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heykayde

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  1. heykayde

    Why so rare?

    Hi Stephen! Thanks for posting the photo of your dad. I was there the day he never made it to work. We were devastated. I was bummed that I couldn't make it to the services as me and another office employee Tina had to stay behind to answer the phones. He really was the glue that held the company together and unfortunately it didn't last too long after he was no longer running it. That was when Cizek was still located on Stevens Street in Andover, MA. They moved to Canal Street in Lawrence after that for a short while. I really liked the Stevens Street location and never did get used to the more industrial area they had to move to. It was on top of a company that printed the plastic bags for Wonder Bread and the stench from those chemicals would sneak up to our level. By the end of the day our eyes were bloodshot from it. I believe that was the last place in the area. I'm wondering if I ever met you because I did the soldering on the crossovers and can remember spun coils of red wire. Did you do them after hours or on weekends? There was a knack to spinning them neatly. I wasn't that good at it but I could solder up a crossover without a hint of a cold solder joint. We were all so proud of our work there. It was a fairly young crowd. I was around 20 as most of the workers in the factory area. I'm pretty sure I know who you are talking about the Zappa story. His name is escaping me right now but I can picture his shoulder length strawberry blonde hair. I'm pretty sure I have an old photo of the group. I'll try to find and scan it for here. We were all pretty good friends. I was just looking through my old albums for one that they were able to get for me. It was a master recording of Dark Side of the Moon. Yeah, We pronounced it “see-ZAK” and I still do. It would be a miracle to get your hands on a sub woofer. They were nearly always back ordered. We'd wait for what seemed like forever for the container to finally get to the factory and there would only be one or two woofer cabinets, if any. It was even hard to get the smaller main cabinets but I think they at least came in more steadily than the woofers. They still sounded great without the optional woofers but the woofers were always in demand and they weren't always able to fill the orders for them. The deliveries weren't big and were pretty much sold before they even hit the production line. I think it had something to do with the fact the koa trees only grew in the Hawaiian Islands and they only grew so big. They had a hard time getting the koa for the cabinets. Eventually the trees became illegal to cut down when they were determined to be endangered.
  2. heykayde

    Used to Work at Cizek

    Yeah, I see the difference in the caps now that you point it out. Thing is, I don't remember changing both woofers but I don't remember the caps being domed either. I know my serial numbers are in the 500's so maybe something had changed. It's a mystery. I agree the plastic cone is definitely not original. It's funny, looking at the crossovers. I actually could have put those exact ones together 4 decades ago. Small world.
  3. heykayde

    Used to Work at Cizek

    Of course Sergio, Thank you. I would be happy to chat with Viljan. I'm always open to suggestions and I, like you, enjoy talking with people that appreciate these great speakers. I am happy to have found this site. You have all been very welcoming and helpful already. ☺️
  4. heykayde

    Used to Work at Cizek

    Thank you Sergio. I really appreciate that tip and would love to hear them again, but Slovenia? I'm in USA. I'm sure you know how heavy they are between the solid wood and magnets in the woofers. I imagine it would cost a small fortune to ship there and back again in addition to the cost of parts and labor. Sadly, I don't think I could afford it. I'll see if my son is interested in that but it's not likely he'll feel ok about sending to another country. I can dream about it. LOL.
  5. heykayde

    Used to Work at Cizek

    Not speakers but check out this koa wood on the guitar.
  6. heykayde

    Used to Work at Cizek

    Thanks. They really are pretty but sadly just a decoration at this point. I love the ripple effect on the tops. I wish I had kept the woofer, but nope. Cizek had closed by then so I didn't think there was anything else I could have done. I think the original one is in better condition than the replacement one installed when they were 10-20 years old and it's twice as old as the replacement. They just don't build things like they used to. I had brought the woofer to a local electronics place that I trusted many years ago. We spent some time trying to match the specs as close as we could. I'm pretty sure they just tossed it. They're closed now too and I'm not in New England anymore. Other than removing speakers and reconnecting the wires, I'm not electronically inclined enough to attempt much rebuilding like you did. I'd hate to purchase the speakers and find out the crossovers are bad or that they just don't sound good. Although I know I personally tested each component and soldered them, they're still 40 years old so who knows what time could have done to them. I have some tung oil and could easily give a few refresh coats. That wood is so good, they hardly need it. There's a couple little dents on the side of one but no where near some that we sold that had little areas filled. You're the best for sending the links. Thank you! If I decide to sell, I'll certainly put on your site. They're a bit sentimental to me so might be hard to part with. I appreciate all your advice. Do you know of any other woofers that would work? DO you think I should replace both or rebuild the Cizek one and replace the other? Perhaps I'll contact Miller Sound when I get around to it. I also don't have the foam grills that were made for them. They turned into crumbs just from age. The cloth ones that I put on them may change the sound a bit but it was the best I could do and they look pretty neat. Yeah, I saw those odd speakers last night. Crazy, huh? Did they attempt to add mid-range speakers to them or is that just holes in the front panel? They don't look anything like the originals. You did such a spectacular job refinishing yours I'm impressed.
  7. heykayde

