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University

blhagstrom

blhagstrom

Mad Scientist, fixer.
Subscriber
Been a long cold rainy spell around here.
Not feeling real hot.
Spotted a crappy photo of some speakers I couldn't recognize at an estate sale close enough to hit this morning.

Bingo!

University Medallion XII.

Pushing them with my restored Pioneer SX-6000.

SOooo sweet. Can't believe they are around 50 years old! :music:
 

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blhagstrom said:
Been a long cold rainy spell around here.
Not feeling real hot.
Spotted a crappy photo of some speakers I couldn't recognize at an estate sale close enough to hit this morning.

Bingo!

University Medallion XII.

Pushing them with my restored Pioneer SX-6000.

SOooo sweet. Can't believe they are around 50 years old! :music:
Click to expand...

Those are awesome... Look to be early to mid '60's. The Medallion XII was apparently the TOTL model from that series.

What's the sound like on these? I've heard their drivers from the late '50's, but not these later ones. I assume the sound of their drivers didn't change much between the late '50's and early '60's, but who knows. I remember them being smooth, very-engaging, and on the warm side (warmer than my W90's even). I've never heard those Sphericon supertweeters before, but they're supposed to be very-smooth. I so-wish that my W90's had removable grills like on those Universities. I wonder how they sound with the grills off. You should compare them with vs without and see which you prefer.

Here's some catalog info in case you need:
http://www.preservationsound.com/?p=3510

University_Medallion_XII.jpg
 
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They sound great!

There is a "presence" switch. It affects the mid. The switches are a little fussy but I got them both running on "MAX". The switch basically cuts a resistor in or out.
The pot controls the tweeter. I have that running in "Normal" area, which is pretty much wide open.

The woofer and mid are very tight drivers so they drive fairly easy (get loud fast). They are both pleated cloth accordian surround, so they seem to drive well without over working.

I was surprised by the image on them. I dropped them in the middle of the floor near a handy reciever and hooked them up and started to work with the switches and pots and when I took a minute to sit and listen, they were almost transparent.

I've moved them around a little. They are near the golden points for placement but still do better then other speakers I've tried that area with.

I did mention that I am running them with my restored SX-6000. It has had a LOT of work in the main amps so that is probably helping. The SX-6000 is cap coupled, I find that to be more "tube" like.

The words that come to mind are "voice" and "image" when I listen to them. I am running at maybe a watt with loudness on. The bass may be a tad shy, but they have wax caps and I'll bet a recap would help there.

I have only heard of University from random threads here talking about drivers. I didn't know they were such nice speakers. The cabs are beautiful. A few light scratches and one small piece of veneer missing (top left corner on the photo one). Wonderful wood trimmed removable grills. Seriously nice overall.

I will have to dig out my tubes.
 
blhagstrom said:
They sound great!

There is a "presence" switch. It affects the mid. The switches are a little fussy but I got them both running on "MAX". The switch basically cuts a resistor in or out.
The pot controls the tweeter. I have that running in "Normal" area, which is pretty much wide open.

The woofer and mid are very tight drivers so they drive fairly easy (get loud fast). They are both pleated cloth accordian surround, so they seem to drive well without over working.

I was surprised by the image on them. I dropped them in the middle of the floor near a handy reciever and hooked them up and started to work with the switches and pots and when I took a minute to sit and listen, they were almost transparent.

I've moved them around a little. They are near the golden points for placement but still do better then other speakers I've tried that area with.

I did mention that I am running them with my restored SX-6000. It has had a LOT of work in the main amps so that is probably helping. The SX-6000 is cap coupled, I find that to be more "tube" like.

The words that come to mind are "voice" and "image" when I listen to them. I am running at maybe a watt with loudness on. The bass may be a tad shy, but they have wax caps and I'll bet a recap would help there.

I have only heard of University from random threads here talking about drivers. I didn't know they were such nice speakers. The cabs are beautiful. A few light scratches and one small piece of veneer missing (top left corner on the photo one). Wonderful wood trimmed removable grills. Seriously nice overall.

I will have to dig out my tubes.
Click to expand...


The tube-era University cabs were expensioso... More-expensive than the Wharfedale stuff, I think. I remember seeing one of their TOTL (or near-TOTL) models selling for like over $400, and I believe that was PER CAB, and not for the pair.

I really-like the University sound. If I had to describe it, I'd say it kinda' reminded me of a cross between the Goodmans/Wharfedale sound and the tube-era Altec sound (One time I heard a big University mono cab in the same room as a Stephens Tru-Sonic, both with 15" woofers as well as a horn, and I preferred the University. The Stephens could get louder and had more clarity, the University cab was a smoother, much-more-pleasant listen with less fatigue (The Stephens cab reminded me of EV, which is really not my thing). And University made some serious cabs (same as every other upscale speaker-manufacturer at the time). They made a nice horn driver, the first one I really-liked. They also made a really-nice full-ranger as well. Good stuff.

