Westlake Audio studio monitors?

I've reposted this request; in retrospect I should have mentioned the brand in the title, but titles do not seem to be editable. So ...

I picked these up off CL from a fellow with HEAPS of vintage equipment, mostly pro stuff. I was told these were made by Westlake Audio a decade or two or more past. They appear very well made; while the enclosure is about 18" tall (woofer dust cap is about 3"), they must be pushing 50 lbs each. Drivers appear to be Dynaudio. The 'midrange' here is a Dynaudio D28SQ (marketed as a tweeter I believe), which unfortunately reads as an open circuit. I haven't gotten to the crossover yet.

Any help or insight is greatly appreciated! First attempt at linking a photo below:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/53622520@N02/15428798554/

Westlakes?

Nope, I was a Westlake Audio dealer from 2000 to 2004, and those do not Westlake's. I've toured the Westlake Factory, know their line well (past and present) and I've watched them build (meticulously I might add) their crossovers real time. Those are assuredly not Westlake crossovers. Westlake's chief designer would never leave a crossover board "exposed" like that without pounds and pounds of vibration damping material all over it.

Westlake has been building basically the same speaker models for the past 25 years using modified drivers from a number of manufacturers, but you won't find a "stock" driver in any of their speakers as they are way too nit picky to accept anyone else's work as "complete". Those guys are OCD and detail oriented to the max.

The speakers you have pictured look like very interesting speakers, but I don't believe that they are made by THE Westlake Audio of recording studio fame. Maybe some other speaker company in Westlake Village, CA built them?

Westlake professional monitors - that's what we all need.

I've only heard Westlake Audio studio monitors in one place, which was the control room of Studio B at The Hit Factory in Manhattan, NYC, back in the 1970's. We were playing back 2" master tapes on the Studer 24 track that was in service. Impossible to describe. It has been near forty years since then, and I'm yet to hear their equal.

If you ever get a chance to hear a set of Westlake's properly set-up and with proper amplification (they design and tune using Bolder amps), you will never forget the experience. Lifelike dynamics with EASE, along with accuracy and micro dynamics to the nth degree. They are expensive, but …. if you ever watched them build a set you would know why. Building a crossover take days and days … the engineers place each crossover component carefully and run signal through it, then move cap and coil orientations relative to the other components on the board (basically the entire back of the speaker) until they get the cleanest possible scope traces. Once every single component is optimally placed for minimum interaction, they completely cover the whole crossover with this goo that absorbs vibrations. Same process for driver selection and matching, and on and on … I'm not sure how they ever get a set actually built, but I can assure you that it isn't a "quick" or imprecise process.

Alrighty folks thanks so much!

I would love to own a pair of BBSM-15 monitors. Truly an awesome looking speaker design.

Let us know how your pair sounds.

Rome

I used BBSM 10s for years and they are a good mid field monitor. The speakers in the photo you linked look familiar, but I don't know what they are.

soundmig said:

If you ever get a chance to hear a set of Westlake's properly set-up and with proper amplification (they design and tune using Bolder amps), you will never forget the experience. Lifelike dynamics with EASE, along with accuracy and micro dynamics to the nth degree. They are expensive, but …. if you ever watched them build a set you would know why. Building a crossover take days and days … the engineers place each crossover component carefully and run signal through it, then move cap and coil orientations relative to the other components on the board (basically the entire back of the speaker) until they get the cleanest possible scope traces. Once every single component is optimally placed for minimum interaction, they completely cover the whole crossover with this goo that absorbs vibrations.

Click to expand...

… and hides the details of their work.

That's actually been a popular approach with the boutique stompbox effects market (for musicians). The designer will cover up the circuit to hide their work/design from competitors and DIY'ers (and sometimes to hide the fact that they're just borrowing from a classic design from years past).

I don't think it's necessarily the case with Westlake, as there is no substitute for meticulousness, but that goo sure gets around.

skywave-rider said:

I used BBSM 10s for years and they are a good mid field monitor.

Click to expand...

Man, I'm jealous!

Would love to own a pair of the 10s or especially the 15s.

Rome

Gang-Twanger said:

… and hides the details of their work.

That's actually been a popular approach with the boutique stompbox effects market (for musicians). The designer will cover up the circuit to hide their work/design from competitors and DIY'ers (and sometimes to hide the fact that they're just borrowing from a classic design from years past).

I don't think it's necessarily the case with Westlake, as there is no substitute for meticulousness, but that goo sure gets around.

Click to expand...

Westlake uses clear RTV silicone to completely damp the crossover and wiring.

Components are hand measured and matched, the exact measurments are hand scribed on each component.

After dealing with the evil black silicone on ESS drivers and some crossovers, it's a pain to deal with-even 40 years later.
IMHO you could just add a rubber pad under the crossover board and be fine.
The only reason I can see they are gluing the components, is because they aren't using nylons ties-the silicone-like hot glue is easier, and less labor intensive.
http://www.parts-express.com/cable-...th-mounting-head-100-pcs-made-in-usa--080-840
Silicone is less likely to fail like hot glue.
I'm sure the speakers sound good-but that is one ugly looking crossover build-sorry.
Maybe they are spending too much time on the hand selection-that they need to save time by using silicone?:scratch2:
With heavy coils, I would want a extra measure that a nylon tie would give you, especially in a disco speaker that sees hard use.