EMI speakers
- Thread starter EVBoy
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FoolForARadio
Super Member
Well, they're not junk. I picked up a pair of LSK 529's (I think) and my neighbor, who is a professional organist and pianist, loves them for monitoring his recordings. The elliptical configuration of the woofer was designed to disperse standing waves, I think. If you search for EMI here, you'll run into my thread about mine.and some more info.
Saint Johnny
Bon Ton Roule
Hey, I've seen some of those before. And I passed, as well. I thought they were junk too. Interesting looking junk, but junk nonetheless. lol
But the pair I saw said, made by Franklin Electric Co, something, NY. Huh, I wonder why yours are different?
I guess you learn something everyday, here at AK!
EVBoy
Super Member
One of them has a distortion problem and the other isn't as loud as the other. They are both really dusty and dirty. Maybe flipping one over and cleaning the controls of both might help. On certain songs, when the distortion is really low, they sound pretty good. They are probably worth working on.
Wasn't there some sort of relationship between the Beatles and EMI?
Wasn't there some sort of relationship between the Beatles and EMI?
Saint Johnny
Bon Ton Roule
That's what I thought at first.
But, I doubt it's the same EMI, as they were a british record company, not an electronics company, but I could be wrong.
stickman
Super Member
EMI speakers featuring elliptical woofers (some with tweeter arrays mounted in front of the woofer cone ala Bozak) appear frequently on ebay and there is some collector interest although they do not command high prices. It would be nice to hear what other AKer's think of the sound of this brand in addition to the one review above.
The drivers were available in the UK in the late 60s/early 70s as a kit. or as complete speakers. they also appeared in better quality "Radiograms (I dont know what that translates to in US English but to see some, search for "radiogram" in ebay international) I had some for a while. the crossover if I remember was a single capacitor connected as high pass. They didnt take much power but produced a nice sound (imo) good for classical?. The drivers were made by EMI. that is Electric and Musical Industries Limited, in Hayes Middlesex England. The same company controlled EMI records and Abbey road studios (the connections with the Beatles!) they produced records under many lables including "His Masters Voice"! and produced a huge catalogue of SQ Quad records in the 70s! They also made some very good Studio quality electronics and up-market consumer electronics! At the time they were one of the UKs biggest companies.
The speakers were made in 3/8/16ohm. as to being worth spending money on? well its up to you!
The speakers were made in 3/8/16ohm. as to being worth spending money on? well its up to you!
Saint Johnny
Bon Ton Roule
Wow! So it was the same EMI, huh?
I stand corrected, I learn more and more here everyday!
Saint Johnny
Bon Ton Roule
Now that I can see THAT logo, it's oviously the SAME EMI, as the record company. But the speaker I saw didn't have that logo. It had EMI written on the terminal cup, in a different plain-jane type face.
I can confirm the Beatles connection by the way. My Grandfather worked for EMI Electronics from 1931 to 1980 when he retired. The organisation was primarily a record company but had a highly innovative electronics arm that developed some of the earliest electronic television broadcast equipment and airborne radar. With all the money they made from the Beatles in the 60s they threw everything they had into their latest invention: the CT scanner. However, a combination of bad luck and bad management saw them almost fold in the early 1980s. Today only EMI Records remains.
Much of EMI's HiFi equipment was branded "his masters voice" or HMV. It always had a rather middle-of-the-road reputation I think.
My grandfather still has some of these EMI branded speakers in his front room:
AUCTION LINKS NOT ALLOWED OUTSIDE DOLLARS AND SENSE FORUM - Moderator
I hooked them up once and they sounded very very different to what you would expect from a modern speaker. Not in a bad way though. I'm really looking forward to setting them up properly and hearing them again.
Much of EMI's HiFi equipment was branded "his masters voice" or HMV. It always had a rather middle-of-the-road reputation I think.
My grandfather still has some of these EMI branded speakers in his front room:
AUCTION LINKS NOT ALLOWED OUTSIDE DOLLARS AND SENSE FORUM - Moderator
I hooked them up once and they sounded very very different to what you would expect from a modern speaker. Not in a bad way though. I'm really looking forward to setting them up properly and hearing them again.
Last edited by a moderator:
Rolf Zetterberg
Well-Known Member
They were in used in many British loudspeakers like B&W DM3,the Baxandall loudspeaker and many more.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=48950&d=1178794390
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=48950&d=1178794390
Radfordman
Super Member
Many versions of the EMI 13"x8" speaker, the one you have was called the 350. It had a paper cone in tweeter in the centre. The 350 was sort of middle in the range. The B&W DM3 had a better version of the EMI 13"x8" with a bigger magnet and a laminated fibre glass/ aluminium/ paper cone. It has the famous Celection HF1300 tweeter and Coles 4001G supertweeter. The B&W DM3 was produced from about 1968 and would give any modern quality speaker a good run for its money.
The B&W DM1 used a similar EMI elliptical bass unit, but smaller 10"x6".
If your drive units are in good working order they would benefit from a much larger cabinet.
The B&W DM1 used a similar EMI elliptical bass unit, but smaller 10"x6".
If your drive units are in good working order they would benefit from a much larger cabinet.
I think the other brandname on them was Benjamin (the same company who handled Miracord), who imported them into the US for a while. Either before or afterwards, EMI did it themselves.
Just as they are, I think they are generally nice sounding speakers, but I haven't tried recapping and putting them in larger cabinets, so I may not have heard them at their best yet.
Just as they are, I think they are generally nice sounding speakers, but I haven't tried recapping and putting them in larger cabinets, so I may not have heard them at their best yet.
Radfordman
Super Member
Some of the capacitors fitted to the EMI speakers were good quality non electrolytic parts, those are likely to still be OK, If they are reversible electrolytics, of course they should be replaced. The EMI 350 drive unit (13"x8" + paper cone tweeter in centre) was quite good, the tweeter is probably the weak point from the sound quality point.
The EMI model numbers could be confusing. There was a 450, one would expect that to be better than the 350, and from the front one could see two tweeters mounted in the centre of the 13"x8" giving an good impression. However, these were nasty plastic coned units and the 13X8 had a smaller voice coil, smaller magnet, altogether, an inferior loudspeaker combinaion and rightly so, it was cheaper.
The EMI model numbers could be confusing. There was a 450, one would expect that to be better than the 350, and from the front one could see two tweeters mounted in the centre of the 13"x8" giving an good impression. However, these were nasty plastic coned units and the 13X8 had a smaller voice coil, smaller magnet, altogether, an inferior loudspeaker combinaion and rightly so, it was cheaper.
archie2
Addicted Member
I had a pair of those, very very efficient drivers in well made and beautiful looking cabinets with metal grills.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=78199&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1202571776
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=78199&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1202571776
