Bolivar speakers

U

Urizen

Lunatic Member
Being a confirmed speaker slut, I am going to look at a set Friday afternoon, and found a little info here on them. Bolivar Speaker Works was a sub of Harman soon after they bought JBL. From what I understand, they were marketed as a "poor man's" JBL, and reputedly sound decent. They appear to be a 4 Ohm two-way, judging by the size (14x14x24). Since there has been little info posted in the last year, I wonder in anyone has heard Bolivar speakers? Kinda sentimental here, as they were manufactured in Bolivar, TN, about an hour from Memphis.

Thanks!

Ken

Here is a pic of one of the Bolivars:
 

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Saw one pair a year or so ago, didn't get a chance to listen but they seemed nice - and absurdly heavy. I mean really, really heavy, way out of proportion to their size. Heavy enough that a year or two later, I still remember them. Should've gotten them when I could...oh well. Let us know how they sound!
 
Urizen said:
Being a confirmed speaker slut, I am going to look at a set Friday afternoon, and found a little info here on them. Bolivar Speaker Works was a sub of Harman soon after they bought JBL. From what I understand, they were marketed as a "poor man's" JBL, and reputedly sound decent. They appear to be a 4 Ohm two-way, judging by the size (14x14x24). Since there has been little info posted in the last year, I wonder in anyone has heard Bolivar speakers? Kinda sentimental here, as they were manufactured in Bolivar, TN, about an hour from Memphis.

Thanks!

Ken

Here is a pic of one of the Bolivars:
Click to expand...

This link might help.
http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.mpl?forum=vintage&n=7860&highlight=bolivar&r=&session=
 
I passed a pair up at a GW about four months ago because I hadn't heard of them, then I searched them on here and wished I had picked them up ($4). They were a small 3 way, and were pretty heavy for their size. I think vinyl cabs though. I think all the drivers were paper cones. Hope this helps, & good luck :thmbsp:
 
I have the TOTL Bolivar 773's. Four and a half foot tall, 185 pound towers with a thunderous sound.
 
Bolivar Speaker Works Model 18, named for HWY 18 that runs through Bolivar, TN.

The seller was a nice guy. He bought them new in 1977 in Las Vegas. I don't think he ever took the grills off. He has been using them with failed foam for God knows how long. He had them playing when I arrived and all the drivers worked, and I didn't hear any voice coil rubbing.

Build quality is good, a bit better than earlier EPI. I see JBL styling, even having foam rings around the tweets. The grill frames are very well built.

The condition is fair. Other than the bad foam, they have a few scratches and one of the grills has what looks like a cat pee marking (the grills have a bit of cat hair and some picks). They need a good cleaning.

Each three-way has an 8" woofer, 3" mid, and 1.5" tweet, and as mentioned above, all cones. Heavy for their size, my guess is about 45-50 pounds each. The wooden badges look cool. Impedance is 4 Ohms.

Here are a few quick pics. I'll post more during and after the cleanup, re-foam, and probable recap.

Regards,

Ken

bolivar181.jpg


bolivar183.jpg


bolivar182.jpg
 
Well I'll be danged. There's a pair of those set up at one of the thrifts I frequent. Maybe not the same model, but that grill logo is the same and I'd guess they're roughly the same size. I don't what they are driving them with, but they sounded pretty dang good. Ken, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it turns out that you like them.....a lot. :thmbsp:
 
MarkAnderson said:
I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it turns out that you like them.....a lot. :thmbsp:
Click to expand...

Let's hope so. They appear to be worth salvaging. There is very little info around on this brand, but for what they are, they are well made.

The mid has it's own cardboard tubular chamber.

Here is a pic of the pulled woofer, and the crossover. Well potted, Alps potentiometers, and I spy one cheap poly 3.3mF cap that will have to be replaced. I am unsure about what appears to be two potted caps or what their values may be, or if they even need to be replaced. They look pretty stout. I'll have to remove the board to find out.

Bolivarwoof.jpg


bolivarxover.jpg
 
Found a pair of Bolivar 2-ways at a thrift store. Don't have the model number and they are in need of a serious restoration. Looks like they have the same tweeters as in the pics above.
 
I finally got around to re-foaming the woofers this afternoon. It was a bit harder than the EPI woofers I have done. The VC gap was very tight. I tried to do it with the dustcaps in place and couldn't get the VC centered. I hated to do it, but I had to cut out the thick concave dust caps and shim the gaps. The shims were a tight fit. Definitely not my best looking foam job.

I haven't done any more work on them as of yet, other than to deoxit the pots. I want to hear them before a recap.

So far so good.:music:

I'll post further impressions after some listening.

A few pics...

bolivar7.jpg


bolivar6.jpg


bolivar8.jpg
 
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I am pushing them with an Adcom GFA-535 (approx 100 WPC @ 4 Ohms), and the bass is astounding for an eight inch driver. But then again, the cabs are huge for an 8" incher (23"H x 12.5"W x 10.5"D). What sounds especially nice is the lower-mid bass. Bass kick drums have a nice snap. They don't go super deep, my guess is to around 45 to 50 Hz, before smoothly rolling off.

I am so used to the "East Coat" sound, so to my ears, these sound more forward in the upper mids and treble, tilted toward the JBL house sound.

I listened to them with the speaker mid and tweet controls set to flat last night. This afternoon, I am going to try them with a little more juice, using an Adcom GFA-545II and twiddling with the crossover adjustments and hear what's happening.

More to come...
 
Zombie Thread Rises From the Grave Warning.

I missed this thread a year ago when it went by, but right now I am at a friend's house listening to a pair of these that I rescued and refoamed. He's got them set up where he and his son plays drums in the basement, and they goof around taping themselves and playing it back on the Bolivars. I think they're the model 18 IIRC, three way. Sound great and they were my first ever refoam project a couple years ago.
 
And it rises again.

I bought a pair of these Bolivars when I was in college. I do recall them being marketed as having JBL roots. Seems they offered 2 or 3 models in the low-cost series, the 18 and the 64 (and maybe the 125?) - the numbers of the highways that went through Bolivar, TN. The ones I got came with a darker brown (NOT woodgrain) vinyl covering, and they sounded good. In fact, for the price, they were great.

I sold them to my brother, who still owns and uses them. He bought a pair of JBL badges and put them on the grills when the originals were lost.
 
I have a refoamed pairs of those same 8" woofers- very well made for a stamped steel basket type! Close toleranced gap, overal pretty good driver, just never got around to finding boxes for them. I pulled the dust cap as well to get a good shimmed fit of the new surrounds as well. I bet they sound pretty darn good!
DC
 
i recall bolivar's as having cabinets made from bolivar wood (a type of pine). back in the day, it was their claim that bolivar wood had special acoustic properties.
 
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