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Ariston Audio Speakers (Concrete lined)

David Litman

David Litman

Active Member
IMG_2416.jpg IMG_2417.jpg I believe these are from late 70's / early 80,s. Made in Scotland. I think Linn grew out of the ashes of Ariston. They are concrete lined on the inside of the cab's (2" thick?), have 12" Bass (including rubber mount), 6" ish mids and 3" Decca ribbon tweeters. They stand 93cm high, 41cm wide and 39cm deep. They are much, much more heavy than my Yamaha NS1000m's. The rubber mounts on the bass units have totally perished away but, all else appear good.

So, are these worth restoring? Does anyone know how to get inside them?
 

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I have no knowledge of these, but from your photos likely to be a very nice vintage speaker, well worth restoring if you like doing this sort of thing. Apparently quality parts and possibly good implementation.

Are there no external screws to grant access?

Foam roll surrounds (and other materials, but stick to original) are available from a range of sources to replace the woofers' outer suspension. Given yours seems to have completely vanished you may have to estimate some of the dimensions, which is one of the keys to getting the right replacement, unless you can establish what the woofer is and find this data.
 
Thank you. I have now learnt that the model number is SR90 and they weigh 77kg each! The ribbon tweeters are Decca Kelly DK30R, gold version. The bass is EMI Type 14A and the mid is EMI too. I can only find one very low res pic of one from "A British Thing". I am guessing the white dots are screws. However, mine has none indicating the front panel has been glued in. How in the world do I get it off?decca kelly-2.JPG
 
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I'm sure you've thought of this, but by any chance are the screws plastered over? It looks like the tweeter is front mounted and would allow some access, but otherwise in the absence of external screws I can't think of anything other than cutting another hole.
 
Screen Shot 2020-02-25 at 14.41.28.png Thank you Tom Brennan for the link. Mine are defo the "gold", as pictured but, have had the front painted black.
decckellyc400.jpg
A400 - I had hammer and chiselled in suitable locations but, sadly found no screws. I am certain that the bass units are EMI Type 14A as pictured above.
 
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Hi, hope the front baffle is not glued too, like my IMF it have screws but impossible to remove,because it is glued.
 
If you haven’t already found the others you could try searching for the screws with a magnet, like the type on a telescopic rod, and a pin or awl. That might make refinishing a bit easier.

I couldn’t see your photos where you refer to a damaged ribbon. If that is the case at least there are options as per Tom’s link.
 
Very cool.. I had an Ariston Turntable that I really liked. I'll be interested to see how these speakers turn out. Thanks for sharing your project!
 
Hi Gridslayer. I presume you had the Ariston RD11 which was the forerunner of the Linn LP12. In fact, they look almost identical. The RD11 was paired with these speakers (SR90) for a hifi trade show in the early 70's.
 
David Litman said:
Hi Gridslayer. I presume you had the Ariston RD11 which was the forerunner of the Linn LP12. In fact, they look almost identical. The RD11 was paired with these speakers (SR90) for a hifi trade show in the early 70's.
Click to expand...
I had the RD-60 with the rare platform. Quite a nice table as well!

IMG_3001.JPG
 
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