I didn’t get ripped off, but buying online, shipping safely is an issue. Bought a mid 1970’s Marantz receiver. Seller upgraded lamp to LED, and cleaned things up a bit. Came with a vintage wooden case. It was shipped inside the wooden case. The stress of shipment caused the weight of the receiver to damage the wooden case. Bought a Thorens turntable. Sent by an experienced turntable seller. Beautifully packed, cover sent separately. Problem was when they used a twist tie to hold tone arm down, they didn’t tie it enough. I opened the package with the toner bouncing around. It ruined a $350 cartridge. Had other experiences. Very very cautious about buying vintage gear on eBay now, even from experienced sellers. Would rather buy locally if I can, and pick up item myself.

Great job , i re-done the Pioneer HPM-100s crossovers i bought the best of the best 400.00 bucks total in crossover and paid 175 for speakers at an estate sale total investment 575.00 bucks best sound reproduction in a speaker i have ever owned in my 31 years of being a audiophile so balanced and accurate and fast with a nice vintage Integra amp and new sound pre-amp make great synergy

Always check for the price on hifishark and convert it to local currency

It would be great to see visuals if the equipment its self along with what you say

I have an interesting proposition for speakers. And it involves sanyo in the 80s.(yes i know what you are already thinking) but hear me out. They bought a few companies, fisher and otto etc. Now i will say they made some absolute junk speakers. However they attempted to kinda rival the square flat diaphragm sony apm speakers. A lot of them were poor. But amongst all of that they had the Fisher sme-m27, the ste-m27 and the sanyo sx-m17-2. These speakers listed are identical to each other. Made in japan. They are good quality with a really cool metal facia. Drivers are overbuilt and don't suffer from foam rot. They're 6ohm 120w peak. Really nice sounding. Really sound projection. Really underrated and cheap, got 8 of them 😂 I got them by choice over some of the more expensive stuff.

thank you for your vids TNBTS! replacing surrounds diy is actaully very cheap, (and from my experience pros charge about $50 in UK anyway) diy is from around $5 each, lots of sources - its not that difficult if you are experienced in mending slightly fiddly stuff - many utube demos. (OK- for a very expensive speaker you may want to send drivers to manufacturer for complete re-cone ) tips; the bigger the driver the easier the re-cone. (though i found heybrook hb1 quite 'tight' - not much gluing area, worked out OK though) go for common sized, standard type drivers if poss for easy replacement - e.g. viva drivers do a vintage line for replacement of popular long running drivers - get anything that looks 'individual' and you risk it being non-reparable. many top notch speakers use pretty standard (if modded) drivers e.g. wilson using some scanspeak. rubber surrounds generally last and last - foam don't (i believe humidity plays a big factor...). ferrofuid tweeters!! - the fluid needs refreshing - many vids, not too hard if you are fairly careful. have recently done surrounds/ferrofluid/caps on some kef 104/2s - this speaker is a 2nd hand bargain c. $400, cost about $250 for work including much better caps - for a big meaty sound you would find this hard to beat - mids are not super-refined though much improved with better caps. in general replacing caps with better quaility i think a good idea - partic tweeter cap and midrange high pass cap - new budget MKPs are loads better than cheapo electrolytics used in many older speakers and better resolution often wins out of any slight sonic signature change - tolerance can be down to 10% or even 20% on the oldies anyway....what good is that! exception is where speakers are individualy tuned (e.g. harbeth/ some LS3-5a/snell/audio note) final tip - look for utube vids/info on diy sites regarding the particlular speaker you are interested in.

Very good advice on vintage speaker purchasing. The "guts" of a speaker are soooo important. You are correct that speaker systems are designed as a package. New parts ain't always compatible. Replacement drivers/crossovers should (if possible) come from the manufacturer. I was speaker shopping in 1978 and wanted Ohm Acoustics model H systems. Their size and cost was out of my budget then at $700+ a pair. I recently got a restored pair of Ohm H's from my hifi repair guy. They are in excellent condition cosmetically and sonically. Cabs are walnut veneer finished on all six sides, new surrounds, completely checked out. Size is 26X15X11" and weigh 50+ pounds each. Bass is sweet to -3dB @ 32Hz. Got these beauties for the exceptional price of $275 (pair). I would have gladly paid more. My christmas present to myself this year. Fuhgeddaboudit!