    Cizek KA-1

    Wow JKent . I'm blown away by the research and work you did on these. They came out great. Kudos! I clicked on the link that you have here showing the subwoofers. Now I think I'm loosing my mind. lol. For some reason, I remember them having a sub-woofer that could be placed on its side sort of like a coffee table. Perhaps it was a prototype that never got produced or maybe just these without the attached stand on the bottom. I just don't remember the subs in a vertical position like your link but there the are. Thanks for posting this and all your other info on these.
  8. heykayde

    Used to Work at Cizek

    Sergiopx I'm not an expert on the specs but I'm pretty sure all the woofers for all the speakers were made with a paper type material. That was my friend's job. I remember her testing all of them on the production line. She'd put her ear to the speaker and press the cone down. I don't know what she heard but after the glue dried, some just didn't pass and she'd have to start all over. I think some of the issues were tears in the paper but I'm not sure about that. The foam circle around the woofers was probably 1/4" thick or less, similar to memory foam we have now. The cells were closed as opposed to the open cells of the foam grills put on the front of some of them. (If that's what you're talking about.) Do you have specs for the KA1's? Being decades old, the paper and foam have pretty much disintegrated. I'm afraid to even touch them. At one point I replaced one of the woofers but I don't even know which one it was as it was ages ago. I'd have to replace the tweeters and woofers and have no idea where to begin which is why I thought of selling them.
  9. heykayde

    Used to Work at Cizek

    Hi there Sergiopx and JKent and anyone else that happens to fall upon this. It's so nice to see such interest in these. Here are some shots of my babies. JKent, Yes, it must have been you that have the logos on Ebay. I doubt anyone else has them. I really should grab a pair so I have them. They certainly look like the ones we had. When we got behind in production, I'd bring a box home to remove the thin plastic sheet that covered them and attach some kind of glue strip on the back. My son was little at the time and last week he claimed to remember helping me. Child labor. lol. ? Those woofers were a gorgeous! It sure would be nice to have one to complement the speakers. I have to say for small speakers in KA1's can handle the base fine to my ear. At the time most speakers were huge so these beauties were somewhat of a breakthrough in the industry which got them the coveted cover on Hi-Fidelity. I was told it was difficult to get enough koa wood to have them built. We just couldn't get enough stock of the cabinets so they are very rare. I remember being told the problem was the koa trees only grow so big. Then they stopped harvesting the wood altogether for conservation reasons. I remember waiting for orders to come in on a very slow container and management being disappointed when it arrived with back orders on them. The orders just couldn't be filled. It was a small company with the usual cash flow problems so we might order only a small amount and just a few would arrive. The rest would be back-ordered for quite a long time. I contemplated buying one but just didn't have the money or space in my tiny apartment at the time. Thanks for the welcoming response.
  10. heykayde

    Why so rare?

    Hi there. I'm looking for people interest in Cizek both if wanted to purchase or info on restoring Koa speakers. I posted the following on another thread here. I apologize for the duplication but it seems the threads are outdated and I wanted to reach as many people as I could. Not sure if anyone still checks this forum or this thread but I had to chime in. I worked at Cizek in Andover, MA, then in Lawrence when they moved after Sheldon passed away. I was there when we heard the news of his passing. He was on his way to work and died of a heart attack during the commute. I never met Roy but I answered the phone when Paolo called, although I never met him either. I started out in the factory assembling and soldering the crossovers then worked in the office purchasing transistors, Peerless tweeters, etc. The woofers were made in the factory by my best friend. The speakers were stuffed with fiberglass, as all Cizek speakers were. I didn't do that job but I believe it was weighed before final assembly to make sure it was the correct amount. I remember being told it made a big difference as everything in assembly did. We were like a family of pretty young workers and we all loved working there at a time when everyone was so proud of their work. I think I even have a photo of a group of us buried in my box of photos. I even had a pair of parakeets at the time. One was green & yellow, the other blue & white and I named them Woofer and Tweeter representing the color of the wires that went to the woofers and tweeters. Tweeter was green and yellow, Woofer was either white or blue and another color (perhaps red?) I can remember when the koa's were on the front page of High Fidelity Magazine. We were all pretty stoked about that. Free advertising! I may even have a copy of that page. I know I have a copy of the retail price list of all the speakers made at the time. The ka1's sold for $300/each ($600/pair). This was around 40 years ago and although I got a little discount, I remember between the speakers and acrylic stands, it was a big investment when I was that young. I still own that pair of Koa KA1's, complete with stands that I have babied for decades. I fell upon this forum while trying to research and figure out what to do with them. They would need some restoration but all in all they are in great shape considering their age. One has a replacement woofer while the other still has the original but the foam ring is deteriorating. I had replaced the tweeters at one point as the dome had collapsed. I believe they were replaced with the original Peerless model but not positive. I do not recall anything being done to the tweeters at the factory other than perhaps a coating added to the dome. Pretty much everything else was assembled in house though. It's possible that Peerless may have made them special order. I've also replaced the foam front grills that disintegrated. I found some cloth ones that fit fairly well attached with small strips of velcro in the corners. I remember spinning and testing the inductors. We also tested the resistors and capacitors that were purchased to make sure they were within the stated +/- tolerance levels. I hot glued the parts and soldered the crossovers, which would be meticulously examined by QC to make sure there weren't any cold solder joints. I was fortunate to be able to pick out what I thought were the most beautiful koa cabinets in stock by wetting the wood to see the grain, then I did the finishing work on them with many coatings of tung oil buffing between coats with steel wool which gave them a beautiful satin finish. There was tiny bit of a gloss but definitely not a high shine gloss. The tung oil really brought out the beauty of the wood. That's all they needed. No staining was ever done on them. The grain on the tops of my cabinets almost look like ripples of water, one a bit more than the other. Our factory took time to match the cabinets into pairs as koa wood has a lot of variation of shades and grains. The wood has such a great play of light in the grain. The engineers used to use a sound room for testing to make sure everything was built and assembled to spec likening it to the fine tuning of a handmade violin. In fact, I believe the head engineer or his son used to build violins. I remember he had quite the trained ear and could tell if the amount of stuffing wasn't precisely correct. I may post photos if I ever see any response on here. I was considering selling and still might but now my son thinks he wants to keep them so I'm not sure. I found what appears to be actual logo plates on Ebay and may purchase while they are still available. I'm curious if anyone knows approximately how much they are worth. It would be hard to part with them as they bring back memories and I'm proud of the fact that I know I had a lot to do with the building of these particular speakers. Anyone still out there?
  11. heykayde

