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$15 JansZen Electrostatic Speakers (Hybrids?)

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bobbly_bob

Member
JansZen Electrostatic Speakers (Hybrids?)

941-JAN-Z-412-HPB___-P-A01.jpg


Hi all, I was just at a junk shop and came along a pair of JansZen Electrostatic speakers for $15. They are very similar to the ones photographed above (not the actual ones pictured, I'll attempt to get some pics up later this evening).


Both surrounds are shot and need replacing (like every other set of speakers I seem to be getting) so I haven't plugged them in, but I know nothing about these speakers or whether they are worth repairing or just binning.

Anyone know of these or know if they are worth while?

cheers,



John
 
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Welcome to AK John.

You made a great deal on what are reputed to being some very decent tweeters. The refoam should not be a problem unless you are dead set on them being blue.

Heads up though. This thread may very well be moved to Dollars and Sense because you quoted a price. Unfortunately it may not get as many possible answers accordingly. If you can edit out the $ it would be in your best interest.
 
Just some general notes - maybe somebody more experienced will chime in. My experience with electrostatics was with the crappy ESTranslators and photos of other Jantzens.

There is a power supply in that speaker that may require checking of the filter capacitor and diodes. You'll also want to check if the tweeter panels are shorting (you'll see little sparks and crackling). Each of the speakers should have an AC cable to power them. Post photos as you go - these should sound pretty nice. If you find that the HV cap is an oil or plastic type, I'd take off the woofer, replace it with a resistor, and plug in the speaker to power it up. Hook them up to a nice amp, ease it up, and listen the tweets for output.
 
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Janszen is still in business, building some high quality stuff. It is being run by the founders son. He is providing as much support as possible for the vintage line. I "met" him couple of years back when he purchased a set of vintage woofers off of ebay from me. When I saw his name on the invoice, I emailed him asking if he was THAT Janszen! Sure enough he was, and a very nice guy, taking time to email back & forth a couple of times with some questions. He bought the woofers to have in stock if needed.

Here's the link to the main page, there is a vintage section under "services".

http://www.janszenloudspeaker.com/index.htm
 
Those are either the Z412 or Z412HP. The HP has a bi-wire capability and hence 4 terminals on the back with a PCB shorting the pairs for single amp use. If you have the HPs 1st thing to do is lose the PCBs and use a decent set of short wire. I am not a big believer in differences for short runs of wiring but, the sound difference between using the PCB and a set of wires is audible big time.

Plug in the speakers but do not hook an up the amp. Check to see if there is a voltage at the speaker terminals. If so, you have a rebuild to do. The crossover/power supply is more complex than a crossover alone but not difficult as it is simply cap replacements. If they have the Don Kleiwer updates, it is even easier as he had a PCB with I think a dozen electrolytics mounted (it has been about 18 years since I had mine open so it may be slightly less). Woofer refoam is straight forward.

I'd suggest not changing the wires. When I redid mine, I decided to upgrade and finally to get back to the integration between the e'stats and woofers, I went back to the orginal wiring so they are part of the design and not just something to pass the voltage.

An advantage ot having the HPs is that you can use them as an e'stat addon to another set of speakers. JansZen made its name with the addon array that was commonly used with the AR1W, KLH Model One, Bozak and many others.

BTW, congrats, great grab.
 
Thanks all for the help,
sorry about posting the $15 on them, I knew they were a good grab but I was more after info regarding restoring them or whether it was worth restoring them. I just couldn't help myself, the store owner thought that they were a pair of broken PA speakers on account of them having the mains power plug.

It looks like I have another holiday project then.

So the consensus is that they are worth endeavouring to fix? I'm ashamed to admit I don't think I have ever even heard electrostatic speakers, so I'm keen to get these ones up and running if they are indeed decent speakers.
 
I don't object when someone states how much they got something for...in fact, I actually prefer it...and where they got it...helps me figure out what locations in my area I should try and scout...and how much to give for something....

Now, asking about something beforehand would then seem to be asking to have the post moved into the "dollars and cents" category....
 
I had a pair. A very nice speaker, but I had too many, so out they went. You will be pleased with them. Walt D'Ascenzio had an article in Speaker Builder years ago about mods to the stuffing and woofer that would be worth considering. I would consider stiffening or damping the molded plastic section of the enclosure that the panels attach to.
Even if the power supply is shot, the panels are worth way more than you paid for them (assuming they work).
 
well they just got dropped today at the repair shot yesterday arvo.

They'll be checking them out completely and let me know how they go in a week or so, hopefully it will be good news.

I'll be sure to keep everyone posted and post some photos post repairs
 
I just got the call from the repair company, $200 AUD to get the speakers up and running again. I can't bare binning them or selling them as is so they'll be getting fixed.

Since these are now $215 speakers I'd like to get them looking like new. Cosmetically they are near perfect, however one of the badges is missing.

Does anyone know where I might be able to source a pair of Janszen badges?

Cheers
 
I'd ask the repair place just what it is they are doing to the speakers -- the power supplies are not all that complicated -- a center tapped transformer and four diodes seem to be most of it, which seems kind of insufficient to warrant 200 bucks -- but what do I know. I'm trying to figure out the power supplies myself to fix my Transtatics which are balky.
 
If these are like mine there are banks of caps on a pcb that need to be replaced. The arrangement is a little tight and I can see a couple of hours work in dismantling, rebuilding and putting them back together. The may be a little more room if not the but the time savings is not going to be much more. The price for a pair of rebuilds does not seem all that unreasonable. A set of these up and running, espaecially if HPs are well worth the investment.
 
I have a pair of JanZen Z-600s. They have an 8" woofer and two 5 1/2" ES panels in beautifully finished cabs. I can't find much info on them other than they are circa 196o. They seem to need a lot of juice and the panels are very unidirectional. They sound best when I sit directly in front of them. For that reason I don't use them very often but for critical listening they are my favorites.
 

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The dispersion of the 4 panel 412 is far better. I never figured out what Neshaminy was doing with the panels in their design. Also, the dispersion of the later type II panel was better than the original in the Z-600 as well as being more efficient and having a higher ultimate output. Do not push the Z-600, they were not designed to go above a level where you have to raise your voice. If operated within design, a 6bq5 amp will do well. Though the speaker is large they should be used in a smaller room than you'd expect. The Z-412 is a totally different animal and can easily hit peak levels that will put a smile on your face.
 
I could be wrong, but think the panels are push pull, though they are mounted against a hard surface, so they don't function as dipoles (or they do, but only as a source of interference).
 
To start with they'll be getting used with a Luxman RX-103, so that should provide plenty of power for them.

$200 is for a recone and new surrounds. I'm horrified to say that when the last owner, whoever they may have been, realised that the surrounds were on the way out they cut them out and replaced each one with four square chunks of foam which they put into place using silicon gel :S

I'm hoping that either the other electronics are still fine or are included in that repair price. If they'd quoted me $200 for just that part I think I would have had a go at it myself and tried to take advantage of the wealth of knowledge on here (I may still be doing that it seems).
 
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