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Vintage Janszen Electrostatic Speakers

I would dearly love to hear these things! I had a set of the little 210a's in the seventies till some a-hole stole them along with a KLH receiver & a belt drive Technics turntable. ( talk about deserving audio karma- I can only hope!) Those little guys would only kick so much volume, but the detail & clarity was really something! KLH Nines must be near nirvana!!
 
Brian said:
I will say this before proceeding - GO GET THEM OR SOMEONE ELSE GRAB THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! These are the holy grail of JansZen speaker, the rarest and most expensive. They are a double pair of what was the totl Z412HP and were only out for a very short time. The original price mentioned is about right. The woofers are correct. He should have shown a back shot to so the bi-wire setup, the first of its kind. When it was invented by the company they did not think of patenting it. If they had the company would never have had to close down. I discovered this when involved in working with a consortium of UK companies defending a suite against them in Japan for violation of a Japanese patent on the design.

As for sound, when set up right in a proper room using 2 amps per speaker, and the e'stat levels set correctly, they are to almost die for. Mc amps or ARC really make them sing. I was a dealer when they came out and already had a set of 412HPs but after listening to them even owning 4 pair of KLH Nines, I ordered a pair for myself. I had them and did not sell them, my ex-wife got them in the divorce settlement.

I have a pair of 412HPs needed rebuild and have been wanting another set of the 824s since losing my set in 1980. Don Kleiwer who was rebuilding JansZens until his death and did a rebulid on my 412s had a standing offer for any and all 824s as he had a waitng list for them and at the time we spoke only was able to get them from esattes as owners would not give them up but would sent them to him for complete rebuilds and upgrades.

The PS and x-over usually only needs caps. Don had a cap board he used in lieu of the original to accomodate the newer form factor caps. The boards are not difficult to rebuild, only a might more so than a dynamic driver cross-over.

I have a thermal spec sheet in the files on them. Hope it has not become too dim to read if you want more information. I may also have a review on them that Don faxed at the same time.

I'm amazed the foam grills are intact. They fell apart in only a couple of years and the company offered replacement cloth covered grills.

Oh, how rare. This is maybe the 3rd pair I've seen available since lost my set in 1980. Don was wiling to pay up to $800 for a nonworking set provided the cabinets were not butchered and could be stripped and refinished and the e'stat elements were in decent shape. He did have replacement woofers at the time so was less concerned about them.
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My pair had the same cloth covered grills shown, and also have a built in stand skirt attached to the bottom made of the same pecan finish. after digging around some old darkroom stuff, the woofers do look correct as mine did not have the ribbed surrounds. My apologies for the mistake!
Regards,
Jim
 
Those would look so nice with my other e'stat speakers. Right now my "best" Janszens are Z-900's. But I live on the wrong coast, and I doubt it would be cost effective to ship items that heavy (and potentially fragile).
 
$395?

This is a bargain. FWIW, I'm pretty sure the original E.I. surrounds were urethane, so those woofers could easily be reconed originals that operate very close to the design specs. As someone mentioned, it was E.I.'s predecessor Neshaminy's woofers that used the impregnated cloth roll surrounds. (Also, their motors used Alnico magnets.) E.I. used the leftover Neshaminy inventory that they got as part of the buyout until it was gone, but I think that happened before this model came out. Anyway, no worries with this one. Go take a listen and see if you can resist.
 
Well I've heard from the seller and he is an AK member. He will forward me pictures later.

ztatic, so you don't think those are the original cones?
 
Duffinator said:
Well I've heard from the seller and he is an AK member. He will forward me pictures later.

ztatic, so you don't think those are the original cones?
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I had thought the seller might be, I remember an earlier thread and wondered if it was an AK Member? Looking at the negatives of my pair the cones look the same. FWIW
Regards,
Jim
 
I'm still kicking myself for missing a pair of older Janszens with only two 'stat panels per cabinet- I think they had the old "alinco" type woofers.They were a two hour drive from me, but I stopped bidding around $100- they went for a little more. This was a couple years ago...
 
You don't need to worry about spl limitations with these. While they will not get to Klipsch or JBL levels they'll easily go as loud as most sane persons will want. There is a lot of surcae area of both the woofer and stats. However, like a good stat, you'll find there is less need to go loud and look more towards maximizing the dynamics.

I just pulled a cover from my Z412HP and the surround roll subjectively looks about the same as in the photo of the 824 so I'd not worry about that. Worse case would be to redo the foam surround while checking out the ps/x-over. Whomever gets them needs to see if there is any voltage on the speaker terminals. If so, time to do a rebuild but not difficult.
 
Duffinator,

If you check them out and aren't interested please let me know. I'd love to get them but would need somebody local to the buyer to pick them up and hold them until I could arrange a Pony Express shipment of epic proportions.

FWIW, the Janzsen e'stat panels normally resell at a minimum of ~$50 each, so getting the entire functional system in nice condition is gravy.
 
