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RSL speakers, am I alone?

Wow, haven't seen these RSLs in a long time!

Columbo said:
I can't find much info on this MONSTER, other than it seems to be made more for sound reinforcement that for "hi-fi." It's larger than the JBL 4430s I have. And I don't really have room for them, but can't pass up the SCROE.
Click to expand...

These are RSL 512's. They were made during a brief period in the early 70's. There were 2 versions. Both used 2-12" woofers and a horn midrange. The first used 2 large black horns for the tweeters. The second version used one Electrovoice T35 horn tweeter. I wish I had the space too. I would love to hear these again! It's been over 40 years.

If any of you'd like a copy of an RSL brochure of that time which shows those speakers and the rest of line, just fill out a contact form on our site and I'll email it to you. BTW. If any of you read Home Theater Magazine, their February issue (on sale in Jan) will have a review of our new generation of speakers. This will be our most important review yet. If you get a chance, please check it out.

Happy Holidays!

Howard
 
Hi Howard,

We have spoken on the phone a few times...about a year ago. We talked a bit about the early CG line crossovers, and the new line of course.

I got a chance to hear these 512s the other day. Yeah, more sound reinforcement than hi-fi. Pots need cleaning though. Very efficient, lots of bass. The guy wouldn't let me remove the grills (never were removed!), but by putting my ear close to the baffle, it seems like woofers, mid and one tweeter..as far as I can tell.

This is more of a "rescue" than a need. I just can't see them going to a thrift store!!
 
These were the first big speakers we ever made. You're right about the sound reinforcement. I remember that we went for power at the time. Just curious, what are they going for?
 
My friend bought these brand-new from Rogersound Labs, along with a Marantz 3300 w/walnut cover, and ESS 500M...back in 1973 he said. The Marantz still has one of your inventory tags on the bottom! He said he only paid maybe $250/ea. for the speakers, which is half of retail back then. Since they were a special order speaker, and he didn't order them, then maybe he got them at a lower price because someone backed out of a deal? They are in REALLY great shape! He is a smoker though.

The price? Orion Blue Book (2002) value is $100/pr. He's giving all of his stereo gear to me because he is dying of cancer. Maybe a few months more to live. So while it is a score for free, the "price" is really too high.
 
Hi Howard,

I've been using a set of speakers like these for several years now on my main system:

5N75F15J73M83I23Habcsf7bf31374eb91f45.jpg


The sound great! The funny thing is, at first I wasn't sure if I liked them because they seemed to have very little base compared to the mids and highs. On an already very bright system, they can come on quite strong. After some tweaking though, I found them to have a wonderfully full sound with great presence. The sound is unlike any other speaker I've owned, they are almost completely without the boominess that many other types of speakers have, and tend to be very subtle, until you try to talk to someone in the room they are playing in, and you realize that they are much louder that they seem.

Anyway, it would be great to know what they are, when they were made, and where they stack up against RSL's other offerings. Thanks for making such nice speakers. This is my second set.
 
rat fink said:
Hi Howard,

I've been using a set of speakers like these for several years now on my main system:

5N75F15J73M83I23Habcsf7bf31374eb91f45.jpg


The sound great! The funny thing is, at first I wasn't sure if I liked them because they seemed to have very little base compared to the mids and highs. On an already very bright system, they can come on quite strong. After some tweaking though, I found them to have a wonderfully full sound with great presence. The sound is unlike any other speaker I've owned, they are almost completely without the boominess that many other types of speakers have, and tend to be very subtle, until you try to talk to someone in the room they are playing in, and you realize that they are much louder that they seem.

Anyway, it would be great to know what they are, when they were made, and where they stack up against RSL's other offerings. Thanks for making such nice speakers. This is my second set.
Click to expand...

Hi,

Thanks for the nice words. I believe you have RSL 4200Bs. I may even have a set in storage. I don't know much about them, because they were made after I left the original company. I didn't design these. They may use a ribbon tweeter. Sorry that I don't have more info on these.

Howard
 
Well, my friend passed away a few weeks ago. I now have the 512s and 3600s at my place. The grills have never been removed from the 512s. They don't seem to want to come off easily. Is there a trick to get them off? And is there some way to clean them from 40 years of cigarette smoke?

I know the 4200B was not an original RSL design. Years ago, without hearing them, I bought a pair of 4200Bs "like new, in the box" for around $60. I think. I liked the cabinet design and thought they would sound pretty decent. I was very disappointed with the sound. I gave them a week to "grow on me" but they didn't. They could have had a ribbon tweeter as it appeared to be a rectangular shape when looking through the grill with a flashlight. But even so, there were really no highs, no dynamic punch, and no bass.

I saw potential in the cabinet design, but I don't know enough about modifying and building speakers.

The previous owner had a hard time selling them, and so did I.
 
rsl 512

Hello, sorry to hear of your friend, condolences.
I am interested in the 512's if you would like to part with them. I collect RSL speakers. I also have the 4200b's and find them to be pretty nice sounding. Maybe there was something not working properly on your pair. Any how, let me know about the 512's. Thanks.
 
