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If you believe all the hype from electronics manufacturers, you need to replace your entire system in order to enjoy all the benefits of Dolby Digital or DTS surround sound. While that is probably true for a receiver or surround processor (unless yours already has a Dolby/DTS surround decoder), you can certainly make use of a set of vintage speakers, provided they are matched properly. While speaker technology has improved somewhat since the 1970s, the basics have not changed, and a set of speakers that was good in 1975 is probably still good today (provided they have not deteriorated), because speakers do not wear out from use. The important thing is that the speakers are “voiced” similarly (that means they sound pretty much the same except possibly for how low they can go). Speakers in the same series are generally voiced the same.
Deterioration is primarily due to the decomposition of the foam ring (called the “surround”) around the perimeter of the woofer (and sometimes the midrange). Surrounds can also be made of rubber or cloth, which do not deteriorate over time. The use of foam over rubber or cloth is a design decision; it has no bearing over the quality of the speaker. Some of the most expensive systems use foam. If the foam surround deteriorates, replacement is fairly straightforward; it can be done by anyone with average repair skills using kits available on eBay or from Parts Express, or there are shops around the country that can do the repair for you. Of course, this repair adds to the total cost of your system, but even if you have to refoam all five (or six) speakers, I think you’ll find you’re getting a system that’s far superior to what you’d get for the same price purchasing new.
Speakers built in the 70s and 80s (I wouldn’t suggesting using older than that) were designed to work with lower power amplifiers, and without subwoofers. This means that you will have no problem getting them to work with your modern surround receiver. Don’t worry if it says “power handling 50 watts” on your old speakers – there is no standard for power handling ratings, and very few speakers are damaged by using too much power (unless you’re using them as PA speakers!). More likely is damage from not enough power (from a phenomenon called “clipping”, where an amplifier tries to put out more power than it is capable of). Also, if you were to connect a watt meter to your speaker outputs while playing your system at a comfortable level, you’ll probably find that for the most part you’re using only a fraction of a watt, and that only occasional peaks require a large amount of power.
One property that is absent from vintage speakers is magnetic shielding. Speaker drivers use very large magnets that have a magnetic field that can affect objects several feet away. This is an issue if you have a direct-view CRT set, but these are becoming rare birds with the popularity of flat screens and rear projection sets. If you have a an old (i.e. non-HD) direct view set and you’re looking to build a home theater, it’s time to replace it. If you have an HD direct view CRT set then you’ll either want to keep speakers several feet away from the set or make sure that they’re shielded. Although it is also theoretically possible for unshielded speakers to affect a CRT-based rear projection set, I’ve never seen this happen – the tubes are mounted at the bottom in the middle, far enough away from where you’d be placing your speakers (hint: if your RPTV weighs over 125 pounds, it’s CRT based, if it has replaceable bulbs, it’s not).
The other thing that you may find objectionable about earlier speakers, especially less expensive ones like the ones I’m going to discuss, is the use of wood-grain vinyl veneer, which looks positively dated with today’s styles. However, if you’re installing your system in a dedicated room, just spray a couple of coats of flat-black paint over the vinyl (be sure to remove or mask off the drivers first). Other systems will have real wood veneer, which can be sanded and restained to another color if you prefer. Grille cloths can be replaced with something more contemporary using a staple gun (be sure to get cloth that is “acoustically transparent) or spray adhesive (available at Home Depot).
In general, you will want to look for speakers that have dome tweeters. Cone tweeters were prevalent in lower-priced speakers in the 1970s, but are usually inferior to domes.
Center Speakers
There is nothing magic about a center speaker. Most center speakers use what is called a D’Appolito array, which is a pair of woofers surrounding a tweeter. Manufacturers seized on this design because it allows them to create a low-profile system designed that can be placed horizontally on top of a TV set. However, almost all speakers can be used horizontally instead of vertically (I’ll cover some exceptions later). Of course, they won’t be as low-profile as a standard center speaker, but if you’re building a dedicated theater, this isn’t an issue. In general, any speaker used as a main (left/right) speaker can also be used in the center.
I will now cover some brands that can be found easily on the used market. I will attempt to update this if I think of more systems that can be used.
EPI/Epicure
This company was based in Massachusetts and was founded by a man named Winslow Burhoe (who is still in the speaker business). Their speakers were very popular in their day, and most used a similar set of drivers, so they will sound alike (the difference mainly being the amount of bass due to cabinet size). Models 70 and 100 are the two most popular designs; they went through several iterations. The semi-unique thing about these speakers is the tweeter they used – they all used an “inverted-dome” design which is quite good. The most recent versions of these speakers did not use the inverted dome and should not be mixed with the earlier versions. Any of the speakers with this tweeter would work well together. Note that these use foam surrounds, so repair may be necessary if not already done. EPI is no longer in business.
