Vintage Harmon-Kardon HK20's--Value at $40.?

[SubLover]

Hi all,

What a wonderful site! I have been "lurking" for a little while, but a Craigs List listing has caught my eye, and I'd like some advice. The best speakers I have currently are "freebies," in the much-maligned Fisher STV-line--they're STV-863's). (I know, people hate 'em--LOL--they work for me, in the room they're in, for now, driven by my 1971 Pioneer QX-8000 "Quadraphonic Stereo Receiver"...LOL.)

So I saw these Harmon-Kardon HK20's advertised as "vintage" for $40.

ARE they "vintage"?

What year, approximately?

Are they worth $40.? Seller claims they're in "very good condition" and "sound good."

Should I assume they'll need to be refoamed? (I just picked up another freebie set of Fishers--ST-845's with the 15" woofers--and they immediately puked their surround-foam--I guess the PO never played them very loud, recently--LOL).

Are there refoam kits available for these Harmon-Kardon's?

I mentioned the Fisher STV-863's because I am familiar with them, and like how they sound ("warm," with rich mid-range--not harsh or "tinny.") Could someone comment/compare/contrast the sound of these Harmon-Kardon HK20's to the Fisher STV-863's?

Thanks!

SubLover

 

[yddet12]

Two way speakers with a 3" tweeter and 8" woofer. No, they do not need to be refoamed; the woofer surround is made of paper, not foam (at least my pair of HK20s is, yours may be different).

They would be approximately late 60's to early 70's; I believe mine were made in 1972.

On my speakers, the midrange is not good at all. Currently, I just gotten 8 uF capacitors (well, actually, they're currently testing at more like 8.9 uF) to replace the existing 6 uF capacitors. I'll report back after I install them.

As for the price--I would keep looking. If you really want HK20s, there are some on eBay for $34.99 (although that doesn't include shipping--which may be rather expensive), and I'm pretty sure I saw some pairs go for $20 awhile ago.

Besides, you said you're happy with your existing Fishers, despite being from Fisher's lesser line of products. In that case, I'd say enjoy your current speakers until a pair of HK20s come along at a better price, or until you find another better pair of speakers.

 

[SubLover]

Thanks!

Two way speakers with a 3" tweeter and 8" woofer. No, they do not need to be refoamed; the woofer surround is made of paper, not foam (at least my pair of HK20s is, yours may be different).

They would be approximately late 60's to early 70's; I believe mine were made in 1972.

On my speakers, the midrange is not good at all. Currently, I just gotten 8 uF capacitors (well, actually, they're currently testing at more like 8.9 uF) to replace the existing 6 uF capacitors. I'll report back after I install them.

As for the price--I would keep looking. If you really want HK20s, there are some on eBay for $34.99 (although that doesn't include shipping--which may be rather expensive), and I'm pretty sure I saw some pairs go for $20 awhile ago.

Besides, you said you're happy with your existing Fishers, despite being from Fisher's lesser line of products. In that case, I'd say enjoy your current speakers until a pair of HK20s come along at a better price, or until you find another better pair of speakers.

yddet12,

Thank you for your prompt analysis!

I also appreciate your frank assessment of the HK20's capabilities and/or shortcomings. I never thought that they might have no mids, but I should have looked at the pics closer, I guess--I could faintly see the tweeters and woofers through the covers--I just assumed (wrongly) that there would be mid range speakers as well.

I also appreciate the info about the speakers being paper and not needing to be refoamed.

I don't have any particular interest HK's, actually. I was just curious as I'm familiar with the name and thought they seemed both "vintage" and low-priced--and thanks to you, now I know why--LOL.

I will take your advice and keep looking. While I like my Fishers, for now, I'd like to find something with more ooomph--I don't turn it up so loud that they distort, and it's okay, but I'd like more bass, for one thing. And I may be getting a much more powerful amp (150 wpc, as opposed to my current 21 wpc) and I'd like to have speakers that can make use of that. Plus, my current Fishers have a slight tear (not rotted, but torn) in one surround, which "buzzes" occasionally. (I'd like to refoam them, but I've never done that and I'd like to read more about that before I attempt it.)

I also have some weird, large, 3-way speakers on my rear channels, which have a 15" woofer, but I replaced the original woofers with some (replacement "MTX") woofers (with paper surrounds, despite not being "vintage") that I took from another set of freebies, and their sound is less appealing to me than my Fishers. These speakers are very heavy, and are called "MX 15's," and state "Model 2831" on the backs. I certainly hope they weren't valuable, such that I'll wish I hadn't thrown out the original woofers (the foam failed and I hadn't yet discovered this site, so I wasn't aware that they could be DIY-refoamed). Oddly, these "MX 15's" have two switches on the fronts, (under the covers) to add or subtract 3db from the mid-range and tweeters.

Any idea what these big boxes are? The cabinets appear to be mdf to me, albeit with what appears to be real veneer on them, yet they appear to be from the 1960's or 1970's, IMO. Also, there is a huge textual legend on the backsides, that drones on about them being suitable for amps from 10wrms to 100wrms. I mean, there are paragraphs of text on the papers on the speaker-backs--LOL. I'm sure it would provide amusing reading for some here, were I to post a pic.

So...sorry for the length, but I wanted to address all of your points, and then you inspired two questions.

My second question, if you (or anyone else?) cares to comment: Are there any general qualities of paper-surrounds vs. foam surrounds that you could share with me, for future reference? IOW, do paper surrounds tend to have less prominent bass, for example, than foam-surround-based woofers, or are generalizations like that not possible to make, due to individual brand/model variations? It would make sense to me that foam surrounds would allow for greater excursion than paper surrounds. And am I correct in thinking that greater excursion would allow greater bass response, all other things being equal? Just curious, as I like a lot of bass.

Thanks again for all your help!

SubLover