akai sw 30

[markdi]

I picked up a pair of akai sw 30 at the goodwill for 5 bux

they are in okay shape - not fantastic but okay.

does anyone know what they used for a driver ?

http://audio-database.com/AKAI/speaker/sw-30-e.html

 

[markdi]

I guess these must be pretty rare

I wonder it they came with a reel to reel deck or something ?

 

[sealy]

I remember the speaker if not the driver, but that type of an enclosure raises all kinds of possibilities. If you can get hold of some nice full range drivers, you might really have something. I think the enclosure is essentially a small labyrinth or transmission line, although it doesn't appear damped like the traditional tl. Neat find!

 

[markdi]

I hooked them up to my sony cfd 5 boombox.

They sound ok for being in the middle of my kitchen floor.

They would sound better if I was to place in the room better.

I do not know how I would take them apart without destroying them.

 

[stickman]

I bought a pair of these off ebay awhile back just so I could tear them apart. The driver was a clone (of unknown source) of the Foster FE103 type but was seriously lacking in upper frequency treble output and sounded so dull I tossed them in the trash. The cabinets are made of such flimsy wood material that no driver would sound good in them. These Akai's were a copy of the much better Admiral tunnel reflex model which used actual Foster drivers. The fun I had literally tearing them apart made the purchase worthwhile though.

 

[goanlisten]

I remember listening to a pair in a restaurant in the late 60's. They sounded very good mated to a Sansui tube amp.

Lacked clean high frequency content, but the low end was very good for a bookshelf unit. My first impresssions - they were on shelves about 8 feet above the floor - not a good place for serious listening, however very pleasant sounding speaker for prolonged use in a restaurant.

I always wondered if AKAI used Diatone drivers for this model. Diatone was a very famous speaker manufacturer known for single driver systems in Japan.

 

[himm37]

I have a pair of SW-35's, same design, slightly larger. I finally figured how to get the front off! The driver is marked AKAI, although it might be made for them. The cabinet is a transmission line, although it is empty. The sound wasn't bad considering, the highs were rolled of of course, and the bass was muddy, the mids had potential! I plan on stuffing the cabinet to see if that cleans them up, and hang on to them till an interesting full range driver that fits comes along.

I'll post some pics later or tomorrow.

 

[cnolanh]

Very old thread but I just discovered that these speakers were the exact model I used early in college (my uncle gave them to me). I used them for a year but eventually blew them up cranking Boston's "More Than a Feeling." The fact that they handle only 10 watts explains a lot.

I do treat my equipment very differently now. Fun that I still have Vandersteen 1B transmission line speakers, though.