I have two pairs of 70's Mordaunt Shorts- MS400 and MS700 1972 & 74 that im considering investing in valve mono blocks to power them. Im considering possibly buying in kit form and building myself.

Ideally two mono blocks powering the two pairs and a single pre-amp.

Any audiophiles on here?

Ta

J

Years ago I looked at World Audio Design products but not sure if they're still around. Some seem to like these:

http://www.chinese-hifi.co.uk/index.htm
http://www.cattylink.com/

You need efficient speakers IIRC, 70's ones likely are.

Could be a fun project, you might want to try one to confirm you like the sound, could also be better ways to improve your system.

I know about them – they are made using inferior, outdated technology.

Get you self some proper mono blocks:

http://www.krellonline.com/evolution900.html

I have two pairs of 70's Mordaunt Shorts- MS400 and MS700 72/74

MS700 went through several eras – I suspect these are the latest version
with Peerless 12", Kef mid and Decca tweeter. Power handling was given as
30 watts (speech and music, whatever that means) and a frequency range (not bandwidth specific) of 25-25k Hz. MS400 used a Goodman 12" , with Kef and STC upper units. The spec is much the same as MS700 except the lower end is given as 35 Hz. Both have nominallly 8 ohm impedance. MS700 crossover points are 500 and 3.5k Hz. MS400 points are 2k and 10k Hz. Sensitivity is circa 90dB.

I know people will weep when i say im using these in tandem however after having them tested separately and combined by a sound engineer the conclusion was the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. Quite considerably.

Currently using a NAD C350 which is ok. Was considering just adding a power amp, and spending the rest on a new CD player.

Alternatives to building amps are a couple of ebay specials –

AMC CVT3030

Or these intriguing units – although obviously a pre amp is required.
Home built amps?

P.S. I dont have 20k a pop for Krells 😉

IMO speakers are the things that have improved most over the years – do they really sound OK? I picked up some Celestion Ditton 44s for next to nothing when I was a student and hated them! I think they're worth a few quid now so what do I know?

BTW, I have 2 A&R Cambridge A60 amplifiers, rejuvinated (but in crappy maplin aluminium boxes), with a separate power supply box (bigger transformers etc) you can have for a small amount of money if you like.

They don't exactly look swish but have a nice smooth 70s sound to match your speakers (and are uprated from the originals in terms of power and noise floor).

MMM intriguing – would you be kind enough to send me some more details. Im a sucker for retro stereo gear. What abouts are you based?

OP I'd still say:

If you want "fun" go build your valve amps!

If you want best sound get a dem of your system at a decent shop and see what modern stuff does.

Ive tried a few modern amps / cd player combos through the speakers however testing other equipment with them is difficult due to the size and weight, the cabs are hard to move.

I love the sound of old 70's speakers, i had a pair of B&W DM2 studio monirs previously and compared to a modern B&W 601/603 there were infinitely better. I imagine its predominantly down to the size of the cabs tbh.

Also I love the aesthetic of 70's speakers – the size and solid nicely veneered cabs.

Im yet to hear a modern speaker that has the presence and ability to cleanly fill a room with sound without spending £000's.

I've got an Audio Note Oto that I use to drive some little Triangle standmounters. They're pretty sensitive so work well with the low-powered valve amp.

I quite like the idea of building my own but have yet to get round to it.

I have a pair of KEF 104/2s from the 80s which are great for the price you can get them these days – about £2k when new.

one_happy_hippy – I'm in west yorks.

You should bear in mind that they look terrible, due to being stuck in cheap boxes at literally no expense or effort!

However, they sound reasonable. I could send you some pics if you want.

Hi Mate was about to put a call out for you RE: A& R's 🙂

If could you send me some pics and details of the mods / specs etc then that would be ace.

Email in profie.

Ta

John

glenh – Member

BTW, I have 2 A&R Cambridge A60 amplifiers,

I've suddenly come over all nostalgic.

1980. Thorens TD160, A60, MShort speakers – hmmmm. Those were the days…

Can't help on the valve thing. Solid-state Class "B" here.

Note: studio monitors are often near field, which means they're designed to sound good in a small room, where your sat close to the speekers, they'll sound pap in your living room

I can say the mordaunt shorts are not monitors and im yet to find a room big enough to really let them sing! The B&W DM2 were monitors but you had to put a reasonable volume through them to make them work properly and you wouldnt have wanted to use them as nearfield monitors at that volume. Things like the smaller rogers/BBC LS3a/5a were designed for use at lower volume as nearfield speakers.

Im more interested in a big sound from big old speakers 🙂

Must dig out my Celestion 66 studio Monitors when I get 5 mins, I'm sure they sounded fine in my front room (when they were allowed in!).

If they are not allowed back in, im sure i can take them in and provide them with a loving home. They'll have company from several other pairs of speakers of a similar age, be treated to nice cables and not be forced to play trace / dance etc.

🙂

Once I finish all my DIY, I'll have a listening room for them to reside in! (well,its a listening room/ironing room/gaming room…..kinda thing!)

Used to have a pair of Quad II's years ago, when you could pick secondhand ones up for peanuts.

Sounded lovely with classical, jazz and blues, very warm and open, but a bit lacking with other stuff – quite soft in the bass too. They were used with a pair of Royd A7's, if anyone remembers those.

Need to be careful if you have kids or inquisitive pets around – some lethal voltages knocking around in there.

Let us know how you get on, might be interested in a modern valve amp kit myself – can't justify the prices for new ones!

I was given some Marantz speakers when I bought a Mac some 10 years ago – old, big, heavy. Good old stuff rocks!
Rusty, how true is your comment about the little bugger's fingers, they seem to love the tweeters 🙁