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Boston Acoustics A400s!

Ibemiked

Ibemiked

Active Member
Boston Acoustics A400’s! The listing was a single picture of the speakers side by side with a Title of “Acoustic Speakers” The description was “Boston Acoustics A400’s”. No other info no pics of the speakers with the grilles off. The price was right. Instead of asking about condition I just said I’ll take them. Let’s just say they were A400’s for A100 price. That being said I didn’t try to haggle or ask about condition. I know what they’re worth and what a complete restoration would cost. So needless to say I was happy as hell when i arrived to find all 6 woofer surrounds in perfect shape! The seller told me he bought them new and used them a handful of times. I believe it, all 8 drivers look new, the cosmetic condition of the cabinets and grilles is very nice, just a little dust, No dings or dents, no scratches or water stains. Really nice pair of speakers. And as far as the sound, I got them home and tested them with a Pioneer VSX-9700s used as an amp with a Luxman C-1010 preamp. The pioneer is 125W and they sound beautiful. They replaced a pair of Paradigm Monitor 7v2’s and the BA’s sound much better. Especially in the mid range. So, I’m very happy with the purchase! Keepers for sure. Love the dimensions, minimal depth!
 

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Great score!! Those are on my bucket list. I have A200s I bought new in ‘83 and I love them, but I am actively looking for a pair of those! Congratulations!
 
The woofers/midranges don't look right. They dustcaps are definitely not Boston, but they could have been replaced if they drivers where refoamed at one time. You need to remove one or more to check the backs to confirm they are Boston drivers.
 
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I see a lot of things that don't add up with the "bought new and only used a couple of times" story.

Those drivers don't look right, the dustcaps are definitely wrong, and even the cones look a bit too smooth and shiny. Also, look how crooked one of the midranges is, no way it left the factory like that. Plus the surrounds are wrong, they should have a smooth transition to the inner edge and they should be attached to the front of the cone.

Definitely pull the mids and woofers and check them.
 
RossW said:
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I see a lot of things that don't add up with the "bought new and only used a couple of times" story.

Those drivers don't look right, the dustcaps are definitely wrong, and even the cones look a bit too smooth and shiny. Also, look how crooked one of the midranges is, no way it left the factory like that. Plus the surrounds are wrong, they should have a smooth transition to the inner edge and they should be attached to the front of the cone.

Definitely pull the mids and woofers and check them.
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Yea I honestly thought they looked too good when I was first checking them out, and I even asked the guy if they were refoamed. He didn’t seem to know much about them other than that he bought them and the few times he used them they sounded great. And I have to concur with him about the sound. They do sound great! It’s possible they could be replacement woofers of some kind but I’m not concerned, if they didn’t sound so damn good I would definitely pull them. I’m a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” type of person. I don’t want to start taking drivers out and risking myself poking it with a screwdriver or something else stupid. But if I ever decide to sell them or am really bored I’ll give it a looksy. This would be disappointing to hear if they didn’t sound incredible! I put the spurs to them too! Beautiful, full range of sound, clean crisp highs, super strong mid and impressive bass too! I might try bi-amping them. The only semi-flaw of these speakers and I say semi because it’s really not a flaw is the connection terminals could be better. I could still fit the banana plug in there though.
 
I have a pair of the A-400s that have the later Boston woofers that are polycones, but the dustcap is screen material. I understand the worry about screwdrivers and holes in surrounds or cones (been there done that), but if you lay the speakers on their backs and also use your other hand as a block to keep the screwdriver from moving in the wrong direction, mistakes can be avoided. You only need to remove 1 woofer and 1 midrange to confirm the identity of the drivers, since they all look to be the same.
 
Ibemiked said:
Boston Acoustics A400’s! The listing was a single picture of the speakers side by side with a Title of “Acoustic Speakers” The description was “Boston Acoustics A400’s”. No other info no pics of the speakers with the grilles off. The price was right. Instead of asking about condition I just said I’ll take them. Let’s just say they were A400’s for A100 price. That being said I didn’t try to haggle or ask about condition. I know what they’re worth and what a complete restoration would cost. So needless to say I was happy as hell when i arrived to find all 6 woofer surrounds in perfect shape! The seller told me he bought them new and used them a handful of times. I believe it, all 8 drivers look new, the cosmetic condition of the cabinets and grilles is very nice, just a little dust, No dings or dents, no scratches or water stains. Really nice pair of speakers. And as far as the sound, I got them home and tested them with a Pioneer VSX-9700s used as an amp with a Luxman C-1010 preamp. The pioneer is 125W and they sound beautiful. They replaced a pair of Paradigm Monitor 7v2’s and the BA’s sound much better. Especially in the mid range. So, I’m very happy with the purchase! Keepers for sure. Love the dimensions, minimal depth!
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I would bet you money those are all PE buyout or Goldwood drivers.
Yuck.
Did you contact the seller and ask about original drivers??? They’re not gonna sound even close to what they should without them. I doubt they sound even reasonably decent right now.
 
