Electro-Voice '50s (?) Speakers

C

Chip - HP

Super Member
This morning I picked up a pair of 2-way (?) Electro-Voice speakers with walnut cabinets and yellow-white grill cloths (sorry ... my camera isn't working at the moment) ... there is no model name or number ...

On the back, there is 5 1/2" sq, recessed, grey metal panel with 2 knobs and 4 screw connection poles ... on the panel it says EV LOW RESONANCE ULTRA COMPACT SYSTEM ... the top knob ia labeled TREBLE ARRAY (Mids and Highs) ... the other knob is labeled BRILLIANCE (Highs only) ... the 4 connectors (from left to right) are labeld TR1 Lo ... Hi (also labeled Com) and TR2 Lo ... Hi (also labeled 8 ohms) ... what confuses me is a label pointing to the Com and 8 ohm connectors that says NORMAL CONNECTIONS (For Stereo Use See Wiring Instructions) ... was there a difference between Mono and Stereo connections in the early days of Stereo? ...

Anyone have any idea when these speakers were made? ... I took the back off ... very clean inside ... the woofers are EV Model 12 BW with orange surrounds that appear to be intact (I didn't unscrew the woofers from the cabinet) ... I couldn't tell about the smaller speaker ... it is enclosed in a wooden box ...
 
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Sounds like the EV Esquires. I've seen several flavors of these. Some have EV LS-8's for midranges, and some have more generic sealed basket MR's. Most have EV T-35 (or maybe T-35B) AlNiCo horn tweeters. I saw one pair on eBAY which had only the 12BW's and LS-8's (which are actually rather nice, fullrange AlNiCo drivers) with no tweeters per se.

The Esquires are very efficient and IMO quite nice sounding "small" (by the standards of the day speaker systems. Great with even very low power tube amps. Probably good with Tripath-chipset digital amps, too.

Needless to say, I have a pair :)

EDIT: Use the normal connections. The other option would separate the woofer from the MR/tweeter (i.e., for biamping)... nothing to do with mono/stereo as we usually practice it. They had add-on MR/tweeter units for the second channel, and used the woofer rather as we use subwoofers today!

Sorry, I forgot to answer the question when I initially posted!
 
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Must be an EV kind of day. I just snagged a nasty looking sets of cabs with a "Wolverine" control on the side. I cut the grill cloth off and it looks like a 2 way with LS-8s and T-35 or HF-1 horns. I also got a bunch of EV lit with them and I'm pretty sure I can help you with some IDs.
 
Thanks ... mhardy ... maybe I'll take the wooden box apart and see what's inside ... do you know approximately when they were made? ...
 
Another EV find yesterday

Yesterday Estate sale basement, I spot a pair of large speakers. They are larger than my Esquires but I'm thinking EV all the way. Got em cheap and opened them up today. A zillion screws later I see w-12 drivers plus t25a horns and t35 tweeter. Two crossovers in each cab. Scanned all the EV sites and I think I have Aristocrats with custom cabinets which are so-so. Anybody like Mr. Hardy know what I have? What is the sensitivity? Can they be run with low tube watts like set amp? Can anyone offer info? Thanks
 
Lots of people home built their own copies of EV cabs. Pics would be helpful in identifying them.
 
I bet it was the same basement I got my stuff at!

Sterling Heights??? Wine barrel bar and a couple table saws in the last room??

When I found the EV lit, there was all sorts of stuff for the bigger EV stuff and I did spot a set of Marquis decals in a cigar box with some empty cartidge holders. I got the DIY book for the Marquis III, so I'm sure that's what you got. The brochure refer to it as the "along the wall counterpart of the Aristocrat"

Should work fine with tubes. Give it a shot with your SET gear. It's definitely 50's gear; my brochures are from Pecar's in Detroit 24, MI at DRexel 1-3460
 
mhardy6647 said:
Sounds like the EV Esquires. I've seen several flavors of these. Some have EV LS-8's for midranges, and some have more generic sealed basket MR's. Most have EV T-35 (or maybe T-35B) AlNiCo horn tweeters. I saw one pair on eBAY which had only the 12BW's and LS-8's (which are actually rather nice, fullrange AlNiCo drivers) with no tweeters per se. ...
Click to expand...

