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BIC Model 66

jwhvt

jwhvt

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Subscriber
I just picked up a pair of BIC Model 66 speakers for almost nothing. I can find very little information on them searching the web. Does anybody have any information on them or have ever owned a pair? I didn't even know BIC made speakers....

They are in pretty rough condition and filthy but they are very heavy and appear to be solidly built. Are they worth putting any time/money into?

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COOL!

I have a set I bought new back in...what....late 70s, I guess.

The trim ring is gone on the woofer, I wonder if the woofer is correct. It would SUCK if its not. I did have to refoam the woofers on mine.

Do the mids work? One of mine laid down and I ended up doing a swap with some much better mids. (I don't know what mids, a friend provided some that fit).

IF the drivers are working, they are worth a refoam. They should rock the house. IF there are hosed drivers, they are worth looking for repairs drivers, you'll probably have to find replacements since yours are the only other 66s I know of.

Known for their bass response. Should be able to rattle the dishes...in the cupboards.

IIRC they are 100wpc rated.
 
Thanks for the replies....

Although vintage BIC speakers don't seem to get a lot of respect, I am intrigued by these. Most of what I read about are their "Formula" or "Venturi" models but the ones I picked up don't seem to be in that line... at least there is no mention of Venturi or Formula on any of the labels.... just "Model 66". Maybe these were an earlier line?

They do appear to be the original woofers, or at least they are BIC woofers. All the drivers do work although the mid cones are a bit damaged.

One of the woofers was attacked by a cat (didn't like the music??). The front side of the paper cone is scratched up although the damage does not go through to the back. Any suggestions on how to repair it or should I just leave it be? I think I will refoam them and replace the capacitors and see how they sound.

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"BIC" stands for 'British Industries Corp', if i remember correctly. They were the US distributor for Wharfedale back in the day.

I've always wondered who made the drivers for the BIC/BIC Venturi stuff. It doesn't have a Wharfedale look to it at all...
 
I just got some information on the BIC 66 speakers from the original owner. I wasn't able to find much of anything on them in my web searches so maybe this will help someone else in the future...

I also got the original sales slip. They cost $247.80 in 1979 ($735 in today's dollar)....

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Wow, the brochure! Cool! The price sounds right from what I remember paying.

They are "Venturi" speakers. (It says that in the brochure). The original Venturi were older (1, 2, 4, 6, then 5 and 7).

Cone, you can leave it or smear something on the scratches to smooth them and reinforce them. I've used Aleen's glue and one time (A long time ago) PVC cement. You'll "see" it but that's life. I doubt that you'll hear it.

Glad you're re-building them. They are old friends of mine and if you like to rock, you're gonna love them.

I assume you've checked the drivers and they all work...yes?
 
Yes, all of the drivers work although on one speaker, they're kind of intermittent. I'm hoping they can be fixed with a cleaning of the tone balance control and maybe replacing the crossover caps. For the cone damage, I'm just going to glue down the flaps of torn paper. As you say, I think it's mostly cosmetic. It's going to take me awhile to complete but I'll post some pictures and a report when I'm done.
 
ok, a progress report for all BIC Model 66 speaker fans... all two of us I guess :D

First I repaired and replaced the surround on the worst woofer. I repaired the cat claw damage with Aleene's applied with a tooth pick. Luckily, none of the damage went all the way through the paper cone:

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Rick Cobb 12" JL surrounds.
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One mid driver was also damaged but Aleene's did the trick:

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For the cabinets, I used Howard Restor A Finish and Feed N Wax. This is the first time I've used these products and was very impressed.

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I also cleaned the LPads with Deoxit. I still have to replace the caps (on order) and I still have to clean the grills but I wanted to see what they sounded like.

Ready to crank...

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I haven't listened to a huge range of quality speakers so my comparison is to my pair of Vandersteen Model 1's, BA A70's, and Advent /1's. I was expecting the BICs to be boomy and probably not too impressive in the mid and high ranges. I put on Bob Marley's Legend first and yes, they do pack some bass. However, I was surprised by how balanced they seemed overall. I thought the highs might be shrill and that I'd soon get tired of listening to them but I've been listening to them happily for several hours now and haven't been disappointed. Rich, smooth sound. I'm glad I decided to put some time into them... I think they'll be keepers....

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Good stuff man. They look nice. Never seen a set of BIC speakers. Good on you got reviving them.
 
Those look great! I have only seen one set of BIC speakers Venturi 6's as I remember, they were at VV for $20 but were pretty beat so I passed. Keep us posted on how they sound after you recap them :yes:


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk and your mom...she makes good samitches
 
Thanks. You know I've recapped 3 or 4 pairs of speakers and I can't say I've honestly heard a big difference before and after. Either I'm tone deaf (quite possible), or the capacitors just hadn't drifted that much. We'll see what happens with these BICs. They sound really good as they are though....
 
Well done!

I think you'll fuind that they grow on you.
I always ran mine on short bases, about 2-3 inches off the floor.
Try them lower to get the bass effect off the floor.
 
Thanks blhagstrom. I've put my high end, expensive cinder block speaker stands on edge!

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block

Lower, lower...., still a bit high.
Lay one block flat and set the speaker on it.
2-3 inches off the floor was something that seemed to work really well for me, many, many years ago.


OR, right ON the floor. There is the big "Venturi" port across the bottom and these were floor standing speakers.


Just saying.....try it.
 
ok, thanks for the advice. I'll try flipping the blocks flat. Another benefit of cinder block speaker stands is that they are adjustable height!
 
I owned the BIC 44 model for a few years. It had a weird plastic/cloth grill just like your picture, and they were in pristine condition. I sold them to the sons of a restaurant owner I worked for ($75) and they hooked them up to a 200+ watt amp. This restaurant had the disco dance floor thing going on as that was popular at that time. Well, I should have known better, and got my money first. The next day the sons told mom that the speakers were no good and to not pay me for them. They had blown all 6 of the fuses, and then wrapped tin foil around them. The voice coils were melted in place when they tried to give them back to me. After an hour of arguing with "mom" she finally paid me...and then fired me. These sons (twins) were pieces of "you know what" and mom wasn't much better. I remember feeling extremely violated for trying give someone a good deal, and losing my job over it.
 
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Wow, I guess BIC speakers do not exactly bring back good memories for you. Not only were the restaurant owners morons but they ruined a decent set of speakers.

The grills are certainly unique. They are a nylon like material stretched over a plastic honeycombed structure. The nice thing is that I was able to put the whole grill in the bathtub and scrub them with Simple Green. The water that came out was filthy grey. Wish I could clean some Advent grills the same way but I don't think the masonite board would hold up as well under water.
 
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I am amazed that they held up all this time. I remember thinking how flimsy those grills seemed, and was always very careful when removing them. Those BICs were my first 3 way speaker. Come to think of it they were my first speaker with a woofer bigger than 8''. I paid somewhere around $180 for them...a lot of coin when you make $3.35 an hour.

It is good to see there are still a few left out there. I don't recall BIC being the premier company at the time. I still have my FM-8 BIC Beam box that was in the system with those speakers. I powered them with a Yamaha CR-640. I was into gear big time in the late 70's and always drooled over anything with better stats than what I had. I replaced the BIC #44s with some EV Interface I series II speakers which I still have and use.

Glad you posted pics. :thmbsp:
 
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