Heathkit SS-1 speakers

maxhifi

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Jumping on an opportunity to buy a pair of these, based on how they look and how many times I've seen them in catalogs. That and there's a matched pair, and they're both blond. Components supposed to be all original.

Anyone ever hear these? What can I expect?
 
Not a lot of low bass, which is why Heath sold the matching (sub)woofer. I've seen several, but never heard them.
 
The SS-1 was a Jensen speaker model and when Heathkit offered a version they didn't even change the model number! There is the two way full range SS-1A model with a Jensen 8" woofer and Jensen horn tweeter and also the SS-1B "Range Extender" separate large cabinet with a large Jensen woofer and the highly collectible Jensen RP-302 horn super tweeter. They turn up on Fleabay on a regular basis in both the Jensen and Heathkit branded versions which are exactly the same.
 
Cool thanks guys. So everyone's heard of them, but not heard them... Same situation as me. I will definitely write about my impression once I've had some time with them.
 
I had a moldy pair. They sounded good with a punchy though not extended bass. Their sweet spot was with a 6 bq5 single ended amp. The rp103s was the tweeter horn in them. The Jensen 8" woofer pr8 I believe was nice but the paper surrounds in mine succumbed to fatigue cracks. I liked the open sound, reminded me of some 70's Sony speakers. The box seems to resonate a little more upper bass, I kind of like that sound.
 
Nice. Does the horn sound bright, like a T-35?

I can coat the surrounds with diluted PVA glue, to reinforce them a bit.

If they're great for tube amps, well, they're coming to the right place then!
 
I used to have a single SS1 and SS1B, which, when played together, struck me as being kind of a mess, i.e., not at all cohesive. The SS1 by itself, however, sounded pretty good.

My take on the RP-103 is that it's not as bright as the T-35.

Good luck.
 
I used to have a single SS1 and SS1B, which, when played together, struck me as being kind of a mess, i.e., not at all cohesive. The SS1 by itself, however, sounded pretty good.

My take on the RP-103 is that it's not as bright as the T-35.

Good luck.

Thank you! They'll be my first complete 1950s speaker systems. I really like the blond finish, and the picture frame around the grill.
 
Thank you! They'll be my first complete 1950s speaker systems. I really like the blond finish, and the picture frame around the grill.

Funny you mention the picture frame around the grill, I kept the frames from my project. I ended up selling the few usable parts from mine, they were just too far gone. This would be the SS-1b system, link here: http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/heathkit-ss-1b-a-rough-incomplete-project.644414/ I needed entire panels replaced and was missing one of the tweeters. And then? Turns out one of the Jensen 15" woofer's surround was bad. And then? Our young kitty put her paw through the cone of the good one, a few times. Yes, yes, all raw drivers are now stored up and out of the way. Even for a short time! I still have the woofers, just need to be reconed. And I have the Heathkit Builders Manual for the system. My crossover was UGLY and at the time, was going to rebuild it entirely.

Biggles
 
Nice. Does the horn sound bright, like a T-35?

I can coat the surrounds with diluted PVA glue, to reinforce them a bit.

If they're great for tube amps, well, they're coming to the right place then!
Personally, I find the RP-103 to be altogether more pleasant than the T35. The RP-103 is not very extended at all -- but what it does, it does pretty well, to my ears and taste.

P1020775 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

Full disclosure: the pair I had (dump finds) had been re-woofered with a pair of cheap-jack modern Radio Shack woofers. I replaced them (the R/S woofers, that is) with Jensen P8RX drivers, which are not identical to the proper P8RS drivers that were in these originally. I also experimented with EV LS8 "fullrange" drivers in the cabinets. All of this being said, I thought that they sounded pretty good, doing a nice job of communicating the soul of musicians/music when driven by, e.g., a small-single ended vacuum tube amp (e.g., Decware "Zen" SE-84B). That's actually a pretty high bar IMO which many very expensive loudspeakers can't meet. It's one thing to impress a listener with sound, it's another thing entirely to make that listener go ahhhh... :)

