 etc...)
So long as they're still in good shape, and using the original drivers, we'll work on any speaker that gets sent in.
@@hoth2112I have such a pair in Sydney Australia. Shipping would be a killer 😮
Just watched both videos of Yamaha NS-1000M and Pioneer HPM-100’s back to back, looks like Yamaha for the win with initial measurements. I had read that the HPM designer was the previous head engineer at JBL, designer of JBL L-100. If so, not a good sign.
Hope maybe you can do the hpm 40. I think it sounds better than the stock hpm 100. Enjoyed the video.
I appreciate these old speakers getting upgrades. However an original unmolested pair of hpm 100s are absoloutely incredible. I have had hundreds of top end speakers and with the right amp and source the hpms can reproduce vocals in such an emotional way that they will make you cry. More so than any other speaker I have ever heard. They also soundstage well and instruments are very lifelike in size. They create a very real listening experience.
Frequency response , deadening the cabinets and upgrading crossovers doesnt mean anything if that emotional connection to the music is lost. Ive been on my hifi journey for 35 years and you can have the most expensive speakers with the best components that sound dead and lifeless. The most popular and well regarded speakers often dont have the 'best' components. Dynaco a25s, Ls35as, harbeths, proacs, atc etc don't always have the flattest response, aircoils and all poly capacitors. Also many of their cabinets are meant to move and resonate at certain frequencys.
So yes, this upgrade will most likely marginally improve detail... however It may destroy the magic the speaker had as it is not as the designer intended. REMEMBER the original designers spent months if not years LISTENING in various rooms , anechoic chambers etc with many different systems. There is no substitute for listening with the human ear. WAAAAAAY more than just slapping in some expensive capacitors and air coils and running a frequency response recording. A flat frequency response doesnt not equal good... it often means dull and boring... ALSO a flat frequency respose means nothing unless your living room is an anechoic chamber or highly treated recording studio as every living room will instantly change the frequency response DRASTICALLY. Hence why designers often create bumps and dips at certain frequencys to allow for the average listening/ living room. All music producers realise that their super flat response studio monitors are dull and boring to listen too but that is the purpose for them for mixing and mastering.
Also remember that the designer of the HPMS was also the designer of possibly the most well regarded vintage american speaker of all time , the JBL L100. He was headhunted by Pioneer to create a speaker that outperforms the Jbl L100 and he succeeded. The designer had access to aircoils and every different capacitor but he chose what he chose. They would have spent months swapping components and endless hours listening, listening, listening with multiple sets of ears, A/Bing with previous incantations ( the ls35a went through hundreds of variations).
I wonder how much listening Danny has done before and after? How many pairs of ears? Did he A/B with the original ? Without doing these things, no offense, there is very little value or point spending hundreds of pounds on an upgrade kit. Because how do you know it is a better listening? If A flat frequency response Is all you are going by that means absolutely nothing. The Ls35a was designed to have a large hump in the mid bass. By Dannys standards this would equal a bad speaker. The most avid listeners of Hifi will atest that the Ls35a is one of the greatest speakers ever made. The ls35a has a lossy box, a complex 'cheesy' crossover, baffle reflections, a far from flat frequency response but still 50 years later is regarded as one of the greatest speakers ever made that people pay huge amounts for today. Why??? Because It hadyears of listening and tweaking to the minutest detail, no expense was spared and they were designers werent stuck in a 1 plus 1 = 2 mindset of no res cabinet, expensive air coil and caps, flat frequency response., and thats that. They listened to what sounded good and figured out why It sounded good. A speaker is at the end of the day an instrument that is designed to sound musical and convey emotion in a human way. This cannot always be quantified.
Elliot smith could have used the most expensive all solid wood handmade acoustic guitar but chose a plywood Yamaha fg 180. Kurt cobain chose to use a 10$ harmony stella from a thrift store because they werent confined by the notion that expensive always means best
Im not sure why danny is saying the cabinets aon the hpm are using thin wood as the cabinets are very thick, certainly thicker than most speakers, they also do have some corner bracing inside. It was obviously a clear decision to allow these speakers to move. The ls35a is also designed to move as has little internal bracing and this speaker had more development and research and human listening tests than any other speaker in the history of mankind. It also has a very unusual , complex and unconventional crossover that doesnt used expensive high guage air coils and capacitors.
my only issue with the hpm 100 is that extensive listening can be fatiguing. The high end is incredible and the super tweeter adds air and realism to reverbs and vocals which really makes a difference but there must be some resonances going on in there that can cause fatigue. This is the only reason I sold mine. Do I miss them. YES! If I had the space and money I would definitely find some more.
