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Thrift store mystery speakers??????

JeffyW

JeffyW

New Member
Saw these in a thrift store. They stand about 5 feet tall, weigh around 75-100 lbs. Absolutely no identification anywhere. Large horn appears to be constructed on pot metal with a polished surround. they come with lamp cord and a flat plug at the bottom on the rear similiar to a Fisher design. They appear to be real wood veneer over particle board construction. Priced at $39 each. Are they gimmicky white van speakers or possibly something else? Thanks for looking.
 

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I'm inclined to lean (hahahahah... bad pun, sorry) toward the white van side of the spectrum. Those horns look like they'd be challenged to get any sort of horizontal sound stage.
 
Fuzzy Lumpkins said:
Those tweeters look like (are) EV t-35's. Probably a homemade effort. The tweeters alone are worth that.
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That's exactly what I thought when I saw the picture. Did they use sheet-metal on those things? It reminds me of Bob Marley's Gibson Les Paul Special with the pickguard and toggle-switch plate that were cut out of a piece of sheet metal.
 
The midhorn and tweeter are from SpeakerLab and it looks like the woof is SpeakerLab as well. All in a DIY cab.
 
I'm thinking Speakerlab kit as well. You could order parts "a la carte" from Speakerlab... looks like someone did.

EDIT: Though, that woofer looks to have a paper-edge surround? Speakerlab used rubber surround woofers... that would be more of a PA type woofer, if it has a paper edge...

Regards,
Gordon.
 
Interesting. Love to know if they should be positioned upright or sideways to get the correct dispersion (and would buy them to find out if decently priced ;) ...).
 
Woofer surrounds were paper, and showing signs of fatigue/cracking so they are aged for sure. I think the designer had the guy layed out (passed out) on the couch in mind hence the vertical mounting of the horns. I'm tempted to go back with a phillips screwdriver and do some investigative reporting. Regardless of what they are, I think I'm gonna pass. If I'm gonna haul something this big home and justify it to my wife, it's gonna say LaScala on it. Although a cord of firewood is running about 200 bucks in Atlanta, so it might be a bargain in disguise.
 
voltcontrol said:
Interesting. Love to know if they should be positioned upright or sideways to get the correct dispersion (and would buy them to find out if decently priced ;) ...).
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IIRC, T35s are supposed to be oriented vertically for best dispersion. Seems counter-intuitive, but I'm pretty sure I've read that in a number of threads.
 
JeffyW said:
Woofer surrounds were paper, and showing signs of fatigue/cracking so they are aged for sure. I think the designer had the guy layed out (passed out) on the couch in mind hence the vertical mounting of the horns. I'm tempted to go back with a phillips screwdriver and do some investigative reporting. Regardless of what they are, I think I'm gonna pass. If I'm gonna haul something this big home and justify it to my wife, it's gonna say LaScala on it. Although a cord of firewood is running about 200 bucks in Atlanta, so it might be a bargain in disguise.
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They are the top end of a LaScalla. I would pick them up if I had the $$$ and lived near you.

dnewma04 said:
IIRC, T35s are supposed to be oriented vertically for best dispersion. Seems counter-intuitive, but I'm pretty sure I've read that in a number of threads.
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That's correct Dave. The midhorn can go either way but has wider dispersion when horizontal....but not much wider.
 
Thanks, after doing some checking....they do look like EV T35's. The mids have the same polished edges as the tweets. They are a single cast peice probably aluminum now that I think about it, so I'm geussing they might be EV's also? Consensus seems to be that they would be worth $78 for the pair. If for nothing else, to refoam or replace the woofers (BTW the voicecoils seemed fluid and undamaged) and sell or part them out after having some fun with them......they are unique I'll give them that. They had some 90's junk receivers there too, so it might be fun to power them up and just see what comes out.
 
Speaker Lab used the EV tweet and sometimes relabled them but yes they are the EVs. I think they would be good sounding speakers for the money. If you get them, pull the Atlas-Soundalier compression driver off the mids and take it apart and run the edge of a match book cover around in the gap to get all the old Ferro Fluid out of it. It was pertection for overpowering them but for home use it is not needed and is old and sticky now and will kill the mids.
 
They look like speakerlab kits to me too. Might be worth grabbing them. Might be a woofer and some caps away from being very good. BTW my Speakerlab 7's run the mid vertical and disperse well. I am using them for HT mains and they really excel there.

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djnagle said:
If you get them, pull the Atlas-Soundalier compression driver off the mids and take it apart and run the edge of a match book cover around in the gap to get all the old Ferro Fluid out of it.
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Thanks.....is the driver threaded on? If so, approx how much hand torque should I apply on reassembly? Also, someone noted that paper woofer surrounds would indicate a PA type speaker....would it even be worth the trouble refoaming them, or would I be better off replacing them entirely? Obviously budget will dictate just how far I want to go....probably refoam and see what I've got. Thanks again on the advice to attain good midrange.
 
if the driver has a paper surround then I dont think you will be able to refoam them, still the horns would be nice to have for a DIY project or??
 
Those seem to be popping up a lot lately... the tweeter is definitely the same as a La Scala, the mid probably also, woofers could be EV as well.
 
there was a thread on here recently about those speakers. Some shop was selling a pair for under 2 grandIIRC. Some one also mentioned the maker of those speakers...some guy inhereted them from his father or soe such like that.
 
For under 1 bill I would think they would be hard to beat, if the woofer is well mated. They'll surely blow your face off and probably sound well doing it. Also, it might not have the Atlas driver, could be SpeakerLabs own as in the WA750 driver with a different horn, or not.
 
JeffyW said:
Thanks.....is the driver threaded on? If so, approx how much hand torque should I apply on reassembly? Also, someone noted that paper woofer surrounds would indicate a PA type speaker....would it even be worth the trouble refoaming them, or would I be better off replacing them entirely? Obviously budget will dictate just how far I want to go....probably refoam and see what I've got. Thanks again on the advice to attain good midrange.
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Hand tighten them so they are snug. I would not plan on anything until you hear them. They might kick butt as is.
 
DaWoofer said:
For under 1 bill I would think they would be hard to beat, if the woofer is well mated. They'll surely blow your face off and probably sound well doing it. Also, it might not have the Atlas driver, could be SpeakerLabs own as in the WA750 driver with a different horn, or not.
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I agree, under 100 buck. Nother to lose. I "think" the SL compression driver was the relabled Atlas. Foggy memory.
 
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