Jump to content
The Classic Speaker Pages Discussion Forums

newandold

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    568

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by newandold

  1. Allison IC-20'S (in original boxes for 20 years!)

    in Allison

    Posted

    1 hour ago, samberger0357 said:

    Not many are having the benefit of dipping their toes in the classic Allison speaker pool since those of us who own them are  keeping them. I love my A1's, and will never sell until I absolutely have to. I'd love to own a pair of 2 and 3's also, not to mention the Model Five's which have come up in a couple of discussions lately that indicate they too are a great speaker. But in the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy my A1's and be grateful that I've had the opportunity to marvel in their sound.

    I believe it was two very fine pair of ALLISON threes that have gone through eBay during the past year or so. They are a good one to pursue for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that there are only three drivers per cabinet, which makes them a good choice since the age of these things makes it quite difficult to keep them going with the scarcity of drivers.

  2. Video of early '60's AR3 woofer with proper acoustic suspension seal

    in Acoustic Research

    Posted

    On 5/23/2023 at 1:17 AM, redpackman said:

    How it should look if the acoustic suspension seal is right:

     

     

    ….. as is the case with all sealed enclosure acoustic suspension systems. When you have a DUAL woofer system on a particular speaker and press as you have done and all is good, you will see the opposing woofer instantly move as if they are one. your test was fine except I would be leery about pushing a woofer that old that far down. 

  3. Allison IC-20'S (in original boxes for 20 years!)

    in Allison

    Posted

    On 10/12/2022 at 6:39 PM, samberger0357 said:

    None. But very little in general. I was the last one to post anything on 10/7.  So much like here. A little more on the Allison mail group.

    I still look occasionally, but nothing really.There is little left to do but enjoy what we have and certainly that is not a bad thing at all. All the years I spent accumulating spare parts was a great insurance policy to continue on. (And that’s not a bad thing at all!)

  6. I have Allison 130's here... Rare? Any info appreciated...

    in Allison

    Posted

    1 hour ago, davidrmoran said:

    I wonder what the backstory on this unique (or close to it) / prototype? unit is, because the LC130 as widely produced is a 2-way design in walnut vinyl 

    http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library/allison/other/allison_speakers_in_1983_an/allison_speakers_in_1983.html

    Not really anything to do w the AL130 except the same mid and tweet, which is the case w every Allison or RDL ever made 

    That’s very interesting… When originally I posted on this topic, I didn’t look carefully at the picture and assumed it was the original Allison 2 way 130 (sans mid). probably something like you said… Prototype or available only from a dealer? A few months ago I challenged a guy (retired dealer) overseas who was selling an old pair of speakers with the Allison name on them. turned out after some homework….. The guy was on the level and apparently those speakers were built overseas and never saw the light of day here in the US. 

  7. Alisson 4 woofer

    in Allison

    Posted

    I have been following the used Allison marketplace on eBay for decades now. Yours are fun to talk about because of what’s MISSING..… And I’m talking about the damage, that is generally present on the pairs on eBay, that dreamers are trying to unload. ……very careworn, the grills are usually damaged beyond repair or missing all together. Those tweeter nipples are almost always dented at the least, or totally mashed in at the worst. Those delicate wires that you managed to reconnect are very often busted, and then they ask all kinds of money for them; all the while I’m trying to keep a straight face . 

  8. Alisson 4 woofer

    in Allison

    Posted

    1 hour ago, jon heckman said:

    Thanks for the quick response newwandold.  I have only listened to them on a Danon Surround Sound in stereo mode/tuner.  When I get the time I will hook them up to my Pioneer 780.    I expect them to compare favorably to my Pioneer cs77 speakers.  They also look great, but I really like those classic cs77 grills.  

    I have done one foam replacement, successful more or less.   The Allisons look like they might be easier.   I saw a set of 8”foams with glue and instructions listed under “Allison speakers” for $13.   Next in line was twice as much.  If I’m gonna do it I want to choose the better path.  Any suggestions?  Jon


     

    IMG_0093.jpeg

    IMG_0095.jpeg

    IMG_0094.jpeg

    IMG_0098.jpeg

    IMG_0097.jpeg

    Jon,

    Before anything else…… I need to congratulate you! For five bucks those are flat out, the finest looking pair of fours for the money I have ever seen, and I mean ever. as long as you get foam surrounds with the roll radius as close as you can get to what you see on what’s left of the originals you’ll be OK just no rubber that would alter the sonic characteristics that RA built into those systems.

    Beyond that I can only tell you that I’m a lightweight when it comes to doing surround work I did it once decades ago and the two words popped into my head never again. I’m pretty handy but there’s certain things that I feel that are best left to the professionals.

    The music is simply too important for me to screw around like that.

