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Anyone recognize these large RSL speakers?

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Oliade677

Active Member
Anyone recognize these large RSL speakers? EDIT - ID'd!

RSL Grande speakers! From Howard himself.

Saw these at the local swap meet yesterday. They were priced at $100, but the low's need to be refoamed. I couldn't find any info online, even browsing their 70's and 80's brochure. They were pretty heavy, but there weren't any markings besides the RSL logo. Here are some images:







 
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It could be a sample run. I'd consider it for the top boxes. I had RSL in my search list for several years - mostly for their earlier models
 
Well, I'll be kicking myself if they are sold by next weekend. I thought they looked cool, but they definitely need service. Just fired off an email to RSL, thanks for the heads up.
 
The bottom driver is probably a passive radiator. refoamed they may sound wonderfull....looks to be RSL's value "answer" to the JBL L212?
 
My friend told me about them Saturday. I told him he should've probably picked them up. I went to check them out today, but they didn't seem spectacular. The guy originally asked $125, but immediately dropped to $100 when I walked away. I'll update the post by next weekend, or as soon as RSL gets back to me. The only reason I balked was that I couldn't find any info on the damn speakers. I was afraid they were a throw away model.
 
I spoke to Howard himself this morning. He was shocked to see them in the email I sent to him. He called them RSL Grandes. These were designed in the late 70's/early 80's. At the time, he was designing speakers to suit both studios and audiophiles. This particular design was fit for the audiophiles. He explained to me that the purpose of slanting the mid/hi portion was for the listener to receive the audio from each driver at the same time. Obviously his explanation was much more indepth (he specifically mentioned time alignment), but that's what I was able to understand. He mentioned that this created an issue, because the imaging would often end up over the listeners head. However, he mentioned that they are very fine speakers. His big innovation on this set was "variable dampening." Apparently, the "passive radiator" is actually a subwoofer with shorted out voice coils. He included a pot to control the "passive radiator" to allow movement from completely open to full resistance. However, he soon found out that someone else had patented the breakthrough. It was a real treat speaking with him on the phone. He invited me to attend a show on April 17th where he'll be displaying his new speaker design. Looking forward to it!
 
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And, let that be a lesson for you !! I hope you get 'em ! I might have passed simply because I couldn't deal with the size. I think they deserve a good home
 
I know, I would've jumped on them but I just spent $550 on speakers in the last few weeks. I don't have enough space for all of these goodies!
 
Those were the best sounding RSL speakers ever made in my opinion (prior to the CG series anyway) and very few were ever sold. At the time I purchased my 6600-H's from RSL in about 1979 (for $ 990 a pair) I would have preferred the "Grande"s but they were more expensive. Also the Grandes needed a better amp/receiver than I owned at the time to reach their full potential. I have never seen a used pair for sale before and would love to own a pair some day. Unfortunately due to their size I'd have no space for them these days and will stick with my trusty 6600-H's, which still sound great after all these years after I had the woofer foam surrounds replaced with butyl rubber for longevity's sake..
 
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