Anyone ever seen these GE speakers?

[goodloe]

I found this gnarly pair of GE speakers yesterday at a thrift store. Does anyone know anything about them? I've searched the forums, and haven't turned anything up. They're big and deep speakers, nearly coming to my waist (I'm 5'10").

Model is SPK 885.

I didn't buy them, but am debating going back for them today. :scratch2: If I do, I'll post pictures without the grill.

I'd greatly appreciate any info, if anyone has seen these or knows anything about them! Thanks!

 

[drbiggles]

I found this gnarly pair of GE speakers yesterday at a thrift store. Does anyone know anything about them? I've searched the forums, and haven't turned anything up. They're big and deep speakers, nearly coming to my waist (I'm 5'10").

Model is SPK 885.

I didn't buy them, but am debating going back for them today. :scratch2: If I do, I'll post pictures without the grill.

I'd greatly appreciate any info, if anyone has seen these or knows anything about them! Thanks!

How much do they want for them? Just by looking at them, i would have knabbed them, depending on price though. But that's just me.

Biggles

 

[mtlmn1971]

Those are some pretty nice looking cabs. Hopefully they sound as good as they look. I also would have probably grabbed them for the right price.

 

[Dr. Mordo]

I'd love to see a picture of the drivers.

I pretty sure these are early to mid 80s when GE owned RCA. RCA had named it's speakers SPKxxx during the early 80s, and these RCAs were very nice speakers that were made by Onkyo. They were comparable to Pioneer's HPM series with cast woofers with carbon cones.

You should look inside the grill to see if Onkyo is stamped in the plastic.

So I'd at least seriously consider buying these speakers based on how nice the drivers look and the price. I had a set of SPK500s years ago and my biggest mistake in audio was trashing them when the surrounds rotted (this was 20 years ago and I didn't know they could be refoamed).

 

[goodloe]

Welp, I bought 'em. I figured $30 was a pretty good deal. Here are two pics. I haven't plugged them in yet, but they look pretty clean, if a little dusty!

Also, no Onkyo markings anywhere...

A big thank you for all the info!

 

[Dr. Mordo]

Well, they are definitely later than the Dimensia era RCAs, but still may be worth the effort.

Have you listened to them yet?

 

[-reverb-]

The veneer is very nice looking. Hope the sound matches

 

[mrminhco]

Yesterday, in 2019. I bought them. The sound is so nice, but there isn't any information of them on the internet. Who can help me about information of them, please?

 

[stereofanboy]

Price was right and they look to be in nice condition.

 

[Mate s]

Yesterday, in 2019. I bought them. The sound is so nice, but there isn't any information of them on the internet. Who can help me about information of them, please?

Were you able to ever find any info on these? I have an opportunity to purchase a pair locally for 100.00 are they worth it?

 

[sax6]

From clothes iron to jet engines and.... speakers, That is really some general electric.

 

[nolasally]

@Mate s HELL NO! At 30.00 I would have passed on those....That aint veneer! Shiny vinyl paper laminate... In this case OP got what they paid for. Good for the garage or for a kid to blow up in college. These are the GE that you should be looking for.....

 

[goodolpg]

The original speakers in this thread are the kind of item there most likely won't be much information available for.
Not all that great, built to a (cheap) price point, and buyers generally aren't all that interested in the specs.
They just want(ed) something that made noise and looked halfway decent.

 

[CT_Ohio]

Well I didn't think this thread would ever come back to life... I have a pair of these '885' things as well. A clue to their use can be found on the sticker shown in one of the pics; these were part of a set with a 25" TV (cabinetted in the same veneer-over-particle board), thus the 'Video Products' notation. The amp in the TV probably ran 15-20 watts/channel at most, and try as I might I can't find any info on that TV or the set as a whole. My guess, recalling when these were first in my dad & stepmom's house, was that they're from about 1985-1986 (edit: if this 885 designation is simply a date code for August 1985, it wouldn't surprise me a bit. GE was also acquiring RCA around that part of the 80s.) The woofers on mine have started to lose their foam, so I replaced them with Dayton Audio 10" Classic drivers (https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-dc250-8-10-classic-woofer--295-315). They're a drop-in fit, and sound very good in these cabinets (and the cabinets are plenty sturdy, too). If anyone needs an extra pic or two, I can open em up.

Specifically to Mate S, while I have a fondness for these old beasts, I'm not sure I'd pay $100 for a pair when there are speakers with better pedigree to be found for the same or close to it.

 

[Mate s]

Well I didn't think this thread would ever come back to life... I have a pair of these '885' things as well. A clue to their use can be found on the sticker shown in one of the pics; these were part of a set with a 25" TV (cabinetted in the same veneer-over-particle board), thus the 'Video Products' notation. The amp in the TV probably ran 15-20 watts/channel at most, and try as I might I can't find any info on that TV or the set as a whole. My guess, recalling when these were first in my dad & stepmom's house, was that they're from about 1985-1986 (edit: if this 885 designation is simply a date code for August 1985, it wouldn't surprise me a bit. GE was also acquiring RCA around that part of the 80s.) The woofers on mine have started to lose their foam, so I replaced them with Dayton Audio 10" Classic drivers (https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-dc250-8-10-classic-woofer--295-315). They're a drop-in fit, and sound very good in these cabinets (and the cabinets are plenty sturdy, too). If anyone needs an extra pic or two, I can open em up.

Specifically to Mate S, while I have a fondness for these old beasts, I'm not sure I'd pay $100 for a pair when there are speakers with better pedigree to be found for the same or close to it.

Hi everyone, I did offer $50.00 and was accepted but I passed on them as I found that the woofers were not the same as what I saw in previous pictures so it may had been replaced. He did say the boxes where like 90lbs and looks like veneer wood, no plastic vinyl

 

[CT_Ohio]

I can confirm that those are not the original woofers. They look like some cheapo GRS woofers I bought from PE to try before I put in the Dayton Audio drivers (and the GRS weren't very good). Tweeter and mid look original. Yes, it's veneer, and fairly tough; I moved mine all over the place and they got knocked around quite a bit but the veneer held up.

 

[Mate s]

Yes, I suspected that and the seller really had no clue. All good, left them for won=me other person to take.

 

[danm5000]

I'll bring this thread back to life again. I encountered the whole set in a family household that is being closed down. If anybody is interested in any part of this, and is in the general "Finger Lakes" region of New York State, USA let me know. It's gotta go... somewhere, somehow, soon.

The television is the "GE Command Performance Series" version, which I think was at the upper end of GE's TV lineup back when they made and sold TVs. Somewhere else on the internet suggests that this model may have had an option to link into a kind of Home Control networking system (Home Minder?). I only remember this as being a pretty solid TV, back in analog days. The speakers seem OK, but these ones are begging for a refoam.

I didn't know to check the plastic grill frame for Onkyo markings, but will do so on my next visit there, within some several weeks from now.

This setup included the TV, the matching speakers, and the matching media console (which has done a good job of holding a lot of VHS tapes over the years).

My original thought was "the speakers may be the most valuable part of that whole setup now," (and they probably still are, which sadly doesn't say much for the rest of it) then I realized that this was the perfect system to watch some of those VHS tapes on in our spare time. Except the only VCR available doesn't want to play tapes. The TV seems to work OK, as it displays the VCR's generated text menus well, but its whole functionality remains unknown (can VCR text menus have a grey background? I remember them as blue) .

Anyway, photos below for posterity and information. Most certainly these are the original woofers and tweeters, if that helps anybody out.