Old speakers make a newer stereo sound great!

Posted by  in Monday, November 16th 2009   
Topics: Pro Audio    
vwestlife asked:


These small, almost cube-shaped Panasonic bookshelf speakers from the early ’70s give this much newer Panasonic stereo system, circa 1994, a much improved audio quality. An upgraded stylus from www.turntableneedles.com with elliptical diamond tip and metal cantilever also brings much improved sound to its built-in turntable. The combined effect is a drastic increase in performance from an otherwise low-end, budget-model stereo system.

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25 Comments

UKSazzy67 said in November 16th, 2009 at 9:48 pm    

I live in the UK and I had a Panasonic system very similar, it was one model up from that one, it had a tremendous sound and it came on a black ash/black metallic stand, very fashionable at the time.

ThisIs2009 said in November 17th, 2009 at 12:30 am    

i wouldn’t mind seeing the original speakers :-)

ThisIs2009 said in November 17th, 2009 at 3:40 pm    

on a 4 ohm amp you’ll need to crank up the volume 4x more than normal lol

029622558 said in November 20th, 2009 at 10:58 pm    

5 Star Sound was very good

syncmaster710n14 said in November 22nd, 2009 at 8:34 pm    

I have never seen a speaker that is 16ohms, cool.

ThisIs2009 said in November 25th, 2009 at 4:23 am    

this stereo is similar to one my mum had, but it was a toshiba, similar features, functions and styling tho.

ThisIs2009 said in November 26th, 2009 at 6:32 am    

how old is your camera?

vwestlife said in November 28th, 2009 at 4:43 am    

Yes, my Kodak Zi6 tends to briefly speed up the audio when it switches from low light to normal mode… it’s annoying.

ThisIs2009 said in November 30th, 2009 at 6:42 pm    

the change in pitch is from your camcorder and not the stereo, right? well if so, that’s impressive!

discoinc said in December 3rd, 2009 at 1:00 am    

congratulations !!! you have a very wonderful audio system, that audio line was one of the best in the panasonic history, I’m from mexico, I got a panasonic audio system k 2120 from 1993, but one of the speakers don’t works the tweeter, also I got a panasonic m100 but haven’ts turntable , m100 was a present from my mother`s sister

isethaitchison said in December 4th, 2009 at 8:12 pm    

Im impressed on the awesome sound quality…keep an eye out on a pair of 6W 16 OHM RE-7070 two way speakers….also alnico magnets, 7″ woofer 2″ tweeter

HobieTyourtube said in December 7th, 2009 at 6:49 am    

Your “Garage Sale “buy was well worth it.
Young people forget that their parents appreciated good sound also.
Those 6 inch speakers are-”responsive ”
I did note-no baffles or insulation in the boxes.
The flexibility of the speaker cones is amazing.
That’s after 20 odd years?
In this “day and Age “-young kids think that 2 watts sounds like 25 watts?–hahahah-
The “stuff “that is destined for land fill—–should not be bulldozed?
Steve.

RickenbackerBeatles said in December 9th, 2009 at 1:46 pm    

You would’ve had a fit at the Garage Sale/Flea Market I Went to today. They had an old Zenith record changer with speakers, and an old set of speakers that my family would’ve flipped out if I bought!

vwestlife said in December 12th, 2009 at 6:33 pm    

I base my judgements on sound, not on specs… and this stereo and speakers have a very pleasing sound to me. I do have much more expensive and high-powered stereo components, but this setup just sounds nice to me.

biggfred999 said in December 15th, 2009 at 4:12 pm    

Sure, it’s an improvement…but, you’re trying to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear.

Most all of those all-in-one stereos were crap- I had one many years ago, and once I heard something better, it was gone with the wind.

You can do only so much with a ceramic cartridge, and 1-2 watts per channel- if that.

I give you credit though- at least you’re trying

vwestlife said in December 17th, 2009 at 6:57 am    

My Soundesign speakers are like that — they just don’t respond to bass. Old speakers with alnico “box frame” magnets are usually very good. They often sound better than equal size speakers with regular ceramic magnets.

CassetteMaster said in December 17th, 2009 at 9:18 am    

Classic speakers, and good sound! I have similar looking speakers, most being cheap and sounding not-so-good. I have a couple that have a 5″ speaker, and they are lacking in bass. turn it up and still no bass. It seems the cones on them don’t move easily. Then another pair if this style speakers with 6 1/2″ speakers. They sound horrible, I think the speakers are damaged somehow. Then another pair that accually sound decent.

Tomas014123 said in December 19th, 2009 at 6:53 pm    

I like old radio or speakers, I have some old KENWOOD(s) speakers they’re very good

Trance88 said in December 20th, 2009 at 8:47 am    

Those little old speakers sound pretty darn good! Nice bass response for their size.

coolbluelights said in December 21st, 2009 at 11:14 am    

Yeah, and with my hearing problem, I can’t hear low bass so good, I like more midrange, so the older speakers sound better to me ^^

vwestlife said in December 21st, 2009 at 12:06 pm    

Modern speakers also often are purposely designed for lots of deep bass and high treble, leaving a big “hole in the middle” in the midrange. Vintage speakers often have a much more balanced tonality, with a nice rich midrange response.

vwestlife said in December 23rd, 2009 at 4:00 am    

TEAC and JWin still make some modern-style (non-”nostalgic”) integrated stereo systems with a built-in turntable, but they are hard to find and the quality is likely poor.

coolbluelights said in December 25th, 2009 at 4:58 pm    

oh and that music on the record was awesome!! and turntables pretty much disappeared in the 90s but now they’re making a comeback! I hope they start making more units like the one you have there, I **** the new ones now and CD’s just arent durable enough!

coolbluelights said in December 28th, 2009 at 4:09 am    

With the newer speakers you get a huge box with a tiny 3 or 4 inch speaker inside, and fake tweeters that’s why they **** lol

BarracudaIII said in December 28th, 2009 at 5:49 pm    

Hi!!! i have a similar condition with a 89′s cheap plastic Sony Stereo System(STK amplifier)when combined with a 70′s small Philips Two way speakers, the sound is amazing better, but i never think about the stylus upgrade…tks for idea.

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