Pinnacle PN6+ Speakers?

[JKent]

Anyone familiar with these? I saw them in the local Sal and almost passed them by: They were pretty unimpressive looking: Particleboard covered in black vinyl with black stretchy grille cloth and cheap push-type speaker wire connectors. No logos on the front but when I looked at the back, it said Pinnacle PN6+ Plainview, NY Made in USA.

The name Pinnacle rang a bell so I plunked down $7 and brought them home. There is VERY little about these on the net, but the company is still in business. Here is a brochure for the PN line:

http://www.pinnacles...iesbrochure.pdf

Kind of low rez, but it says this about the PN6+

system type: 4th order vented with patented diaduct tuning port

Drivers: 6 1/2" Mineral filled polypropylene cone woofer; 3/4" Magnetic oil cooled dome tweeter

crossover freq 4.5KHz

Operative Power Range 5-70 watts RMS 210 Watts Peak

Overall Response:40-21KHz

Recommended Amplifier Power: 10-100 watts RMS

Impedance: 6 ohms

SPL [at 1 watt, 1KHz, 1 meter] 88db

dimensions with grille 14 1/2 x 9 1/4 x 8 1/2"

Shipping weight 25 lbs/pair

The brochure is dated 1992. I read on one site that the original MSRP was $600 but find that impossible to believe. These were apparently a step up from the 5+ and those were "less than $200". The much larger PN8+'s were $800/pr. Guessing the 6+ were under $300/pr.

According to a blurb in their literature, Julian Hirsch wrote, in 1988: "At lower levels the sound character of the PN5+ was amazingly close to that of our reference speakers which cost nearly twenty times as much!"

One owner wrote that he had added bracing, stuffing and plugged the port, with much improved sound. I took one apart. The diagonal port tube had come loose--apparently a common problem. The tweeter is an Audax, made in France. Woofer is a very nice poly cone unit. There is a nice piece of solid oak trim on the bottom front edge. Otherwise, it screams "CHEAP!" Very little stuffing. Crummy terminal cup. The plan for now:

1. Clean everything up
2. Reglue the port tube using Goop
3. Install at least one front-to-back brace
4. Replace the terminal cup with a better one, with binding posts
5. Replace the 4uF NPE in the xo with a film cap
6. Re-install the sheets of padding (looks like carpet underlayment) but probably add some polyfill

Amazingly, the foam woofer surrounds seem OK. Don't know about plugging the ports. It will be a bit awkward, since they are angled but maybe use a removable rubber plug to see how it sounds.

Anyone out there have any experience with these? Any thoughts/suggestions? There has been "some" discussion on AK and the consensus seems to be positive.

Kent

[JKent]

Finished. Replaced the 4uF NPE with a 3.9 Carli film cap + a polystyrene bypass cap (had the caps on hand). One front-to-back brace cut from an old broomstick (screw visible above woofer and on the back). The black vinyl cleaned up OK--a few minor scuffs-- and looks good with a coat of Armor All. Solid oak trim piece (nice touch) was treated with Howard's RaF and a coat of Antique Oil. Grilles cleaned up amazingly well, but the logos were gone. I emailed Pinnacle for replacements. New terminal cups are larger diameter than the originals and take dual banana jacks. Re-glued the port tube with Goop.

They sound really nice! Have to experiment with the amount of poly fill. Also tried stuffing a sock in the port but did not hear any improvement.

Kent

edit: Finished both. Look & sound good! Still not sure about stuffing the port. Pinnacle sold me some replacement logos--have not yet arrived.

second edit: Logos arrived. Final photos here. Left the port unstuffed. These are going to cousin for home theater along with some $6 Minimus 7s from the same successful trip to the Sal. I'm a big spender!