  9. Alisson 4 woofer

    in Allison

    Posted

    15 minutes ago, jon heckman said:

    Just picked up a pair of Allison fours for $5 at a yard sale.   All 4 tweeters are working now that I got two of them reconnected to those nicely engineered connecters.   The drivers sound decent, but they seriously need new foam.  Can or should/need anything be done about dust that is stuck on the drivers?

    Already, you’ve accomplished the most important thing that being 4 tweeters up and running! I wouldn’t lose any sleep over dust on the drivers (you can’t hear that).

    Make sure the spiders are well intact and compliant before going ahead with the surrounds on the woofers.

     

    Five bucks!? What a deal for a pair of fours can you toss some pictures on here?

  12. AR Speakers in Commercials

    in Acoustic Research

    Posted

    On 3/16/2023 at 12:22 AM, tysontom said:

    William Shatner (tender age of 91) shown in hearing-aid commercial (!) with a pair of AR-2ax or possibly AR-5 speakers flanking the fireplace.  This commercial first appeared in December 2022 and is still current.  The AR-2axs (or AR-5s, less likely) are nicely positioned on each side of the fireplace, back against the fireplace wall.  Even the logo plates are straight.

    William-Shatner_AR-2ax_008.thumb.jpg.97c66d698cc6b7c3b4caf225e6fee9ce.jpg

    William Shatner developed tinnitus filming some sequences of the filming of Star Trek episode "Arena."

    William-Shatner_AR-2ax_007.thumb.jpg.5ded1a0a6f20a86541c986fe04bba0ba.jpg

    AR-2axs or AR-5s?  

    Tom Tyson

    You put a smile on my face with this Tom! 
    My folks gave me a pair of 2ax as a young teen wild about music equipment. That was around ‘72 or so and I was very grateful,  but If I were buying back then I would have gone for the 5’s.

    Regarding Shatners hearing (so the story goes) Lenord Nimoy also suffered a hearing loss on the same “Arena” set from explosions during the filming.

    Recently, Paramount got greedy and pulled all the Star Trek streaming from Netflix. Still needing my original series “ fix” I opted for the Blu-ray collection.

  14. Allison CD8s - need opinions on next steps

    in Allison

    Posted

    2 hours ago, rnathans00 said:

    I did minor crossover work on a set of CD6’s, and had a major reworking done on a set of CD7’s. The CD6 set was bought off eBay, and one of the tweeters wasn’t working. Further testing showed the tweeter was fine; the problem was in the crossover. Since it is just a simple coil a cap design, I replaced the capacitor with an Erse cap costing just a few bucks, and it came back to life. The results were so good I replaced the cap in the other to match.

    One of the CD7’s had a tweeter that was working, but its frequency response was all over the place. A local speaker designer took on the challenge of “reworking” the system, putting in place a more “modern” tweeter, and building a new and complex crossover for it, and the same for the second (otherwise working) speaker. The results were less than satisfying, and I eventually sold this set, which was not easy as it was no longer a “real” Allison.

    Over 20 years now since the final demise of Allison Acoustics. Since then, there has never been a drop in replacement for either the pulsating dome tweeter or midrange that RA developed exclusively for his systems. I have maintained longevity only by getting educated as to interchangeably between those drivers and the various models so I could shop the used marketplaces and keep a sufficient inventory.

  15. The Venerable Bose 901 Discontinued After 50 Years

    in Bose

    Posted

    1 hour ago, tom_guyette said:

    Yes.  I believe the industrial ones were the 801s / 802s. Many many models back then shared the same essential driver design so manufacturing processes could be the same, but the 80?s used kevlar and some other different materials. The cones and surrounds were black instead of blue. 

     

    I was very impressed with some of those models back in the day, along with the equalization unit. The Bose of today is forgettable at best. My Nissan Murano has a Bose system in it along with Apple CarPlay, and a subwoofer mounted to the spare tire. I think if I get a flat I’ll just leave the subwoofer on the tire. Maybe then it will be good for something.

  16. AR9 speakers and Quad 606 amplification ?

    in Acoustic Research

    Posted

    On 12/12/2022 at 11:06 AM, lance G said:

    I appreciate this is a mainly U.S. biased forum, but I do have a question from the other side of the pond in the U.K.

    Anyone have opinions on driving the AR9 with U.K. manufactured Quad 606 amplification ? I perceive that the AR9 thrives on plenty of power ?

    I am currently using a single Quad 606 and have another 606 which I have dabbled in, and can dabble again with bi-amplification. Again I perceive that the AR9 can "dip" to around the 2 ohm load area but have found it difficult to confirm the suitability of the Quad/s in this regard.

    I use a Carver CT-Seven pre-amplifier as I like the convenience of the remote control volume and switching. I have, and have tried a Carver PM 1200 amplifier, but I found it hard to live with the cooling fan noise and I have tried to avoid any fan modification (silencing) to date.

