Phase Technology Teatro Tower 10....Worth picking up?

pliskin

Active Member
Phase Technology Teatro Tower 10. There is a pair of these sitting for $70. Are they worth picking up? Any idea what year these are from? I'm a little reluctant as there seems to be no way for me to open them to inspect the surrounds.
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Phase Technology Teatro Tower 10. There is a pair of these sitting for $70. Are they worth picking up? Any idea what year these are from? I'm a little reluctant as there seems to be no way for me to open them to inspect the surrounds.
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There's no need to inspect the surrounds. They will need to be re-done. Definitely worth getting as long as you're not all thumbs when it comes to DIY.
 
I don't need another basket case to do foam on (looks like you need special kit from Phase Tech, so if I can't get the sock off I might pass. I see how the top of the tower might come off but I don't see how I can get the sock off without taking out the amp's/crossover.. Looks like it's tucked under. Also, one of the black plastic cover is gone from the top piece (MDFB could be painted black to match I guess). I'm looking for pics on the web but none to be found.
EDIT
Yup, rubber surround and poly cones on the mid/woofer but does not say about the subs. I might spring for them, I just don't know I'm on the fence. With the built-in power on these would I just run a speaker wire to each from my amp? Wouldn't that be running power into the amps on he speaker? Sorry I new to this.
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I don't need another basket case to do foam on (looks like you need special kit from Phase Tech, so if I can't get the sock off I might pass. I see how the top of the tower might come off but I don't see how I can get the sock off without taking out the amp's/crossover.. Looks like it's tucked under. Also, one of the black plastic cover is gone from the top piece (MDFB could be painted black to match I guess). I'm looking for pics on the web but none to be found.
EDIT
Yup, rubber surround and poly cones on the mid/woofer but does not say about the subs. I might spring for them, I just don't know I'm on the fence. With the built-in power on these would I just run a speaker wire to each from my amp? Wouldn't that be running power into the amps on he speaker? Sorry I new to this.
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Don't let them slip away!
 
I don't need another basket case to do foam on (looks like you need special kit from Phase Tech, so if I can't get the sock off I might pass. I see how the top of the tower might come off but I don't see how I can get the sock off without taking out the amp's/crossover.. Looks like it's tucked under. Also, one of the black plastic cover is gone from the top piece (MDFB could be painted black to match I guess). I'm looking for pics on the web but none to be found.
EDIT
Yup, rubber surround and poly cones on the mid/woofer but does not say about the subs. I might spring for them, I just don't know I'm on the fence. With the built-in power on these would I just run a speaker wire to each from my amp? Wouldn't that be running power into the amps on he speaker? Sorry I new to this.
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AFAIK the subs are the same-- poly with rubber butyl surrounds. I could be wrong but in no way would I let that possibility-- or the missing cap-- turn me off of grabbing them at that price. Yes I saw the sock tucks under the amp, but you should be able to still pull the sock down around the amp enough to check if you don't want to mess with removing the amp plate.
 
If I saw those local I wouldn't have made a thread, they'd be in the back of my car.
Don't pop a vein, they are safe and sound in my man cave. And it took a big man to get them there, my back and arms are feeling the burn. Holy shift they are heavy and 41" tall. Way heavier than any other speaker I have. 3 different employees asked me if i needed help. And the cherry on top is I got them for $40 after I asked the manager if he could do better because of the missing a plastic top.

Now to test them. Begin a rookie how do I hook them up? Can I just run my left/right speaker cables to the terminals? These have built in in 75w amps. Won't my receiver be putting more power (another 50w) into them? Is that safe?
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The amps only run the built in subs. The main drivers run off your receiver / amp like normal.
Ahhh, so I hook them up just like a regular speaker using the "speaker level input". Thanks for the schooling. I thought the speaker wires from my receiver didn't power anything, and the amp in the speaker did all the work. I was wondering how/where the power from the receiver was going.

So how does the sub only get the music signal from the receiver and not amps?
If I flip the power switch on the speaker will the mid and tweet still be working?
 
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Hi pliskin, no it should not be a problem to connect your speaker wire from the receiver to the "speaker level' inputs on the amp plate, all subwoofer plate amps that have a "speaker level" input provide a conversion to a low-level signal within the amp so you're good there.

I could be wrong but I believe connecting to the speaker level inputs should still give you full range sound, including the powered sub if you turn that plate amp on. (These speakers were manufactured in 1999 so I am sure some receivers from that era did not have dedicated low level subwoofer outputs, which is what would connect to the line level input.) But I guarantee you won't hurt anything by connecting to those speaker level inputs.

Here's how I would proceed: go ahead and connect to those speaker level inputs with the subwoofer plate amp OFF first, play some music and see if you get sound out of the other drivers. Then with the subwoofer plate amp volume at minimum, go ahead and flip the switch to ON and slowly increase the volume, see if it simply adds the subwoofer to the mix.
 
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Thanks Chops_sooie. That helps. I'm excited to try them out. I really think I lucked into a really nice pair of speakers. Probably the nicest ones I'll ever hear.
 
Thanks Chops_sooie. That helps. I'm excited to try them out. I really think I lucked into a really nice pair of speakers. Probably the nicest ones I'll ever hear.

Let us know what you discover with the hookup method I suggested, I am curious myself to see if you get any sound out of the subwoofer using only the speaker level inputs. I've only ever owned one pair of speakers that had built-in powered subs, and don't remember exactly how I had it wired.
 
Any updates on this?
Yes there is. I just finished testing them out about an hour ago. I hooked them up to my 40w Onkyo amp and they are by far the best sounding speakers I have. They work perfectly. Other than the missing shiny plastic top cover they are in mint condition. I pulled the sock down and all the drivers look like new. Somebody took really good care of them. I know why the top cover is missing. The top snapps on with some heavy duty stuff like Velcro but it snap-locks together. Somebody tried to take it off and instead pulled the plastic cover off. Close-up pics are hard as they are so black no details show up.
I can't believe someone dropped them off at a thrift store. Unbelievable! These will be my best audio thrift find ever I'm sure. Thanks for the advise.
See pics for black top and the other one missing the black top.
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How about some close ups? I’m looking at a set.
I have no idea what a good price would be for a pair of these but if I knew what I know now I would have paid a lot more than I did. If you are looking at a pair you'll definitely want to gently pry the top off at all 4 corners and slide the sock down to expose the drivers. I can see how they could be easily damaged by someone trying to move these heavy beasts without knowing where to hold them. They sound amazing. Plenty of base and very clear mids and highs. I've only listened to music so far but I'm guessing TV/home theater will be awesome.
 
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