First of all thanks for all that information, it came just in time for me, because tomorrow I gonna buy a pair B&M DM MKII . So it commes me in handy. Thanks to share youre nolidge with us.

Never touch the foam surround. Oil from our hands help with the degrading of the foam...

I replaced the surrounds on my old Cerwin Vega's for around $30. I just purchased some old pioneer 9001 speakers. 12" woofer three way. They sounded so bad, I've ordered new woofers tweeters and crossovers. The boxes and grills are in good shape. I know the new parts will sound better than what I started with.

You have very good points there! Nice video. Sometimes it's hard to hear, when something is not right. I had speakers where the coil in the tweeters was a bit loose. They had a weird rattling sound at some frequencies. Listen carefull when you test speakers!

I like to check the impedance before plugging them in to my amp. Dont want too much current on the speaker channels Scored a pair or pioneer scs-12 18w at 8 ohms from the 70s only paid $9. Going for around $200 online One measured 8.5 at wire and 7.8 at the speaker The other was 1.3 at wire and .7 at the speaker. Both still had continuity Glue was gone on the magnet on the ridiculously low one and after removing it half the voice coil was black and still connected. Original drivers, same code on magnet as the scs-11😢😮😮 Was nice to see and just maybe ill try to put a new 8ohm coil in. Scored some nice boxes for a single 6.5inch full range speakers for 9$😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂❤❤

Great information.

Great video! I would bring a tone generator than you can listen for rattling at any certain frequency

I just found a pair of JBL L100's at my local pawn shop in horrible shape imo? I knew that going in but somehow welcomed the challenge. Finding a reputable repair person seems like a tall task but there's plenty of vids here on how to recone. I think I'm all in! Thanks for sharing!

Great video!!! Thanks

I wouldn't suggest buying anything vintage if you don't have knowledge on how to repair or check or know someone who does. There is a high chance of gear being bodged or having less obvious damages that might lead to future problems even if everything seems fine at the moment.

Happy holidays! Was hoping I could pick your brain… I’m auditioning these 4 speakers: Canton Karat 300, Ohm FRS-7, Dahlquist DQM-9 Compact, Altec Lansing 305. I’m curious if one of the 4 really stand out and if you had to choose one (all in good condition) which would you pick? Sound + looks is important for me since these will be next to my McIntosh setup and my wife is a stickler for appearances in our living room. Also, from a value stand point is one more valuable than the others? These are from a friend so pricing is going to be similar across the board. I just tend to enjoy speakers for 5 or so years and then end up selling them to try something new so I’d like a pair that will hold or increase in value.

I was surprised how dishonest a seller was to me. After two days, I caught him in not letting me know that the tweeters were not original. So I backed out. He put them back up for sale for even more money and still didn't put in the ad that the drivers weren't original. They weren't even the same brand!

Very good advice thanks

It is also often a lot cheaper using a vintage speaker from a manufacturer that is still in business. Not always true as some companies specialise in new or uprated drivers but something to be aware of. No good needing one new driver if they are rare as rocking horse shit and give rise to needing to eBay a kidney to cover costs (e.g. old Alnico magnet drivers). I have been stung in the past.

The Biggest Rip is when the drivers have been changed to Speaker Express, and they claim they are "upgraded" also blown tweeters suck. Had that happen on some L100s without listening to them on a purchase.

Hello Jay! This is Asad from Pakistan. I love JBLs and I'm a die hard fan of them. You know what, Being an Asian I feels the same as you feels that nobody talks here on youtube audiophiles community about brands like SONY, JVC/Victor( My favourite speakers), marantz, Onkyo, Pioneer, Denon,Kenwood, NAD etc. However! I've been grown up listening to those brands mentioned above and they were a lot more popular brands in Asian markets. Here in Pakistan, Audiophile community is very very limited and rare even I can count them on my fingers! So, Even today these brands are popular here nobody knows what McIntosh is or what PS audio is doing😂 As I told you Japanease brands are well known here. I hope one day I'll find the community of true Audiophiles like are in Europe and United States. I just wanted to share with you my thoughts that how vintage are we in Pakistan.

