When I was 8yo I thought they were the best thing ever. My neighbor had them. My Lloyds system had a 4 inch full range...so yes the Thrusters were incredible.
Mmm Hmm. When you're that age you'd think that a Lloyds full range was a good speaker. Then you hear something like these Thrusters, which have some quality to them, and you get blown away.
ive seen alot of bashing of thrusters online, but i think they are referring to the small ones with the full range driver, but i had the sb 1800s from the late 70s with the 10 inch woofer and passive, had the pleated surrounds, and the drivers were set into the box with a kind of a horn shaped front, the tweeters were weak and in the early 90s i replaced with a good horn tweeter/midrange, they were pretty damn good and held up for decades even though my amp fed them with more power than they were rated for. i recently got hold of a mint condition pair of the ones in your video, and they are nothing compared to the sb 1800s but are not too bad, i will be using them for satellites and will be coupling them with a pair of yamaha sats with 6 in drivers, and dome tweets, the thrusters will only be for the mid bass which the 8 in models do well, and my lower bass is handeled by a pair of 12 subs driven with 650 watts
Yeah. The Thrusters featured in thi video are long gone. I believe i sold them. Part of what inspired me to make this was seeing people praising tiny Bluetooth speakers, and while some Bluetooth speakers do sound pretty good, there is a limit to how small you can go before the sound quality suffers.
I still have my pair of Thrusters I bought new back in the early 1980s for about $150/pair, and I think they sound pretty damn good. I‘ve had a couple of self-appointed audiophiles sneer at them and say they were “gimmicky“ and designed “to play rock music“ (uh, that‘s mostly what I play through them). I‘m sure if I went out and bought new high-end speakers and spent $1000 (or more), they would sound better, but mine do the job, and when I crank them up they sound great to me (with nothing around to compare to, of course). Interesting test video though.
Passive radiator is used very commonly in modern speakers. It is not "shady" as long as they say that there are passive radiators being used. The passive driver likely has a metal ring to add weight to tune it, although it's not present on the cheapest implementations. The foam surrounds on those Panasonics are of a different type than regular foam - I think Realistic used a similar foam on some of their woofers. It may not be used commonly due to acoustical properties perhaps not being as good. As for high end, perhaps if you ever come across some B&O 3 or 4 way speakers would be a great test. There are other speakers which also used dome tweeters and more beefy midranges, higher quality woofers than what was in those Electrovoice speakers. I'd consider those EV a midrange offering. At least they had a crossover and were somewhat designed well (close placement of drivers, shallow cone profiles for better dispersion etc) The magnets on the EV tweeter especially are of AlNiCo type. It's a different requirement to the amount of material required. Is a neodymium magnet driver less well built because it weighs less than the iron ceramic ferrite types? But yes, the cheap modern drivers are a match in many way. Not sure if you got optimal results from using the stock crossover though, as the new driver parameters will be different
I've had my sister's 1979 Thrusters for 30 years plus a pair of JBL 2600s that I bought after I got my first permanent job. Just measured them and they are the pair with the dual 5.5-inch woofers. Always liked them. I'm planning on replacing them with Focal 816 or 826. I always liked them.
I Just watched the modern vs vintage driver comparison. Thank you for videos like this and for taking the time to make them, I know the inconvenience of switching drivers from one box to another, annoying as hell if you ask me. I agree with you on your conclusion, but then again it all depends on the type of music. I am not a pro or anything, just an average everyday audio enthusiast who finds muse and joy in old thrown away stuff (second-hand equipment also). Recently I came across a pair of old SCOTT S-15 three-way speakers. They looked pretty old and loaned to me by my friend, they were in pretty good condition for their age. When I played music I often listen to (female vocals and jazz), I wasn't really impressed compared to the same age-old "Hans G Hennel Summit" german built speaker. Then out of curiosity, I played some old radio horror shows out of youtube, shows where they tell scary stories in the night. Believe me, SCOTTS bought them to life, amazing! It was so fun to listen to and I realized old scotts were good for certain things and certain music.
I enjoyed this side-by-side comparison, but found the test audio sample to be a little basic. I wonder how the various systems would handle to something like Nanowar of Steel's "Valhalleluja"? (Or, for something more from that era, maybe Heart's "Barracuda" or Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir"?)
Mmm See there's a problem with that. That being TH-cam's insane copyright policies. I dare not play anything that has even a remote chance of being copyrighted. That and I did this video as (somewhat) of a parody hence my selection of the silly music.
