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American Acoustics speakers

AudioGMan

AudioGMan

Well-Known Member
I have the opportunity to purchase a pair of American Acoustics D8500 speakers from the original owner. They are a three way ported design with a 15” woofer, 5” midrange, and 1” soft dome tweeter. The cabinets are walnut veneered. I believe they were from 1986. They appear in excellent condition and the owner says the foam surrounds are original. He’s asking $150. Is anyone familiar with this particular model? How do they sound? Is $150 a fair price? I know American Acoustics was owned by the same company as MTX. Any help is appreciated.
 
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Not familiar with those, but American Acoustics was also known as AAL. In general their models haven't gotten great reviews here on AK.
 
Julian Hirsch reviewed the D8500 in the June 1986 issue of Stereo Review magazine. They did fairly well. They cost $978/pr. when new. Just wondering if anyone actually owns or has owned a pair and some opinions on them.
 
Well I bought the speakers so now to connect them to my amp and give them a listen. Oh and the cabinets are not real “walnut veneer” like the review stated. They are actually simulated walnut vinyl laminate. That was kind of a bummer and one of the reasons I wanted to check them out to begin with. They are in very good condition and surprisingly the woofer and midrange foam surrounds are obviously original. I’ve owned a few of the lesser brands that the foam surrounds do not deteriorate. Anyway the seller was a really cool guy and gave me a great deal. He even threw in a single B&W DM570 and a couple of Radio Shack Realistic ribbon tweeters for free. I’ll report back with my opinion on how the American Acoustics sound.
 
I took a woofer out to take a look inside and there’s absolutely no insulation. The crossover is mounted to the side wall.
 
I’ve always wondered if a cap over a domed tweeter affects it sound/dispersion. I know the usual reason for them is to protect the fragile dome.
 
Yeah
Yodathedog said:
I’ve always wondered if a cap over a domed tweeter affects it sound/dispersion. I know the usual reason for them is to protect the fragile dome.
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I’ve wondered about that myself. I’ve had other speakers that have a cap in front of the dome but many that don’t. I’ve always thought that it is to load the diver and increase the efficiency of it.
 
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