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Speakerlab store is closing

sc427

sc427

Active Member
Speakerlab has lost their lease and the store on Roosevelt will close at the end of the month. Not really a big deal because they have been a mere shell of their former glory. Basically Speakerlab in name only.
The interesting thing is their major investor has posted that to stay tuned for good news. He does have an updated 7 and 30 in kit form so maybe Speakerlab could return to what they were back in their heyday.
I don't know if the kits can be competitive in today's market of low fy , MP3's and Bluetooth speakers. But it will be interesting to see .
Speakerlab's fb page has a pair of first gen 7's for sale . A pair of K's, 2.5's and a pair of DAS 7's.
The guy that might be the savior has a fb page called SL speakers. So now we wait and see.
 
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SpeakerLab has always been a cornerstone of the Northwest for many decades. I can understand that the rank and file audio listener these days isn't going to be buying K-horn type speakers especially if they're not made in low-cost production parts of the world. For those who haven't been to Roosevelt St, there also Hawthorne Stereo, yet another stalwart of the Seattle area.

If you're into audio, there are at least 3 places you _need_ to get to in Seattle: SpeakerLab, Hawthorne Stereo and The Experience Music Project at the base of the Space Needle.

Cheers,

David
 
Sorry to hear this. I grew up with Speakerlab; their kits always inspired big dreams and the occasional reality. Even though they've drifted a long way from their roots it felt like the good old days visiting the store. Hopefully the news to come will live up to its billing as good.
 
I spoke with Ann last night and she did indicate they are trying to go on in some fashion or another and also hinted, but did not confirm any future projects.
 
They have not been the same since they dropped their kits back around 1980. For me, that is when things took a turn downward. Still rocking my 1's however.
 
a very sad loss even thought they have been good for years.... I had from .1s to my s7s today and I have never been disappointed ..
 
This said , who would have bet that vinyl make a comeback ? Who would have believed that air cooled Porsche 911s would skyrocket ? Why is Rolex, a manual watch, appeal to many even if, in the late 70s , the future was clearly written up for digital watches ? Speakerlab did a few mistakes like leaving their core business ( car hifi , video ) and also were hit by bad timing ( digital was new and cool). I don`t think vinyl records will go away and I don't think digital watches will come back.
If I were to buy-invest in Speakerlab, I would bring back a few legendary speakers as kits only ( 7s 30s and .1s) that sell themselves market reputation wise and keep production in low quantities and local to avoid importing and quality issues and offer kits only as easier to ship and the clientele of Speaker would want to go back to this IMHO. I'm actually wrote up a business case for fun that might work . ......Ann I hope you think about this!
 
It will be sad to drive down Roosevelt, with Magnolia and Speakerlab both gone, leaving Hawthorne and Definitive the lone hold outs.
 
Great news !! Paul at the loudspeaker store is with a partner going to bring Speakerlab back to life!!! He just mentioned it on his fb page :) made my day !!!!!!!!!
 
yaya97 said:
Great news !! Paul at the loudspeaker store is with a partner going to bring Speakerlab back to life!!! He just mentioned it on his fb page :) made my day !!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Please expand on this news as you have more info. (I don't do FB) And thanks very much for passing this on.

Cheers,
James
 
Bubbamike said:
It will be sad to drive down Roosevelt, with Magnolia and Speakerlab both gone, leaving Hawthorne and Definitive the lone hold outs.
Click to expand...

Roosevelt really used to be a Stereo Row, didn't it? A very old-fashioned music and stereo store on 65th capped off the district, as I recall, but I don't remember the name of it. While it lasted, I thought Eakin Audio had the best sound - Definitive's empty, square rooms sounded thwanky by comparison. Who else was thereabouts? I seem to recall a Pacific Stereo pretty nearby, maybe on 45th or 50th?

Tom Brennan said:
Bruce Edgar said the basshorn of the Speakerlab KHorn copy was poorly executed and was best used as a doghouse.
Click to expand...

Just the place to put a woof-er!

Tom, I see your avatar has come full circle...
 
Thanks YaYa, very good news. It will be very interesting to see what the kits look like and how they are priced.

Cheers,
James
 
sqlsavior said:
... A very old-fashioned music and stereo store on 65th capped off the district, as I recall, but I don't remember the name of it...
Click to expand...

That was Standard Record and Hi-Fi. Gone now to make room for a light-rail terminal. This was the last local place I knew of that I could walk in the door, purchase a stylus, and walk back out the door with it because they carried it in stock.
 
Bratwurst7s said:
Thanks YaYa, very good news. It will be very interesting to see what the kits look like and how they are priced.

Cheers,
James
Click to expand...
I have listened to Paul's 35's. They look like 40's with the sloping cabinets. To me they sound better than my 40's. Paul spent a bunch of time hand matching drivers and fine tuning them. They are more like Nestorovic Labs in that regard. Paul had a specific sound in mind when he designed them. They are using a silk dome tweeter with hand assembled midrange and woofers.
Paul also did the design work on the updated 7's. They looked like first gen 7's but were using B&G mid and tweeter ribbons. Now that B&G are no more I'm not sure what they will be using. As far as price I don't know... Will have wait and see.
 
"Alas, there is light." ?? He either needs a dictionary or needs to proof read his post. Sorry, couldn't help myself.
 
GuyK said:
That was Standard Record and Hi-Fi. Gone now to make room for a light-rail terminal. This was the last local place I knew of that I could walk in the door, purchase a stylus, and walk back out the door with it because they carried it in stock.
Click to expand...

Ah, yes, thanks. I remembered it had a rather "Standard" type name. In the middle 90's, it was the only one to carry cartridges - the others had stopped.
 
Standard at 65th and 12th NE, Pacific was where the Petco and Simply Mac is on 45th, there were a couple of other shops on UWay, University Stereo for one, Tower on UWay, a couple other record stores whose name I can't recall. When I bought a HK cassette deck from speakerlab back in the '80s they were in the old Sears building, I think there is a bank in that space now. Anyway I paid for the deck with all $20s and I know they thought I was a drug dealer, but I just dealt in cash at that time and didn't even have a bank account.
 
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