ADC-18 circa 1967

[justrideit]

I picked these up last Monday. Somebody called the seller before me but never showed so I got second crack. Too bad for him.

The cabinets are in really great shape. I was surprised to see such an unusual shaped (and size) woofer. 14" x 18".

The tweeter is a metallic dome type.

They sounded good at the sellers house. I think they need a recap. One 4uF on the woofer.
I also suspect the two resistors need replacement and have a thread started in DIY about them.

here is something I found about them. $195 in 1967 WOW!

Jul 1967 - Popular Science Magazine
The system, called the ADC-18. costs $195. It's made by Audio Dynamics Corp.

You can see a picture here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=qy...Q6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=adc-18 speakers&f=false

and you can see the cabinets here -
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=259016

 

[stickman]

Those are pretty darn cool. The tweeter looks like it would make a fine driver for a horn! Better hope those woofers never need to have their surrounds replaced! (lol) The woofer cone itself is made of expanded foam, but it looks to be in fine shape and hopefully won't deteriorate over time. The woofer frame looks like something Yamaha would have made back then, but the tweeter has me baffled. You sure can't beat those for having something rare and unusual.

 

[jimreeves]

:thmbsp:
+1 on the darn cool! Hope they can sound as nice as they look. Great score regardless! Keep us posted on your experiences with them. And post more pics!

Jim

 

[Gang-Twanger]

That last picture of the enclosure looks like a drawer full of dishtowels.
:scratch2:

Wow! That's a sweet-looking cabinet.

 

[DENNYDOG]

Pretty cool how they talk about using a square woofer to increase surface area in a given size cabinet. The new manufacturers of square woofers talk like this is something new.

 

[jimreeves]

I'm curious about the white strip around the cone, is that some sort of binder to attach the cone to the surround? Hope those have cloth surrounds! I was guessing that is a pile of rockwool strips for stuffing?

 

[ryuuoh]

That speaker looks to be built proper~
Nice find!
What beer was that btw?

 

[justrideit]

The woofer has a cloth surround. I talked the seller in to taking the back off the cabinet so I could inspect the surround before purchasing. I already knew the woofer was rectangle and I was concerned that I would never be able to find replacement foam for a rectangular loudspeaker.

Rockwool. A whole 33 gallon garbage bag full for each cabinet!!

The beer in the picture is called Augustiner. The local party store (that’s what liquor stores are called in Michigan) had it on sale for $6 a case. I bought 6 cases. I don’t drink but my friends say it tastes OK.

http://www.ironcitybrewingcompany.com/DrinkResponsibly/Augustiner/tabid/62/Default.aspx

 

[MunkeyQ]

That woofer is a Kef B1814 - a pretty rare thing used in Kef's first ever speaker, the K1. I guess Kef also sold it to other OEMs. The tweeter is also Kef...a very early 16 ohm T15 (later ones didn't have an Alnico magnet). It's not actually a metal dome - it's Melinex, which was a clear plasticy stuff made from plant fibres, coated in aluminium. Early ones were left silver and shiny whilst later on they got sprayed black.

However, the B1814 only goes up to 1khz or so and the T15 isn't happy below 1.5khz so the lower midrange must sound a tad muddy. The T15 pairs pretty well with the B100 which has a similar construction to the B1814.

As far as I know the K1 used the same drivers but included a midrange to cover the midbass in a completely different cabinet...much smaller. I expect this bigger cabinet allows for much deeper bass.

How does it sound?

 

[Rolf Zetterberg]

In it's apparently very first version the KEF K1 in nov 1962 looked like this:
It was available as a premade baffle,as a "slimline" box(67x42x18cm) or as a "monitor" (100x42x35cm).
And yes,the surround was glued to the baffle.
156000 Maxwell,4kg magnet,20Hz.
Crossover frequencies are 500Hz and 3000Hz.
There was also a 2-way version.

 

[justrideit]

MunkeyQ, when I read the information you provided I felt like I was a guest on Antique Road Show! Thanks!
I had heard this speaker had KEF components, I just didn't know the extent.
Once I get these recapped I will give them a listen and report back.

 

[tubed]

It would be nice if you could incorporate a nice midrange in yours before you rework the crossover, ala the ADC 18a. The front grills come off on the 18a's. Need to see the front baffle, though, for possible vertical alignment. Otherwise enjoy.