Anyone with a High Fidelity library, they were reviewed 11/75. I pulled my file and have the original sales literature sheet. Specs:
Feq response: +/- 3db 30-20kz
+/- 6 db 23-30kz
Min rms power 20 watts
Max rms power 300 watts
Woofer: 2 -12"
Total system resonance: 38hz
Qfactor: 1.1
Crossover config: L-C network
Crossover point: 800hz
System impedance: 4 ohms
High frequency transducers:
Type: 8 element electrostatic
Radiating area: 120 sq. inches
Air displacement capabilites (p-p): .25"
Polarization voltage: 1100Vdc
Distortion T.H.D. (over entire operating range): 0.5%
Power Supply:
Type: full wave voltage multiplier
Voltage regulation: solid state
Physical:
31.125x29x19.25 (14.25) HxWxB (T)
Shipping weight: 120lbs
Finish: Pecan

From the '75 Audio equipment directory: 1 watt @ 1meter on axis sensitivity will put out 102 db. A JBL L-100 is rated at 90db so these are not what many conceive as typical e'stat speakers for filling a room.

I have page 1 of the review and it is a copy of the fax so hard to read. However, it does note that the impedance curve goes as low as 2 ohms so it does need a rather stable amp into low impedances. In test tones, the bass went to 25 hz.

The speaker was produced either 1 or 2 years. I think I got mine in the fall of '74. It is listed in the '75 equipment directory. The last CES I attended was the summer of '76 and the entire JansZen line including the tweeter arrays had been discontinued and replaced by their last lineup before closing shop. The 824 was not part of the new lineup and is not in the '76 Audio equipment directory.

OBTW, the speakers ahd a price of $695 each so $1,390 for a pair. The seller was puffing a bit on the price or maybe they were part of a system for $3,500. By comparison, my 412HPs were a cheap $319 each.
 
Brian, thanks for posting the specs. The seller has decided not to sell the speakers but it was fun learning about some rare speakers I've never heard of before. I'll be sure to keep my eye open for another pair of 824's or even some 412's. :thmbsp:
 
Good to know he is keeping them at least for now. He is an e'stat owner with another set. He sent me a PM and I got the feeling they may be pulled from the offering. The good thing is that he is a member and possibly if he decides later to sell he'll give the members 1st dibs.

I do wish more members who do sell would consider offering to the group first. The cost is not much and many times it evokes some interesting conversation. Also, some who are selling are looking to buy a specific unit and maybe it can be beneficial to 2 members.
 
Brian said:
I do wish more members who do sell would consider offering to the group first.
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A lot of us do just that in the Barter Town forum in the Subscriber's section. There are currently some pretty hot deals being tossed around in there.
 
To all those Janszen Electrostatic Speakers Fans:

What do you think of the Z-600 model? I know someone selling some for $200/pr.. I'd like to pick them up, clean them off and take a listen, but that price it making me hold off.

Am I making a mistake controlling my impulsive speaker buying habits with this one? Should I run back and try and get them? Any guidance is really appreciated.
 
mchico33 said:
To all those Janszen Electrostatic Speakers Fans:

What do you think of the Z-600 model? I know someone selling some for $200/pr.. I'd like to pick them up, clean them off and take a listen, but that price it making me hold off.

Am I making a mistake controlling my impulsive speaker buying habits with this one? Should I run back and try and get them? Any guidance is really appreciated.
Click to expand...

I have a pair of Z-600s I picked up for $100 about a year ago. What do I think of them? Well, through the midrange to the highs, they're as detailed as any speaker I've ever owned. They lack a little in the low end, but still respectable. Great speaker for jazz and classical. They are not currently in use, but will be hooking them up soon to compare with a pair of Altec Boleros which I think will put up a good fight.

If they're in good condition, I think they're worth $200 as they're pretty rare and collectible now. Hope this helps.
 
The key is making sure all the e'stat panels work. Some of the Janszen production is considered more reliable than others (the company went through a few reorganizations). And some are more repairable than others. Check out the Internet for additional info, but if the panels are functional, they are certainly worth the asking price.
 
JansZen e'stat service/repair in SoCal?

Greetings fellow JansZen aficionados.

Reading your comments has made me realize again how grateful I am for the speakers I've got -- or as someone on this righteous board has called them, "The Holy Grail."

Bought my Z-824HP "cowcatchers" back in mid-late-'70's, but unfortunately, space limitations have kept 'em quiet for several years, until now!

However today, I found what seems to be a problem with one speaker's tweets not working. Since all eight together are silent, I suspect that maybe it's the power supply/transformers at fault, but don't know for sure.

Nearby Orange County Speaker doesn't do the electrostatics, although I guess I could remove the power supply and bring it in to them to check out; specs seem to be available.

So I'm wondering: . . . can anybody here recommend a SoCal service/repair source -- or even a reputable mail-order USA facility?

Oh and . . . has anybody here ever used http://www.janszenloudspeaker.com ? Their website looks promising. But I'll have to wait now until Monday to call them 'cuz I guess they're located back in SE Ohio.

Thanks . . .

[followup post re: speaker/amp combination next]
 
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gett'em!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Buddy was mgr at audio store downtown years ago... had those and a pair of Heils we liked to play with. Heils came in second.
 
You have a set of 824s! Wow!! If you lived here, you'd not have them long. These are one of only a few Holy Grail of speakers when operating properly and in bi-amped setup.

The url is to Art's son's company. You should contact him and see if he would work on them.

The PS is not that difficult; mainly caps and a rectifier. It is a shame you did not decide to get them going a few years ago as then Don Kleiwer was supporting the lesser models and rebuilding the 824s. I was on a waiting list for a pair if he found a set but was behind a number of others and he usually only located a couple of pair a year.
 
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