Last weekend I saw a CL listing for a pair of HPM-150s with a photo that showed they were in great shape externally after it had been up for 8 minutes.
I called and was told he'd replaced some drivers after a bad refoam experience but they sounded great. Red flag???
There was a turntable in the photo and I asked if that was also for sale. Yes.... how much? Assuming the turntable worked, the speakers were free and stuffed with 500 dollar bills. I hope that makes sense.
The speakers sounded OK and the drivers were definitely different - just one original tweeter, the other a pioneer something, the mids Pyle and the 15 inch guys Pioneers off something not very expensive. As my age starts with a 6, I can't hear super-tweeters. But those cabinets, superb, grills, badges, risers, top sections, glass, all great.
And the turntable worked and was pristine and a handful of interesting AT cartridges appeared. Another $30.
So I got a huge bargain numerically and some project HPM-150s for nothing essentially.
However no such thing as a free lunch. To add to the fun, I've checked the super-tweeters and they read open circuit and a meg or so.
What next? Do I pick off drivers one by one? Do I look for a pair in terrible shape looking for a good cabinet or do I find a friend and we end up with one good pair between us?
Or do I just listen to them. They don't actually sound that bad, but I know they should sound a lot better.
Ah, the trials of vintage audio
I called and was told he'd replaced some drivers after a bad refoam experience but they sounded great. Red flag???
There was a turntable in the photo and I asked if that was also for sale. Yes.... how much? Assuming the turntable worked, the speakers were free and stuffed with 500 dollar bills. I hope that makes sense.
The speakers sounded OK and the drivers were definitely different - just one original tweeter, the other a pioneer something, the mids Pyle and the 15 inch guys Pioneers off something not very expensive. As my age starts with a 6, I can't hear super-tweeters. But those cabinets, superb, grills, badges, risers, top sections, glass, all great.
And the turntable worked and was pristine and a handful of interesting AT cartridges appeared. Another $30.
So I got a huge bargain numerically and some project HPM-150s for nothing essentially.
However no such thing as a free lunch. To add to the fun, I've checked the super-tweeters and they read open circuit and a meg or so.
What next? Do I pick off drivers one by one? Do I look for a pair in terrible shape looking for a good cabinet or do I find a friend and we end up with one good pair between us?
Or do I just listen to them. They don't actually sound that bad, but I know they should sound a lot better.
Ah, the trials of vintage audio
