Rectilinear III Highboys

danrclem

Super Member
I think these are the original models because they have the white grill cloth. They are supposed to be in good shape but one of the grill cloths has two tears a couple inches or a little longer. How much would they be worth? I'd go take a look and listen but they're about 100 miles from me.

I've read a lot of good things about these speakers but would they best my Klipsch Chorus I speakers?
 
I was thinking the same thing about the Chorus comparison but wasn't for sure because a lot of people like the Rectilinears. The asking price is $150 but if it's not going to beat what I have now I don't think I'll buy them.
 
I think theyy sound wonderful, much better than I expected, but I had a hard time getting $100 for mine. Add travel time and I say don't bother. If a pair comes up in your local thrift for $20 like they did for me, grab them just to hear them once. I was a skeptic of all those tweeters thrown willy nilly all over the baffle, but somehow it works.
 
I just picked up a pair for $20 this morning. I haven't brought them in yet to verify function. These also have white grill cloth. I assumed that was an "after market add on", but maybe not. The cabs of mine are painted white as well. I suspect that was done by the previous owner.
 
The pair that I was looking at is already sold. I would have liked to have heard them but really didn't want to make the trip unless I was almost 100% going to buy.

Tyella, I have saw quite a few pictures of them with the white grill cloth so unless yours has been replaced with another white cloth it's probably original. I have read it being described as being fuzzy and ugly. Good deal on yours.
 
If it's a white woven almost burlap material it's probably original. If it's white linen or more traditional grill material it's replaced.
 
I just picked up a pair for $20 this morning. I haven't brought them in yet to verify function. These also have white grill cloth. I assumed that was an "after market add on", but maybe not. The cabs of mine are painted white as well. I suspect that was done by the previous owner.
I'll be curious to hear your impressions.
 
The pair that I was looking at is already sold. I would have liked to have heard them but really didn't want to make the trip unless I was almost 100% going to buy.

Tyella, I have saw quite a few pictures of them with the white grill cloth so unless yours has been replaced with another white cloth it's probably original. I have read it being described as being fuzzy and ugly. Good deal on yours.

If it's a white woven almost burlap material it's probably original. If it's white linen or more traditional grill material it's replaced.

First off, sorry to hijack your thread! It was just kismet that you posted an hour or so after I bought them!

Sorry you missed out, danrclem. For my part, the jury is still out. I haven't had a chance to even test them yet. The cloth on mine is the tidy looking stuff. Almost assuredly an amendment by the previous owner. No badges either. They were listed at $50, but the owner said he'd make me a deal. I still left the sale without them. I went back an hour or two later, as I couldn't resist, and offered $20. I would have happily walked away, as I'm not sure where I'll even put them.

At this point, I'll probably strip them, recap and maybe redo the grill cloth. However, the white looks kinda cool. I'm not sure how the back edges will look, though. I don't think I'll get the paint out of the edges (MDF?). These are pretty big. They really dwarf the KLH Fives they're standing next to.

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IMG_20180721_211524767.jpg
 
Might not be the original frame. The original frames are pretty thin MDF and can warp or break so somebody may have made new ones. But it shouldn’t block any of the drivers, and it looks like it’s blocking one of the tweeters as it is. You can see what the correct shape is by the fading on the baffle.

The veneer on these is nice and pretty thick. I stripped mine with Zip Strip and they turned out very nice.

I prefer them to AR-3a and ADS L810 that I’ve had. Goofy design that violates several “good speaker” principals but is in fact a very good speaker.
 
That grill frame is definitely not original. The middle cross piece should go between the port and the lower right tweeter.
These benefit so much with a recap. Mine are in storage due to a a temporary living situation, and I miss them every day.
 
They look pretty clean despite the paint job. Couple of good threads on resto tips. Hope you can enjoy them. I've been happy with the pair i picked up for $75 that had orange grill cloth and some cat pee. New caps, cloth, rub down on cabs = all good.
 
I just verified all drivers function! They certainly do have a presence, not just physically, but sonic-ly as well! The bass is almost overwhelming. There is a tear in one of the tweets that can be repaired with glue and a coffee filter, I think. Several dustcaps are pushed in, too. But... the binding posts have been replaced with banana pug-able posts! I'm curious if the caps have been dealt with and can't wait to get inside them!

Woofers don't resemble ones I've seen online, but I haven't dug too deeply yet. They have (what appears to be) butyl covered inverted cloth surrounds. Not to be confused with a three handled, moss covered family credenza.

And yes, the grills are, upon further inspection, completely homemade. I'll cut new ones to avoid blocking tweeters and ports.

This will be fun! I'll start a fresh, new thread when I get moving on them.
 
Woofers don't resemble ones I've seen online, but I haven't dug too deeply yet. They have (what appears to be) butyl covered inverted cloth surrounds.

That woofer is not the same as the ones I had, but I've seen it often enough to think it is factory from a later run. If you do a Google image search you will find it several times.
 
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