Tell me about EMF brand speakers.

[Natertots]

Does anyone have any info on EMF brand speakers?

I came across a pair of EMF speakers for sale locally (Portland, OR). The only other reference I can find is a pair for sale in the Seattle, WA area on another for sale site. Based on the lack of info I am guessing they were a short lived speaker company in the northwest? Anyone have any info on these?

First image is the Portland and second is Seattle.

 

[audiosignal]

Can’t help you here, but I do notice all the pics are with grills on. Could it be that grills don’t come off easily? I usually always pass on unknown speakers that I can’t see the drivers.

 

[swechsler]

ISTR seeing a speaker identity thread on this speaker recently; we didn't get very far. FWIW they look pretty well made with real wood veneer and fairly thick wood, but I can't give you any more info than that. One of the grills on the local pair looks like it's separating at the bottom, so you might be able to get a look at the drivers. I'd say they're worth at least a listen (bring your own electronics if you need to, I probably wouldn't buy them without listening unless they were really cheap or you can see inside and determine that they're high quality).

 

[Natertots]

It’s possible. I don’t get the feeling that the owners of either know much about speakers.

Originally the post for the local pair (first pic) just said they sound good and didn’t include a brand at all. The listing for the second pic was just as vague.

I am intrigued so I am going to try and check out the local pair to satisfy my curiosity, if nothing else. I was just hoping one of the audio encyclopedias here might have a bit of insight.

 

[Natertots]

I did some searching before I did any posting and I didn’t find anything. I may have missed the thread, or may not have used the wring search terms when looking but I was hoping a member from the north west might recognize the name.

 

[Ported Box]

They were the house brand for a small chain of stores in Portland and Seattle called The Great American Stereo Warehouse in the 1980's. They were maybe a bit above average for a house brand but definitely nothing special. Probably not worth the trouble and cost to rehab them even if you got them really cheap.

 

[Natertots]

They were the house brand for a small chain of stores in Portland and Seattle called The Great American Stereo Warehouse in the 1980's. They were maybe a bit above average for a house brand but definitely nothing special. Probably not worth the trouble and cost to rehab them even if you got them really cheap.

Great info, thanks! And that’s why we keep coming back to AK.

 

[Edcu]

Those are the beloved EMF 150s. I sold about 100 pair of them in 1980-1981, usually as a system with a Nikko receiver. Two way 8” with a cone tweeter, 8” woofer, and 10” passive radiator. Cheap components but actually a decent design. Glad to hear that a pair survived. I cannot imagine that the foam surrounds are OK.

 

[DolphinPDX]

EMF speakers and the higher end speakers VSS (vector sound studio) were house brand speakers manufactured in N.E. Portland, Or in the early to mid 1980's. They were made for Great American Stereo Wharehouse which had locations in the Portland and Seattle areas until GAS (Great American Stereo Whse.) went bankrupt. GAS owned the speaker company. The parent company to GAS and EMF was American Audio Associates owned by Barry Lee Barall. GAS main location and central control for EMF and American Audio were located at 115 N.W. 1st. Avenue, Portland, OR. The whole company went bankrupt in the late 80's. There was an IRS seizure along with Barry Lee Barall's personal property, boats, cars and homes. I am John, a former employee and personally new the Barall family.

 

[Natertots]

EMF speakers and the higher end speakers VSS (vector sound studio) were house brand speakers manufactured in N.E. Portland, Or in the early to mid 1980's. They were made for Great American Stereo Wharehouse which had locations in the Portland and Seattle areas until GAS (Great American Stereo Whse.) went bankrupt. GAS owned the speaker company. The parent company to GAS and EMF was American Audio Associates owned by Barry Lee Barall. GAS main location and central control for EMF and American Audio were located at 115 N.W. 1st. Avenue, Portland, OR. The whole company went bankrupt in the late 80's. There was an IRS seizure along with Barry Lee Barall's personal property, boats, cars and homes. I am John, a former employee and personally new the Barall family.

Hi John. Thanks for the great info!

Sadly, the speakers I looked at were in poor condition. The passive radiators were rotted out and the woofers has been replaced with what appeared to be a car stereo driver. They weren’t worth the $20 the owner was asking.

