Realistic sound VS fun sound. Vintage vs modern drivers...

[murphythecat8]

hi everyone.
I have took out my dynaco A-25 off of my closet and I love the sound. They are not accurate at all but they are a lot of fun to listen to.
My dad always swares about vintage gears. He uses Tannoy red 15 inch and the sound is sublime. My dynaco's sounds terribly good for what they are. The midrange is missing a lot of details but theres something about the sound that is so much fun. Its hard to explain really, bu the sound of the Tannoy is impressive yet their is obviously details missing. but the tone is remarquable. Why is that?

Is todays speakers less "fun" because they are more accurate and more realistic?

I have never heard any speakers, at least mine doesnt touch the beauty of a tannoy red. Why?

 

[Pano]

In our living room we have a set of late '50s Fisher console speakers. Big boxes with 3x8" drivers in each, no crossover at all. They sound wonderful. Not Hi-Fi, but very pleasant and they can fill the whole house. We use them every day for the TV and music.

As you mentioned, not a lot of detail in the mids, but very engaging and easy to listen to. We love them.

 

[fatmarley]

A lot of people chase ultra low distortion, ultra flat frequency response, ultra high xmax, and perfect polar plots etc etc. If you can step away from that kind of thinking and try to find or make speakers that are fun to listen too, then I think that can only be a good thing. To me, hifi is about enjoying yourself, not listening for micro details, sound stage depth or width etc. One of the most enjoyable speakers i've owned was the AR18. They have very little detail but with the right amp, are very dynamic and fun to listen too (they can be a bit shouty though). I also have some speaker here that came with a dirt cheap micro system. They produce the most amazing midrange. I ripped the speakers apart and before I even saw the driver, I had a good feeling that I knew what it was, and guess what, I was right (I'm not saying what the driver is just yet)

I'm sure some will say, the lower the distortion and flatter the frequency response, etc etc, goes hand in hand with enjoyment. I used to think like that until I saw the light (heard cheap hifi that surprised me).