I noticed in your video of taking a vintage speaker and adding all new drivers you muted the comments. So I took a pair of old bose 501s IV and turned into a modern speaker with new crossovers and drivers. Compared to original components, the "new" speakers are sooo much better in all aspects. Better highs and mids and bass is incredible.
Yeah I muted the comments on that video, because almost every comment was the same cut and pasted NPC rant about how I didn't do it the way they thought I should. I'm glad to hear that it worked out. And honestly, even if you didn't do it "right" I bet it sounds way better than your typical bluetooth speaker.
@@Xplasma1 man f those idiots. I posted my speakers in a fb home audio group that I'm part of and I got the same crap guys laughing at my stuff. I'm extremely happy with my new speakers. I also took a pair a Vega d5s and put in New crossover and woofer. The difference is noticeable with much better highs and lows
@@jorgem50 Yeah I've actually still got those modified EV's. They're in my living room now. These days, you can still get good sounding modern speakers, but boy oh boy will you be paying for them. A good pair of solid cabinets from the 70's or 80's combined with some half decent drivers will get you something that sounds good.
@@Xplasma1 I prefer old school cabinets over any new tower speakers. I'm sure you'll agree but our modified speakers sounds as good or better than some modern speakers. I also have a pair of Bose 301 II with modern midrange and tweeter and I'm using it as my rear speakers in my surround sound.
thrusters had 3 different types..the better of the 3 is a duel 5.5 in woofer driver with the standard paper tweeter..and a 8 in passive..they actually sounded pretty good..hard to find..if you run across that model, get them..well worth it..the 3rd model was a super crappy duel 5.5 in fullrange drivers with no tweeter plus a really cheesy passive..real garbage.
I found your other video about the ev speakers very interesting. I have a similar ongoing project with a pair of vintage Tandberg Tl-3520 speakers and I wondered if you would be interested in some mail correspondence? I comment here because you had turned off the comments in the other video.
Hey there. Yeah I turned off comments in the other video because it was nothing but people dogpiling on me because how DARE I replace vintage drivers with modern ones and claim that they sound better! I don't know what I could offer you correspondence wise. I haven't been active with the videos because I have other things going on.
@@Xplasma1 Thank you for your quick reply. There will always be haters.... I just thought maybe you would find it interesting...😊. I also had to replace rotten foam surrounds and I don't know how the speakers sounded before. But, afterwards they sounded a lot like your Ev's. Then I found out that there where 2versions of the crossover. When I changed the values to the newest version they sounded a lot more like the Ev's with modern drivers. But still a little weak bass. So now I'm building crossovers from new high end parts with values from the newest version. Why? I'm curious if the weak bass response comes from A: my reforming B: bad components in the old crossover or C: It's designed to sound like that. I thought maybe you could have some input on the matter.
@@franknielsen6212 Your refoaming probably didn't have much of an effect, if any. That said, new surrounds probably need to be broken in. Bass comes from cone excursion, and how the cabinets are set up. (Ports, total air space, sealed vs not sealed.) I think what enrages the audiophiles about my video is I got good results while ignoring a lot of the established rules. Oh! After I made that video I bypassed a resistor in the crossover network and that made the new midranges sound better.
@@franknielsen6212 Sometimes there are certain speakers that had very soft foam surrounds, and if you replace it with thick, generic foam is can lessen the proper bass response or make it a little boomy. You can try waiting for it to break in. Otherwise it's just the design of the speaker, perhaps it is designed to be placed closer to the wall. Many older speakers also didn't necessarily do deep bass even with large woofers.
Not really a fair test. I got these speakers as a hand me down in 1982. I stopped using them about ten years ago because I wanted something compact. I just retreived them from the basement to find the foam had disintegrated. A fair test would be to hook them up to a middle of the road 30 wpc receiver and a decent turntable or tape deck. Then find some media that is pre-loudness wars.
So lets get this right the Panasonics and the Bose were a tie , well I would say a win for the Panasonics since the price difference them is in the several hundreds of dollars. And that makes the sharps better than the Bose, it's almost funny this review. From sitting here with a decent speaker set up for my computer they all sound like crap. I watched this because I just picked up a pair of the Panasonic Thrusters SB-1100's for $7.99 at Goodwill and I will tell you they sound 1000 times better than what you are showing.
This song will go to bed with me tonight damnit
When I was 8yo I thought they were the best thing ever. My neighbor had them. My Lloyds system had a 4 inch full range...so yes the Thrusters were incredible.
