Accessing/Upgrading Allison Three Crossover

[rnathans00]

I finally have a lead on a set of Allison Three speakers - the original version, not unfortunately the much later Kentucky upgrade. Aside from needing the woofers repaired, I'd be interested in upgrading the terminal pins , which only handle thin wires, and possibly upgrading the caps. While I'm normally an "if it ain't broke don't fix it" kinda' guy, an experience with my CD-6 set suggested a simple upgrade could be worthwhile. (One had a bad cap, I upgraded with a modestly priced Erse, and all was well. I ended up doing the same upgrade on the second speaker.) But how does one get to the Allison Three's crossover? There's no obvious way to get to it from the outside, as I could on the CD-6. My understanding is it's on a board that's stuck against the back panel, but how does one get to it? I'd hesitate to remove the midrange and tweeter, given those fine wires they're attached to, which leaves the woofer way at the bottom, which is well out of reach of the back panel. So how is it done? Thanks in advance for any insights.

[newandold]

21 hours ago, rnathans00 said:

I finally have a lead on a set of Allison Three speakers - the original version, not unfortunately the much later Kentucky upgrade. Aside from needing the woofers repaired, I'd be interested in upgrading the terminal pins , which only handle thin wires, and possibly upgrading the caps. While I'm normally an "if it ain't broke don't fix it" kinda' guy, an experience with my CD-6 set suggested a simple upgrade could be worthwhile. (One had a bad cap, I upgraded with a modestly priced Erse, and all was well. I ended up doing the same upgrade on the second speaker.) But how does one get to the Allison Three's crossover? There's no obvious way to get to it from the outside, as I could on the CD-6. My understanding is it's on a board that's stuck against the back panel, but how does one get to it? I'd hesitate to remove the midrange and tweeter, given those fine wires they're attached to, which leaves the woofer way at the bottom, which is well out of reach of the back panel. So how is it done? Thanks in advance for any insights.

I would not call the Original Three an unfortunate find at all compared to the Kentucky Model. The newer cabs "look" pretty, however as a loudspeaker, in the Allison tradition, the original is superior, for a number of reasons. 

The grilles on the newer units, have hole cutouts behind the cloth instead of full open dispersion provided by the original (though admittedly fragile) plastic grilles. If I owned the newer versions, I would use them without the grilles, as the cabs are nicely finished throughout.

You are starting out worrying about the crossovers (you will need to access them by removing the midrange and tweeter if necessary). They are glued and stapled to the inside of the cab. and would be a nightmare if you go there. I would clean the contacts and the slope switch, then test the speakers before doing any disassembly of the crossover first.

THE most important aspect of bringing those systems up to spec. is the integrity of the drivers themselves. At 40 years plus, a rebuild of the woofers is vital, both the spider and the surround, provided the voice coils are A OK.

Tweeters generally either work, or don't and hope you get lucky with that.

Midrange: voice coil rubbing was the main issue with those and can be heard in very quiet musical passages. I have had Bill Legall of Miller Sound realign several of those over the years.

The connectors handle 14 gauge easily, more than enough for most applications. You can use 12 gauge stranded with a spade connector easily enough.

 

Bill