HTH.

heathkit_speakers1 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

P1020779 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
 
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Funny you mention the picture frame around the grill, I kept the frames from my project. I ended up selling the few usable parts from mine, they were just too far gone. This would be the SS-1b system, link here: http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/heathkit-ss-1b-a-rough-incomplete-project.644414/ I needed entire panels replaced and was missing one of the tweeters. And then? Turns out one of the Jensen 15" woofer's surround was bad. And then? Our young kitty put her paw through the cone of the good one, a few times. Yes, yes, all raw drivers are now stored up and out of the way. Even for a short time! I still have the woofers, just need to be reconed. And I have the Heathkit Builders Manual for the system. My crossover was UGLY and at the time, was going to rebuild it entirely.

Biggles

I remember contributing to that thread, I always wondered what happened to that project :)

Mine should be a lot easier, the cabinets look decent, and I have only the small SS-1's.
 
Personally, I find the RP-103 to be altogether more pleasant than the T35. The RP-103 is not very extended at all -- but what it does, it does pretty well, to my ears and taste.

The T-35 is a love or hate thing, I'm more on the love side, I like the sharpness, the "bite", it has. I'm excited to try these, I've been reading about them in old magazines most of my life, but never actually seen one.
 
I defer to @drbiggles and others but I'd think that wouldn't be helpful. Change the woofer response.

Bookbinding glue is incredibly flexible. I have had good success mixing it 50/50 with water, and then brushing on a very light coat with an artists brush on damaged areas of a cone, or around the surround. Basically all it does is reinforce the paper. If they're perfect I won't do it, but if they look ready to go, it's a decent remedial technique to have in your tool box.

I got the idea from Troles Gravesen, I emailed him a while back about restoring goodmans axiom 150, and bookbinding glue was his suggestion. I was hestiant myself, but that guy has probably forgot more about speakers than I will ever know, so I just took his advice and it worked beautifully on the goodmans.
 
The 2 times I coated the surround on similar drivers, I used the AR sealant from the ebay guy, it didn't work out. It ruined the lower bass notes, wasn't much there to begin with anyway, which made me want to jack the volume to see if I could force them into submission. Good deal on the bookbinding glue action.

Biggles
 
The 2 times I coated the surround on similar drivers, I used the AR sealant from the ebay guy, it didn't work out. It ruined the lower bass notes, wasn't much there to begin with anyway, which made me want to jack the volume to see if I could force them into submission. Good deal on the bookbinding glue action.

Biggles

The key is to be very delicate about the application. Just barely enough to soak in and hold things together. Way thinner than the shiny black sticky stuff you see on PA speaker surrounds. I didn't measure a change in Fs when I did it with the Goodmans. I had to go to a specialty art store to find the correct glue. Also, thinning it let's it really soak in. The object is definitely not to smear gobs of glue all over the cone, just to bind together weak areas so they don't fail. I'd put it in the category of preservation.
 
I was hestiant myself, but that guy has probably forgot more about speakers than I will ever know, so I just took his advice and it worked beautifully on the goodmans.
Right, funny. Definitely a speaker geek. 50/50 mix of book glue, I will try that when needed.

My motherly speaker anxiety is at rest. Continue on with God's work good sir.
 
Right, funny. Definitely a speaker geek. 50/50 mix of book glue, I will try that when needed.

My motherly speaker anxiety is at rest. Continue on with God's work good sir.

It's got to be low acid PVA glue, the regular carpentry style PVA glue will work too, but may break down over time. The stuff they sell for bookbinding is both flexible and long lasting, so therefore ideal. Chemistry is my weakest science, I wish I had a more intuitive understanding of how adhesives works, in this case I just deferred to someone who knows more than me. I'm certainly conservative about modifying speakers, you won't find me coating cones, or trying to paint them or add mass. Like I said this is more a conservation effort, to try and buy more time for a 60 year old product which has vastly outlived its original application, and probably most everyone involved in its conception.
 
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