I own the HPM’s, bought a pair new in about 1977, drove them with a Pioneer SX-750. They’re easy to drive and have a classic sound. That being said, it’s hard to say which speaker will be better, after nearly 50 years, either will probably need some restorative work. Same with your Marantz .I still have the Pioneer, as well. This stuff is like owning a classic car. Endless fiddling, and almost anything new will perform better. And yet, sometimes you can’t help yourself, lol. Good luck. For room treatments, it's hard to go wrong with a couple of macrame' hangings, and a poster of Farrah.
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If those speakers (and receiver) aren’t updated then ir doesn’t matter what you buy. Assuming they are no one can seriously recommend anything with any logic. You have your tastes, your ears. That said, with so little power pick whatever is most efficient. Also, your response only makes you look crabby and rigid. If you don't like honest, helpful advice ..stop asking. |
About 10 years ago while temporarily living in Dallas, I discovered a great vintage audio store in Bedford, TX chocked full of all the great audio gear from the 70’s that I yearned for back then but could not afford. I heard all “the (mid-fi) good stuff” from that era at this store. I listened to several JBL models, some of which were their most upper-line models that had very high asking prices due to their notoriety “back in the day”. To me, they all sound very upper-midrange forward and shouty when played with a wide variety of vintage gear from many brands. I eventually heard the Pioneer HPM 100s and bought them on the spot. Still have them for my second system (all 70s vintage gear) and always will. For me, they get the 70’s sound right. Another great speaker from that time was the Watkins Stereo WS-1a which I also own. The HPM 100s are probably the better sounding speaker overall IMO. One of the great things about this gear is that it is not “high end” and doesn’t pretend to be. Accuracy of timbre and other esoteric high-end concerns are not a priority. It is squarely aimed at rowdy reproduction of 60s/70s/80s rock (think lots of distorted electric guitars and amplified drum kits) and that it does superbly. The real trick to making these systems sound fantastic is to add a vintage parametric equalizer, like the Pioneer SG9500, to freely and unabashedly shape the character of the sound to your preference, which I would never ever do in my high-end system. Enjoy your journey @mike317! |
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