So thanks to all the sharp eyes who called out the drivers, you guys were right. I pulled one mid and it is a Goldwood driver. So I contacted the seller and he was super apologetic and cool about it and to make it right is going to sell me a pair of Boston Acoustic T1000’s for an incredible price and is also throwing in a 32” Led TV too! So I’m picking the 1000’s up tomorrow. I have to say even though the drivers are incorrect the A400’s still sound really impressive. I’ll keep them as is for now and use them, hopefully I’ll be able to source some correct parts in the future. Again thanks for pointing it out, It piqued my curiosity and even though I didn’t pay much it was enough to feel like I got ripped off a little, so In the end it all worked out. Glad I checked the drivers and glad I addressed the issue with the seller.
 
Also I got a picture of the 1000’s with the grilles off and compared the photos with other 1000’s they look legit this time.
 
So, just got the T-1000’s home, very nice speakers! All original drivers in excellent shape. Sound great! Couldn’t be happier with the deal. Still happy with the A400 purchase even though they have replacement drivers. I really love the way they sound Goldwood drivers and all.. I only checked one mid, but the way the dust caps look on all of them I’m guessing they’re all replacements. I’m guessing they are all atleast the proper specs though. Does anyone have detailed specs for the A400’s?
 
ivandezande said:
I would bet you money those are all PE buyout or Goldwood drivers.
Yuck.
Did you contact the seller and ask about original drivers??? They’re not gonna sound even close to what they should without them. I doubt they sound even reasonably decent right now.
Click to expand...
You were right! I pulled one of the mids and sure enough it was a Goldwood.. I didn’t check the rest. But.. I contacted the seller, he had no idea and totally understood how the replacements crushed the value. In the initial message I sent I made the analogy that replacing the drivers was like putting a Toyota Engine in a Ferrari. To make it right the seller sold me a pair of beautiful consecutively numbered Boston Acoustics T1000’s for an extremely good price. The 1000’s are all original, only issue was 2 cones were a little pushed in but I fixed that. The T-1000’s are now in my living room setup and the A400’s are in my dining room setup. I have to say even though the A400’s have those GW drivers they still sound pretty damn good! So I just wanted to thank you and anyone else that commented about the suspect drivers. I might of let it go and I would of never gotten the T1000’s!
 
Ibemiked said:
You were right! I pulled one of the mids and sure enough it was a Goldwood.. I didn’t check the rest. But.. I contacted the seller, he had no idea and totally understood how the replacements crushed the value. In the initial message I sent I made the analogy that replacing the drivers was like putting a Toyota Engine in a Ferrari. To make it right the seller sold me a pair of beautiful consecutively numbered Boston Acoustics T1000’s for an extremely good price. The 1000’s are all original, only issue was 2 cones were a little pushed in but I fixed that. The T-1000’s are now in my living room setup and the A400’s are in my dining room setup. I have to say even though the A400’s have those GW drivers they still sound pretty damn good! So I just wanted to thank you and anyone else that commented about the suspect drivers. I might of let it go and I would of never gotten the T1000’s!
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Sweet! T-1000's are very nice.
 
ivandezande said:
Sweet! T-1000's are very nice.
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Does anybody know if the woofers from the Boston Acoustics A70T’s will work for the A400’s or are they different? There’s actually someone selling 2 pairs of A70T’s locally which would be 4 8” woofers if they’re the same drivers as the A400’s I’ll grab them! If anyone knows and could let me know I’d really appreciate it! Thanks!
 
Ibemiked said:
Does anybody know if the woofers from the Boston Acoustics A70T’s will work for the A400’s or are they different? There’s actually someone selling 2 pairs of A70T’s locally which would be 4 8” woofers if they’re the same drivers as the A400’s I’ll grab them! If anyone knows and could let me know I’d really appreciate it! Thanks!
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I think the A400 uses 10-inch woofers (like the A200), but I may be wrong.
 
Ibemiked said:
Does anybody know if the woofers from the Boston Acoustics A70T’s will work for the A400’s or are they different? There’s actually someone selling 2 pairs of A70T’s locally which would be 4 8” woofers if they’re the same drivers as the A400’s I’ll grab them! If anyone knows and could let me know I’d really appreciate it! Thanks!
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Have him measure the DC resistance. If it's over 5 ohms, then the A70 woofers should work.

While it's not the exact driver- the woofer from a Boston A40 should suffice for a midrange.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
Still have the T1000 I bought new 31 years ago. Outstanding speakers. Always wanted to hear the A400.
 
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