What speakers are you using with your ST-70? Any recommendations?

As my ST-70 project becomes a reality (albeit a long time from completion) I'm becoming more interested in finding speakers which would match it. Right now I have three sets, but two of them I doubt will be good partners.

First up, I have a pair of Celestion Ditton 44 speakers that I brought over here when I moved from the UK. I don't know if they were ever available here and date from about 1975. I loved them at the time and love them still, but I find that they need a good cranking to give their best, and I doubt the ST-70 will have the power. I'm probably going to let them go reluctantly to fund new speakers.

Then I have a pair of vintage (around 1990) Thiels that my girlfriend bought me as a birthday present (they were fantastically cheap locally, probably because they weigh 60lbs each). I find them sweet and detailed but on the only amp that I have working, an old solid-state Pioneer QX-8000, very dry and bass light. They have a reputation for needing a bunch of power to drive.

Lastly I have my $35 bargain speakers, a pair of Design Acoutics D6 speakers: an intriguing 1970s design with a rear-firing woofer and about 8 tweeters mounted on angles panels, they're warm and lively but not detailed.

So......what could people recommend? I listen to everything from classical baroque to heavy-ish rock, with mostly blues lying as the mid-point.    I guess I'll have about $3-400 to spend if I can get a couple of hundred bucks for the Celestions. Not much money!! I wonder about DCM speakers: Time Frames or Time Windows. Any experiences?

Ello, Doc. Congrads on the ST70, you'll love it (I have the ST120). Here's what I'd do; finish the amp and audition the spkrs
you have ; may be surprised! You may be able to change the drivers you have around and get what you want. Just some thoughts. Dale

Dale Stevens wrote:Ello, Doc. Congrads on the ST70, you'll love it (I have the ST120). Here's what I'd do; finish the amp and audition the spkrs
you have ; may be surprised!

Good advice Dale, thanks! Yes it's always possible for example that the Thiels may work......

With my vta-70 i use a pair of Crescendo from Opus 3 , Transmission line enclosures made of concrete.
One could say "rock solid" .

I too would recommend trying each speaker on the ST70. You never know how they will mate until you try. Try the 4 ohm and 8 ohm taps for each as well as one may work better than the other.

It's all about speaker efficiency and your listening preferences. I drive a pair of big box 89db wonders (McIntosh XR16) with my ST120, and I drive them HARD with prog rock, using expansion and bass synth. No mercy ... no prisoners!

Still got plenty of headroom at 105 SPLs too ... that's bleeding ear territory!

I'd expect you'd need to be a bit more conservative with the smaller amp, and also use slightly more efficient speakers. Check the specs on what you got, and go from there.

I wonder if you're willing and able to build speakers from plans? If you have access to a table saw and a router, you could build something like the very simple FH-3 (frugal horn -3), Im pretty sure, with in your budget.

Check the frugal horn website to look over the (free) plans, and check the diyaudio forum for much helpful information, support, guidance etc.

Tube Nube wrote:I wonder if you're willing and able to build speakers from plans? If you have access to a table saw and a router, you could build something like the very simple FH-3 (frugal horn -3), Im pretty sure, with in your budget.

Check the frugal horn website to look over the (free) plans, and check the diyaudio forum for much helpful information, support, guidance etc.

Thanks tube Nube, I'll check out the site. I've been thinking seriously about trying to find a speaker kit that included pre-cut pieces for the cabs: I'm well able to assemble. I'm a little dubious about my ability to cut accurately and have no table saw, but maybe......

Ah, now I went ot the Frugal Horn site and found my way to an outfit called Planet-10 who offer a flat-pack version of the transmission-line cabinets......we could be in business here!! Thanks again!

I was just going to recommend Planet-10 and the flat pack of pre-cut ply wood available for a number of their projects.

I bought my drivers from Planet 10 (Dave Dlugos). What's more, he was helpful to me as I built my last speakers (Saburos), which I detailed in a build log thread on DIY audio, as I struggled through. In fact, when I came up against a point of confusion, he made a modification to the speaker plans, and posted it up for me to understand what exactly I needed to do. If I recall correctly, this was on a Sunday, no less.

That's the kind of helpful advice that you can only get, well, here on the Dynaco forum.

I think I'm going to build a pair of these for the office after the current project is finished.

I built the Fruglehorn 3 speakers from a kit purchased from Planet10. Great service and great sounding speakers!

Colin, Great to hear your report on the FH-3. How's the bass response with those, do you have any issues?

Doc,
Unless you're hell-bent on DIY, don't rule out Dynaco a-25 or A-35 speakers. Seas drivers, very efficient, I think they would do an ST-70 some serious justice.

Bass is pretty good, but I don't listen to a lot of bass-heavy music. I could see incorporating a sub for response below 80Hz.