Speakers I dug up this weekend

Justgotohm

Super Member
It started on Friday with a pair of Kinergetic SW100 and Spica TC-50's with stands and SW200 Amplifer/crossover. I'm excited to get these in my space as I've read good things. I'm assuming a full recap and I believe there was a factory upgrade offered at one time so I'll research that as well. They will get some new grill cloth and general cleaning, light sanding and some Howard's, over all in great shape.
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I couldn't pass up a pair of very dirty Bose 601 Series II's. These are actually in pretty good shape aside from the heavy dust and needing some surrounds. I'm looking forward to getting these back into good condition. They where destined for the dumpster at a Habitat for Humanity.
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The same Habitat for Humanity had this pair of big ugly suckers priced at $40. It was a %40 off day so I figured worst case is I gave a charity $24 to dump some junk. I could not remove the grills so it was a grab bag of sorts. Turns out they are some sort of 15 inch three ways of questionable quality. I may pull the woofers and see how they perform on an open baffle. They seem DIY given the build quality and crossovers.
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Definitely look homemade... Look at that coil in the middle of the crossover!
It looks like someone re purposed organ speakers into some botched cabinets...
That's the point of a "grab bag" type deal, though.
You win some, you lose some... Cool find nonetheless :thumbsup:
 
My mother was finally ready to let her Sharp all in one go. She asked if I wanted it or knew anyone that may want it. I gave her a Tivoli Audio Model Two for Christmas for her kitchen, she feels she will never use the (big) stereo. The funny thing is it's all in excellent condition, I feel Ill find someone who would be happy to have this as everything, even the TT works as good as it can.
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The little Tivoli above the microwave, this little unit has a great sound, its positioned well and sounds good anywhere in the kitchen.
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I mounted a Sure Bluetooth board in the rear of the cabinet plugged into the AUX in on the Tivoli. I tested this with the microwave on and has no issues.
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This is what the Tivoli replaced so you can imagine the diffrence in audio quality.
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Bau's Spicas are nice and image like crazy. They are still one of my favorite stand mounts. Good choice! Coupled with the subs it ought make for enjoyable listening.
 
Be sure to notate the wiring when refoaming the Bose 601's. Some of the 601's of that vintage have the left and right speakers wired differently while others are wired the same. I didn't figure that out until I had pulled all the woofers out of the cabinets. Luckily, the wiring diagrams are available.online.

FWIW, the 601's probably the best Bose speakers I have heard!
 
Thanks for the heads up on the wiring, I would have just pulled the woofers. I was very surprised at what I read online regarding the 601's, glad they didn't go in the trash.
The Spica stands are filled to the top with lead shot, they came with a stack of paper work that has made for some interesting reading.
 
Thanks for the heads up on the wiring, I would have just pulled the woofers. I was very surprised at what I read online regarding the 601's, glad they didn't go in the trash.
The Spica stands are filled to the top with lead shot, they came with a stack of paper work that has made for some interesting reading.

You've likely already seen this, but I'll post it for others that may stumble across this thread:

https://spicaspeakers.com/specifications/kinergetics-subwoofer.php
 
Thanks for the link, I had seen that. They actually came with all the manuals shown with a stack of paper work.
 
To my eye, those Spicas are gorgeous. The proportions match the Kinergetics perfectly and allow enough space for that slim, elegant stand (custom made I assume). The Spicas of course are famous, and the Kinergetics were considered the absolute best subwoofers when in production (used with their own xovers/amps). A beautiful looking and no doubt beautiful sounding system. Jealousy prevents me from congratulating you on the find.
 
The tweeter in the big ugly DIY speakers is the one used in the Dahlquist DQ-10. Might have some value to someone restoring a pair of DQ-10s.
 
Those tweeters are standard cheapo Motorala piezo tweeters used in everything not good, haha. They may very well be used in the DQ-10's, which are good, but are maybe $4 a piece new.

To my eye, those Spicas are gorgeous. The proportions match the Kinergetics perfectly and allow enough space for that slim, elegant stand (custom made I assume). The Spicas of course are famous, and the Kinergetics were considered the absolute best subwoofers when in production (used with their own xovers/amps). A beautiful looking and no doubt beautiful sounding system. Jealousy prevents me from congratulating you on the find.

The stands are actually a factory design specifically made to pair the subs and the TC50's. After some reading I'm happy the Spicas are the later (upgraded) version or TC50i's. I plan on pairing the Spicas with a MAC4100 receiver and the subs using the Factory supplied SW200 amplifier.
 
The stands are actually a factory design specifically made to pair the subs and the TC50's.
That surprises me. Two relatively small brands — and how many consumers bought both? The market for those stands must have been quite small. Nonetheless, a beautiful design from both technical and aesthetic viewpoints.

I'm assuming a full recap
I know "full recap" of just about everything is a strongly held AK practice. I'm using 35-year old KEF Reference 101s (their "improved" version of the LS3/5A). After so many years the crossovers must need attention — but they sound fabulous, and I'm leaving them alone until they don't. I've tried several times to improve good-sounding components with sensible, safe updates/upgrades, only to find the sound changed, not for the better.

Power amps and the top-tier DD TTs are different — aged caps can blow without warning, and destroy the unit.
 
That surprises me. Two relatively small brands — and how many consumers bought both? The market for those stands must have been quite small. Nonetheless, a beautiful design from both technical and aesthetic viewpoints.

I know "full recap" of just about everything is a strongly held AK practice. I'm using 35-year old KEF Reference 101s (their "improved" version of the LS3/5A). After so many years the crossovers must need attention — but they sound fabulous, and I'm leaving them alone until they don't. I've tried several times to improve good-sounding components with sensible, safe updates/upgrades, only to find the sound changed, not for the better.

Power amps and the top-tier DD TTs are different — aged caps can blow without warning, and destroy the unit.

Yes it surprised me as well. The original owner went all in and bought the complete package. I'm looking forward to having a listen. Apparently the crossovers are matched to the drivers in each specific cab. From what I've read the actual values of the caps where matched and not necessarily to the values listed on the outside of the caps. This can make recapping difficult for the Spicas given the current measurements may have drifted. There is a good bit of info online about recapping the Spicas given there where approximately 20000 made.
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It’s a shame a lot of these wonderful companies went the way of the dodo around the turn of the millennium. I feel they would have thrived had they been able to last an extra 10 years. Yeah I know, magical thinking, but the two mentioned and many others really had a knack at making and selling nicely engineered high performance gear for reasonable dollars.
 
It really is a shame. I stumble across speakers I've never heard of, dig into a little research and find the most interesting history. I picked up a pair of Genesis Physics Model 22's and some little Garrard GSS100's early last week. The Genesis seem to be well made, these are consecutive and do have internal bracing. I will recap with metal poly's 5uf X 2 for each cab and new surrounds. Genesis came about from a few of the guys that left EPI from what I've gathered.
The little Garrards look to have a bit of a following on line. These little suckers are heavy and remind me of Minimus 7's on steroids. I have not dug into them yet.
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Very nice, excellent that you got the subs!
I'm the author of this web page:
http://baselaudiolab.com/MR-TC50-REB.html

I have found that in measuring about 6 woofers, 6 out of 6 do not match the service
code written on the back. This means that the notch filter in the crossover no longer
matches the woofers. Still they sound fairly good.
 
Thanks Pete, I actually read your artical a few days ago, very informative. I had read the the designer John Bau suggested recapping the TC50's with the values listed on the caps? There is a lot of information online but some is contradictive. Any suggestions on this?
 
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