 

[chowder857]

Those are the beloved EMF 150s. I sold about 100 pair of them in 1980-1981, usually as a system with a Nikko receiver. Two way 8” with a cone tweeter, 8” woofer, and 10” passive radiator. Cheap components but actually a decent design. Glad to hear that a pair survived. I cannot imagine that the foam surrounds are OK.

I bought a pair of EMF 150s and a Nikko 35 watt per channel receiver (NR 519? Seemed like a well-build unit) at Great American Stereo in Tacoma around 1980. Maybe I bought them from you? I loved them. I remember getting a lesson on the difference between IM distortion and THD.

 

[chowder857]

EMF speakers and the higher end speakers VSS (vector sound studio) were house brand speakers manufactured in N.E. Portland, Or in the early to mid 1980's. They were made for Great American Stereo Wharehouse which had locations in the Portland and Seattle areas until GAS (Great American Stereo Whse.) went bankrupt. GAS owned the speaker company. The parent company to GAS and EMF was American Audio Associates owned by Barry Lee Barall. GAS main location and central control for EMF and American Audio were located at 115 N.W. 1st. Avenue, Portland, OR. The whole company went bankrupt in the late 80's. There was an IRS seizure along with Barry Lee Barall's personal property, boats, cars and homes. I am John, a former employee and personally new the Barall family.

Fascinating! I bought a pair of EMF 150s at a GAS in Tacoma, they were my first speaker purchase. Do you know how I can get any more information on the company or the speakers? I am wondering also what came of the guy who sold them to me, I used to visit that store a lot.

 

[sojrner]

I know this is an old thread, but stumbled here and had to post.

I currently own a set of these and they have been in active service since my parents bought them in the 80s. My dad got them with a pretty decent (again, at the time) Marantz receiver that succumbed to the ravages of time long ago. I inherited them circa 1995 after they sat for about a year. I rebuilt them around that time as the foam surrounds were rotted. Used a newer foam material that has held up very well and tightened up the sound a bit. Quite fond of the sound on these even now, though on paper they are probably outclassed by modern components in many ways, they still have lived through many amps and receivers, including anchoring my current surround setup as primary left and right. (Sony STR-DN1080, running 5.1.2) They have always had a very nice balance to highs and lows, very clean. I'll be moving them to my garage setup later this year and putting something a bit more responsive as my mains, but I will never get rid of them.

They have traveled from the I-5 corridor in Washington, through Idaho, and into many homes in Montana. The veneer is rather rough now, and they are no longer the lookers they once were, but they still pump out good sound and say "thank you sir, may I have another?" every time. My dad was never one to buy top-of-the-line for much of anything, and I'm sure he felt "suckered" into buying that sound system back then. (it couldn't have been cheap, especially for him) But it always puts a smile on my face to think of how much "value" he would have seen in them now, with how long they've served. I have enjoyed them over the years so much.

Did some searching in the 90s and early 00s but never could find definitive proof on where they came from. Frankly, I gave up after finding odd mentions of different buy-outs or other (apparently) erroneous data, so thank you so much for this information! This thread is also the first time I've actually seen pics of the exact setup. The grills do come off, as shown in my linked image above, but they are difficult and fragile.

 

[chowder857]

I am dying to know - how do they sound??? Also, could you send more pictures, such as the back, the terminals, maybe even pictures of the inside?

I had a pair of those around 1980-1982, I like them but ended up swapping them for something with better midrange for my tastes.

 

[sojrner]

I am dying to know - how do they sound??? Also, could you send more pictures, such as the back, the terminals, maybe even pictures of the inside?

I had a pair of those around 1980-1982, I like them but ended up swapping them for something with better midrange for my tastes.

The back is simple, black, unadorned. It has a place where there used to be a stapled card that (I think) had some specs, but my memory on that is foggy. Pretty sure my dad killed those cards right after he bought it. (He hated labels) The terminals are the most basic of a mid-80s affair.