Might have been mentioned, but take a multimeter and put it across the connectors in the resistance scale and you can see if any drives are open.

when i got back into audio a few years back i had to have a pig ole pair of cerwins lol. im a metal head from the 80s ... \m/ anyways some AT-12 came up near me so i grabbed em for a fair price of $300. i didnt know that the surrounds were sopposed to be red, not orange lol. So we wrapped blankets around them, tossed em in the van and i guess the one my wife carried she wasnt carfull and had grabed it a bit by the surround... so i set them up, start playing some metal and was like, gotta take them grills off and admire them big 12 inches ....take grill off and literally chunks had come off ! was i some mad ! So i drive the woofers to Toronto ( 3 hours one way) and had a guy that made speakers change them. was only $170 ( only, lol ) but 2 trips to the jungle with a van full of screaming kids.... McDonalds.... gas.... just to realize months later that the bastards were so bright i wanted to gouge out my ears.... to make it worse, my boss, who was/is the shit... says he had a pair of old book shelfs hed sell cheap .... turns out they were PSB Stratus Mini in gloss black with matching stands !! i didnt want the knocking them over so i put them on top of the old cerwins.... i was cranking some "keep a stiff uper lip" and from the next room hears a CRASH.... I was playing the cerwins cause they were loud, and i was in the next room... they shook the psb off and they are so heavy and landed on the corner and just crushed it... on the front to of course...... friggen cerwin

Dahlquist DQ 10 brand new never opened what should I be concerned about? And yes I will be pulling them out of the box

I just bout a pair of DYS speakers off Canuck consisting of lovely KEF drivers from their classic period, a custom crossover of HQ parts in a lovely floor standing enclosure. Bass and treble are very good but the midrange is coloured as hell... squawky and blatty. Lesson learned, beware of home made jobs from hobbyists who aren't speaker designers. Fortunately I have spare properly designed KEF crossovers to drop in which should hugely improve things.

I have a question for you and maybe you can help me out please. Have you ever heard of Luxon Lx-727Dx speakers?

You don't know vintage speaker are legend

more people get bent over at Best Buy and never evan know it cause most people never have heard a decent mid level hi fi set up..... but they get them a $1000 phone every 2 years..... oh well

Want to buy receiver

great

This is a no BS advice for buying Vintage . First, avoid if possible vintage electronics at least stereo components like amps pre amps tuners turntables Cd players . The cats out of the bag when buying vintage there's no advantage at this point . Speakers are the only part of the puzzle I do recommend with caution . The advice that this author has given is good buying advice for resellers not so much the person that is the end customer . Second you should not buy speakers based on recommends or video reviews, base your purchase solely on what you really want and are extremely familiar with . Then do your homework know what drivers they take the proper crossovers etc . Third and most important is you are really just buying the speaker cabinets, so make sure the cabinets are in mint condition and that the drivers grills are also in minty condition and that they function properly . If one speaker sounds different then swap R-L to L-R and see if the problem changes sides . if not walk . Why mint and why not a fixer upper ? two reasons people are stupid and greedy. They look online for the most that particular brand and model of speakers have sold for and that's what they want . Forth avoid resellers that are just in it for the profit and vintage audio stores are the worst . Here in Austin we have two pirates , one sells their gear for the most that an item has ever sold for plus 50% and the other sells 25% more than the other guy . Neither offer any real warranty . Fifth is set a limit and be ready to walk away . Don't let the seller control the sale . Inspect and point out every flaw . Be polite and friendly, if the terms are ever modified ...walk . Bring cash, bring tools, bring a inspection light bring in your resource materials ( paperwork or even a smart phone ) . Know where you want to be at with your system in 10 years and buy those speakers . Don't buy starter speakers or systems .

I got ripped of on $5 center speaker.

You are getting ripped off on your re foam jobs.

@2:30 mark: _"That means you need to replace your surrounds and that will cost you anywhere, depending on the speaker, from $200 to 800 per driver"_ WTF kind of Unobtanium speaker surrounds are *YOU* using? Speaker surrounds will run anywhere from $12 to around $35 A PAIR!!!

Pala yanna ponna pakaya Thoge oya modern speaker gahaganin pke🥴

Is English your second language?

Ugh.........big speakers that HAVE NOT made a peep sound in years. CRAP THAT man..... only a man does THAT, 😂WON'T THROW THEM OUT.......... THESE SPEAKERS DIDNT WORK WAY BACK THEN. DAMN SURE WON'T WORK NOW,,.......! THROW THAT GARBAGE OUT. That how to determine vintage speakers............ Those big gawdy spearets that DON'T MAKE A SOUND ARE TRASH. THROW THEM OUT.