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Speaker ID Fun

pliskin

Active Member
Can anyone ID these or who made them? They are model XAM 2E house branded for E.J. Korvette (I assume the department store chain from way back). They kind of look like KLH's. Another model on ebay says possible made by SEAS (ever heard of'em) or Electro-Voice. FYI it's a 10in woofer. Haven't tried them out yet so I don't know how they sound.
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Yes, XAM was Korvette's house brand for electronics. By the time I became aware of them, they had transitioned to making the lowest of low-end stuff, but these actually look like they could be decent quality. Pulling the drivers could give us a clue as to the manufacturer. Seas is known more for drivers than for full systems, but they have made a few models under their own name over the years.

These look like they date from the 1970s so I'd bet a recapping is in order. Don't be surprised if you don't get much in the way of high frequencies.
 
Yes, XAM was Korvette's house brand for electronics. By the time I became aware of them, they had transitioned to making the lowest of low-end stuff, but these actually look like they could be decent quality. Pulling the drivers could give us a clue as to the manufacturer. Seas is known more for drivers than for full systems, but they have made a few models under their own name over the years.

These look like they date from the 1970s so I'd bet a recapping is in order. Don't be surprised if you don't get much in the way of high frequencies.
Yes, they look like decent build quality. Real wood veneer and heavy cabs. No "Made In", no other labeling on the outside so I have no idea about the power handling. Can't wait to hear them. Possibly a good candidate for a pair of vintage garage speakers that I don't need to worry about destroying.
 
I'm going to be flamed for saying this but these are really good. One of the easiest speaker I've ever listened to. Unbelievable lows for a 10" woofer. Even on my el-cheapo Fisher tuner music can't be any better. As soon as i turned them on it was like shangri La, no lie. I'd buy a 100 pair of these. I'm not going to touch the caps or pop out the drivers or anything.

I really am dumbfounded.

I need an explanation on how it's possible.
 
Because you have a combination of factors that result in good sound. Could be your
source/s, amp/pre, room acoustics, the quality of the speakers... I scored some Royal
12" 3-ways a while back that sounded great- another house brand. I eventually just
dumped them because they weren't worth anything (and I was way over storage
capacity).

Nowadays, I keep my reference speakers close when trying to evaluate new additions.
I found it was too easy to really like something- until I heard a comparison.
 
Because you have a combination of factors that result in good sound. Could be your
source/s, amp/pre, room acoustics, the quality of the speakers... I scored some Royal
12" 3-ways a while back that sounded great- another house brand. I eventually just
dumped them because they weren't worth anything (and I was way over storage
capacity).

Nowadays, I keep my reference speakers close when trying to evaluate new additions.
I found it was too easy to really like something- until I heard a comparison.
I hear what you are saying. I'm listening in same location that I've listened to many other acclaimed speakers of the same class, or even better modern models. These things hang with the best of my collection. So much so I'll find room for them somewhere. To top it off they already hold rare sentimental value to me because I was born across the road from a Korvette store near Baltimore Maryland (sad to say). These likely came out of that same store. What are the odds I'd find these 50yrs later sounding perfect on a $5 yard sale Fisher tuner ?
 
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First listen enthousiasm... you'll get over it !
Happens to me several times.
Listened to them a few more times and oiled them up. Still sound nice. Crazy thing is I can't figure out which side is up. The grille badges are sideways and so is the panel on the back. I think they lay on their sides. But if you flip the grille which is right/left, tweeter/woofer in or out. To many options it's a mind fcuk. No pictures on the internet accept for smaller square shaped ones.

Instead of pot knobs it has a 3 way switch for hi-lo adjustments to that actually work.
 
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