Fair price for a pair of Hartsfields?

[DanCheet]

:drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :beer: :drool: :drool:

I would make the purchase for the price asked. If you decide to keep them for your own enjoyment, great. If you flip them for profit, then it is in everyone's best interest that she gets a cut. Believe me, flip them for a great margin and give her 10-15% after the sale. All parties are happy... This is AudioKarma after all..

 

[elgato8905]

$150.00 is not really fair...

Actually,
In all fairness, the store owner should be told he's selling a $50,000 item for a buck- fifty" as he has overhead, a wife to please and tennis shoes to buy for the children.....
Then, if all's fair and just in the world, the thrift shop owner should inform the widow that she dropped off a very valuable JBL treasure because she shouldnt be penalized for her ignorance after all she has bills to pay too................

Yeah but the world's an unfair place... WTF ya gonna do?

 

[Sir.Byrd]

$150.00 is not really fair...

Actually,
In all fairness, the store owner should be told he's selling a $50,000 item for a buck- fifty" as he has overhead, a wife to please and tennis shoes to buy for the children.....
Then, if all's fair and just in the world, the thrift shop owner should inform the widow that she dropped off a very valuable JBL treasure because she shouldnt be penalized for her ignorance after all she has bills to pay too................

One cannot worry too much about these things, but rather than waste all of your time thinking about it, why not just accidentally overpay (whatever you are willing) and call it a day?

 

[mech986]

Here are some pictures I took with cell phone.

:ntwrthy::ntwrthy::ntwrthy:

If I was in your neck of the woods, I'd be right there with you to help load them up and then just study them. Have never seen them in the flesh and I've seen a lot of JBL's.

Regards the other issues, Karma is a wonderful thing, properly used and exercised. You have been given (potentially) a wonderful gift if you land this score (and I mean this with all sincerity). Pay some extra to the store owner for hanging on to them for you. If you ever sell them, send along some of the proceeds to the store owner with thanks, and maybe to the original owner if ever found. Karma works that way sometimes.

If you hang on to them for awhile, learn and hopefully appreciate them for what they were, are, and can be - a real piece of audio history that VERY FEW, ever, ever, get to experience. You may search for teleking36 and Marantz Tube for a very similar experience and lots of similar thoughts.

For the relatively small $$$ investment and a lot of grunt work physically getting them home, you have hit a motherlode.

Good luck and hope to hear great things in the AM.

Regards,

Bart

 

[Sam Cogley]

$150.00 is not really fair...

Actually,
In all fairness, the store owner should be told he's selling a $50,000 item for a buck- fifty" as he has overhead, a wife to please and tennis shoes to buy for the children.....
Then, if all's fair and just in the world, the thrift shop owner should inform the widow that she dropped off a very valuable JBL treasure because she shouldnt be penalized for her ignorance after all she has bills to pay too................

I don't have any sympathy for those who can't be bothered to figure out what they're selling. This goes the same for people who have some crappy GPX stereo priced at $3k and can't figure out why it doesn't sell.

Knowledge is power, and since the Internet has come into existence it's easy to acquire.

 

[tubed]

FWITW. There is no thrift store/owner, wife, hungry children who need tennis shoes or widower with bills ...that I know of
Dude! Where's my "Tongue-in-Cheek" smiley???

I believe you pay the asking price and if you are on the good end of a deal, that's Karma.

 

[myu701]

OK, you've got to tell us the story behind this. How you managed to find these listed. Where they were located. How long they were listed and how ambiguous (e.g. "Nice old speakers -- big!" vs. "JBL Hartsfields"). What the seller was like, etc.

If these are seriously out of your league in terms of being able to drive them, and the wife isn't too happy about the enormous size, then it's probably going to be a nice little tax-free lottery winning if you sell them. In any case, this has got to go down as the BEST EVER AUDIO SCORE. Congrats!!

 

[superdog]

Is it a fair price?No but if that's what they want give them the money and run.Sounds too good to be true.If it happens right on!

 

[Stephen J]

Trolling...trolling....reeling 'em in....

Here are some pictures I took with cell phone.

Usually !
Don't look like it this time.


If that ever happened to me,I'd probably look silly slapping myself trying to wake up. Then when I realized I was awake,I'd probably have a heart attack.
Ya know,you just single handedly increased thrift store traffic nation wide.
AK'ers that have sworn off looking for gear are having serious relapses.
A sharp spike in the sales of replacement computer keyboards is imminent.
Rendered useless by....:drool:
Doctors will be reporting an increase in sore jaws and seriously bruised chins:jawdrop:
Produce companies are already reporting strange happenings with their latest shipment

Seriously,I would.....

Call a friend with a truck or rent a U-haul. Pay the asking price.
Take them home,and listen to them. Then sit back,enjoy the moment,and decide what to do with them later.
As far as Karma.....ya musta done something right already.:yes:

 

[luckyed]

Let's see some proper photos and how do they sound?

 

[jeremyjustic]

do you guys really think these are worth $ 30,000-50,000? holy sh!t!!

 

[Mc_Man]

do you guys really think these are worth $ 30,000-50,000? holy sh!t!!

From what I see in the pictures the OP provided, I would say absolutely.

 

[rhaacke]

Just got them in the house. Their weight and corner fitting shape make them awkward to move by yourself. Only hooked up one in mono to a Sherwood receiver. (Christmas tree is still in the other corner) They sound great. Crossover selector switch needs cleaning...lots of scratching as you move it. Veneer has some chipped areas. Nothing major.

 

[Cactus Bob]

The ultimate catch!!! Congrats!!

 

[Jailtime]

Wow, those are beautiful! Amazing find, what else can I say?

 

[Redboy]

Neat!

 

[Mc_Man]

Just got them in the house. Their weight and corner fitting shape make them awkward to move by yourself. Only hooked up one in mono to a Sherwood receiver. (Christmas tree is still in the other corner) They sound great. Crossover selector switch needs cleaning...lots of scratching as you move it. Veneer has some chipped areas. Nothing major.

Congrats you done real good on this one, the score of a lifetime. As much as I would hate to do it, I would probably enjoy them for a bit then flip the s@%t out of them. I mean who couldn't use an extra 20-30 grand?

 

[mrjbq]

I got a pair of mint L112's yesterday for $140, and thought I stole them

 

[tubed]

$$$epic!$$$

 

[mech986]

FAN--FREAKIN'-TASTIC!!!! :thmbsp:

Google-plex Congrats!!

You are hereby automatically a life member of the Score-of-a-Lifetime Club!!

Thanks for the pics - Quick recommendation - buy a couple of flat 4 wheel furniture dollys to put them on if you need to move them around easier.

When you get the chance, if you can get the other one into natural sunlight and take some additional photos, we can see the veneer type. Looks like American walnut, medium color, but the Hartsfields came in a number of veneers and some custom ones too. If you are into it, start photographing the crossovers, mounted woofers, 375 drivers, and horns (front and back) to document the labels. That gives the rough production dates or years and also whether the red wax seals on the screws are still intact.

Not to overwhelm you but here will be some history to learn. These truly are a Holy Grail find for most of us.

Here is some reading and study for you from our friends at the Lansing Heritage site:

http://www.audioheritage.org/html/profiles/jbl/hartsfield.htm

http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/jbl/specs/home-speakers/1954-hartsfield.htm

http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/jbl/specs/home-speakers/1957-hartsfield.htm