Akai SA 1200

[Fretless]

Pulled these vintage floorstanders out of the cobwebs to give them their first critical listen ever! Wondering if they were candidates for another 'barn conversion' (thanks, Wallace ) mod project.

These are (were?) not top-of -the-line boxes IMO, Three-way with a big woofer, and the midrange and tweeter units behind metal grilles. Cabinets are functionally made and not too deep. It is a sealed-box design (no port) and I am not going to risk opening them up and breaking any seals just to have a peek inside.

Soundwise, With an NVA P50sa/A40 and LS5 cable; the overall impression is very natural, easy, full and rounded. Bass deep but without definition. Treble is somewhat thin and there is little 'life' to the sound, imaging is 'flat' and really lacking precision.

These are real vintage speakers, certainly 40+ years old and I have the feeling I should just leave them alone, using them for background/party purposes if and when needed. I'll be looking out for a more modern design with 'hi'fi' pretensions to play around with. For now I've given these antiques a bit of a polish and brush-up and put them respectfully back where I found them.

[zebbo]

Maybe they just need a good few watts up em for a while to get things moving nicely again?

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Just remove all the wadding, they will come to life.

They are good speakers worthy of modding.

[Fretless]

Just remove all the wadding, they will come to life.

They are good speakers worthy of modding.

So much I can try Doc. And amateur cabinet modding seems like fun - but I'm not up to rewiring crossovers etc. (the only thing I know about soldering irons is that one end is probably very hot!).

[Fretless]

Maybe they just need a good few watts up em for a while to get things moving nicely again?

When I take the wadding out I'll give them a good boost. They are much more efficient than MMG's and the A40's have more than sufficient power.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Then learn, every hi-fi enthusiast should learn how to solder.

I have been thinking about doing a tutorial here.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Also get them about 20cm off the floor.

[Macca]

They look like they have some potential. Rated for 100 watts so maybe worth trying with a more powerful amp. I've noticed that with my own Akais swapping to a less powerful amp does remove some slam and definition from the bass although overall volume is not an issue. Worthwhile playing around with low stands and positioning. It should be possible to get a totally out of box soundstage from them but IME getting precision imaging from this sort of design (like I am guessing you have from your panel speakers) is pretty much impossible.

[Fretless]

Thanks for feedback and encouragement. Seems worthwhile to try wadding out, low stands and good positioning.
Not aiming to beat anything else, but it'll be a small victory getting a livelier performance out of these, just wanting to see what they ARE capable of.

[guydarryl]

Then learn, every hi-fi enthusiast should learn how to solder.

I have been thinking about doing a tutorial here.

please do: with pictures if possible