Mystery speakers? Need some help identifying them. Home made?

Sebandwhit

New Member
Hello, I recently came across this pair of 18" speakers. They were installed in some plywood cabinets that were about 6ftx6ftx3ft. Im trying to figure out what they are... or who might have made them... or any info really! They both appear to have the same cone but different dust caps. If you know anything and feel like sharing please do. I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!

Mystery speaker #1








Mystery Speaker #2 - This one is a hefty 80lbs.






 
They have a late 40's -1950's vibe to them. Looks like they came from a military or maybe civil defense application? Also, speaker #1 looks to be an older build. My guess is armed forces use of some type.
 
Looking at the hardware, I don't know if I'd put them earlier than the 60s. Any more info on the enclosures or the previous owner?
Has anyone ever seen speaker prototypes? They were built by the same team/person.
Why do I get an Aircraft vibe from them?
 
I know what you mean about the aircraft vibe. I was given them from a friend, who inherited them from family, who got them from a previous tenant. they were in cabinets made of junk plywood scraps. Every screw was different on the cabinets. Other speakers included in the cabinets were two JBL 2245h 18" woofers and 4 knight 615hc speakers. It is all a mystery! I will post a few more pictures within a day or so.
 
Well that kind of gives a date range maybe, I wonder when the Knight 615s were made.

There are no other numbers stamped on them except for the 866 on the one cone?

Thread title should have been something like "Help ID Massive Vintage Cast Basket 18" Woofers" and the speaker geeks would come out of the woodwork. Hopefully they'll stumble in here.
 
Looking at the hardware, Id wager these were handmade.

The basket designs are different from each other, but manufactured in the same unusual ways that make me think the same person made both of them, as the surround is clamped to the basket, and the basket arms are similar but affixed to the magnets differently. The wacky plastic that the "tinsel leads" are coming off of on one driver compared to the boring terminal strip on the other.

And those magnets on #2....That either reeks of genius or desperation.

Looks like how the British used to build speakers.

The cones themselves are from a supplier, not sure which one.

These could be the first and second attempt of a hifi enthusiast/machinist. Or possible 18" cone testing rigs for a speaker company, able to swap cones and magnets on the fly.

Those bolts look like they say "YFS" on the heads, which means no older than 1979.
 
So as I look back at my pictures I realized we had 4 cabinets. Basically two sets of different cabinets. Two of them had 1 18" mystery speaker, and 1 2245h jbl in each cabinet. The other two speaker cabinets (much taller) had 2 knight 615hc speakers, 1 Utah 15" coaxial, and 1 8" Phillips coaxial. We also found a Mcintosh 4100 receiver, a spray painted magnavox CD player, craftsman tube TV tuner, realistic communications receiver, a Stromberg Carlson perfectempo turntable, and a home made preamp?(maybe someone can help with that mystery as well!).


 
Those first 2 speakers look like vintage cinema speakers. Movie house speakers were built to be easily overhauled.
 
I found it interesting that the cones are the same. One basket looks to be a more refined build. But they are very close to being exact in size. I do wish they had same magnet structure. They both are supper efficient though. These cabinets had all of these speakers wired together like a spider web. Now what to do with them? any ideas? Its almost a shame to put them back in cabinets. They look so cool.
 
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