Like you said about them, they have a nice room-filling sound. Great soundstage, dynamics, and timbre, plus they're easy to place. That's the same thing I love about my W90's. I bet that MoFi gold CD version of Muddy Waters' "Folk Singer" would sound just about perfect through those Universities (or any old blues album from the '60's for that matter).

Looks like your SX-6000 was to Pioneer what my 2000x was to Sansui. Made in '72 and voiced very-tubelike, a meat-and potatoes control-panel layout with only the bare essentials, and a tube-era-worthy 35 watts per channel (39wpc for the 2000x). The receivers from that '69-'73 period are my favorite. There are some real sleepers among them (The 2000x is one seriously-good-sounding receiver... Makes my W90's sound fantastic). There are lots of AK'ers who swear by the early solid-state gear when it comes to powering, big, efficient, tube-era speakers. My W90's were made around the same time as those Universities, give or take.
 
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I haven't been lucky enough to hear a lot of the things you mention.
Wharfedales, Altecs, Goodmans, etc...
I had a Sansui 5000A for a while. Sounded great on some Sansui SP-3000 and SP-5000 I had. Those speakers also had tight drivers. I thought they were great room filling speakers without being "tiring".

I cleaned up a 2000X once for a guy. I bought it but ran into him and he was a little sorry for selling it so I sold it back to him. He was a vet that "brought it home". I couldn't keep it. I really didn't get to play with it much.

I do have a 3000A sitting here. I should hook that up.

I do love the early 70s Pioneers. The cap coupling is wonderful. SX-6000, SX-990, SX-1500TD. I have an SX-9000 almost done. I recapped it and re-transistored it looking for some pre-amp noise. It's in the reverb. Must be a backfeed thing. Waiting on some parts.

I downloaded the old 63 catalog and was reading it. They do live up to the claims. Hard to believe they "faded away". But, if they were that spendy back then. I imagine sales were slow. I did catch a little about University and Altec and ? being bought up, merged, etc (LTV thing).

I'm an old farm boy from the middle of nowhere. Finding things from that long ago that had to be big money is always a treat. If it wasn't for AK, I probably would have missed them. Someone must have looked them over and passed, one was sort of pulled out. They screwed up seriously. I guess they were meant to be mine.

:banana:
 
I'm from CT. Growing up here, I mostly heard the New England brands (Advent, ADS, Boston Acoustics, etc.), but Bozak was the one that really stuck out. That's the sound that got to me at a very-young age (They were based here in CT, and one of their divisions was less than a mile from my house)). But Bozak oddly-enough is not far from the Wharfedale/Goodmans type of sound, so it makes sense that I'm into it now. Bozaks are just fantastic-sounding in every way. Very-open, smooth, and emotionally-engaging, with smooth, effortless bass. But it's still a 'flavor', so to speak (Metal/hard rock fans might need something a bit more edgy/cutting).

Like you were saying, University was supposedly owned by the same company that owned Altec (at one time or another). It was an extremely-competitive market back in the '50's, '60's, and '70's, so I assumed that University got swallowed up by some big conglomerate and then later discarded. It's hard to find info on them, and with their prices, it would make sense like you said. Great sound though. I love laid-back speakers with that "breath of life" sound ('emotionally-engaging').

I didn't totally catch the hi-fi bug until like 4 years ago. Before that, I didn't have the sense to put together the right system (Being a musician, I spent too-much of my time around studio monitors and PA gear).

By the way, I bet that 3000A would make those University cabs sound great. Same kind of sound-signature as the 2000x (The look of it reminds me of my 4000... The early solid-state Sansuis have an especially-great-sounding low-end). I don't know how much those University cabs are rated to handle, but the 3000A is supposed to be 45wpc continuous @ 8ohms. Just don't go crazy with the volume, and you should be okay.
 
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Yup, east coast V west coast.

I don't remember ever even seeing Bozak at all. Even all the stuff my buddy flips. I did see one set of small Dynaco but they were not operational.

Out here, I see Speakerlab speakers, Phase Linear, Carver, Sunfire (local companies). There was some small place in Lynnwood, Audio Dynamics. I do have a set of Eiken speakers, VERY rare, Speakerlab parts.

I have a nice collection of ADS and Advent.

The Universitys say 40 watts on the back. I realize they are not "concert" speakers. Jeez, if/when I get to 10 watts, the place is rocking, with any of my gear.

I tend to look for stuff that sounds great at a level where you could actually have a (loud) conversation. You don't "need" 100-200wpc for that but some of the big stuff does have a nice low level.

Some of my favorite gear is well below 50wpc and some of the best speakers below 20wpc. I like a clean clear sound with some "throat". A "husky" sort of sound down in the bass.

I scored another Pioneer SX-9000 yesterday with a pile of stuff. Turns out to work fairly well so I tried it on the Universitys. Nice! Parts for my other SX-9000 should be in this week. It will be a good A/B on original V recap+re-transistor unit.

Been interested in audio since 75. Been away for a while but got back into it a few years ago. This area turns up tons of good stuff. Out in the middle of ND, there is almost nothing. Mostly stuff like Quasar and Soundesign. There were a few high end stereo shops but that gear is hiding well. I did see a big Mcintosh tube unit once and I know there is a Marantz 500 and some VOTT there. But digging it up, HA! There has also been an out-migration for 30 years so i may have all left too.
 
