The velvet fog speaker?

we756a

New Member
I was an estate sale fund raiser for our local library and bought what I thought was a cool looking old speaker about 26" high and 22" wide in mint shape for ten bucks.... the guy said he thought it was a mel torme speaker??? anyway I figure I would see if the speaker works and if not swap it out and maybe consider a fun blue tooth project (using the new Vang system),,, when i open up the back i see a western electric 756A ... i don't know much but i quickly looked it up on the interment and saw it may be worth some money (more then the ten bucks anyway)
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is there a mel torme speaker?
is this it?
how much is it worth as i would like some good karma and sell it and donate it to the library ?
can i make it into a bluetooth capable speaker using my smart phone?

thanks in advance
 
The Western electric 756A driver is worth lots of money, How much ??
I believe Altec used this driver.
Never heard of a Mel torme speaker.
Never the less, great find.
 
I knew Western Electric was formerly based in Berwyn, IL, but I never knew they were good at audio gear. Apparently, this is a great find.
Here's some info for starters:
[url]http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=346817[/URL]

And according to eBay, the only one to sell recently went for a hair under $900.
It's worth more in a pair, and it's interesting to note that it's pre-Altec.
I honestly think putting it on eBay would be your best bet if you're looking to make the most money.
 
turntable or ipod?

for these older speakers is the turntable the way to go for sound or is an iPod ok?
 
either will work, but its mono of course and you will need an amplifier to drive it. It would be the basis of a fine mono rig with a nice tube amp and a mono turntable paired to it. Maybe a tuner as well if you're into radio. A Heatkit W5M or something along those lines would be very appropriate paired with maybe a period Rek-O-Kut or even one of the better Garrard changers.
 
...Never heard of a Mel torme speaker...

Whoever put that on the sticker was making a joke that it was an old speaker that you might use to listen to Mel with. I'm very sure he never had a line of speakers under his name. They would've made a better joke had they used Sinatra's name, as more people at the sale would've recognized his name.

If I were the OP, since he only has a single driver, I'd pull the speaker from the cabinet, sell it on ebay for several hundred dollars, then use the money to build a fun little ipod system, like he wants. Either use the speaker cabinet or toss the cabinet up on CL for another twenty bucks.
 
If you sell it on ebay you would be wise to have an international auction. Western Electric drivers like that are extremely desirable overseas, well worth the shipping costs/hassles.
 
yes

those are small handles... not sure why... i think i like the sound and dont want to sell at this point... any thoughts on amplifiers? should i get another speaker?
 
Probably a smooth sounding speaker, like Mel sounded in the 50's and 60's.

Nice Score!
 
If you pull that thing out to sell it, do NOT drop it or poke a hole in the cone! Get thee to the Audiokarma Packing and Shipping Forum and find out how to properly pack it so it arrives in perfect shape. Otherwise you're out a grand. Just sayin.
 
those are small handles... not sure why... i think i like the sound and dont want to sell at this point... any thoughts on amplifiers? should i get another speaker?

By the way, welcome to the forum!

Glad to hear you like how it sounds. If it were me, I would try to find a nice period correct tube mono amplifier and start with that. You could use your iPod as a source (if that is all you have.)
Are you interested in restoring an old tube amp? Can you sling some solder and read a schematic? If so, you could pick up an old console amp from our Barter Town forum or ebay pretty cheaply.

Since it is not stereo, and the likelihood of finding another speaker like it is next to nil, you may want to consider using it in a setup with two small satellite speakers for stereo imaging and use that speaker as your center channel, to fill out the mids and some low end with the velvety sound that speaker probably makes. Not necessarily a subwoofer, but similar concept.

Tell us more about your system and what you are thinking….
 
By the way, welcome to the forum!

Glad to hear you like how it sounds. If it were me, I would try to find a nice period correct tube mono amplifier and start with that. You could use your iPod as a source (if that is all you have.)
Are you interested in restoring an old tube amp? Can you sling some solder and read a schematic? If so, you could pick up an old console amp from our Barter Town forum or ebay pretty cheaply.

Since it is not stereo, and the likelihood of finding another speaker like it is next to nil, you may want to consider using it in a setup with two small satellite speakers for stereo imaging and use that speaker as your center channel, to fill out the mids and some low end with the velvety sound that speaker probably makes. Not necessarily a subwoofer, but similar concept.

Tell us more about your system and what you are thinking….

I'd just sell it and use the money to buy something else. Win-Win situation! The OP gets money to buy whatever he wants, and the purchaser gets a rare speaker that he/she has probably been desperately looking for.
 
WE 756a

Hi, if you want to sell the speaker, please do let me know. I have one and want to find its mate.
 
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