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any vintage Allison Acoustics owners?

that70sguy

that70sguy

Well-Known Member
Specifically the Allison Model 3 speakers manufactured in 1977. There's a pair for sale locally and wondering if anyone had any experience with them. They're built to be corner speakers and have pretty impressive looking drivers. They have a small footprint, so they don't take a lot of space. I know Roy Allison has built some great speakers before (Acoustic Research), so I imagine that Allison's have a good reputation. I'd love to hear your thoughts!
 
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I have a pair of Allison Ones, courtesy of the town dump. They are all excellent speakers; plenty of information on them (as you doubtless knew already!) at www.classicspeakerpages.net


They are very purposefully not meant to be put in corners, though! They are meant to be up against the wall (mothaf...er :-) ) and at least two feet from corners. They do not have to be on the same wall (according to Allison); they were all designed for use in 'real' rooms.
 
I fondly remember the sound of the Allison's that I've heard. I'd bet any model is worth preserving.
 
mhardy6647 said:
They are very purposefully not meant to be put in corners, though! They are meant to be up against the wall (mothaf...er :-) ) and at least two feet from corners. They do not have to be on the same wall (according to Allison); they were all designed for use in 'real' rooms.
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The Model 1 and Model 3 have very different cabinet designs. The 3's are triangle shape with all drivers on one side and the other two unfinished. I can only surmise that they were designed that way for corner placement. If I'm not mistaken, the Model 1's have drivers on two sides, necessitating wall, but not corner placement.
 
If they're reasonable, grab 'em! The 3's are shaped that way for a reason. The sound of the 1,2,3, and 4 put to shame many high-priced modern speakers. Allison was very clever in using room boundaries to reinforce the bottom end of his speakers, particularly with the 3 and 4. Buy them and enjoy. Just make sure the mids are working.
 
Got a pair of Allison-5s at the Goodwill in North VA for ~$20. Perfect cabinets, rotted foam. Got the refoam kit and the next day I was in business - and floored by the sound of these babies. Placed them 1/3 up the way on the walls and directly against the walls - tremendous low bass you'd never expect out of an 8", especially firing upward. Be carefull with the tweeters though...difficult to repair and harder to find originals to replace. If subbing out for aftermarket make sure replacement can go well down into 1.5 -2 k range with ease, then make sure the sensitivity is dialed-in.

These aren't very sensative speakers (I use mostly tubes and horns). But mated them with a Carver 1.0t putting out 200w per side and that's well more than sufficient. The Allisons take power with ease and deliver sweetness that keep a smile on your face. When dialed-in correctly, everthing sounds good on them.

FYI, one of my tweets went belly up (not due to too much power, but probably just because the old ferrofluid was dried-up...) Found a decent set of Ushers from PE for a sale price of $36 each and they're performing extremely well. They're just a tad hot at the moment so I'll pad them down a notch or two when I get the chance....but their range is there and very complimentary of the system. In the end, these gems make anything you put through them sound great. Roy Allison done good!
 
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that70sguy said:
The Model 1 and Model 3 have very different cabinet designs. The 3's are triangle shape with all drivers on one side and the other two unfinished. I can only surmise that they were designed that way for corner placement. If I'm not mistaken, the Model 1's have drivers on two sides, necessitating wall, but not corner placement.
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Oops, I thought that the Threes were like the Twos but smaller. Sorry, should've checked rather than trusting my addled memory.
 

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I have a pair of original (70s) Fours, the only direct experience I have with Allison speakers. I refoamed the woofers, easy job, and reoiled the cabinets. I figure when I die I will still have these speakers in my collection, as others come and go. I hold them in high regard and if the cats get on them, poor kitty!
 
mhardy6647 said:
Oops, I thought that the Threes were like the Twos but smaller. Sorry, should've checked rather than trusting my addled memory.
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Thanks for attaching the spec sheet, that's what I was looking for. I couldn't find it on the classicspeakers website.
 
I decided to bite on them (Pic)

I picked up the Allison Model 3s yesterday. They're in pretty good shape, foam surrounds replaced a couple of years ago. They're missing the grills though. If someone has some close-ups of the grills, especially near the top between the mid and tweeter, I'd like to see them. I want to try to fabricate a pair of grills, but want to stay as close to the original design as possible.

allison-1.jpg
 
Tooker said:
Beautiful speakers... It looks like someone replaced the tweeters with Vifa's maybe?
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I was wonder if the tweeters were original, couldn't tell from pictures of other 3s on the net. I plan on pulling the tweeters and woofers out for a better look.
 
Looks like tweeters are back wired rather than front with the existing gold posts.

Very nice speakers. I'd love to listen/own some Allisons some day.
 
Those are not the correct tweeters, but the speakers look to be in nice shape. I have owned a pair of Allison Two's ans they are very smooth speakers.
Enjoy,
Jim
 
Those look like original woofers (all the dust and crap stuck to them is a tell tale sign) with their sticky coating.

The original tweeters were front wired to those posts on either side of the driver.

I've got a pair of fours that didn't impress me....until I moved them to a different room and then OMG!!!! They are breathtaking in the right environment. :thmbsp:

Congrats on your find.
 
Well...

Well I've a set of vintage Allison 4's that I've had for quite sometime that I truly love. Using them as mains in my computer room system for a while. Amazing reproduction considering it's up-firing woofer and 901 like design.

Worf
 
Hi,
As stated earlier, the tweeters are not original. Grills were formed plastic and are very difficult to find. Grills from Ones will fit the Threes if you happen to find a donor pair. I've owned Ones (twice) and Threes. They are great speakers. It is worth finding original tweeters. Tweeters from Ones, Twos or Threes will work. Tweeters from Fours and some of the other models are different impedance.
 
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