Genesis
Note that there are/were three completely different companies using the Genesis name. The first (the one I’m going to discuss) was called Genesis Physics, which made decent low- and medium-priced systems. The second is Genesis Research, a high-end brand; their systems command huge sums of money on the used market.
The third Genesis, called Genesis Media Labs is a “white-van” scam (google “White van speakers”) often found on eBay. They can be recognized by ridiculously high MSRPs, and are often labeled as “professional” home-theater systems (think about it: a “professional” home system doesn’t even make sense).
Genesis Physics was started by Winslow Burhoe after he left EPI. The design and appearance of the speakers is very similar to EPI, even to the use of an inverted dome tweeter (although Genesis used square frames rather than round). In fact, the sound of Genesis speakers is close enough to EPI that you could probably intermix them in a home theater system. Genesis is unfortunately also out of business; however, both Genesis and EPI are still being supported by Human Speakers, a company that was started by a former Genesis employee who bought out their tooling when they went under.
Advent
Advent was started by Henry Kloss, who was a legend in the Audio/Video industry (some credit him for the invention of consumer-grade projection TV). Advent had one basic design – 1 10” woofer paired with an odd-looking (but decent sounding) tweeter. In their first iteration they had both a “Large” Advent and a “Smaller” Advent (also known as the Advent/1). These speakers can still compete with modern designs and some audiophiles have been known to double them up in their systems. They too used foam surrounds, but since these speakers were so popular, it is very easy to find replacements for them.
A later iteration of the company had a broader line with speakers called Heritage, Legacy, Baby and Mini (among others). These can be recognized by a pecan top (larger models had a strip of pecan at the base as well), with black sides (the older Advents had the same veneer all around). Most have (better) soft dome tweeters (the Baby and Mini had cheaper polymer dome tweeters). These speakers are also quite good, but should not be combined with the older ones as they are voiced completely differently.
While the Advent name is still in use (as of this writing they were owned by Audiovox), I have no experience with their current speakers and cannot recommend them.
Design Acoustics
In their day, DA were known for getting an astounding amount of bass out of a small package. The PS-6, PS-8 and PS-10 will all work well together (there are other models as well but I’m not as familiar with them). DA is no longer being made, and they appear to sell for way below their true value on eBay. Their models (expecially the PS-10 and PS-10a) are highly recommended.
Infinity
While Infinity is still in business and makes several lines of home theater speakers, I’m going to discuss their earlier lines. In the mid 1970s they came out with their “Quantum” series; many of these are still quite expensive on the used market, but the Qa, Qb and Qe are good candidates for a low-cost system. Of these, the Qb is the best (and most expensive) but the others are also very good (the Qa does have a bit of a laid-back midrange). One difference with these speakers vs. the others I’ve mentioned is that they used a flat (called EMIT, for Electro Magnetic Induction Tweeter, and sometimes incorrectly called a ribbon) tweeter. This is an excellent sounding tweeter (it evolved several times over the years before being eventually dropped in the late 90s, probably due to cost), however, the disadvantage is that the EMIT is not designed to be used horizontally (and due to its rectangular shape you can’t rotate it in the cabinet without some modifications). However, the tweeter in the Qe (the smallest model) had a rotatable tweeter so it could be placed either way. The woofers in the Q series use rubber surrounds and do not deteriorate.
A couple of years later they came out with the RS line (RSa, RSb, Rse), which were similar (if more advanced), but the tweeters were now on round plates and could be rotated if desired. However, Infinity switched to foam surrounds for these, so they will probably need replacing. Infinity further developed EMIT-based systems over the next 20 years, but newer ones in general are more expensive.
In the early 90s Infinity came out with their “Infinitesimal 4” system, a mini speaker with a round version (EMIT-R) of the tweeter. These are notable in that they are probably the most affordable of Infinity EMIT-based speakers on the used market (except possibly for the Qe, which isn’t as easy to find). I use the Infinitesimal 4s in my system. There were earlier Infinitesimal speakers, but they sell for upwards of $200 per pair (the Infinitesimal 4s can usually be gotten for around $100 per pair).
Realistic/Optimus/RCA
These are all Radio Shack brands. As you are probably aware, RS does not make any of their own merchandise, but instead farm it out to multiple OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). As a result there is no way to predict if one system will work well with another in a home theater setup without actually testing it. However, there were a few models that RS sold over the years that will work well.