We're sorry to hear about your friend. As far as the 512's go, I think that these were among the earliest RSLs. As such, many speakers of that time didn't have provisions for easy grill removal. If my memory serves me correctly, the grill was actually attached with finishing nails. If that's the case, you could remove it by using a putty knife and gentle prying off the grill. Work gradually around the perimeter instead of just trying to pry one spot off completely. Let me know how you make out. I would really like to hear these again, just for laughs.

The 4200Bs were designed after I left the original RSL. Therefore, I deny any responsibility for them. I actually have a boxed pair in storage, but I never had a chance to listen to them.

Regards,
Howard
RSL Speaker Systems
 
Good Times

Hi Howard; I have four pairs of RSL speakers. The 6600H's, 3600's, Elans, and a pair of two ways that I just got from my parents estate in which I bought one and my brother bought the other for a Christmas gift back in the 70's. My first pair was the Studio Monitor II in black. My next pair was the Sudio Monitor III which had the two 12" woofers and 3 horns. These were returned demo speakers which were mounted to the ceiling at Tower Records in Hollywood. They were given to my bro and he gave them to friend of his and are still being used in a recording studio in Porterville CA. Thanks for all of your input and memories!:music:
 
Hi Jim,
Thanks for the nice post. I remember those speakers in Tower Records! When we were an unknown new company, we had a crazy idea. With the cooperation of Tower, we equipped a van with 2 of those giant speakers and set it up in Tower's parking lot. We felt that playing music in the parking lot would introduce people to the sound of our speakers. The sound radiated up the hill and the homeowners behind Tower called the police, which ended our parking lot concerts.
Regards,
Howard
 
Howard; I was wondering if you could help me figure out which model of RSL's I have. I have gone through your website and the brochures with little luck. They reside at my parents house now, which is 700 miles away so I can't look internally but they have no visible outside model numbers. The strange thing about them unlike the RSL other models I have seen are they have top firing subs. The mids and tweets are suspended on the back housing. The speakers stand almost 5ft but have a cover on top and around the 3 exposed sides, which are approx. 1ft in length.

Sorry this is probably a terrible description and here a camera would be worth a thousand words, but it's the best I got.

They are in perfect condition and sound wonderful. Just wanted to get some info on them.
 
Indentifying your RSL Speakers

Actually, from your description, I'm quite certain that the speaker is the RSL Alpha III. It was sold around 1976 for $299. I haven't heard them in years and would be really curious. I have a copy of a mailer we sent out that shows the speaker. If you'd like a copy just email me at sales@rslspeakers.com and I'll send it to you.

Regards,
Howard
 
Thanks Howard that is definitely them. I replied to your email and appreciate all the help. Look forward to more discussions with you on my next RSL system.

Cheers,
Ron
 
Howard, it is totally awesome that you are keeping this support going. As my first "hands on" audio project I picked up two of your speakers from a garage sale this morning and I'm going to be refoaming the 8" subs. Do you have any information on these guys, they feel like oak cabinets? Thanks

IMG_20120527_135759.jpg

IMG_20120527_135835.jpg


I'm thinking they're the RSL Magnificent's according to a post earlier on page 2
 
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I have a pair of RSL Nevada XT, love them pick them up at a pawn shop here in Oklahoma, that being said had one of the 8" woofers blow, and lost the tweeters and mids, I have a pair of 8"s on the way nothing great but it will fill the hole for now,

now the tweeters are a different ball game, in my search, I have found that they are EV t 35's, but all I have seen available was 8ohm diaphragm,

and the mids not a clue, I think I'll take a shot in the dark, there is a shop here in Tulsa Speaker works ran by Dave Miller I was referred to by a local sound shop in Muskogee,

any Ideas on what I could use as replacements, I want to keep them as close to what they were designed for,
 
I don't know about Nevadas but I'm pretty sure all the tweets in the older RSLs I've had were Vifa or some other Danish brand.

You can try to find Howard Rogers of RSL some where here on AK. He's around and he'll know

Good luck

Eric
 
ty sunbeam, on the tweeters they match up visual to the EV t35's, big square magnets, and the horns were exact
which was used in Klipsch k77, and the same tweeters were used for the nevadas as the 6600's if I read the brochures right
 
JGM1970 said:
I have a pair of RSL Nevada XT, love them pick them up at a pawn shop here in Oklahoma, that being said had one of the 8" woofers blow, and lost the tweeters and mids, I have a pair of 8"s on the way nothing great but it will fill the hole for now,

now the tweeters are a different ball game, in my search, I have found that they are EV t 35's, but all I have seen available was 8ohm diaphragm,

and the mids not a clue, I think I'll take a shot in the dark, there is a shop here in Tulsa Speaker works ran by Dave Miller I was referred to by a local sound shop in Muskogee,

any Ideas on what I could use as replacements, I want to keep them as close to what they were designed for,
Click to expand...

They are indeed OEM versions of the Electrovoice T-35. They are 8 ohm tweeters, even though the speaker is rated at 4 ohms. That's because of the 12" and 8" woofers being in parallel. I wish I could help with a recommendation for replacing the 8" woofer and the midrange, however these have been out of production for many years and I am not aware of parts that sound similar, although I'm sure there must be some out there.

I wish you good luck in your search for replacements. If you find some that are satisfactory, please let us know.
 
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