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ID Speakers?

K

kcroy

New Member
These are for sale at a local auction - I'm trying to ID them and see if they are worth anything. I tried to view them at the auction today, but they were up on a palette and are bigger than I thought. They were not that heavy, and seemed to be made of wood ( not veneer ).

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Any thoughts? I know it isnt much to go off of, but figured someone here might recognize them
 
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As you say, not much to go one but with legs like that and broken molding (I think that is what I am seeing) I am tempted to say home built.
 
Look to be close to 3' tall, feet not included in height. Driver could be about 12"-15", with a port at the bottom. I would love to take a closer look at that.
 
kcroy said:
These are for sale at a local auction - I'm trying to ID them and see if they are worth anything. I tried to view them at the auction today, but they were up on a palette and are bigger than I thought. They were not that heavy, and seemed to be made of wood ( not veneer ).

vrYtu1i.jpg


Any thoughts? I know it isn't much to go off of, but figured someone here might recognize them
Click to expand...

Bigger than you thought is a good thing. A single driver in a big box like that usually means good things.The fact that they are ''not that heavy'' gives pause though.
I'm pretty sure the cabs are DIY...:yes:
They usually make things available for closer inspection at auctions. . :scratch2:
 
Note also that the port apparently isn't in the same location on both speakers, suggesting homebuilt. On the other hand, one big speaker brings visions of a triaxial, if anything's there at all.
 
When you cannot do a preinspection, one of the best yardsticks to use is how good the other merchandise at the estate auction is. If everything around it is above average to high end for the day, odds are the drivers will be the same. If the estate is knackered and of paltry value, I would be more hesitant to attend.

A ten second inspection through the metal weave grille with a good, small narrow beam halogen flashlight will reveal whether there is something good. Sometimes the crossover on the back will be the big tip off as well. Check both speakers, don't base your bid on just one judgement.
 
Thanks everyone - I'll write more later, but I wanted you to know I appreciate the quick replies!
 
I pick these mystery speakers up at local auctions from time to time. They always sell so cheap that I can't help myself! They usually always have something decent in them, I find a treasure every now and then.
 
I found a set of speakers with similar "ports".
12 inch woofer and a 3x10 horn tweeter.
I got the feeling that home made speakers were sort of a common thing back in the "home handy man" days of the 50s and 60s.

There may be some "decent" parts inside.
The cabs are probably well made.
I wouldn't get too excited ($$$) and if I went for them, I would plan on a parts update.

I found some very nice 12 inch Oaktrons and re-foamed them and picked up a set of JBL horns. One of my horns was bad (Oxford). Later I picked up some diaphragm kits off ebay and fixed my horns.

They do sound nice enough and the mid century look is cool.



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Having a matching stereo pair has a tendancy to put them after 1968, when stereo really started to gain traction in the rock and roll marketplace.

Before then, stereo was really only a major concern among audiophiles in jazz and symphonic music.
 
thanks everyone - I ended up letting them go. because of their placement ( on second rack ) I wasn't able to check out the backs - and my earlier impressions were that they were pretty light. so they might have been missing components inside... i don't need "another" speaker project right now seeing as I have several half finished ones already strewn about :)

Thanks for the insight everyone - that is cool to see the ported speakers blhagstrom - didnt even think of those being ports, assumed they were for a horn.
 
sheltie dave said:
When you cannot do a preinspection, one of the best yardsticks to use is how good the other merchandise at the estate auction is. If everything around it is above average to high end for the day, odds are the drivers will be the same. If the estate is knackered and of paltry value, I would be more hesitant to attend.

A ten second inspection through the metal weave grille with a good, small narrow beam halogen flashlight will reveal whether there is something good. Sometimes the crossover on the back will be the big tip off as well. Check both speakers, don't base your bid on just one judgement.
Click to expand...

this auction is VERY mixed - everything from estate sales, to seized property, to just plain surplus goods. so it can be hard to judge the surrounding items.

Thanks for the reminder to check both speakers... sometimes inspection options are minimal ( hard to reach for example ) so I'll make assumptions about the items I can't reach. I will bring a flashlight in the future for looking into grills!
 
Montycat said:
As you say, not much to go one but with legs like that and broken molding (I think that is what I am seeing) I am tempted to say home built.
Click to expand...

my first impression was those legs were "fancy" lol and so must mean they were valuable. where do legs like that come from ? were they part of home made kits or something?
 
the legs dont look original to the box, i think those 'ports' do line up tho, the cabs arent sitting on that pallet even with each other, once you adjust for that, the port seems to line up right.

to that end ive seem something similar to this, without the legs, that had a single university 25 watter inside of it
 
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