Vintage Cube speaker??????

[Wolverine]

I am looking for any info on the following speakers;

I bought an interesting pair of speakers at the local thrift for $3.
They are basically cube speakers 10"x10", about 8.5" high and weigh about 4-5lbs a piece.

There is absolutely no writing or identification anywhere. There are no detachable grills but all 4 sides are covered with a black grill cloth. The top is attached with 4 screws and when removed there is only 1 driver (looks to be a about a 3" mid range) facing towards the top. Attached to the top is a plastic cone which when the top is attached points downward over the driver. A speaker wire is attached internally and runs from the bottom.

Sound is pretty amazing especially since it apparently lacks a woofer. I am not sure if these were designed to be stand alones our part of a two piece set-up which might explain the lack of badging or identification.

Any ideas???????

 

[x_25]

Let me be the first.

:worthless

 

[Wolverine]

Let me be the first.

:worthless

I expected as much but until the camera issues are resolved I am stuck. Just thought the odditiy of these things might spark some ideas.

 

[x_25]

I expected as much but until the camera issues are resolved I am stuck. Just thought the odditiy of these things might spark some ideas.

:scratch2: I know things like this have been mentioned here on AK but I cannot for the life of me remember what they were. I can say that the upward firing driver with the cone is made to help disperse the sound around the speakers 360*.

 

[dshoaf]

These sound like a set of speakers from a compact stereo unit. Many versions of the omni-directional speakers like this were sold back then along with small, all-in-one systems. Zenith and others made them by the thousands. They were cool and some were even pretty decent sounding. Made in both square and round versions, I lost count of how many of them I worked on - the compacts but very rarely the speakers.

Some of these speakers were designed to be used with specific stereos, too, as the electronics was pre-equalized to make the speakers 'sound good'.

Cheers,

David

 

[Wolverine]

Thanks- I thought perhaps they might be from an all in one or HTIB type of set-up because of the lack of badging on the speakers and the speaker wires running out of the unit as opposed to something you would hook up. The plastic cone was also kind of odd since the unit appears to be a combo of real wood and pressed wood which makes me think they can't be too old.

I will start searching for some pics of omni-directional units and see if anything looks close.

DS-Do you happen to recall the names of any of those sytems you mention. I might be able to track them down that way if you can give me a model name.

Thanks to all who have replied.

 

[x_25]

I just had an idea. If you can take the driver out see if it has a model number or manufacture on it then punch that into google.

 

[Wolverine]

I just had an idea. If you can take the driver out see if it has a model number or manufacture on it then punch that into google.

That is an idea except the driver is held in place by about six hexagonal bolts that have clearly never been touched and I am hesitant to do so. When I tried I removed the bottom of one yesterday there was a large piece of fiber fill that covered everything but I can try and pull it back and see if that gives any clues.

On a related note, having heard these now I am intrigued by the concept of omni-directional speakers. I have this hooked up to my Kenwood VR-307 and they seem to put out alot of sound relative to their size which I guess is attributable to the omni-directional concept. I am curious why there does not seem to be more omni-directional speakers out there. When you google omni-directional speakers you come up with a lot of outdoor speakers.

 

[dshoaf]

Some pretty good vendors made omni-directional designs, JBL for one. Take a look at the old Aquarius tower designs from the early 70s.

Let's see, who made these? Zenith, Morse, Eletrohome, Sylvania, Motorola, RCA, Electrophonic, Voice of Music, Philco are a few. Most of these didn't last too long and were mostly from the 60s and early 70s. Many were from plastic, thin pressboard and lots of vinyl veneer. Some were 2 way systems but most were a single driver.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

David

 

[Wolverine]

Some pretty good vendors made omni-directional designs, JBL for one. Take a look at the old Aquarius tower designs from the early 70s.

Let's see, who made these? Zenith, Morse, Eletrohome, Sylvania, Motorola, RCA, Electrophonic, Voice of Music, Philco are a few. Most of these didn't last too long and were mostly from the 60s and early 70s. Many were from plastic, thin pressboard and lots of vinyl veneer. Some were 2 way systems but most were a single driver.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

David

Every little bit helps. Mine is a single-driver, press board with a veener top. No plastic though except for a type of edge guard on the corners to protect the cloth from tearing.

I did open the one back up again on the bottom to see if I could find a part number but found nothing at all except a red dot which I am guessing is there to tell you where the negative speaker wire is located. There is a large magnet and the speaker wires are sodered to the driver which is good.

They do have some nicks, sctches and some faded paint so I think I will sand some of the rougher areas down, use a little wood putty, paint and apply a furniture stick to get them looking good and then put them into my vintage set up. I am thinking they might make a decent A+B speaker combo with one of my other pairs and be a nice little conversation piece.

Based on the manufacturer's you mentioned I probably did not find a "hidden treasure" but I would say they were a steal at $3.....

Hope to have the picture resolved later today so hopefully the pics will ring a bell with someone here.

 

[Wolverine]

Well I was able to save 1 photo of both speakers as viewed from the top.
Hope this helps someone identify them.

Thanks for hanging in there with me.......