WHAT IS IT, PART 2

[Wolfdaddy]

Saw this in pictures of an estate sale. Must be the week for speakers at estate sales around here, I posted a few minutes ago on another speaker. Wondering what this is. Guessing 1950s to mid 60s based on the look.

 

[VanArn]

It is a Goodmans enclosure design for two Axiom 80 speakers. Worth a bit if the speakers are still installed within the cabinets.

 

[Wolfdaddy]

It is a Goodmans enclosure design for two Axiom 80 speakers. Worth a bit if the speakers are still installed within the cabinets.

@VanArn, ok, that brings up a lot of questions. Definitely interesting.

I am not familiar with Goodmans or Axiom 80s, but after Google searches I see where you are coming from. I didn't find this exact enclosure, but I found enough to see similarities.

I'm curious, have you seen this exact enclosure? How are you familiar with these? Do you think the enclosures were hand made or from a manufacturer?

As for the Axiom 80s, there seem to have been several designs over the years. At least, I saw several that looked somewhat different. Can you add anything to that?

One more question. What would you feel comfortable paying for these, assuming the 80s are still in the enclosures and in working condition?

Thanks for your help. I'm keeping my eyes open for speakers for my son. He graduates college in December and I'd like to find some unique speakers for him. These might work. We have about a dozen models, from small Advents to JBL L250s, but something decent sounding and truly different is what he would like.

 

[rothwellaudio]

Looks like some silver cookware. And is that a wok?

 

[VanArn]

Goodmans only supplied the plans for the enclosures intended for the Axiom 80 speakers. The cabinets in your photo look craftsman built. You will have to ascertain that the Axiom 80,s are actually inside or if another brand of speaker has been installed.
My experiences using these speakers were appreciative of their reasonably flat frequency response but not enthusiastic about their limited power handling at the lower frequencies. If I had to use that combination of cabinet and speaker, i would remove the ARU,s and block the aperture.

 

[Wolfdaddy]

@VanArn, thanks for your help and info on these and wanted to let you know what happened with them. The estate sale was a good distance away. I could not get the company running the sale to let me know how much they were asking or if they were even still available (I saw them the night after the first day of the sale). I decided not to make the long drive on a maybe, especially given that the Axiom 80s might not have even been inside. I learned something from your info though, so that was worth it. I might go look at some Advents at a sale near hear that starts tomorrow. Not as exciting, but I know my son will like them. Can't tell from the picture if they are Large Advents or A3s. Either will be OK if the price is.

 

[GordonW]

This type of arrangement is pretty historically significant, IMHO- as this combination of the Goodmans Axiom drivers and the ARU (Acoustical Resistance Unit) was one of the very first applications of aperiodic enclosure tuning. Over a decade before Dynaco made it so famous with the legendary A25, A35 and A50 speakers...

Yes, Dynaco did a much better job of tuning- but the theory started here.

Regards,
Gordon.

 

[VanArn]

Patent US2065751A , Dec. 29, 1936. Inventor M.W. Scheldorf , "Acoustic Resistance Device ". This is possibly the earliest attempt at reducing cabinet resonance effects. That patent should have been acknowledged in Ted Jordan's original articles in Wireless World.