Mmm Hmm. When you're that age you'd think that a Lloyds full range was a good speaker. Then you hear something like these Thrusters, which have some quality to them, and you get blown away.
ive seen alot of bashing of thrusters online, but i think they are referring to the small ones with the full range driver, but i had the sb 1800s from the late 70s with the 10 inch woofer and passive, had the pleated surrounds, and the drivers were set into the box with a kind of a horn shaped front, the tweeters were weak and in the early 90s i replaced with a good horn tweeter/midrange, they were pretty damn good and held up for decades even though my amp fed them with more power than they were rated for. i recently got hold of a mint condition pair of the ones in your video, and they are nothing compared to the sb 1800s but are not too bad, i will be using them for satellites and will be coupling them with a pair of yamaha sats with 6 in drivers, and dome tweets, the thrusters will only be for the mid bass which the 8 in models do well, and my lower bass is handeled by a pair of 12 subs driven with 650 watts
Yeah. The Thrusters featured in thi video are long gone. I believe i sold them. Part of what inspired me to make this was seeing people praising tiny Bluetooth speakers, and while some Bluetooth speakers do sound pretty good, there is a limit to how small you can go before the sound quality suffers.
@@Xplasma1 ya i ran across that forum
I still have my pair of Thrusters I bought new back in the early 1980s for about $150/pair, and I think they sound pretty damn good. I‘ve had a couple of self-appointed audiophiles sneer at them and say they were “gimmicky“ and designed “to play rock music“ (uh, that‘s mostly what I play through them). I‘m sure if I went out and bought new high-end speakers and spent $1000 (or more), they would sound better, but mine do the job, and when I crank them up they sound great to me (with nothing around to compare to, of course). Interesting test video though.
Those Thrusters were my first speakers. I loved them.
Yeah they're really not too too bad. There are better speakers of course, but these have some merit.
i have the vintage wharfdales the best back in that period
Nice to see the differences between all these setups!
thanks
Passive radiator is used very commonly in modern speakers. It is not "shady" as long as they say that there are passive radiators being used. The passive driver likely has a metal ring to add weight to tune it, although it's not present on the cheapest implementations.
The foam surrounds on those Panasonics are of a different type than regular foam - I think Realistic used a similar foam on some of their woofers.
It may not be used commonly due to acoustical properties perhaps not being as good.
As for high end, perhaps if you ever come across some B&O 3 or 4 way speakers would be a great test. There are other speakers which also used dome tweeters and more beefy midranges, higher quality woofers than what was in those Electrovoice speakers. I'd consider those EV a midrange offering. At least they had a crossover and were somewhat designed well (close placement of drivers, shallow cone profiles for better dispersion etc) The magnets on the EV tweeter especially are of AlNiCo type. It's a different requirement to the amount of material required. Is a neodymium magnet driver less well built because it weighs less than the iron ceramic ferrite types? But yes, the cheap modern drivers are a match in many way. Not sure if you got optimal results from using the stock crossover though, as the new driver parameters will be different
The passive radiato is like a ported enclosure while still being sealed and without the port noise. Also easy to tune.
I've had my sister's 1979 Thrusters for 30 years plus a pair of JBL 2600s that I bought after I got my first permanent job. Just measured them and they are the pair with the dual 5.5-inch woofers. Always liked them. I'm planning on replacing them with Focal 816 or 826. I always liked them.
I Just watched the modern vs vintage driver comparison. Thank you for videos like this and for taking the time to make them, I know the inconvenience of switching drivers from one box to another, annoying as hell if you ask me. I agree with you on your conclusion, but then again it all depends on the type of music. I am not a pro or anything, just an average everyday audio enthusiast who finds muse and joy in old thrown away stuff (second-hand equipment also). Recently I came across a pair of old SCOTT S-15 three-way speakers. They looked pretty old and loaned to me by my friend, they were in pretty good condition for their age. When I played music I often listen to (female vocals and jazz), I wasn't really impressed compared to the same age-old "Hans G Hennel Summit" german built speaker. Then out of curiosity, I played some old radio horror shows out of youtube, shows where they tell scary stories in the night. Believe me, SCOTTS bought them to life, amazing! It was so fun to listen to and I realized old scotts were good for certain things and certain music.
Exactly. Things like the "loudness war" changed modern speakers.
I enjoyed this side-by-side comparison, but found the test audio sample to be a little basic. I wonder how the various systems would handle to something like Nanowar of Steel's "Valhalleluja"? (Or, for something more from that era, maybe Heart's "Barracuda" or Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir"?)
Mmm See there's a problem with that. That being TH-cam's insane copyright policies. I dare not play anything that has even a remote chance of being copyrighted.
That and I did this video as (somewhat) of a parody hence my selection of the silly music.