    Any (polite) suggestions or opinions from the more technically minded greatly appreciated !

    Ha Ha no “bias”

    sufficient power to drive that loudspeaker…… Matters not what side of the pond it comes from.

  17. Old Allison speakers

    in Allison

    Posted

    14 minutes ago, tibo said:

    Hey every one, 

    i Inheritate allison speaker from my grand father wich sound litteraly amazing.

    However, i have to restore them and her's the problem:

     

    It's said Al 120 s behind but it's only got two woofers 


    Should look like this….1 tweeter and two push pull woofer arrangement

     

     

    C3171908-E24D-4E5B-BBE1-0A038336F53F.thumb.jpeg.1f43b76ffb607af3ffe3af1645c49818.jpeg

  19. Allison CD8s - need opinions on next steps

    in Allison

    Posted

    19 hours ago, Knadles said:

    Hi,

    Glad to have one person at least back up my gut instinct! Since the original caps are gone, I'll need to find a pic online or something to verify what they originally were, so I can swap them out again. If I do sell, I'd at least prefer to have the speakers acting like their original selves. Seems only fair.

    All of the drivers are still Allisons. One of those glorious midranges got a small ding in it when a friend was moving the speaker and rested the grill on his shoulder, but John was able to pop that out. I didn't even ask him to; he just took care of it. I have a pair of CD6s as well that definitely need a refoam :). If I take those to John, I'll make sure the original caps stay in place. Unfortunately, I can't use the CD6s as a guide, since the two-way crossover would almost certainly have different values from the three-way.

    Thanks!

    Pete

    allison-speakers@groups.io
     

    Probably someone lurking here who can give you the exact specs on the original Allison, eight or cd eight capacitors

  20. Allison CD8s - need opinions on next steps

    in Allison

    Posted

    Hi Pete,

    Your gut is telling you the same thing I’m thinking (capacitor swap). unnecessary and MAY have altered the sound.

    From years of hanging around the Allison forums, I can tell you what my perception is, after members change caps. and then try to get meaningful impressions from them regarding what those sonic differences REALLY are….

    The answer is, they have new caps and if properly done, sound as good as new, but no different. I personally will let the Allison high quality capacitors go for 50 years without even thinking about a swap. There’s enough to worry about regarding foam, not rubber surrounds and the spiders that support the back end of those drivers.

    these are not high-voltage capacitors that are subject to demands that are placed upon them by an amplifier, or any other high-voltage application. They are essentially filters and can do their job as specified for a very, very long time. The big sell on this has always been capacitors  “drifting from specifications over time“. That being said, measuring from what they were to where they are now, as a system is not so easy, if you’re talking about establishing a baseline for comparison.
    I’m running three different models of Allisons in my home, theater system, all with the original capacitors in tow. Nothing to my ears is calling attention to fix something that isn’t broken. They all continue to sound stellar the changes for the better have come from 21st-century electronics, putting the pedal to the metal.

    are all of the drivers in those eights still ALLISON drivers?

     

     

  22. Ar-3f Speakers

    in Acoustic Research

    Posted

    23 hours ago, kfilzen said:

    Can anyone help provide some information on these.  I know they were a precursor to the LST.  Hoping to find someone who has a set or may have worked on them.  Also, I need a spectral switch for one.

    An “experimental” model perhaps 🤔 where a few got built but never went into actual production?? Speakers like that always intrigued me… How about picture posting that will help all interested here. Anything even close to the AR LST or ALLISON prism shape peaks my interest.

  23. Allison IC-20'S (in original boxes for 20 years!)

    in Allison

    Posted

    On 10/12/2022 at 7:48 PM, newandold said:

    Thank you for that update! no surprise really…… Whenever I look around at the forums or on the web there has been nothing interesting or new for the longest time now. The Allison acoustics that I embraced (and many others) has been off the radar now for a quarter century… Unfortunately. I am grateful however, that I became an Allison scavenger about 22 years ago. during that time I’ve scarfed up enough stuff to keep me in play probably till I’m old enough that I won’t care anymore.

     

  25. Allison IC-20'S (in original boxes for 20 years!)

    in Allison

    Posted

    1 hour ago, samberger0357 said:

    None. But very little in general. I was the last one to post anything on 10/7.  So much like here. A little more on the Allison mail group.

    Thank you for that update! no surprise really…… Whenever I look around at the forums or on the web there has been nothing interesting or new for the longest time now. The Allison acoustics that I embraced (and many others) has been off the radar now for a quarter century… Unfortunately. I am grateful however, that I became an Allison scavenger about 22 years ago. during that time I’ve scarfed up enough stuff to keep me in play probably till I’m old enough that I won’t care anymore.

×
×
  • Create New...