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AVID thread

Funny, the 103s in the ad shows a little base flange on the bottom while my 103s are just boxes. Otherwise the ID is clear.

I ain't missing much but still....
 
I had a set of 100's that I sold. I was impressed with the sound and I believe they had rubber surrounds on the woofers. I actually still own the BIC 960 in that advertisement. Not being used as i use a dual to listen to records once in awhile. I was told that they were competing with Large Advents, KLH, and the other companies that were around. They decided to get into headphones for the airlines. You know those things you listen through on the plane?
 
mhardy6647 said:
T...The other, well known "Avid" company (which makes products for video editing and production) is, AFAIK, not related. They are, interestingly enough, located in Tewksbury, MA (about 5 miles from where I sit as I type this).
http://www.avid.com/index.asp
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thanky. That question has proved to have had an elusive answer for me for years now. I woulda bet that Avid video gear was borne from the speaker company, if I were to wager, but seems I would have lost.

Muchas gracias.
 
Then, too, there are the ueber-expensive Avid turntables in current production. Some other Avid entirely, I reckon ('specially given that it's a British concern).

volblklge.jpg
 
OvenMaster said:
I owned a pair of these $hitboxes for 16 years (I couldn't even give them away!). I (and everyone who heard them) thought they were the worst excuse for "hi fi" speakers I've ever had the misfortune to own. Weak bass, rolled-off treble, warped grilles, sticky cabinets. I tore my hair out in frustration moving them around various listening rooms over the years, trying in vain to improve imaging and response. The day the surrounds were found to be rotted, I put them on the curb. Good riddance.

Tom
Click to expand...

Yeah, but Tom.... how do you REALLY feel about them? Hahaha

Looking at the Avid line, they were nothing special and compared to what else was being sold, way overpriced at that. But, considering almost anything could sell during the hey-days of 70's hi-fi, the pricepoint still worked (there are a lot of two-way pairs out there). They looked half decent and many times that's all that matters on a salesfloor.
 
I don't know about the "nothing special" part?
I have a pair of Genesis 1+ speakers and a pair of Avid 100 speakers.
I prefer the Avid 100's over the Genesis 1+'s.......due to their better mids.

Steve
 
Whitehall said:
Funny, the 103s in the ad shows a little base flange on the bottom while my 103s are just boxes.
Click to expand...

Mine neither. I've come to the conclusion that the "base" is actually a separate "stand" and can easily see how s'm'n like 'at could get tossed in the course of 30 years.
 
ARRAY said:
Yeah, but Tom.... how do you REALLY feel about them? Hahaha

Looking at the Avid line, they were nothing special and compared to what else was being sold, way overpriced at that. But, considering almost anything could sell during the hey-days of 70's hi-fi, the pricepoint still worked (there are a lot of two-way pairs out there). They looked half decent and many times that's all that matters on a salesfloor.
Click to expand...

Oh, don't get me started there. :smoke: I actually have no one to blame but myself, as I assumed they'd sound better than the 80's that I did hear and liked, I didn't listen to them before buying them, and this was in the days before return privileges. So I was stuck with them. IIRC, when I bought them in 1980 at Seiden Sound, they were on sale and I paid $200 for the pair.

I just can't understand why my particular pair sounded so bad, why Gordon's sound so good, and other Avid models sound so good as well. :dunno: Maybe either the resistor or the capacitor used in the crossovers were way out of spec? Mislabled? Installed backwards? Who knows?

Tom
 
gearhound said:
I don't know about the "nothing special" part?
I have a pair of Genesis 1+ speakers and a pair of Avid 100 speakers.
I prefer the Avid 100's over the Genesis 1+'s.......due to their better mids.

Steve
Click to expand...

Hi GH, I have to agree that midrange is where it's at. I meant the AVIDs were nothing special in terms of what else was available at the time for the same or less money. Given the choice I would have chosen a set of JBL L26 or NS-670 over the AVID 103's. But, the AVIDs I'm familiar with are 2-way systems - maybe their 3-way was cat's pyjamas but can't say. From an engineering standpoint (configuration, alignment etc), those systems did their job but were not outstanding (I've got nothing against the philips dome tweeter used). Many times you can determine what a driver is going to sound like in a system just by examination. Sonically the AVIDs may have sounded fine and ultimately that's all matters.
 
Avid 102 grill

Just in case someone finds a de-grilled 102; here's a pattern for a replacement. Do a reality check & lay out the pattern on a piece of cardboard before you cut the real thing. Buy 1/4" hardboard from Home Despot/Lowe's/etc. Cut to size, stretch grill cloth over it & staple in the back.

Tom
 

Attachments

mhardy6647 said:
The AVID 100. Note, again, the phenolic ring (CTS?) tweeter.

attachment.php
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Found a pair of these today for $40 or $45. They looked really well built, surrounds were still in great shape, the "5 year warranty label" still perfect on the back of the boxes....wow!

Actually, aside from some snags on the grill cloths, they could have almost passed off as being "new".
 
I have a pair of Avid 230 "minimum diffraction" speakers and I love them. Made in 1978 (still has warranty tags on back). They are a 3-way design with 10 inch woofer (not alnico), midrange and tweeter. They have a tweeter and midrange switch (-3dB, 0dB & +3dB) plus they have resettable fused. The cabinets and grilles are about 90-95% mint. Cabinets are very solid and dead. The speakers are all excellent other than part of the foam on one of the woofers. I had them hooked (and cranked) up to a vintage Kenwood Super Eleven receiver and blew part of the foam. I did a temporary fix until I can refoam... Overall these are great speakers. Soundstage is wide and frequency response is broad. When I first got them (for $10 at a yard sale), I thought they were bass-shy because of the 10 inch woofer in a sealed cabinet. But when I played around with the placement I found they sound best close to side-walls. It seemed to improve the bass dramatically. They don't have booming, hard-hitting bass but tight quick bass. I'd say they go down to 30-40 hz range. The midrange is more than satisfying and is smooth and accurate. The treble is very crispy and airy sounding; comparable to EPI inverted dome tweeters but these go to higher frequencies and are more effecient. With a few certain types of music played through them, you have to turn the tweeters down to -3dB to tame them down. Not sure of the wattage they will take but I've put some serious juice to them and they've survived other than foam getting old. I'll post pictures soon...
 
Hi all,

Funny, how ironic I find this thread this morning. Only last night, I received a email from my brother Stephen (aka Steely Dan Guy) here at AK.
Stephen wrote to tell me he just found a pair of AVID 3 something
(large 3 ways) in Rhode Island. Stephen says they sound rather good! However, knowing brother Stephen, they soon be listed on Craigs list lol!

Regards,
SixCats!
 
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