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Is this a "kit" speaker?

teebomus

teebomus

Active Member
Hi all,
Found this pair locally and no markings at all on the exterior. Heavy cabinets, pretty veneer work, fronts painted black. But grills seem too good to be DIY. maybe from a kit? Maybe I'm wrong and some folks can fit grills to look that professional. I looked on PE, didn't see a kit like it. Maybe its an older kit, man I got them from said he's had them a long time.
Both drivers in each I think are Vifa. Sound very good. I had to add some glue to one surround. I ran a picture of the front through Google and it came up as made by Snell. So maybe they are Snell clones?
Any ideas?
thanks
PXL_20260313_125152742.jpgPXL_20260313_125238632.jpgPXL_20260312_140452903.jpgPXL_20260312_155835807.jpgPXL_20260312_162033443.jpg
 
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The inductors are good quality but mounted in the same orientation which is a nono. Kit, I could be wrong.
Spade connectors though suggest assembly line.
 
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They don't really look like a kit speaker to me. But I could be wrong.
I've built a few kit speakers myself. One of the kits I built did come with finished grills though. Is there a hint of adhesive, or darker spot on the grills where badges could have been and fell off?
 
No, I don't see anything that looks like a badge where any glue might have been. And it doesn't matter which way you orient the grills they fit. There's no top or bottom so to speak.
 
John3655 said:
The inductors are good quality but mounted in the same orientation which is a nono. Kit, I could be wrong.
Spade connectors though suggest assembly line.
Click to expand...
Yeah I see what you mean about the inductors. But I also had the impression from the connections that looked it factory.
 
Doesn't look like a kit to me from the build construction. Look like pretty nice speakers.
 
Also thinking not kit, just based on lack of screws. All-glued construction is a little more challenging if you don't happen to have a good supply of clamps and some means to make sure those corners are square.
 
Didn't Pinnacles have angled ports? If these have them, then I would think it is pretty certain what they are. But the port in the picture doesn't seem to look angled.
And there were a bunch of prebuilt cabinet kit speakers in the 80s and 90s, some of which were well reviewed - Madisound, Speaker Lab, North Cove (or is that wrong?) - with very nice cabinets, good drivers, and well implemented crossovers. So I wouldn't discount the possibility. And I notice that the crossover is not screwed down, even though the PCB has holes to do so, and I notice that there is a screw hole - obviously a mistake - a bit to the right of the board, which suggests someone not used to production.
 
You cannot see in the picture, but the internal dampening is "cut to fit" egg crate foam. It is not glued or stapled but wedged tight enough so it does not move.
Manufacturers don't usually use that do they?
 
teebomus said:
You cannot see in the picture, but the internal dampening is "cut to fit" egg crate foam. It is not glued or stapled but wedged tight enough so it does not move.
Manufacturers don't usually use that do they?
Click to expand...
Am pretty sure I've seen egg crate foam in commercially built speakers.......but so many pairs have come and gone since the 90s it is hard to remember. If egg crate foam is used, memory is that is was just wedged in the speakers.
 
teebomus said:
You cannot see in the picture, but the internal dampening is "cut to fit" egg crate foam. It is not glued or stapled but wedged tight enough so it does not move.
Manufacturers don't usually use that do they?
Click to expand...
Lots of speakers are full of foam that is wedged in tight, those look like factory speakers... How do they sound ?
 
They have the same drivers as the paradigms I'm listening to. Your Crossover are far better quality though. Same port and spkr terminals. Vifa drivers. I paid five bucks. Another ak member picked them up from the curb. Really good sounding when using the snell k crossover pattern. Original crossover on these emitted ear popping highs and deeeep lows- Unbalanced.
 
I am running them through a late 90's Denon DRA 545 just sitting on kitchen counter and sounds great. Good punchy bass and nice clear sound. I'm impressed whoever made them. I think I'll put them on some stands and see how they like that.
 
Nat said:
Didn't Pinnacles have angled ports? If these have them, then I would think it is pretty certain what they are. But the port in the picture doesn't seem to look angled.
And there were a bunch of prebuilt cabinet kit speakers in the 80s and 90s, some of which were well reviewed - Madisound, Speaker Lab, North Cove (or is that wrong?) - with very nice cabinets, good drivers, and well implemented crossovers. So I wouldn't discount the possibility. And I notice that the crossover is not screwed down, even though the PCB has holes to do so, and I notice that there is a screw hole - obviously a mistake - a bit to the right of the board, which suggests someone not used to production.
Click to expand...
I don't know if all Pinnacles were angled but you are correct these are straight ports. If a kit/DIY, whoever did these were very good at woodwork.
 
Strange the woofer isn't countersunk, but both the tweeter and the terminal cup are.

Although I can't find a picture of that exact model, to my eyes they almost have a Dahlquist look to them.
 
That crossover board was offered as a generic 2-way. Could be an Audio Concepts kit but
I'm not sure at all, or Madisound, Meniscus.
The Pinnacle guess above is also very likely.
 
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