Bozaks?

[Brandon Mull]

Anyone ever seen a pair of Bozaks like this? Guy had them listed as old speakers. No other info. I went to look at them and tipped the box a bit, felt considerable weight in the cabs, so o figured they were either Bozak or Altec somethings. Bought them, opened them up and yep all Bozak internals. But I can not find an image of a pair that looks like these.

 

[rusomon]

It was fairly common back in the day to stick component parts like these into cabinets that were made by other companies-- outfits like Acousti-Craft, HillCraft, Barzilay, etc. Can't say I recognize this specific cabinet, though.

Congrats on the find.

 

[GordonW]

That's definitely a 302 load, and definitely a very unusual cabinet.

Does it have the proper Bozak "hanging curtain" damping inside?

Regards,
Gordon.

 

[damacman]

It was fairly common back in the day to stick component parts like these into cabinets that were made by other companies-- outfits like Acousti-Craft, HillCraft, Barzilay, etc. Can't say I recognize this specific cabinet, though.

Congrats on the find.

The wife chose those cabinets .... and color ...

 

[swechsler]

The wife chose those cabinets .... and color ...

Hard to believe that was a trendy color back then...

 

[Nat]

The cabinets look smaller than ideal, but that is potentially a very nice sounding speaker.
My wife and daughters (all of whom are musical, which I am not) complained only when I sold Bozak 302s and JSE Infinite Slope 1s. All the other multiple dozens of speakers were fine by them, but they didn't care if they went away. But did they tell me before they were sold? No...

 

[w3jn]

Hard to believe that was a trendy color back then...

Indeed it was. I had a '78 International Scout - burnt orange exterior, avocado vinyl upholstery very similar to this color. What IH lacked in interior color coordination and rust control they more than made up for with mechanical stoutness.

Yes, the 70s were strange.

 

[Nat]

I remember a fair amount of furniture in that color. I never cared for it. Not big on painted speaker cabinets anyway.

 

[swechsler]

Yes, the 70s were strange.

Yes I know, we had similar coloring in our kitchen when I was a kid. Awful.

 

[Brandon Mull]

Back on topic, besides the color- have any of you seen this style?

 

[rusomon]

A google search turned up this. A few similar details. Not identical, of course.

 

[Brandon Mull]

A google search turned up this. A few similar details. Not identical, of course.

I saw those- close but not exact. I am debating on approach as to what I may do with these.

 

[Nat]

I think that rusomon's answer may be as close as you'll get. Not only were there a bunch of companies offering furniture grade speaker cabinets to put your components in, there were plenty of pieces of furniture that got repurposed into speaker cabinets, so tracking the exact make may be a big challenge unless you are lucky and someone recognizes them.
When AR came out with acoustic suspension speakers in the late 50s, they were unusual in being offered only as a complete system. Normally drivers and cabinets were separate purchases, though obviously you could buy combinations premade. Bozak was famous for producing enclosures that could have more and more drivers put in as the budget permitted, so the driver combo, not the enclosure determined which model you had.
Were I you, I'm move the components to a different and larger set of cabinets.

 

[Brandon Mull]

I think that rusomon's answer may be as close as you'll get. Not only were there a bunch of companies offering furniture grade speaker cabinets to put your components in, there were plenty of pieces of furniture that got repurposed into speaker cabinets, so tracking the exact make may be a big challenge unless you are lucky and someone recognizes them.
When AR came out with acoustic suspension speakers in the late 50s, they were unusual in being offered only as a complete system. Normally drivers and cabinets were separate purchases, though obviously you could buy combinations premade. Bozak was famous for producing enclosures that could have more and more drivers put in as the budget permitted, so the driver combo, not the enclosure determined which model you had.
Were I you, I'm move the components to a different and larger set of cabinets.

May have to build bigger..

 

[JohnJavier]

You haven’t commented on how they sound. Have you hooked them up yet? I’d give them a listen and if needed refresh the crossover components and cabinet batting before I thought about building new cabinets. Personally, I kind of like how they look, and the color is easy to change if you don’t like it. The Bozak 302’s had ~5 cu feet of interior volume, but Bozak made other speakers that used the same compliment of drivers, in smaller volume cabinets as well.

 

[Brandon Mull]

You haven’t commented on how they sound. Have you hooked them up yet? I’d give them a listen and if needed refresh the crossover components and cabinet batting before I thought about building new cabinets. Personally, I kind of like how they look, and the color is easy to change if you don’t like it. The Bozak 302’s had ~5 cu feet of interior volume, but Bozak made other speakers that used the same compliment of drivers, in smaller volume cabinets as well.

They sound ok, I think caps need to be replaced in the crossovers. They do work and all. Just mediocre sound compared to my 302 Urbans.

 

[Nat]

If you already have Urbans, you might consider combining the drivers (actually the woofers) into a larger cabinet and producing one of the larger Bozaks. I'd move the concentric tweeters, but if you are far enough away from them, having them down low might not be a problem.

 

[Brandon Mull]

If you already have Urbans, you might consider combining the drivers (actually the woofers) into a larger cabinet and producing one of the larger Bozaks. I'd move the concentric tweeters, but if you are far enough away from them, having them down low might not be a problem.

I collect, listen to and resell audio stuff.

 

[Tom Brennan]

As I recall Bozak recommended 4 cubic feet of volume per 12" woofer.

 

[djnagle]

I bet there is beautiful wood under that paint.