Charles Eames designed Stephens Trusonic

[walloffound]

Just acquired this speaker. I know it’s pretty rare and I don’t expect to ever find another one. But I’m a big fan of Charles and Ray Eames work so this is going in the forever stash! Has anyone ever seen one of these, wondering is anyone else has one of their designs

 

[ra.ra]

Big fan of Eames here, too, but have never heard of this speaker with very strong visual design. Any posts you can share to document the Eames connection?

Edit: Great find, by the way....

 

[walloffound]

Yea there’s not a lot of of info out there but I did find this

 

[walloffound]

https://eames.com/en/blog/blog-eamestrusonicspeaker

 

[Drugolf]

Outstanding get! And thanks for that link. Those would be in my forever stash as well.
Yours appears to be in great shape. Elaborate on where you got it. Should it have legs?
Of course from the mono years.

 

[mmickk]

https://eames.com/en/blog/blog-eamestrusonicspeaker

Very cool speaker. I liked the information you posted but found this bit rather funny.

"You may notice the swivel base on the speaker and it almost resembles the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman. This influence on the Stephens Tru-sonic speaker gives it that homely comforting feeling, while still being a relevant piece to your home."

Apparently "homely" meant something different that it does today! I certainly would not consider these homely or ugly by any standard.

 

[jeb98]

Yea there’s not a lot of of info out there but I did find this

That is too cool. Love the cats on the speakers. They really were ahead of their time. The speaker stand on the top is just the footing for the Eames Lounge Chair ottoman. I think I prefer the speaker stands on the bottom.

 

[ra.ra]

....but I did find this

Thanks for posting both the ad and the link - - - the advertisement alone has more elegant composition than most products do.

 

[walloffound]

I contacted an Eames historian and asked if they knew how many of these were made. He said that no records survived but very few were made.

Yes this one has the straight legs, they were just removed for shipping but I have them. I will post a pic after I get it all put together, I have not had a chance to play it yet but it is a two way: 15” woofer and a separate Stephens 214 horn ‘ultra high frequency tweeter’

Someone found these on the east coast, they had been sitting in storage for as long as anyone knows. Shipping was a bit nerve racking and but, they did a great job double boxing it and it came ‘home’ in perfect shape. Yes this is obviously from the mono era. I have always loved mono and have already a couple of dedicated mono setups, but this will be the ultimate one for cool factor

Inside the cabinet is full of deteriorated foam, so I will clean that all out today. What is y’all’s recommendation for the best foam replacement ?

 

[ra.ra]

Man, that looks like some stuff from Fred Flintstone's rock quarry. Thx for sharing, and please show more detailed pics as you explore further. Meanwhile, you're gonna need an Eames storage unit to display your speaker if you don't want to use the legs.

 

[walloffound]

Ok I had a chance to hook it up today and it sounds nice but nothing coming out of the tweeter, so I’m guessing it’s another tar filled crossover with expired caps.

 

[Stuart Pedaso]

https://eames.com/en/blog/blog-eamestrusonicspeaker

Thanks for that link. Fabulous site -- informative and visually beautiful layout. The author(s) convey a wealth of data about things Eames, though they are apparently light on tech:

"The two speakers contained within the unit were a 12" low frequency woofer and a 2" voice coil."

It's a bit ironic that the site seems to focus mostly on form and collectibility while leaving somewhat marginalised function and purpose, two cornerstones of Eames design philosophy. This is illustrated in comments regarding valuation of Stephens Trusonic speaker systems:

"The value is in the design, the rarity of what it is. The issue of whether or not the speaker inside is in good working order is largely irrelevant. Of course if this can be assured it makes the individual unit perhaps more desirable but the overall value is in the cabinets."

If this reflects the prevalent sentiment among Eames collectors in general, then it's heartening to know that at least one E-1L Stephens Trusonic speaker found its way into the hands of someone who will cherish its beauty equally with its function and purpose -- as the designers intended.

 

[Drugolf]

I think you are correct Stuart, but overall the speaker components are not nearly as rare as the cabinet and can be acquired as might be needed to repair the functionality. Plus, that cabinet is a timeless piece while the speakers frankly now could probably be improved upon for improvement in performance. So in some ways I get the perspective of the Eames collector.....in this case.

 

[Ohighway]

Congrats on finding vintage Stephens (+Eames)

As I recall @SixCats! owns one of these also?

 

[Drugolf]

This seems like sound advice, and I'm glad my old lady doesn't care about all the speakers in the livingroom. At the moment between the HT and 2 channel there are 15 speakers in there. Most are for the HT and she really likes the sound of that so having a few more isn't really a problem.

I contacted an Eames historian and asked if they knew how many of these were made. He said that no records survived but very few were made.

Yes this one has the straight legs, they were just removed for shipping but I have them. I will post a pic after I get it all put together, I have not had a chance to play it yet but it is a two way: 15” woofer and a separate Stephens 214 horn ‘ultra high frequency tweeter’

Someone found these on the east coast, they had been sitting in storage for as long as anyone knows. Shipping was a bit nerve racking and but, they did a great job double boxing it and it came ‘home’ in perfect shape. Yes this is obviously from the mono era. I have always loved mono and have already a couple of dedicated mono setups, but this will be the ultimate one for cool factor

Inside the cabinet is full of deteriorated foam, so I will clean that all out today. What is y’all’s recommendation for the best foam replacement ?

Just be careful with the crumbled insulation. You never know what it might be made of.
I would probably start with fiberglass and go from there. Get us a few more photos of the insides. I'm curious about that crossover box and the isolation of the horn. Test the horn driver with your DMM to see what you get so you can rule that out or in as an issue. A non functional driver can be one of several things.

 

[Ohighway]

Someone found these on the east coast,

"These" as in more than one ?

Ok I had a chance to hook it up today and it sounds nice but nothing coming out of the tweeter, so I’m guessing it’s another tar filled crossover with expired caps.

Check all connections etc. You might get lucky. If the 214 is good then worst case you could just bypass the original crossover and use a replacement.

I'm curious about that crossover box and the isolation of the horn.

214 driver is shown right ahead of the crossover box. They're both in a little sectioned off area.

 

[Leben]

The black box crossover (likely model 5000x) for the 214 tweeter contains a single capacitor inline with the positive terminal. The other side is just a wire to complete the circuit, it is a very simple crossover. I don’t know the size but I suspect that it is around 2uf.

Cool find and definitely worthy of going to great lengths to get working properly.

 

[walloffound]

“These” - I meant to say ‘this’
There is only one

 

[Leben]

If you’re interested in the history of the series of your speaker, look up An Eames Anthology by Yale University Press. It contains a short article from the October 1957 issue of Industrial Design magazine highlighting the origins of the partnership between Eames and Stephens Tru-Sonic. I’ve read it several times now looking for information on he origins of Stephens and it’s transition to Bert Berlant’s management.

 

[walloffound]

Thanks Leben, I will definitely look for that book
I finally got all the insulation foam out.