Allison Acoustics 110 mystery

[kylemac]

So, I roll by the thrift store today. On the shelf, priced $4.50, are a set of vintage Allison Acoustics speakers.
They are the "Allison: 110" model.

Despite the cracked 8-inch woofer surrounds, they came home with me.

I have seen several variations of the "Allison: 110" speaker while researching online. There is the LC-110 model that appears to be a dead ringer for this speaker, as well as the AL-110 -- another dead ringer. The speaker grills on all the models have the same indentation design element.

Meanwhile, the serial number on my model is of the K series, and some folks talking about the speakers made it appear as this distinction was rather important.

Overall dimensions are:
Height: 18 inches
Width: 11.5 inches
Depth: 6.75 inches

So two real questions: What model to I really have, AND is the woofer able to receive a new surround?

 

[Allison3]

Those grilles have no business looking that good at $4.50. Nice find. Any Natick Allison is a good Allison. I THINK the 110 and the LC110 are the same speaker.

From those pictures, I don't see any reason you can't refoam those woofers, I've done lots of the 8" Allisons.

 

[kylemac]

Those grilles have no business looking that good at $4.50. Nice find. Any Natick Allison is a good Allison. I THINK the 110 and the LC110 are the same speaker.

From those pictures, I don't see any reason you can't refoam those woofers, I've done lots of the 8" Allisons.

---
Thank you for your response. The plastic grills are by no means perfect, but their flaws are in the corners, and not very noticable.

That said, it seems like the woofer is coated with some type of rubber. So, when replacing the surrounds, how do I separate the current surround from the woofer?

Kyle

 

[Allison3]

Carefully. But it's actually not that hard. Those look like typical degraded Allison surrounds - they should just crumble right off the cone. Whatever ever remains can be scraped off with the flat edge of a razor blade, held perpendicular to the cone surface. I got my 10" surround kit from Springfield Speakers, who are great.

 

[kylemac]

Carefully. But it's actually not that hard. Those look like typical degraded Allison surrounds - they should just crumble right off the cone. Whatever ever remains can be scraped off with the flat edge of a razor blade, held perpendicular to the cone surface. I got my 10" surround kit from Springfield Speakers, who are great.

Welp, that went easier than expected... Four screws and out came the woofer assembly. And, you are right, Allison3, the surround pretty much disintegrated in my hands. No razor needed, as it pulled away from the woofer cone with no trouble. I will spend some time tomorrow scrapping away the rubber glue residue before ultimately gluing on a new surround.

A few thoughts: First, that is a lot of dense insulation inside that cabinet. They did not skimp!! Secondly, the metal speaker chassis isn't as solid as I thought it would be. If you flick it, it rings brightly. Also, the speaker was obviously made in 1984, as the chassis is stamped what appears to be "Jan 05 1984" and "Made in the U.S.A."

Time to order some surrounds and get these babies working!

 

[kylemac]

A few more pics of the woofer magnet... Yep, Jan 5, 1984... I wonder if this will help decode what model Allison 110 this speaker really is?

 

[kylemac]

Well, thanks to Springfield Speaker Repair's replacement surrounds on eBay ($22), these speakers will have new life once they are done drying...

 

[JPNH]

Nice find! There's been a pair of LC110 and a pair of AL-120 near me on FB for awhile. Price is a little high and I'd prefer a pair of 4s or 5s, but if the price drops on either I might consider them. I've never heard either. Let us know what you think when they're all back together.

 

[NH-MAN]

I have a pair of LC-110's The LC stands for liquid cooled tweeter

Allison's Have a thermal resistor in them so if you have it cranked up and the speaker fades away turn volume down and the sound comes right back.

Windex or similar works good to clean the woofer cone.

.

 

[kylemac]

My current opinion:

I was reading the Stereo Review review of the LC-110 from November 1986. The reviewer said the speaker seemed bright and thin until he re-read the installation instructions.

The reviewer then placed the speaker on the floor and against a wall. The difference was immediate, he said, with a much better and full-range sound.

HOWEVER, I find my Allison 110 to pack TOO MUCH BASS. It overtakes the overall sound of the music, drowning out the highs and mids. Sure, the drums sound lifelike, but it's missing that midrange my NAD 3020 can really reproduce.

That said, I'm going to pull the crossovers and take a look at the poly capacitors. I'm guessing that after nearly 40 years, it's leaky and dry.

The adventure continues...

 

[NH-MAN]

My current opinion:

I was reading the Stereo Review review of the LC-110 from November 1986. The reviewer said the speaker seemed bright and thin until he re-read the installation instructions.

The reviewer then placed the speaker on the floor and against a wall. The difference was immediate, he said, with a much better and full-range sound.

HOWEVER, I find my Allison 110 to pack TOO MUCH BASS. It overtakes the overall sound of the music, drowning out the highs and mids. Sure, the drums sound lifelike, but it's missing that midrange my NAD 3020 can really reproduce.

That said, I'm going to pull the crossovers and take a look at the poly capacitors. I'm guessing that after nearly 40 years, it's leaky and dry.

The adventure continues...

Mine do not sound like that and didn't before the re-cap. What speakers do you currently listen to?

Hopefully its a cap and not a tweeter or the drivers are hooked up wrong.

 

[kylemac]

I opened the back to see the crossovers. They look to be in good shape, but I'm unsure if polypropylene caps leak the same way as electrolytic caps? There didn't seem to be any problems that were visable.

Allison's production crew did not spare the hot glue when ensuring the crossovers would not rattle. Wow. It's going to be a battle just to work my way down to the solder points.

