Elbau/Bogen SB 18: Driver ID?

Gnesen

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I just picked up these oddballs: Elbau/Bogen model SB 18. My initial impression is they have outstanding midrange and good highs, though the bass is just a tad shy. A little equalization helps out the low end. I’ll need to play with them a bit more, but they seem to be well suited for jazz, blues and female vocals.

To the point of my post, there is absolutely no information on this model or Elbau/Bogen out there on the web. I was just curious if anyone knows anything about Elbau/Bogen and perhaps the drivers in these speakers. They have a ~9-10 inch woofer with a paper surround and two 3-4” paper cone mids/tweeters wired in parallel with a single 5uf capacitor. The tweeters are reminiscent of some Wharfedale’s that I’ve seen, though the magnet perimeter on these are sealed in some sort of white resin.

Other clues are they were made in Germany and have an 8 ohm impedece. Of course I’m familiar with Bogen, just not Elbau/Bogen. My guess is this pair was brought back to the States by someone in the military. Based on the serial numbers, they were probably built in 1969 and were the 6th (69006) and 10th (69010) built. Lastly, the seller was a great guy and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s an AK member.

Here are some photos. I can make out a number on the woofer (P 220/25/6/93 X), but not the tweeters. A search on the woofer number comes up empty. Any thoughts or info would be appreciated.

7F6D9534-B4E3-4E50-82E4-DA4A9D5D7E7E.jpeg AD5F1D73-E415-4FD3-8276-C15D6A959CB6.jpeg

Woofer number:

9921A9A0-204E-4CE8-822B-7016CB95F402.jpeg

Back of tweeter with smeared number:

5C9B439C-17D3-4904-A52B-EB0C294F2AF3.jpeg

Cone tweeter:
355F72D4-8642-4966-A3F0-B0796BAC6F76.jpeg CC522CE7-EE9B-4705-80AD-FFCB2C8B6FB8.jpeg 234ABBBF-CBBF-4BA7-8556-DC63C6753CA9.jpeg
 
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A little sleuthing revealed that Elbau made a series of speakers, though the years of production aren’t clear. I like how they named their models: Heidi, Ilona, Margarete, Susann, and Sybille. My set is none of these. One example:

F0695059-30B1-4F88-9B05-9D8C6A999A5C.jpeg

In addition to Bogen, Elbau had an association with Dynacord at some point. Lastly, for those not familiar with it, this is an amazing resource:

http://wegavision.pytalhost.com/

0546B779-DA4A-461C-BD10-FA245FC314A1.jpeg
 
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Hi,
Thanks for sharing! You have got some very nice vintage gear.
I just come over 2 home built speakers with one pair of these drivers in each. The drivers have the same factory code P 220/25/6/93 X and are dated of May 1967. 15 Ohm rated impedance.
Also, there are two 12" woofers with factory code P 300/37/8/100 B 7.5 Ohm rated impedance.
What is manufacturer of these? Isophon? Heco
Any info is appreciated.
Many thanks in advance!
 
Hi,
Thanks for sharing! You have got some very nice vintage gear.
I just come over 2 home built speakers with one pair of these drivers in each. The drivers have the same factory code P 220/25/6/93 X and are dated of May 1967. 15 Ohm rated impedance.
Also, there are two 12" woofers with factory code P 300/37/8/100 B 7.5 Ohm rated impedance.
What is manufacturer of these? Isophon? Heco
Any info is appreciated.
Many thanks in advance!

Sorry, I just noticed your message. I have no idea who made the drivers, but my guess is it must have been Bogen. It appears they’re still around and still making speakers.
 
Perhaps it's bad form to bump one's own thread, but I just put these speakers back into the rotation and am amazed at how good they sound, especially with jazz, blues, vocals, and the like. The bass also seems to have improved a bit after some more play time -- it's really now sufficient without a subwoofer. I keep hoping some old German engineer will find this thread and chime in on the history of Elbau/Bogen speakers.
 
Hi,
I recently acquired an old guitar/harmonica tube amp, Dynacord DA 16v. Inside there are three speakers, the main one is 22cm, while there are little oval speakers on each side of the cab. The speaker models are exactly like this one https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/dynacord_mini.html The amp sounds very very good. Unfortunately, the main speaker is dying, while one of the two oval speakers is...dead. I'm obviously having a LOT of trouble finding replacements. Especially because the main driver is 8,7 inches. I wanted to know if anybody knew any equivalent sort of speakers for this amp ? I want to replace them, or at least the main driver. I'd very much like something similar sounding...The main speaker is an Elbau Bogen 22/93. Thank you !
 
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