I opened up the wooden box ... the tweeter is a T35B ... I havn't found a model # on the midranges ... there is a number stenciled on the cone ... 72210 ... and two numbers stenciled on the side of the crown of the metal case ... 6 or 8 07 ... and 2362 ...
 
... do you know approximately when they were made? ...
Click to expand...
Very late 1950's/early 1960's (an educated guess).

anybody like Mr. Hardy know what I have?
Click to expand...
Mr. Hardy?!? ummm, I feel so... old!

Well, no, not really... all the above sounds plausible... I can tell you they're fine drivers, though!
 
Hi Andyman

Yep. same sale and thanks for finding out that these are marquis lll. They have the same drivers as the aristocrat but are not corner speakers like the Aristocrats. Do you have the literature for the marquis? I'd sure like to get it if you have it. Get back to me Thanks. Both you and I missed out on a box of tubes that were in the bedroom. Did you get them? the guy told me he saw them in the basement and I spent 45 min looking there. Then he says OH! there in the bedroom follow me and you know what's coming next they were gone. I got a bunch of tubed tuners and other tubed gear there but it was junk except for some of the tubes, 12ax7 telefunken and mullard. I scrapped the iron and pulled the tubes. The guy helped me carry the marquis to the van. Weigh about 55 lbs.each.
 
Chip,
If you have sealed boxes chances are you don't have the old alnicos. I have a single tweeter and a pair of 12" woofers, but the tweeter has a smaller horn and magnet structure.

How goes the record collecting these days?
 
Thatch_Ear said:
Chip,
If you have sealed boxes chances are you don't have the old alnicos. I have a single tweeter and a pair of 12" woofers, but the tweeter has a smaller horn and magnet structure.

How goes the record collecting these days?
Click to expand...

Hi Thatch ... thanks for the info ... I'll have to check the tweeters more closely ... record collecting has been a litttle slow lately ... found some nice mint '60s picture sleeves w/45s (Beatles, Beach Boys, etc.) last weekend ... nothing this weekend ... except these speakers ...
 
Definetly Esquires

Chip, You have EV Esquires. I have a pair and they are awesome. They like low tube amplification. 20 tube wpc would be plenty. They are probably 97 db sensitivity. Enjoy them.
 
Thanks, Fishstink ... I did a little more investigating ... the serial #'s of the ebay T35B tweeters were 20559 and 20912 ... mine are 28040 and 28042 ... the manufacturer # on the midrange is 807 2362 ... which suggests that the midrange was manufactured in '62 ... I ran across this tidbit in an Audio Asylum thread ...

"I have an Electro-Voice advertisement from a 1958 "Hi-Fi Annual & Audio Handbook". The ad is specifically about the T35, T35B and the T350. The specifications are:

T35, T35B , T350

Frequency Response: 2kc to 19kc , 2kc to 18kc , 2kc to 21kc

RETMA Sensitivity: 57 db , 54 db , 60 db

Magnet Weight: 7 oz , 4 oz , 16 oz

Gauss: 13,500 , 9,000 , 20,000

weight: 3 lbs , 3.5 lbs , 9.5 lbs

Price: $35.00 , $22.00 , $60.00"
 
No literature on the Marquis per se, but lots of EV catalog info at:
http://www.hifilit.com/hifilit/Electro-Voice/Electro-Voice.htm

Note that the RETMA sensitivities quoted for the tweeters are for 1W at 40 feet (not 1 meter), that's why they look so low. You need to add something like 40 dB to them to estimate the modern (EIA) sensitivity ratings. There was a discussion of this at AA some time back (do a search there if need be).

As to the MR... if it is closed back, and the frame is cast and a light greenish/grey color, it's an LS-8 fullrange (i.e., driver with whizzer cone). The only other MR I've seen in Esquires is closed back and cheap looking (i.e., stamped metal) with an open AlNiCo magnet.

Hope this is helpful.
 
Thatch_Ear said:
Chip,
Have you hooked these up to the Fisher 400 yet? I bet they sound great.
Click to expand...

Not yet ... but that is the plan ... the 400 is currently hooked up to my EV-4s which sound pretty good ... I am a little concerned that the 400 may have a selenium rectifier that should be replaced ...
 
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