The first is the Realistic Minimus 7. This speaker actually has (or had) a large following in the budget audiophile community. It is a small and simple two way speaker with a 4” woofer and 1” dome tweeter in a die cast aluminum (or wood) enclosure. Not the greatest of components, but for the price (originally $50 each, but often on sale for $30) you couldn’t beat it. They are very easy (and cheap) to find on eBay and age well because there is no foam in them. It was available in black, white, silver and walnut (although the black version is the easiest to find). The later version was called the Optimus Pro-7 (there was also a magnetically shielded version called the Pro-77) and Pro-X7, which are similar, but ported instead of sealed, so the Pro-7 probably shouldn’t be used with the Minimus-7 as the sound is a little different. The design was later sold under the RCA nameplate as well, although I don’t know the model.
The second is actually a series-the Linaeum series. Lineaum was a high-end manufacturer of speakers who licensed their tweeter design to Radio Shack. All speakers in this series work well together. The most popular of the series is probably the Pro LX-5 (later known as LX-55). This was a dipole speaker, which means that it produces sound from the front and back. This means that placement is a bit tricky, as you can’t mount it on the wall – it should actually be a couple of feet away. There were also larger versions of the LX-5 – the LX-8 and LX-10, both of which were floorstanding speakers, and in general sell for over $100 per pair. Non-dipolar versions are the LX-4 (possibly the best of the series, although it is deficient in bass) and the center speakers Pro-CS5, CS-55 and CS-550 (all fairly similar).
Subwoofers
Vintage subwoofers are a little tricker. Subs did not actually become truly popular until the 1990s. Before that they appeared mostly in high-end systems, or were purpose built for a particular pair of speakers. They were also mostly passive, which means they need a separate amplifier. I don't have any particular recommendations for subwoofers, but matching them to your main speakers is less critical than matching all five, six or seven of your speakers together. Keep in mind that since all digital surround receivers have subwoofer output jacks, you can convert a passive sub to an amplfied sub using an old receiver or amplifier that you're no longer using. Simply connect the sub out on your surround receiver to the aux in on your receiver or amp, connect the subwoofer to the speaker terminals, and adjust the volume to an acceptable level.
Brands to avoid
In general, companies that manufactured electronics (such as Pioneer, Kenwood, Technics, Sony, Fisher and Sansui) did not do a great job with speakers. In the 1970s, the style was essentially “let’s see how many speakers we can stuff in a single box”. Sound quality was secondary. In the 80s, when rack systems were in vogue, it was “let’s put a big low-quality woofer, midrange and tweeter in a huge hollow box made of ½” particle board”. There are always exceptions, but it’s best to avoid these brands if you haven’t had a chance to listen to them yourself.
Deterioration is primarily due to the decomposition of the foam ring (called the “surround”) around the perimeter of the woofer (and sometimes the midrange). Surrounds can also be made of rubber or cloth, which do not deteriorate over time. The use of foam over rubber or cloth is a design decision; it has no bearing over the quality of the speaker. Some of the most expensive systems use foam. If the foam surround deteriorates, replacement is fairly straightforward; it can be done by anyone with average repair skills using kits available on eBay or from Parts Express, or there are shops around the country that can do the repair for you. Of course, this repair adds to the total cost of your system, but even if you have to refoam all five (or six) speakers, I think you’ll find you’re getting a system that’s far superior to what you’d get for the same price purchasing new.
Speakers built in the 70s and 80s (I wouldn’t suggesting using older than that) were designed to work with lower power amplifiers, and without subwoofers. This means that you will have no problem getting them to work with your modern surround receiver. Don’t worry if it says “power handling 50 watts” on your old speakers – there is no standard for power handling ratings, and very few speakers are damaged by using too much power (unless you’re using them as PA speakers!). More likely is damage from not enough power (from a phenomenon called “clipping”, where an amplifier tries to put out more power than it is capable of). Also, if you were to connect a watt meter to your speaker outputs while playing your system at a comfortable level, you’ll probably find that for the most part you’re using only a fraction of a watt, and that only occasional peaks require a large amount of power.
One property that is absent from vintage speakers is magnetic shielding. Speaker drivers use very large magnets that have a magnetic field that can affect objects several feet away. This is an issue if you have a direct-view CRT set, but these are becoming rare birds with the popularity of flat screens and rear projection sets. If you have a an old (i.e. non-HD) direct view set and you’re looking to build a home theater, it’s time to replace it. If you have an HD direct view CRT set then you’ll either want to keep speakers several feet away from the set or make sure that they’re shielded. Although it is also theoretically possible for unshielded speakers to affect a CRT-based rear projection set, I’ve never seen this happen – the tubes are mounted at the bottom in the middle, far enough away from where you’d be placing your speakers (hint: if your RPTV weighs over 125 pounds, it’s CRT based, if it has replaceable bulbs, it’s not).
