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What are these horn speakers?

Vistance

Vistance

Super Member
I found these at a thrift store - did not buy, but I would like to know if anyone can ID these. First thought was Klipsch but the woofer made me think maybe JBL? They look cheesy in some ways and I feel like they could be some knockoffs or some homemade junk, but wanted to verify before I wrote them off as junk. Anyone have an idea? I didn't see any brand markings on them.


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A lot about this looks...homemade. But I know in early days some vintage speakers were made in what might come off as homemade compared to the way everything is standardized today. I'm a bit suspicious of why there's some weird tweeter up there next to that horn driver which seems to be all the thing should need. The wiring on the back also appears to have a car fuse inline as well, but this may be something someone did to them on down the line. Opinions?
 
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Those are home brews. But who knows, they may sound alright. Looks like Jensen/Magnavox horns, some piezos tweets and who knows on the woofers but they look like they could be decent.
 
Kinda what I was thinking when I saw the imperfect way the panel was cut out for the speaker connector on the back - as well as the wires exposed on the outside. Always surprised at people who go to so much effort to do something like this and then use cheap drivers. Ah well, good to know my intuition is still right. I thought vintage Klipsch and JBL would both be more professional about how the speaker was made and not have wires on the outside. The speakers were $20, but I really don't need more - I could probably go and take the woofers out up there to see if they're anything like Altec Lansing. Worth the trouble?
 
At a glance, those woofers definitely look like they're worthwhile. I'd not hesitate gambling $20 just for those alone....

Maybe the whole speaker is decent for that matter....
 
Hm, scratch that it was $20 for each (stupid pricing, as if anyone wants just one speaker). I don't think I would be able to get away with taking the woofer out on second thought, so it'd be a gamble. Does make me think of an Altec Lansing, Pioneer HPM, or JBL style woofer.
 
Vistance said:
Hm, scratch that it was $20 for each (stupid pricing, as if anyone wants just one speaker). I don't think I would be able to get away with taking the woofer out on second thought, so it'd be a gamble. Does make me think of an Altec Lansing, Pioneer HPM, or JBL style woofer.
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Run over there and take the backs off of them- screwed on. They look like the mix of a Model 19 and Klipschorn.
 
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That woofer almost looks like an Altec 416 with a different dust cap. Klipsch also used accordian surrounds. I'll bet those are worthy. I have a good feeling about them.
 
I can't actually, the thrift store closed some time ago - soonest I could get them would be tomorrow. I agree with hatrack that they look similar to those Altec or Klipsch woofers, it does really intrigue me. Shame there's no way to be certain. Going on the negative end, can anyone give me an idea what a cheap woofer that looks like that would be? Did any of the lower quality speakers of the time have woofers like that?
 
Vistance said:
I can't actually, the thrift store closed some time ago - soonest I could get them would be tomorrow. I agree with hatrack that they look similar to those Altec or Klipsch woofers, it does really intrigue me. Shame there's no way to be certain. Going on the negative end, can anyone give me an idea what a cheap woofer that looks like that would be? Did any of the lower quality speakers of the time have woofers like that?
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Seriously. Bring a little philips screwdriver with you tomorrow and take the backs off, they are removable. May have to be sneaky or it might just be better to ask. You will know for sure then. To answer your question- no, I have not seen any cheap woofers that look like those. I would do it just for the sake of curiosity.
 
For the price of admission, you have some pretty decent cabinets to work with if nothing else. They appear to be built ok with particle board and just basic butt joints then the wood veneer was laid over that. At least they did 45 degree cuts on the front facing veneer pieces so there was some thought process behind them.

Those cabinets look better than some of the ones I've seen built (or modified) here on AK, too. :D :smoke:
 
I'd spend that on them.
I think they're commercially manufactured, not home made. I see that the tweeter enclosure back has been replaced. That looks homemade. The port opneing looks almost like it was meant to house an amplifier chassis.... No one would build it like that at home.

I don't think there were any crappy woofer speakers that looked like that. IOW, that's something decent, or better.

I like that style of cabinet and would buy them empty for that. With drivers, I'd snag em.

"Hi, I'd like to buy this sock. Yes, just this one. Oh, they're priced as a pair?"
 
The woofer does look substantial. Is that a fuse hanging off the back?

The cheesy cut out in the back looks like some sort of rear mount for the horn. My gut feeling is someone has replaced the original horn, with a mid-horn and tweet.

I'd still bite though.
 
can anyone give me an idea what a cheap woofer that looks like that would be?
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Pioneer, sold by MCM Electronics ~ 20 yrs ago. They weren't exactly cheap, maybe 70 bucks a pop at the time.

I'll post a pic of one in a while.

If those cabinets are not homebrew, they're some of the poorest factory cabinets i've ever seen.

I'd feel pretty confident wagering that they're homebrew. The execution is very mediocre with 3 different types of corner joinery, and non uniformly spaced screws holding the front panel in visible in one cabinet. But, whoever built them had a great sense of "follow through" as they were taken to completion down to the last detail including painting of unfinished surfaces, completed grills, and banded/nosed front panel edges.
 
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