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Opinions on Pinnacle Speakers from Early 90s

S

spicynuts

Member
Good god I can't believe it's 20 years ago now but back around 92 my boss at the time was really talking up Pinnacle as the second coming of mid-level audiophile genius. He got me a deal on a pair - I'll have to get the model number later but they are definitely 2 ways. They've been laying around my house mostly unused. What's the over all opinion on Pinnacles at this point? I have enough vintage speakers sitting on my work bench and in use around my house so I don't need more collecting dust, but if these guys are worth something or are worth giving them a second chance in my system, maybe I'll keep em.

Thoughts?
 
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I always thought that Pinnacle Speakers were pretty good.
NO name recognition whatsoever, so even today they tend to fly way under the radar.
I'd give them a second chance, I mean, what do you have to lose?

Steve
 
Well, I'd rip em apart and play with them in terms of practicing refurbs. So, if I'm risking destroying something that has a lot of vintage market value, then I won't do that. If not, then I use them to experiment with.
 
I bought a Pinacle Isobarick 12" sub woofer from The Incredible Universe before they went under. It was the most accurate, hardest hitting sub I ever owned, even over the 15" Velodynes I later bought. I sold it to a friend who played it hard for many more years until the plate amp gave up!

I looked at other Pinacle designs and found them to sound very good- just could not affoard them! The slant cut vent port was a neat idea & worked well. Thy had some of the best use of poly driver in the business too.
DC
 
Generally very good stuff. I remember taking a roommate down to J&R in NYC to buy some equipment because she just landed her first job...cerca '90s. We listened to a number of speakers and finally settled on a nice pair of Pinnacle bookshelves--they were the best of what J&R had in there.

That Diaduct port sure put out some sweet bass and everything else was top notch as well.

I think these are 'keepers'! I still have the flyer/Ad for their bookshelves somewhere?

Have fun....

cnh2
 
I picked up a pair of AC650's about 3 or 4 yrs ago at a garage sale for $10. Lots of gear and speakers have come and gone and those AC650's are still here. They are in my closet at the moment but I have no intention of selling them at any time in the near future. I hold them high regard. Very, very good for the money (new retail of about $450).
 
Just went in the closet and checked. They are actually AC850s!! I'll definitely be hooking then back up this weekend.
 
spicynuts said:
Just went in the closet and checked. They are actually AC850s!! I'll definitely be hooking then back up this weekend.
Click to expand...

I'd listen to the poster above with the Harbeths. If he has those, he'll likely know a good speaker from a not so good speaker. I remember the Pinnacles as being an excellent value back in the 1990s.
 
Pn50

Years ago I had a girlfriend with a pair of PN50's hooked up to an Adcom GFA-535. I though that they were a great combination ...
 
pinnacle used good drivers and always sounded decent to me.the port tubes are glued on and seem to break loose,but its not a difficult fix.just reglue them and your good to go.
 
I just finished the the Pinnacle pn8+ refurb job I started a few weeks ago.
The veneer on the cabinets was failing, the grills were covered with candle wax and one of the drivers had been replaced with a rad/shack woofer. I refinished the cabinets with a " stone " finish. Replaced the grill cloth, got rid of the oak trim piece and added cherry, added a new pair for Scan-Speak 8" drivers ( as close to the origional as I could get). I would not have purchased the drivers except that even with the replacement these were about the best sounding bookshelf speakers I have ever heard. They are awesome now and simply disappear in the soundstage.
They are keppers for sure.
Here's a few pictures.
Steve
 

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Listening for a few days now and am verry happy. Is Pinnicle really held in such disregard? They would seem like a bargin to me.
 
True audiosnobs hear with their ears but only buy with their eyes.

They want good sound, but buy good brands or good looking speakers - which really explains why some speakers got the cold shoulder (ess amt series) but others get a super high rap like sonus farber.

I aspire to break that shackle but I fail at times.

Cool.
Srinath.
 
I’m just starting to learn about vintage speakers... but I have studied these vintage receivers enough to say I definitely agree in reference to receivers.

I had no skin in the game coming into this hobby and I’ve decided the cost/benefit value just isn’t there for Marantz for me. I’m selling a Marantz 2230 to fund the purchase of a Nikko NR-1019 and if I’m patient enough and/or lucky enough maybe some $ left over to help cosmetically rehab a fully functional but cosmetically rough Onkyo TX-6500 MKII.

But I digress...

I need to find out more about these PN50s... this thread gives me a good first impression, though.



srinath said:
True audiosnobs hear with their ears but only buy with their eyes.

They want good sound, but buy good brands or good looking speakers - which really explains why some speakers got the cold shoulder (ess amt series) but others get a super high rap like sonus farber.

I aspire to break that shackle but I fail at times.

Cool.
Srinath.
Click to expand...
 
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