The other thing that you may find objectionable about earlier speakers, especially less expensive ones like the ones I’m going to discuss, is the use of wood-grain vinyl veneer, which looks positively dated with today’s styles. However, if you’re installing your system in a dedicated room, just spray a couple of coats of flat-black paint over the vinyl (be sure to remove or mask off the drivers first). Other systems will have real wood veneer, which can be sanded and restained to another color if you prefer. Grille cloths can be replaced with something more contemporary using a staple gun (be sure to get cloth that is “acoustically transparent) or spray adhesive (available at Home Depot).
In general, you will want to look for speakers that have dome tweeters. Cone tweeters were prevalent in lower-priced speakers in the 1970s, but are usually inferior to domes.
Center Speakers
There is nothing magic about a center speaker. Most center speakers use what is called a D’Appolito array, which is a pair of woofers surrounding a tweeter. Manufacturers seized on this design because it allows them to create a low-profile system designed that can be placed horizontally on top of a TV set. However, almost all speakers can be used horizontally instead of vertically (I’ll cover some exceptions later). Of course, they won’t be as low-profile as a standard center speaker, but if you’re building a dedicated theater, this isn’t an issue. In general, any speaker used as a main (left/right) speaker can also be used in the center.
I will now cover some brands that can be found easily on the used market. I will attempt to update this if I think of more systems that can be used.
EPI/Epicure
This company was based in Massachusetts and was founded by a man named Winslow Burhoe (who is still in the speaker business). Their speakers were very popular in their day, and most used a similar set of drivers, so they will sound alike (the difference mainly being the amount of bass due to cabinet size). Models 70 and 100 are the two most popular designs; they went through several iterations. The semi-unique thing about these speakers is the tweeter they used – they all used an “inverted-dome” design which is quite good. The most recent versions of these speakers did not use the inverted dome and should not be mixed with the earlier versions. Any of the speakers with this tweeter would work well together. Note that these use foam surrounds, so repair may be necessary if not already done. EPI is no longer in business.
Genesis
Note that there are/were three completely different companies using the Genesis name. The first (the one I’m going to discuss) was called Genesis Physics, which made decent low- and medium-priced systems. The second is Genesis Research, a high-end brand; their systems command huge sums of money on the used market.
The third Genesis, called Genesis Media Labs is a “white-van” scam (google “White van speakers”) often found on eBay. They can be recognized by ridiculously high MSRPs, and are often labeled as “professional” home-theater systems (think about it: a “professional” home system doesn’t even make sense).
Genesis Physics was started by Winslow Burhoe after he left EPI. The design and appearance of the speakers is very similar to EPI, even to the use of an inverted dome tweeter (although Genesis used square frames rather than round). In fact, the sound of Genesis speakers is close enough to EPI that you could probably intermix them in a home theater system. Genesis is unfortunately also out of business; however, both Genesis and EPI are still being supported by Human Speakers, a company that was started by a former Genesis employee who bought out their tooling when they went under.
Advent
Advent was started by Henry Kloss, who was a legend in the Audio/Video industry (some credit him for the invention of consumer-grade projection TV). Advent had one basic design – 1 10” woofer paired with an odd-looking (but decent sounding) tweeter. In their first iteration they had both a “Large” Advent and a “Smaller” Advent (also known as the Advent/1). These speakers can still compete with modern designs and some audiophiles have been known to double them up in their systems. They too used foam surrounds, but since these speakers were so popular, it is very easy to find replacements for them.
A later iteration of the company had a broader line with speakers called Heritage, Legacy, Baby and Mini (among others). These can be recognized by a pecan top (larger models had a strip of pecan at the base as well), with black sides (the older Advents had the same veneer all around). Most have (better) soft dome tweeters (the Baby and Mini had cheaper polymer dome tweeters). These speakers are also quite good, but should not be combined with the older ones as they are voiced completely differently.
While the Advent name is still in use (as of this writing they were owned by Audiovox), I have no experience with their current speakers and cannot recommend them.
Design Acoustics
In their day, DA were known for getting an astounding amount of bass out of a small package. The PS-6, PS-8 and PS-10 will all work well together (there are other models as well but I’m not as familiar with them). DA is no longer being made, and they appear to sell for way below their true value on eBay. Their models (expecially the PS-10 and PS-10a) are highly recommended.