I noticed in your video of taking a vintage speaker and adding all new drivers you muted the comments. So I took a pair of old bose 501s IV and turned into a modern speaker with new crossovers and drivers. Compared to original components, the "new" speakers are sooo much better in all aspects. Better highs and mids and bass is incredible.
Yeah I muted the comments on that video, because almost every comment was the same cut and pasted NPC rant about how I didn't do it the way they thought I should.
I'm glad to hear that it worked out. And honestly, even if you didn't do it "right" I bet it sounds way better than your typical bluetooth speaker.
@@Xplasma1 man f those idiots. I posted my speakers in a fb home audio group that I'm part of and I got the same crap guys laughing at my stuff. I'm extremely happy with my new speakers. I also took a pair a Vega d5s and put in New crossover and woofer. The difference is noticeable with much better highs and lows
@@jorgem50 Yeah I've actually still got those modified EV's. They're in my living room now.
These days, you can still get good sounding modern speakers, but boy oh boy will you be paying for them. A good pair of solid cabinets from the 70's or 80's combined with some half decent drivers will get you something that sounds good.
@@Xplasma1 I prefer old school cabinets over any new tower speakers. I'm sure you'll agree but our modified speakers sounds as good or better than some modern speakers. I also have a pair of Bose 301 II with modern midrange and tweeter and I'm using it as my rear speakers in my surround sound.
thrusters had 3 different types..the better of the 3 is a duel 5.5 in woofer driver with the standard paper tweeter..and a 8 in passive..they actually sounded pretty good..hard to find..if you run across that model, get them..well worth it..the 3rd model was a super crappy duel 5.5 in fullrange drivers with no tweeter plus a really cheesy passive..real garbage.
I found your other video about the ev speakers very interesting. I have a similar ongoing project with a pair of vintage Tandberg Tl-3520 speakers and I wondered if you would be interested in some mail correspondence? I comment here because you had turned off the comments in the other video.
Hey there. Yeah I turned off comments in the other video because it was nothing but people dogpiling on me because how DARE I replace vintage drivers with modern ones and claim that they sound better!
I don't know what I could offer you correspondence wise. I haven't been active with the videos because I have other things going on.
@@Xplasma1 Thank you for your quick reply.
There will always be haters.... I just thought maybe you would find it interesting...😊. I also had to replace rotten foam surrounds and I don't know how the speakers sounded before. But, afterwards they sounded a lot like your Ev's. Then I found out that there where 2versions of the crossover. When I changed the values to the newest version they sounded a lot more like the Ev's with modern drivers. But still a little weak bass. So now I'm building crossovers from new high end parts with values from the newest version. Why? I'm curious if the weak bass response comes from A: my reforming B: bad components in the old crossover or C: It's designed to sound like that. I thought maybe you could have some input on the matter.
@@franknielsen6212 Your refoaming probably didn't have much of an effect, if any. That said, new surrounds probably need to be broken in.
Bass comes from cone excursion, and how the cabinets are set up. (Ports, total air space, sealed vs not sealed.)
I think what enrages the audiophiles about my video is I got good results while ignoring a lot of the established rules.
Oh! After I made that video I bypassed a resistor in the crossover network and that made the new midranges sound better.
@@Xplasma1 I didn' think about the breaking in part....and useful info on the resistor bypas. Thank you for your time. Have a good summer😎
@@franknielsen6212 Sometimes there are certain speakers that had very soft foam surrounds, and if you replace it with thick, generic foam is can lessen the proper bass response or make it a little boomy. You can try waiting for it to break in. Otherwise it's just the design of the speaker, perhaps it is designed to be placed closer to the wall. Many older speakers also didn't necessarily do deep bass even with large woofers.
Not really a fair test. I got these speakers as a hand me down in 1982. I stopped using them about ten years ago because I wanted something compact. I just retreived them from the basement to find the foam had disintegrated. A fair test would be to hook them up to a middle of the road 30 wpc receiver and a decent turntable or tape deck. Then find some media that is pre-loudness wars.
havent watched the vid yet but even if they are terrible sounding they look pretty nice atleast
To really test these, you need to play some music from that era, like ABBA, or the Bee Gees.
Sure. Just let me go back in time to when I still had these speakers. Can you loan me a time machine?
So lets get this right the Panasonics and the Bose were a tie , well I would say a win for the Panasonics since the price difference them is in the several hundreds of dollars. And that makes the sharps better than the Bose, it's almost funny this review. From sitting here with a decent speaker set up for my computer they all sound like crap. I watched this because I just picked up a pair of the Panasonic Thrusters SB-1100's for $7.99 at Goodwill and I will tell you they sound 1000 times better than what you are showing.