EMF150_terminals

• sojrner
• Jun 22, 2020

Requested shot of terminals

I have not opened them up since I rebuilt them so long ago, so I don't remember the innards. If I get some time, I'll try to snap some risqué shots for you. ;-)

For the sound: they are warm and, I guess, smooth. The highs are not bright, which I like, and the midrange doesn't carry any hint of distortion/overlap. The low-end is more substantial than you'd think, and pleasantly balanced with the sound. Compared to modern ears, these would be considered flat I think, as the bass isn't boomy or boosted. Absent of specs, I'm pretty sure they don't reach very low on that spectrum. They've always sounded simply "nice" to me, as I love the balance. (as all things should be...) Music has always been their strong-suit, and I've had them on Marantz, Onkyo, and Sony amps over the years. Having said that, the highs are not as crisp as I would really like for movies, but the warmth in music is worth it to me. They'll be moving back to a secondary Onkyo-based system this year, where the brightness of that amp actually works with these very well. (they've been on it before, now that system is just music)

Hope that is what you were after. Rock on.

 

[chowder857]

Thank you so much! Yes that's what I was after. Btw, I have an Onkyo TX5000 receiver that's the heart of my main system.

Those EMFs were my first real set of speakers - I must have spent two weeks shopping around and listening to them, then I spent more weeks earning the money to buy them. I remember that salesperson in Tacoma demonstrating them, and comparing their bass response to a set of JBLs that cost over twice as much, and the bass on the EMFs was much better defined. I also remember them sounding warm - the highs weren't all that crisp, but the sounded great overall and I especially liked them with loud rock music.

 

[sojrner]

I agree with your take, especially compared to some modern sets. I love all the memories on these speakers, and seeing others having similar experiences is very cool. Knowing more about them like this has made me very happy.

Rock on.

 

[Onlyvintage]

Does anyone have any info on EMF brand speakers?

I came across a pair of EMF speakers for sale locally (Portland, OR). The only other reference I can find is a pair for sale in the Seattle, WA area on another for sale site. Based on the lack of info I am guessing they were a short lived speaker company in the northwest? Anyone have any info on these?

First image is the Portland and second is Seattle.

View attachment 1289576View attachment 1289577

I have a pair of EMF 200x 10" woofers and 10" passive radiators all surrounds are rotted so I'm repairing them they run a sony tweeter but i haven't pulled the woofers out to have the surrounds repaired yet. The magnets felt large as i was able to reach in there since the passives had rotted away. Cabinets are in great shape I'd say 9 out of 10. I'll be exited to listen to them once they have been restored. I also bought some upgrade woofers in case I'm not impressed with the originals.

 

[Onlyvintage]

I have a pair of EMF 200x 10" woofers and 10" passive radiators all surrounds are rotted so I'm repairing them they run a sony tweeter but i haven't pulled the woofers out to have the surrounds repaired yet. The magnets felt large as i was able to reach in there since the passives had rotted away. Cabinets are in great shape I'd say 9 out of 10. I'll be exited to listen to them once they have been restored. I also bought some upgrade woofers in case I'm not impressed with the originals.

Got the EMF200x refoamed.in Portland. I was told they are running a 10 in becker woofer and sony tweeter. They have a nice warm sound. The highs are not thst crisp but i still enjoy listening to them. Here are some pictures of them after reforming them.

 

[Onlyvintage]

EMF speakers and the higher end speakers VSS (vector sound studio) were house brand speakers manufactured in N.E. Portland, Or in the early to mid 1980's. They were made for Great American Stereo Wharehouse which had locations in the Portland and Seattle areas until GAS (Great American Stereo Whse.) went bankrupt. GAS owned the speaker company. The parent company to GAS and EMF was American Audio Associates owned by Barry Lee Barall. GAS main location and central control for EMF and American Audio were located at 115 N.W. 1st. Avenue, Portland, OR. The whole company went bankrupt in the late 80's. There was an IRS seizure along with Barry Lee Barall's personal property, boats, cars and homes. I am John, a former employee and personally new the Barall family.

Hi John, any info on the emf 200x speakers? What did they retail at when they were in business? I have a pair and had the foams replaced but have no specs on them . These were very well taken csre of.