    Used to Work at Cizek

    Only posting here to make sure I'm notified as I didn't click on that tab when I wrote above.
  12. heykayde

    Used to Work at Cizek

    Hi there. Not sure if anyone still checks this forum or this thread but I had to chime in. I worked at Cizek in Andover, MA, then in Lawrence when they moved after Sheldon passed away. I was there when we heard the news of his passing. He was on his way to work and died of a heart attack during the commute. I never met Roy but I answered the phone when Paolo called, although I never met him either. I started out in the factory assembling and soldering the crossovers then worked in the office purchasing transistors, Peerless tweeters, etc. The woofers were made in the factory by my best friend. The speakers were stuffed with fiberglass, as all Cizek speakers were. I didn't do that job but I believe it was weighed before final assembly to make sure it was the correct amount. I remember being told it made a big difference as everything in assembly did. We were like a family of pretty young workers and we all loved working there at a time when everyone was so proud of their work. I think I even have a photo of a group of us buried in my box of photos. I even had a pair of parakeets at the time. One was green & yellow, the other blue & white and I named them Woofer and Tweeter representing the color of the wires that went to the woofers and tweeters. Tweeter was green and yellow, Woofer was either white or blue and another color (perhaps red?) I can remember when the koa's were on the front page of High Fidelity Magazine. We were all pretty stoked about that. Free advertising! I may even have a copy of that page. I know I have a copy of the retail price list of all the speakers made at the time. The ka1's sold for $300/each ($600/pair). This was around 40 years ago and although I got a little discount, I remember between the speakers and acrylic stands, it was a big investment when I was that young. I still own that pair of Koa KA1's, complete with stands that I have babied for decades. I fell upon this forum while trying to research and figure out what to do with them. They would need some restoration but all in all they are in great shape considering their age. One has a replacement woofer while the other still has the original but the foam ring is deteriorating. I had replaced the tweeters at one point as the dome had collapsed. I believe they were replaced with the original Peerless model but not positive. I do not recall anything being done to the tweeters at the factory other than perhaps a coating added to the dome. Pretty much everything else was assembled in house though. It's possible that Peerless may have made them special order. I've also replaced the foam front grills that disintegrated. I found some cloth ones that fit fairly well attached with small strips of velcro in the corners. I remember spinning and testing the inductors. We also tested the resistors and capacitors that were purchased to make sure they were within the stated +/- tolerance levels. I hot glued the parts and soldered the crossovers, which would be meticulously examined by QC to make sure there weren't any cold solder joints. I was fortunate to be able to pick out what I thought were the most beautiful koa cabinets in stock by wetting the wood to see the grain, then I did the finishing work on them with many coatings of tung oil buffing between coats with steel wool which gave them a beautiful satin finish. There was tiny bit of a gloss but definitely not a high shine gloss. The tung oil really brought out the beauty of the wood. That's all they needed. No staining was ever done on them. The grain on the tops of my cabinets almost look like ripples of water, one a bit more than the other. Our factory took time to match the cabinets into pairs as koa wood has a lot of variation of shades and grains. The wood has such a great play of light in the grain. The engineers used to use a sound room for testing to make sure everything was built and assembled to spec likening it to the fine tuning of a handmade violin. In fact, I believe the head engineer or his son used to build violins. I remember he had quite the trained ear and could tell if the amount of stuffing wasn't precisely correct. I may post photos if I ever see any response on here. I was considering selling and still might but now my son thinks he wants to keep them so I'm not sure. I found what appears to be actual logo plates on Ebay and may purchase while they are still available. I'm curious if anyone knows approximately how much they are worth. It would be hard to part with them as they bring back memories and I'm proud of the fact that I know I had a lot to do with the building of these particular speakers. Anyone still out there?
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