RDL Acoustics F-1

[DavidDru]

Picked up a great pair of RDL Acoustics F-1 this weekend.  A mere $80.

All is good with them.  May need new surrounds on the top woofers.  They are in-tact but in that stage of where it seems like you could put your finger through them.  No biggy.

Great cherry finish and overall styling with these, which I think Roy A. was pretty good about over the years.

Currently being driven by my fully restored Pioneer SA-9100 at 60/ch.  I will put them in the main system where I can go 240/ch SS or 35/ch tube and see what they do.  They seem a little in want of power.  Love Roy's tweeters.  

I feel fortunate to have a pair of these as they seem rare as hens teeth these days.  They proudly join My Allison Ones in the collection.

Hey from the Mountain Pacific Northwest!

[bostown]

Definitely the nicest of version of the classic Allison models.   Those leads to the Tweeter are prone to corrosion but are easy to remedy and of course the foam softens to a crumble but also easy to remedy. ( I need to do both of these on my set,  since they've been sitting idle for a while).    Sadly I'm going to part ways with my Allison  Ones.   the cabinets have seen better days and I have other Restoration projects that are more important to me.  The RDL speakers will get a stay of execution for a little while after I get them all doctored up and back into the rotation. Then it'll be time to see them off as well.   

[handel]

I own a nice pair of Roy Allison's RDL FS-1 speakers.  Purchased them directly from Roy back in 94.  I am looking for the schematics on these and someone willing to do the work for me.  These are my favorites ever and I'm upset to no end!  Please help this Indiana guy if you can.

Edited May 19, 2019 by handel
Decided not to discredit anyone.

[bboylesjc]

Try the Allison group on Yahoo. They do post schematics. Not sure if they have RDL.

[handel]

Thanks for the yahoo suggestion.  I also have copy of the Test Report done by Stereo Review in Feb. 94.  According to the Report both RDL Acoustics F-1 and FS-1 speaker systems are identical in almost every respect.  Both models use a 2-kHz crossover, with 6-dB-per-octave slopes and have a sensitivity of 87 dB sound-pressure level at 1 meter with a 2.83-volt input.  The only difference in the 2 models is the F-1 has its woofer on the top facing up where the FS-1 is a conventional set up.  There are complete spec's in this Report, but no schematic. 

[handel]

If either of you 2 are looking to sell your RDL's let me know!

[bboylesjc]

There's a pair of F-1s on eBay as I write this that look in good shape. Seller is asking $299 I believe. (I am not the seller nor have any relationship to the seller)

[handel]

Thanks!  I'll check them out.

[newandold]

might like it! Check it out now!

https://ebay.us/XN1JUu

 

Bill

[rnathans00]

The F-1 appears to be a nice update to the original CD-7. Very hard to find, like most in that RDL line. The company didn't last long, and I assume didn't sell too many units. Like the CD-7, the F-1 was meant to be positioned against the wall, while the more conventional FS-1 was meant to be positioned into the room. I tested a set of F-1's back then, but they didn't work in my bedroom space, and I sent them back. 

[H.G.B.]

On 5/15/2019 at 5:16 PM, handel said:

If either of you 2 are looking to sell your RDL's let me know!

Hi Handel,

 

if you are interested in the RDL speakers yet-- I have them and in the original shipping box.

The woofers have been overhauled about a year ago and the speakers sound great.

I'm south of Tampa, FL. 

HB

 

 

[Evan P]

Hi folks,

I have a pair of FS 1 I got for $200. A little high but was floored with the sound. Unfortunately my friend put a little too much power into them and one woofer is not moving as much as it used to.

A couple questions: is the damage repairable, are there parts available, and would anyone here have a part-out speaker for sale? 

Would anyone know the nature of the damage? These speakers seem to have a ceiling in terms of power handling, and any more than that a feedback loop starts. This is how they were damaged and I don't know how it has affected the hardware. Great little speakers but quite insensitive and high resistance in my experience. More power is not the answer!

[newandold]

1 hour ago, Evan P said:

Hi folks,

I have a pair of FS 1 I got for $200. A little high but was floored with the sound. Unfortunately my friend put a little too much power into them and one woofer is not moving as much as it used to.

A couple questions: is the damage repairable, are there parts available, and would anyone here have a part-out speaker for sale? 

Would anyone know the nature of the damage? These speakers seem to have a ceiling in terms of power handling, and any more than that a feedback loop starts. This is how they were damaged and I don't know how it has affected the hardware. Great little speakers but quite insensitive and high resistance in my experience. More power is not the answer!

http://www.millersound.net/contact-bill-legall-millersound.html
 

Woofer can be restored.....This is my favorite go to....

[JKent]

5 hours ago, newandold said:

http://www.millersound.net/contact-bill-legall-millersound.html
 

Woofer can be restored.....This is my favorite go to....

Ditto. Phone Bill LeGall at Millersound. He may want you to send both woofers. His work is legendary and his prices are fair.

[Hans]

To the ALLISON aficionados-

 

I still have my newly purchased pair of F-1 and had the woofers redone over a year ago.

I also own an ALLISON ESW, yet the F-1's were never connected to it, for it turns a speaker into a monster in low frequency output.

If anyone is interested please contact me.

Hans

[Seahawk57]

Hello, Hans!!

My first Allisons were in 1980....a pair of Model Fives.  Sold them for some *** reason, but now at age 64, I'm going back !

Had a pair of lc 110s I purchased from Kentucky years ago as they were closing shop.

I refoamed woofers, gave them to my friend as I had acquired a pair of Fours from eBay.