I really can't disagree more. In their original form they were dreadful. The frequency response was all over the place. Drivers weren't in phase very well and completely out of phase in the off axis. There was a lot of ringing and break up in the drivers themselves. The cabinets buzzed horribly. The old components are complete garbage by today's standards and completely smeared the signal. They were unlistenable.
All of those problems and colorations do not cause an emotional connection to the music any more than using an 8 track player as a source.
An accurate frequency response does not make a speaker sound lifeless or dead. The frequency response is only a measure of accuracy. Also citing other newer yet cheaply made speakers does not add validity or justify poor quality.
There is no magic to be found in the production model. Designers did not spend years in development and listening to create this masterpiece. It was all they could do with the limited technology that they had at the time.
This statement is completely false: "A flat frequency response doesnt not equal good... it often means dull and boring... ALSO a flat frequency respose means nothing unless your living room is an anechoic chamber or highly treated recording studio as every living room will instantly change the frequency response DRASTICALLY."
A frequency response is the measure of a speaker's accuracy. It can sound dull and boring, or beautiful and dynamic, and still have a flat response. How a speaker sounds is much more than how it measures.
Also, an accurate response, especially in the off axis, is more room friendly and will have a much more balanced overall in room response than one that has a jacked up response and cancellation in the off axis. It is the original version that would benefit much more from being in an anechoic chamber or recording studio that would absorb the out of phase off axis issues.
This is also completely false: "Hence why designers often create bumps and dips at certain frequencys to allow for the average listening/ living room. All music producers realise that their super flat response studio monitors are dull and boring to listen too but that is the purpose for them for mixing and mastering."
No designer ever thinks, all music will sound better if I add some peaks and dips, and if I cause the drivers to be out of phase and cancel the output from one driver to the next. No designer ever thinks that some ringing and driver break up is going to make the music sound better. No designer ever thinks that some cabinet wall buzzing will improve things.
If the original recording engineers wanted the music to be that jacked up and disjointed then they would have recorded it that way to start with.
The designer did not choose garbage parts because after months of listening he thought the garbage sounded better. What was chosen was chosen because it was cheap.
The LS3/5A's are also garbage by today's standards. If they were great the way they were then they would still be making them.
Yes the cabinets in this Pioneer speaker are very lightly built. Bracing in the corners is done for ease of assembly, not because corners need bracing. The corners are the least resonant part of the cabinet. The buzz box that these are were built that way because it was cheap to build them that way. The same goes for the LS3/5A. They were lightly built because it was cheap to do so.
You need to hear some modern speakers.
@@dannyrichie9743 Could not agree more. Well said.
@@dannyrichie9743 Danny, there are many old designs that use electrolytic caps that will blow away any of the speakers with your upgrades. And a flat response Is irrellevant in the average living room. Some of the best and most beloved speakers do not have a flat response. You can call the ls3/5a garbage, thats your opinion although It is not one shared by anyone else. If they were garbage they would not be the most sought after speakers to this day that have been unchanged since 1970 and they would not still be revered by thousands of audiophiles that have the most expensive front end equipment and constantly make side by side A/B comparisons with soeakers costing tens of thousands. They would not still be sold in hi end hifi shops up against the latest and greatest modern hifi. You rave about the BRX. I own these and the LS3/5a . The BRX are inferior in everyway apart from maybe "flat frequency response" and possibly slightly more top end detail in their harsh fatiguing unnatural sounding tweeters.
Great work! That’s a huge transformation. Why they never bothered looking into crossover design back in the days. It’s just engineering. Same tech as in the 70-ties caps, coils and resistors…
There was no computer FFT measurement then. Some spl/pen plotter measurements could be done.
Also, there wasn’t a real understanding of what mattered for sound quality and the importance off-axis/polar response
I’ve seen some nice designs summing in phase, coherently and everything so some did take the time to do the work.
@@cbrunhaver It was worse in the 50s..Quad Electrostatics... Without a box and no crossover were poor.. All those fools who think those speakers r classics... Danny wud have bettered those 50s DESIGNS By a mile.. To use an academic comparison... Modern poets r far better than Shelley and Shakespeare types LOL
@@morlidor I was simply answering as to why the issues mentioned are present in speakers of that era
Wow. This is pretty amazing.
Thanks a lot Danny!!!
I had pioneer 4 ways back in 80, awesum sound w KR6030 tek hifi.