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Utah Celesta C12PC-3

markshan

markshan

Sir Thrift a Lot
So I was at the local thrift and saw what appeared to be a set of speakers marked $26.99 (or so I thought). An employee saw me looking at them and was sure to let me know that they were 2 for $6.99. Okay, that is more the price point I gamble at. So I picked one up and I have literally never felt a box that size so solid and heavy. I wasn't sure that it wasn't a steel box with wood laminate. Then I noticed the RCA jack which cinched that they were indeed home brew speaker cabs. So I thought perhaps there is something good in there and if not then maybe these would be good e-wave boxes.

I got them home and opened em up. Pics are below but I haven't listened yet. If they sound great, can anyone tell me how to remove the moldy blotches without damaging the paper cones? If they sound like crap, what would be a good, relatively inexpensive 12" driver for that box.

When I first saw the back of the driver, I was hoping for a horn tweeter. It is a paper cone tweeter. Does anyone know anything about this driver? Thanks.

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FRONT

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BACK Yes, I know it looks just like the front.

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LABEL

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DRIVER

I am finding very little info on a Google search.
 
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I have a pair of Utah celestas that someone put in some EV boxes. Prepare to be underwhelmed!
 
new,12" coax drivers start at about $90 each. 2- cheap woofers + tweeters(dayton,goldwood_) is going to be about $90 .

i'd say move on . $90 will buy a lot
on the used / thrift /craigslist market these days.
 
Unfortunately they are nothing special although yes, I agree that they are very cool looking and well-constructed drivers.

Disclaimer: I do have a a pair of Celesta coaxes I got from Redboy (no complaints, mind you... the price was right and their esthetics made them a "must" for the collection).
 
karlo said:
new,12" coax drivers start at about $90 each. 2- cheap woofers + tweeters(dayton,goldwood_) is going to be about $90 .

i'd say move on . $90 will buy a lot
on the used / thrift /craigslist market these days.
Click to expand...

Huh? I said I paid $6.99 for the pair.

Does anyone have any good tips on removing the crud?
 
markshan said:
Does anyone have any good tips on removing the crud?
Click to expand...


Lean them up against something, spray some windex on the bristles of a small soft paint brush, and slowly brush away the "crud".

BTW, I own a pair of Celesta's too. They have the looks you love, but the sound you can only like. :D
 
Don't worry; with all the speakers that have been rediscovered and are now cool the Utahs will have their day.

You have to use them with tubes; they need first rate electronics in front of them, they sound best with "vinyl", you need to buy the aftermarket crossover from Joe Matteras--- blah-blah-blah.
 
I grabbed a pair of speakers off the curb in my neighborhood this morning!
Saw largish wood boxes and at first thought, oh, its only some kind of vinyl covered box.
But when I got out and touched them, realized it was stained wood, and when I picked on up,
I realized they really had some weight to them!

Just brought them in from the truck to take a look. Has a glitzy grill cloth that reminds me of guitar amp cabinets ...
Minimal scratches on the finish.

Finished thin wood back is tacked on with small nails - underneath is heavy wood back held on with 6 large wood screws.
Has an RCA Phono connector on the upper right of the back - internal wire looks like transistor radio earphone wire!

I've seen this Utah driver before - when I visited Ohighway a couple months back he had one of these Celesta drivers
on a shelf - we both agreed no matter what it sounded like, it certainly looked VERY cool!

The model number stamped on the lower part of the circular frame of the speaker is C12PC-3B.
I googled Utah Celesta and at first I thought it might be the model with the whizzer cones on the front -
but they have accordian fold cloth surrounds, and these have a rolled cloth surround and (I suspect) a small coaxial tweeter on the front! Cool!

First thing will be to check them out and see if they actually play, then get some real speaker cups on them with 5 way connectors and some robust wire inside.


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Hooked up better wire and dual Banana jack to one of them and hit it with some sound - sounded a bit intermittent, but when I turned up the volume it settled out.

I did a search for the model number C12PC-3B ... from web searches it looks like the -3 is the whizzer cone version but the -3B like mine have the coaxial tweeter.

SO - need to open the second one and test it too - and I need to pull the speakers off the baffleboard and check them out directly.

But here is a picture of a -3B I found on a closed ebay sale:

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Ahh - seems you folks have been down this road before - and with Zilch even!!

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=119135&page=3
 

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I HAVE BEEN SEDUCED BY THE LOOKS OF THESE 3 TIMES! one set was actually unopened in the original boxes...... I sold them all-nuff said.
 
Yea. There are so much goodies out there. Hey, six bux I would have fund with them. I am going tomorrow morning to look at a small tubed console.
 

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Had a chance to open the second one up today - and took some more pictures.
There are 3 connectors on the outside of the driver housing - the usual red and black, and a smaller white connector.
So - you CAN hit the drivers separately, if you clip the black cap on the back of the connector panel.

So - its a main cone with a whizzer cone, and a coaxial tweeter on a stick!

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