GT,

Dude, ya gotta STOP dis'in my Stephens Tru-Sonic lol. Seriously, the Tru-Sonic while my favorite Speaker can sound a bit too much on certain material and/or source. Blh, congrats on the University, it's lovely looking and I hope you enjoy. GT, my (Brociner) Corner Horn University is no doubt one of my favorite Speakers. GT, for your information, the Brociner Corner Horn (that produces that lovely smooth sound you enjoyed so much) has but a single 12" University 6201 Coaxial Driver! Amazing eh ? I have no doubt that the Brociner Corner Horns' Cabinet (in addition to the University Driver) has a LOT to do with it's beautiful smooth sound. You are indeed correct, it is a very relaxing sound.


Regards,

SixCats!
 
The University's say 40 watts on the back.
Click to expand...

blhagstrom...
could you possibly shoot me a decent photo of the back sticker(s)?
I'd like to get all the info on these that I can.
My backs have no info.
thanks
Martin
 
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SixCats! said:
GT,

Dude, ya gotta STOP dis'in my Stephens Tru-Sonic lol. Seriously, the Tru-Sonic while my favorite Speaker can sound a bit too much on certain material and/or source. Blh, congrats on the University, it's lovely looking and I hope you enjoy. GT, my (Brociner) Corner Horn University is no doubt one of my favorite Speakers. GT, for your information, the Brociner Corner Horn (that produces that lovely smooth sound you enjoyed so much) has but a single 12" University 6201 Coaxial Driver! Amazing eh ? I have no doubt that the Brociner Corner Horns' Cabinet (in addition to the University Driver) has a LOT to do with it's beautiful smooth sound. You are indeed correct, it is a very relaxing sound.


Regards,

SixCats!
Click to expand...

Sorry, man. :) I really don't mean to put it like that. The Stephens is a beautiful speaker. It's just that it's a very-neutral speaker, and my ears have always been sensitive to that (I was surprised at how neutral it was... I was expecting it to be much-more-rolled-off and "vintage-sounding", but it's really-not... It sounds way-more-modern than I had imagined it, being from the '50's and all) . It's the same for me with guitar amps. I've always drifted towards the ultra-forgiving ones (the same way a lot of people would say my favorites are too-rolled-off/laid-back/soft-edged, which they often do).

I keep forgetting that Brociner cab had just a full-ranger. I love the sound (My fragile nerves need an extremely-relaxing, super-laid-back speaker that gives me the warm fuzzies inside). I've seen pictures of that same type of corner-cab loaded with a separate woofer and tweeter (Were those corner-cabs designed to accommodate several different driver-configurations?). By the way, I had no idea that Victor Brociner had a hand in so many different company's designs (like his work with Fisher designing consoles), or that he worked for University in the '50's.
 
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GT,

Oooh man, I hope you didn't take me serious in regards to your comments about my Stephens Tru-Sonic lol. I'm just kidding. Plain and simple, one likes what one likes, period. I hope all is well with you GT.

Regards,

SixCats! aka Tom
 
Hi all,

I hope I'm not breaking any AK rules linking the following.

http://itishifi.blogspot.com/2010/01/brociner-back-loaded-corner-horn.html

My Brociner/University Corner Horn looks very much like the what's pictured at this sight. I believe it may even belong to a AK member. My Corner Horn is of the same design and VERY nice looking condition! Again, my Brociner has but a single 12" University 6201 Coaxial driver. I drive this Corner Horn with a vintage FISHER 500 Mono Tube Receiver with excellent results.

Regards,

SixCats!
 
SixCats! said:
GT,

Oooh man, I hope you didn't take me serious in regards to your comments about my Stephens Tru-Sonic lol. I'm just kidding. Plain and simple, one likes what one likes, period. I hope all is well with you GT.

Regards,

SixCats! aka Tom
Click to expand...

:D

Everything is quite-well, thanks (Hope everything's good with you guys as well). I've been in constant bliss with the W90's. Today I cleaned one of them with some diluted Murphy's oil soap, and tomorrow I'm gonna' try some Howards Feed N Wax and see if I can't get the veneers looking like new again (They don't need much... The veneers are in great shape for a 50 year old speaker). Recently, I bought some Roxul sound-treatment panels (that stone-wool stuff), and I have it strategically-placed in the parts of the room that needed it. Made a big difference. Everything is cleaner, tighter, and more-focused now. Plus, the W90's have opened up a lot over the past 3 months. Love those things.

I've been lusting after Universities big-time. I love gear that flies under the radar, and they certainly do. And I love super-smooth tweeters. Nice to know that funky-looking Sphericon is one of them (Not exactly what I think of when I hear the word "supertweeter").
 
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Universities are fantastic - I have two cabinets loaded with University/EV/Klipsch design stuff. They really sound good and I haven't even touched the crossovers or dials.

OP Yours look really nice! I bet they do sound fantastic.
 
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