Now have CD8s, Fours, lc-125s that need work, and a pair of Ref 303BKs from SAAT( Stanford Advanced Acoustic Technology) with a Mini2 SW sub.

I just bough a pair (not arrived yet) of F-1s...but have always wondered about the ESW...do you still have it?

I'd be interested!

Thx...Roy is sadly missed...was a real gentleman and a self-taught scholar!

 

Doug Swindell, O.D.

[newandold]

1 hour ago, Seahawk57 said:

Hello, Hans!!

My first Allisons were in 1980....a pair of Model Fives.  Sold them for some *** reason, but now at age 64, I'm going back !

Had a pair of lc 110s I purchased from Kentucky years ago as they were closing shop.

I refoamed woofers, gave them to my friend as I had acquired a pair of Fours from eBay.

Now have CD8s, Fours, lc-125s that need work, and a pair of Ref 303BKs from SAAT( Stanford Advanced Acoustic Technology) with a Mini2 SW sub.

I just bough a pair (not arrived yet) of F-1s...but have always wondered about the ESW...do you still have it?

I'd be interested!

Thx...Roy is sadly missed...was a real gentleman and a self-taught scholar!

 

Doug Swindell, O.D.

Doug, 

Have you considered subwoofer (SVS or similar?)

The ESW was good back in the day, but it’s day is over for a number of reasons.

Age related most of all…..

All our beloved Allison’s are rapidly aging.  The ESW boost makes the old Allison drivers work harder than ever and that’s not a good thing.

An outboard powered or passive sub. does the opposite, taking that excessive work load away from the Allison’s and preserving them further. 

[H.G.B.]

Hi Doug,

 

Yes I still have the ESW with 12 page instructions.

 I also have the RDL Acoustics F-1 speakers in the original RDL shipping box.

Hans

[Seahawk57]

Hans,

Thanks for your thoughts.. i do have a small powered sub (8 in.  Acoustic Audio powered.  I have it at the lowest possible setting.(gain, cross-over freqs.) for my CD-8s....the Saats have an Allison Min 2 SW (Passive) which I use at work.

Keep those F-1s alive as long as you can!  Mine should show up Wednesday....That will make 7 different Allisons..

Four, SAAT 303-BK

CD8, al-105 al 105, RDL Mini Monitors and the F-1s.  I can't seem to stop!

best wishes!!

Doug S.

[H.G.B.]

 

Doug,

we purchased a large house and still it's not enough room for my speaker setup.

I had JBL L-100's, Scott S-8, Allison 4, 6 and the more modern 9’s when I was younger

Currently there are the following speakers in my possession yet: RDL Acoustics F-1, Allison 3's, JBL L-26's, Rogers LS-5 and Rogers Studio 2 and of course the subwoofers, the original Sunfire with 2,700 Watts RMS and a small VMPS running on a SA230 Dayton Audio Subwoofer amp.

Well, now I can't appreciate any great high fidelity sounds as much as before-- because I'm a proud owner now of Costco hearing aids…. which are in a drawer by the way.

My dream was a room built just for my stereo and entertainment, yet it won’t happen anymore. It’s too late. 

Enjoy your F-1 speakers, they aren’t very efficient yet they do sound good considering the subjectivity of it all.

BTW these speakers have a thermally-activated poly switch in the crossover network. This is backup safety in case of overheating and according to the instructions may take an hour to cool down before things are returned to normal. At that time they play at a considerably lower volume.

I just reconnected the F-1's and with the hearing aids on they sound really crisp with more than adequate bass.

Hans

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2021 by H.G.B.
fix

[davidrmoran]

Just some notes and errata, sorry to be so tardy in posting.  

The AA and RDL lines actually sold a fair amount of product over their lifespans, especially after CU (and many other mags) raved about the Six, CD6, and S1. The reason they do not show up used so often is that owners keep and like them. They do sound better --- especially when placed such that the woofers face each other --- than other 2-ways, by a margin. 

So did, for a while, AA with the original Ones (and to a lesser extent the Two and Threes). The Fours were always a seriously big seller. Someone should revive the Four even w conventional drivers. What sound. 

The shiny sticky layer was added to preserve driver and surround longevity, and dust and crud and dog hair settled thereupon make zero sonic difference. I would never spend time scrubbing them clean, if only for fear of damaging or offcentering the voicecoil (or harming surround or spyder). 

The drivers in the RDL and the AA and LC lines are all identical; actually, there may be slight variances in the 8" woofers, adaptive to cabinet volume, details about which are available in the Allison io (google) group and possibly in the new Facebook group (I am trying to get them to overlap, of course). 

The newer 'nipple' tweeters (RDL) do not have stranded-lead corrosion problems, I believe, as in some earlier AA models. Even better, Kentucky used the original tweeter design, not OEM, for all Allison-branded designs, and in fact their manufacturer poor Eminence laboriously and nontrivially improved on it, a simply remarkable achievement, given what a complete bear it is to manufacture. (I cannot get OEMs to even look at it.) 

The RDL lines is identical to the AA CD5, 6, and 7, and those were improved over their originals only (or at least chiefly) from having a steeper highpass (12dB) to the tweeter, to protect it in the new digital era back when. The difference b/w the B1 and the FS1 (hope I have it right) is solely the VLF reach, similar to the diff b/w the Six and the Five/Seven or b/w the LC120 and LC110, the latter of which must be the best-performing wideband cheapy in history. 

Anyway, if you have not done so already, I urge joining the Fb and io Allison groups. More info than you'll ever need, probably. I just uploaded an ESW schematic that came into my possession, the only one uncovered ever. Its designer Mark Davis (dbx Soundfield, Dolby AC3, and much more) could not believe how complex and rich it was ....