Rare find? Goodman's of England Triaxiom speakers (w/Pics)
- Thread starter Noreaster
- Start date
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I've been enjoying my Goodmans quite a bit since I cleaned them up. They are not a speaker that blows you away, but like the AR 2ax that I was using previously, they are very easy to listen to, musical and engaging. Not a lot of bass despite the huge cabinet, but it's articulate and drums sound like drums. Classical & vocals especially sound awesome and uncolored. I haven't yet found much solid information about the 250c speaker; I would also love to know how far apart the "twin towers" are supposed to be spaced.
Hi Nor,
I'm glad to see another Maine AK'er purchased those Goodmans. For reasons I can't remember why, I "passed" on contacting the owner on those speakers when I saw the listing. I'm not sure why I did this as I am a fan of these type of speakers. I also have the tube gear best suited for such speakers. I suspect they will still sound good (perhaps a bit warm with the Marantz) especially when playing Classic Jazz. I have an circa 1940's Jensen Cabinet which I plan to install a vintage NORELCO 12" full range driver and use a Mono Tube Amp. Please keep up posted on your impressions on the Goodmans.
Regards,
SixCats!
I'm glad to see another Maine AK'er purchased those Goodmans. For reasons I can't remember why, I "passed" on contacting the owner on those speakers when I saw the listing. I'm not sure why I did this as I am a fan of these type of speakers. I also have the tube gear best suited for such speakers. I suspect they will still sound good (perhaps a bit warm with the Marantz) especially when playing Classic Jazz. I have an circa 1940's Jensen Cabinet which I plan to install a vintage NORELCO 12" full range driver and use a Mono Tube Amp. Please keep up posted on your impressions on the Goodmans.
Regards,
SixCats!
Hi SixCats,
I found the Goodmans at a local antique store (since gone out of business) and enjoyed them for several weeks. Alas, they have since found a new home. I really had no place to put them when they were "out of the rotation" in the main system, plus moving them was always a two-person job. (Not to mention the fact that, even for my easygoing spouse, 6-feet tall speakers were just a tad too much!) I had no interest in parting them out, so I was happy to find an enthusiastic buyer who appreciated them. Oh well, you can't keep 'em all....
I found the Goodmans at a local antique store (since gone out of business) and enjoyed them for several weeks. Alas, they have since found a new home. I really had no place to put them when they were "out of the rotation" in the main system, plus moving them was always a two-person job. (Not to mention the fact that, even for my easygoing spouse, 6-feet tall speakers were just a tad too much!) I had no interest in parting them out, so I was happy to find an enthusiastic buyer who appreciated them. Oh well, you can't keep 'em all....
Hi Nor,
Yea, I know what you mean about "can't keep 'em all". I thinned out the bulk of my collection over the last few years. I had TWO beautiful pairs of Wharfedale W90's (one pair now owned by Gang Twanger) that I let go. Also sold a PRISTINE pair of original ESS AMT1's and so much other stuff I can't recall. I still have a (single) BIG (VERY BIG) Custom/Home made (circa 1960-70's) Cabinet filled with EV Horns drivers. Sucker must weight 300 lbs. I finally had to hire help and move it three floors down into my Basement along with a slightly smaller (single) Custom Cabinet filled with UNIVERSITY Horn Drivers. I still however kept two beautiful BIG (circa 1950's) JENSEN TRI-PLEX Bass reflex Cabinets (aka "The Holy Cabinets") still in need of a matched pair of 15" Co/Tri Axial Drivers. I only have the Cabinets, the rare 15" JENSEN 610's I'm told went overseas. Hopefully someday before I die, I'll find some Drivers (that I can afford) for the Jensen Cabs. In the meantime, I still continue to listen in Mono with my favorite Speaker :
http://i39.tinypic.com/fjjhus.jpg
Per : http://jelabs.blogspot.com/2011/06/architects-music-and-hi-fi.html
This is an interesting picture of a Charles Eames/Stephens Trusonic collaboration sent a while back by Sixcats ! with another intriguing speaker in the background
Robert Stephens was part of the Shearer Horn project before starting his own company. I have seen a few Stephens drivers and the quality of construction is comparable to an Altec or JBL. But I never saw or heard this particular speaker system which according to a brochure in Hi-Fi Lit contained a 15" woofer in a folded horn chamber, compression driven 10 cell horn midrange + super tweeter. It is a rare piece and probably samples have been snapped up by mid-century modern collectors long before audio aficionados became aware of the sonic virtues of vintage equipment.
Well, it's fun to enjoy them for awhile! So, whatcha planning next for Speakers ?
Regards,
SixCats!
