Rectilinear Mini IIIs - New Owner

Done with the first speaker. It was the worse of the two. Looks great so far. It'll be dry by tomorrow.
 

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The first time I heard a Rectilinear III, I was a Sansui (?) and JBL devotee. The Sansui because they were cheap as every returning soldier in the 60's and 70's had bought them cheap at the PX, and the JBL because a rich kid I knew had a set of L-200's as his "starter" speakers. Then I went to a bar in Coeur d'Alene Idaho that had a Marantz Model 19 and the III's suspended about 8 feet above the floor. I have never passed on a set since, and have a set of highboy's downstairs waiting to be re-done. I applaud anyone who is smart enough to appreciate these speakers.
 
So... one of the things I noticed when I first started playing these speakers was a rattle from one of the crossovers. It's one of the reasons I didn't delay getting the new caps. Well, I installed the new caps in the one speaker last night, but I can still hear a pretty audible rattle coming from the rear of the speaker right at the crossover. I hope it's not one of the drivers, and the sound is most audible coming through the thin crossover base. I can't detect it from the front of the cabinet at all.

Thoughts?
 
Hey msg,

Gotta find it, that's all there is to that. Push, hold, twist, fiddle. It's a PIA, but as you can hear, it needs to be done. I haven't had that experience, and I haven't read about any inherent issues. Investigation is where it's at.

Biggles
 
So, my house cleaner backed into one of my new speakers...... She caught it before it fell, but in the process stuck two fingers into the midrange... The very same day my new grill cloth arrived...

Now I'm waiting for a replacement I found on eBay... No big deal....

IMG_20171013_072946076.jpg IMG_20171013_072954897.jpg IMG_20171013_073012427.jpg IMG_20171013_073021458.jpg
 
....a replacement I found on eBay... No big deal....
Ouch! That's really too bad. I'll be curious to see the replacement mid you purchased, because there are a few different drivers that were used for this midrange. I am guessing that yours with the pleated surround may be a very early version, also suggested by the Brooklyn labels on the back (Rect. Corp. later moved to the Bronx around 1968). When you get around to removing a woofer and the damaged mid, maybe you can post an image of the backside of each.

Shown attached are the two different Philips mids found in my two pairs of Mini-III's. They appear very similar, but are purported to have performance differences. The first is AD 5060/M8 (circa 1969) and seems to have a smaller whizzer cone and dust cap. The second is AD 5061/M8 (circa 1972) and has a larger whizzer cone and dust cap. The only other obvious difference I have found, and only recently noticed, is that the later '72 speaker has these mids wired out-of-phase with the tweeter and woofer, while the earlier '69 speaker has all drivers wired in-phase.

On both my speakers, it was not easy to dig out these mid drivers - - one was bedded in clear silicone sealant and the other was bedded in a material that was more like wax. Be aware that these mids sit in their own little resonant chamber - - in this case a small plastic tub. When you get yours opened up, please include some additional pics of the back of drivers, and also the crossover.

Phillips AD 5060 mid.jpg Phillips AD 5061 mid.jpg
 
will do. I'm going to try to repair the original mid, but only after I install the replacement. If the repair goes well, back in it goes and I'll sell the replacement. I'm going to take my time on it so I get it right.

on another note, I just picked up a pair of Philips 22GL564 bookshelf speakers for $20. Solid teak cabinets in perfect condition. Crossovers need to be rebuilt (tweeter was DOA but works when hooked up directly to receiver (at really low volume and no bass)). Nice little 2-way speakers.
 
I'm going to try to repair the original mid,
Sounds like a good plan. Please show us both the original mid (after removal) as well as the potential replacement mid (after arrival).

And you gotta show us these teak Philips speakers.
 
IMG_20171019_214441986.jpg IMG_20171019_214456705.jpg IMG_20171019_214402108.jpg IMG_20171019_214556573.jpg

here we go... note that I haven't pulled the old mid yet. I'll post a photo of the back when it's out. They are the same size, but noticeably different.
 
They're definitely different. Same size, and same frame, but different wizzers, different magnets.

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Very interesting to see the driver comparison, and similar to my earlier 1969 speakers, yours seem to have the cotton cabinet stuffing and not fiberglass like I have in my later 1972 speakers. Maybe show a pic of the crossover?

The thread attached here shows the exact same mid driver as your original with alnico magnet, with the same week of production (38th week of 1967).
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....-255-85002-early-rectilinear-highboys.775530/
Also, more info on these various drivers here:
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....ar-iii-and-dq-10-specialists-what-mid.130291/

The new driver you show (5061/M4, made in Belgium) appears identical to the second one I show in post #31 (5061/M8, made in Holland) except for one thing: yours appears to be the 4 ohm version instead of 8 ohm version. If the repair of your original is unsuccessful, I guess all you can do is try the new one.
 
Pobably the design changed from ALNICO to ceramic magnets too; I was likely a Phillip' design change or availability instead of Rectilinear's.
 
So, I ended up purchasing a second pair of speakers for parts. The cabinets are truly shot. Is anyone interested in either a tweeter, mid, crossover, or anything else internal? One woofer is dead and the other has a slight rattle at certain frequencies, but you're welcome to them as well. I'm keeping the baffling.
 
I ran into some Rectilinear mini 3's for $20 and they sound great. Went ahead and purchased another pair for a bit more and ran into an interesting dilemma. I have a Sansui G7500 and had some Bose 901's hooked to B channel and the Rectilinear minis hooked up to A channel. When I hook the second pair of Rectilinears to channel B, I get nothing! Channel A speakers continue to work fine. Thought I had blown the B channel. Hooked the 901's back up to channel B and they play! Can anyone advise?
 
The Mini III's, as small as they are, are 4ohm speakers. Your receiver will only allow 1 pair of 4ohm speakers playing at the same time. It's probably got a protection circuit and will only allow your A speakers to play at one time.

Biggles
 
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