That said, I just purchased two 50v, 8uF bi-polar caps. I was hoping to find something out of Dayton Audio, but couldn't find them. Ebay rescued me again.

We shall see what this brings when they arrive...

With my NAD 3020 hooked up to these Allison 110s, I listened to Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town on vinyl, followed by Crosby Stills and Nash's greatest hits on FLAC using my home network. I also listened to Stephen Still's Live from 1975 on vinyl... the acoustic side.

This is what I thought: Depending on the bass level of the music, these speakers are certainly full range. However, Max Weinberg's drums overpowered a lot of the midrange.

When it came to CSN, I felt as though the speakers lost a lot of the imaging. While the sound was full, and I could hear the echoes on "Delta," I couldn't seem to find the sweet spot showing that audio hologram between the speakers.

Steven Still's live album sounded decent, but that's a hard album to test with -- since there's a lot of distortion from his guitar.

Overall, I imagine these are fantastic speakers given the correct room. My listening room doesn't have space near the wall and floor to use. I'll continue to test them as I wait for the new caps.

Normally I listen to TWO sets of speakers. My ADS L470 bookshelf speakers, along with my set of Sansui AS-100.

Until then, enjoy these pictures of the crossovers...

 

[NH-MAN]

They are just nice little speakers, If they were all I could have I could live with them.

 

[kylemac]

I kept questioning myself last night. Sure the bass was off, as well as the imaging... but the poly cap in the crossover showed no signs of leakage. And, I doublechecked my new surround work on the woofer with a 50hz signal.

What was wrong? Clearly these speakers are considered "audiophile" for a reason.

After some speaker shuffling this morning, I moved the Allison 110s off the floor (where they are suggested to be placed) up about about 36 inches.

I also recalled how the speakers are a nominal 6 ohms. I think they require a bit more power from my 3020. Challenge accepted.

Alas, a revelation...!!

The speakers opened up. My entire listening room was wonderfully filled by a pair of bookshelf speakers that look as if they should perform no better than "Soundesign" junk from the 70s...

I mean, these Allison 110s are less than 7-inches deep. They have no business producing bass as strong and clear as this. Best yet, the bass no longer overpowers the midrange.

The tweeters are crisp and defining, but not bright, nor tinny.

I have played Bob Dylan's "Man with the Long Black Coat" over my network, and the chimes in the beginning are lifelike and not jagged. Next up was my go-to by CSN: "Delta." The echo is present, as is the stereo imaging. The harmonies can be heard coming in from both sides, while the distant drum snare beat is perfectly set in the center background.

To me, Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Tin Pan Alley" ensures soundstage and dynamic range are given a workout. Again, the Allison 110s did not disappoint.

I think what's also interesting is how these Allison 110s don't really require detailed positioning to deliver the best sound. I think Roy Allison was onto something as he let the room do some the heavy lifting, rather than just the speaker.

Overall, for $4.50, plus $22 for replacement surrounds, I'm extremely impressed.

Forgive the hideous black electrical tape in the photo, as I'm struggling to keep the right speaker grill from falling out. I have some ideas how to repair the grill (which is as brittle as they come), but that's something for another day.

 

[NH-MAN]

Glad you are enjoying them.

 

[kylemac]

For those who recall the state of my brittle plastic grills, I was able to find a quick work around.

I knew I had some black plastic netting, and just taping it to the interior of the grill seems to have done a world of good.

I also stuffed some plastic between the grill and the grill slot. It now holds perfectly in place.

 

[Filip I]

As I already had experience with AR, i took lc 110 for a ride, just for fun. Here in my country they are rear and when opportunity presents, especially for almost beer money...and I'm definitively AR school fanboy.

Long story short: took them to my only trusthworty repair guy, Sinisa Rankov ( Sinevoice personal sound )and he made some further improvements ( not messing original design )that I glady sugest to you all trying:

1. Refoam ( dough...)don't use stiff suspension.
2. Get rid of that yellow resistor: thay are not quality part, mess the frequenzy as they don't give same resistance on left and right at all given volume ( not mached resistors).
3. On HF you have two chokes, air and ferro, ferro is emitter, put it away in the box, away from the tweeter.
4. Change the 8uF capacitor.

2 more things ( personal observation )

1. Use at least 50+ W high quality amplifier, they are not heavy load but perform better when given enough juice.
2. Do not put them on the floor, bass overpovers the whole image, I know R.Allison had different philosophy and who am I to defy legend but that is just what worked for me.

These are timeless design.

 

[kylemac]

Filip I,

I am interested in your suggestions, but where on the LC-110 (assuming that's what I have) is the yellow resistor or the choke?

I have looked at my photos and studied them, and I don't see any components -- except for the crossover's coil and 8uf capacitor...

Or are they connected to the tweeter? I'm leery of opening that because of the thin wire.

Thanks for your input.

Kyle

 

[Filip I]

Yep, both glued to the tweeter directly. To be honest mine is lc 110 r but I assume that R is just for faux veneer or something similiar.

May be that R stand for resistor and lc 110 don't have these but wouldn't bet.

Picture below is before inteevention on mine.

 

[Filip I]

Filip I,

I am interested in your suggestions, but where on the LC-110 (assuming that's what I have) is the yellow resistor or the choke?

I have looked at my photos and studied them, and I don't see any components -- except for the crossover's coil and 8uf capacitor...

Or are they connected to the tweeter? I'm leery of opening that because of the thin wire.

Thanks for your input.

Kyle

Sorry, didn't reply directly, just added new post. Info and reply in the post above