Yea, I know what you mean about "can't keep 'em all". I thinned out the bulk of my collection over the last few years. I had TWO beautiful pairs of Wharfedale W90's (one pair now owned by Gang Twanger) that I let go. Also sold a PRISTINE pair of original ESS AMT1's and so much other stuff I can't recall. I still have a (single) BIG (VERY BIG) Custom/Home made (circa 1960-70's) Cabinet filled with EV Horns drivers. Sucker must weight 300 lbs. I finally had to hire help and move it three floors down into my Basement along with a slightly smaller (single) Custom Cabinet filled with UNIVERSITY Horn Drivers. I still however kept two beautiful BIG (circa 1950's) JENSEN TRI-PLEX Bass reflex Cabinets (aka "The Holy Cabinets") still in need of a matched pair of 15" Co/Tri Axial Drivers. I only have the Cabinets, the rare 15" JENSEN 610's I'm told went overseas. Hopefully someday before I die, I'll find some Drivers (that I can afford) for the Jensen Cabs. In the meantime, I still continue to listen in Mono with my favorite Speaker :
http://i39.tinypic.com/fjjhus.jpg
Per : http://jelabs.blogspot.com/2011/06/architects-music-and-hi-fi.html
This is an interesting picture of a Charles Eames/Stephens Trusonic collaboration sent a while back by Sixcats ! with another intriguing speaker in the background
Robert Stephens was part of the Shearer Horn project before starting his own company. I have seen a few Stephens drivers and the quality of construction is comparable to an Altec or JBL. But I never saw or heard this particular speaker system which according to a brochure in Hi-Fi Lit contained a 15" woofer in a folded horn chamber, compression driven 10 cell horn midrange + super tweeter. It is a rare piece and probably samples have been snapped up by mid-century modern collectors long before audio aficionados became aware of the sonic virtues of vintage equipment.Well, it's fun to enjoy them for awhile! So, whatcha planning next for Speakers ?
Regards,
SixCats!
Valveglow
Super Member
Well, apparently oxalic acid does the trick to remove black water marks, but after reading all the warnings on the label, I decided to continue sanding. Several hours later, I've made huge progress & I think they're going to look really good. I've also confirmed that the drivers are working, although I haven't really taken them for a spin yet. I don't own any tube amps, so will probably try them out with my mellow Marantz 2230.
Gonna need a bigger house:
The tube recommendation seems to be a good one, especially with 16 Ohm drivers. Typically, solid state amplifiers will only have approximately 50% of their 8 Ohm output in this case. I am not sure of the 2230's rated power or these cool looking speakers' sensitivity. Nice score!
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
Oh man... Beautiful speakers... Wish I had seen these earlier. I was just up in Maine for two weeks. Hey there, Sixcats! Hope things are great with you guys.
I heard a pair of Goodmans once. Did you get to hear those with tubes? I don't know how they are with solid-state, but I always figured they would be perfect with a Harman Kardon or Dynaco tube rig. One of the most-open-sounding speakers ever, I mean, holy crap, are they open-sounding. Definitely a tube-friendly speaker, and classic British (Not as warm as Wharfedale or University, but just as engaging... Just a different flavor... Goodmans full-rangers are considered by some to be the best ever made). As someone said, should be amazing with a tube Leak. Goodmans are RARE in the US, so consider yourself lucky to have owned them. On my bucket list, but I'm a big fan of Wharfedales, so they take precident, but I'd sure love a pair like those.
Are those Goodmans cabs? I was never sure how many cabs they made at their factory and how many were outsourced to the country where they marketed/sold.
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Very interesting speakers - - - usually, I am no fan of vertical towers as furniture, but these are really beautiful and unusual cabinets. The oxalic acid for bleaching wood or removing water stains that I have used has never seemed so toxic, but it is even less so if you use the mild version found in Bar Keeper's Friend. Just make a paste, rub it around and wait a few minutes, and if needed, repeat process.
Am curious about crossover components and wondering if anything might benefit from some attention, restoration or replacement?
http://www.barkeepersfriend.com/using-bar-keepers-friend
Am curious about crossover components and wondering if anything might benefit from some attention, restoration or replacement?
http://www.barkeepersfriend.com/using-bar-keepers-friend
Thanks for all the renewed interest! As I mentioned earlier, I found the Goodmans at a local antique store that was going out of business. I knew the owner and had noticed that she had posted a bunch of items on Craigslist, including one for "mid-century speakers". When I went over to check them out, she told me that the Goodmans had come from a very large oceanside home in South Portland that was an untouched time capsule of 1950s/60s furniture. She ended up buying the entire contents of the home. In her store, the speakers were displayed next to very nice mid-century modern stereo cabinet (from the same house) that enclosed a Dual 1019 turntable and a cheapie 1980's Technics amp and tuner that obviously replaced whatever was there originally.
I never got to try the Goodmans out with tubes, but I used a few different low-power receivers (Pioneer SX-626, Marantz 2225 & 2230) and the sound was really, really sweet and engaging.
I was able to get almost all the black crud out of the veneer by sanding. I never did find out who made the cabinets, but the construction was absolutely first rate. However, if there is one clue that they may have been custom-made, and not built at a factory, the back of one speaker cabinet was attached with 32 screws...but the other had only 31....??
I never got to try the Goodmans out with tubes, but I used a few different low-power receivers (Pioneer SX-626, Marantz 2225 & 2230) and the sound was really, really sweet and engaging.
I was able to get almost all the black crud out of the veneer by sanding. I never did find out who made the cabinets, but the construction was absolutely first rate. However, if there is one clue that they may have been custom-made, and not built at a factory, the back of one speaker cabinet was attached with 32 screws...but the other had only 31....??
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detourstudio
Member
help?
I didn't know where else to post these, so here goes. I recently picked these up at an estate sale. I'm looking to flip them, but I can't find any information on them. Can anyone help with deets and pricing info? Much appreciated.
I didn't know where else to post these, so here goes. I recently picked these up at an estate sale. I'm looking to flip them, but I can't find any information on them. Can anyone help with deets and pricing info? Much appreciated.