Infinity
While Infinity is still in business and makes several lines of home theater speakers, I’m going to discuss their earlier lines. In the mid 1970s they came out with their “Quantum” series; many of these are still quite expensive on the used market, but the Qa, Qb and Qe are good candidates for a low-cost system. Of these, the Qb is the best (and most expensive) but the others are also very good (the Qa does have a bit of a laid-back midrange). One difference with these speakers vs. the others I’ve mentioned is that they used a flat (called EMIT, for Electro Magnetic Induction Tweeter, and sometimes incorrectly called a ribbon) tweeter. This is an excellent sounding tweeter (it evolved several times over the years before being eventually dropped in the late 90s, probably due to cost), however, the disadvantage is that the EMIT is not designed to be used horizontally (and due to its rectangular shape you can’t rotate it in the cabinet without some modifications). However, the tweeter in the Qe (the smallest model) had a rotatable tweeter so it could be placed either way. The woofers in the Q series use rubber surrounds and do not deteriorate.
A couple of years later they came out with the RS line (RSa, RSb, Rse), which were similar (if more advanced), but the tweeters were now on round plates and could be rotated if desired. However, Infinity switched to foam surrounds for these, so they will probably need replacing. Infinity further developed EMIT-based systems over the next 20 years, but newer ones in general are more expensive.
In the early 90s Infinity came out with their “Infinitesimal 4” system, a mini speaker with a round version (EMIT-R) of the tweeter. These are notable in that they are probably the most affordable of Infinity EMIT-based speakers on the used market (except possibly for the Qe, which isn’t as easy to find). I use the Infinitesimal 4s in my system. There were earlier Infinitesimal speakers, but they sell for upwards of $200 per pair (the Infinitesimal 4s can usually be gotten for around $100 per pair).
Realistic/Optimus/RCA
These are all Radio Shack brands. As you are probably aware, RS does not make any of their own merchandise, but instead farm it out to multiple OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). As a result there is no way to predict if one system will work well with another in a home theater setup without actually testing it. However, there were a few models that RS sold over the years that will work well.
The first is the Realistic Minimus 7. This speaker actually has (or had) a large following in the budget audiophile community. It is a small and simple two way speaker with a 4” woofer and 1” dome tweeter in a die cast aluminum (or wood) enclosure. Not the greatest of components, but for the price (originally $50 each, but often on sale for $30) you couldn’t beat it. They are very easy (and cheap) to find on eBay and age well because there is no foam in them. It was available in black, white, silver and walnut (although the black version is the easiest to find). The later version was called the Optimus Pro-7 (there was also a magnetically shielded version called the Pro-77) and Pro-X7, which are similar, but ported instead of sealed, so the Pro-7 probably shouldn’t be used with the Minimus-7 as the sound is a little different. The design was later sold under the RCA nameplate as well, although I don’t know the model.
The second is actually a series-the Linaeum series. Lineaum was a high-end manufacturer of speakers who licensed their tweeter design to Radio Shack. All speakers in this series work well together. The most popular of the series is probably the Pro LX-5 (later known as LX-55). This was a dipole speaker, which means that it produces sound from the front and back. This means that placement is a bit tricky, as you can’t mount it on the wall – it should actually be a couple of feet away. There were also larger versions of the LX-5 – the LX-8 and LX-10, both of which were floorstanding speakers, and in general sell for over $100 per pair. Non-dipolar versions are the LX-4 (possibly the best of the series, although it is deficient in bass) and the center speakers Pro-CS5, CS-55 and CS-550 (all fairly similar).
Subwoofers
Vintage subwoofers are a little tricker. Subs did not actually become truly popular until the 1990s. Before that they appeared mostly in high-end systems, or were purpose built for a particular pair of speakers. They were also mostly passive, which means they need a separate amplifier. I don't have any particular recommendations for subwoofers, but matching them to your main speakers is less critical than matching all five, six or seven of your speakers together. Keep in mind that since all digital surround receivers have subwoofer output jacks, you can convert a passive sub to an amplfied sub using an old receiver or amplifier that you're no longer using. Simply connect the sub out on your surround receiver to the aux in on your receiver or amp, connect the subwoofer to the speaker terminals, and adjust the volume to an acceptable level.
Brands to avoid
In general, companies that manufactured electronics (such as Pioneer, Kenwood, Technics, Sony, Fisher and Sansui) did not do a great job with speakers. In the 1970s, the style was essentially “let’s see how many speakers we can stuff in a single box”. Sound quality was secondary. In the 80s, when rack systems were in vogue, it was “let’s put a big low-quality woofer, midrange and tweeter in a huge hollow box made of ½” particle board”. There are always exceptions, but it’s best to avoid these brands if you haven’t had a chance to listen to them yourself.
Guide created: 07/05/07 (updated 08/26/08)
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