Rosewood Dynaco A-25s on eBay?

[Horswispr]

The seller of the rosewood Dynaco A-25s on eBay told me it says Rosewood on the box. In fact, he just re-listed them with a picture to that effect! Looking more closely at the grain, it does appear very rosewood-like. Could it be Brazilian? I hadn't realized Dynaco made A-25s in anything other than walnut and faux-walnut.

Those A-25s are also unusual in that they appear to be early Scanspeak Dynacos, but aren't those tweeters SEAS? Did someone replace the tweeters over the years? Or did Dynaco sell "hybrid" Dynaco A-25s as 1969 became 1970? Or were my eyes just deceiving me?

I'd love to get my hands on those guys for a refinish (and listen), But I'll probably get lazy. Any guitar players (or others) out there better than I am at discriminating Brazilian from Indian rosewood from walnut, not to mention SEAS drivers from Scanspeak?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160775138334

[dynaco_dan]

The seller of the rosewood Dynaco A-25s on eBay told me it says Rosewood on the box. In fact, he just re-listed them with a picture to that effect! Looking more closely at the grain, it does appear very rosewood-like. Could it be Brazilian? I hadn't realized Dynaco made A-25s in anything other than walnut and faux-walnut.

Those A-25s are also unusual in that they appear to be early Scanspeak Dynacos, but aren't those tweeters SEAS? Did someone replace the tweeters over the years? Or did Dynaco sell "hybrid" Dynaco A-25s as 1969 became 1970? Or were my eyes just deceiving me?

I'd love to get my hands on those guys for a refinish (and listen), But I'll probably get lazy. Any guitar players (or others) out there better than I am at discriminating Brazilian from Indian rosewood from walnut, not to mention SEAS drivers from Scanspeak?

http://cgi.ebay.com/...em=160775138334

Hi there

The tweeters are both Seas with the wire screen cover.

We can see that the voice coil leads are on opposite sides of the voice coil rather than together as is usual for the Seas woofers.

I remember that there was other than oiled walnut finishes available.

Rosewood was one and I was thinking Teak as well without looking up my old reading materials.

It was about $10.00 U$ retail extra per speaker.

Dynaco A-25's WALNUT cabinets were selling at list for around $110.00 CDN here in Vancouver and when Dynaco stopped shipping them to the US and then up

here to Canada the price fell about $20.00 retaIL

Two pair could have been had by my big bros at one time for around $53.00 each CDN, mind you there was only two pair available for sale.

I remember the good old day's when discounters in the US were selling walnut veneer finished speakers for less that the pine finish, or even less.

AR-3A's were listing at $250.00 U$ and selling at Carston Studios for $185.00 U$, or $257.00 CDN delivered here in Vancouver.

Canadian dealers cost each was net $275.00 +/- CDN plus shipping.

If they ordered quantity 10 from the Canadian distributor they were around $250.00 CDN each shipping prepaid.

At GREGDUNN'S site, it is written, Dynaco sold over 1,000,000 A-25's.

Some containers were dropped shipped to dealers direct.

Hard to imagine well over a thousand A-25's being bought and stocked by a single dealer, perhaps Carston Studios, Boston Audio, etc .

My hand would have been shaking writing that cheque.

[Horswispr]

I'm fascinated by these speakers because Brazilian rosewood is so rare these days (I play guitar, and my fancy guitar is an INDIAN rosewood guitar. If it were Brazilian, it would have cost about $3,000 more). If that wood is rosewood, it appears to be Brazilian, as Indian rosewood tends to have straight grain. I know it's only veneer, and that the tweeters may have been replaced (I think the SEAS and Scanspeak tweeters are probably equally good), but a pair of Dynacos with Brazilian rosewood veneer would be a pretty cool thing. Given that they have boxes, I'll expect that pair to sell for over $300. If the rosewood generates excitement, maybe it will be a really fun auction to watch.

[dynaco_dan]

I'm fascinated by these speakers because Brazilian rosewood is so rare these days (I play guitar, and my fancy guitar is an INDIAN rosewood guitar. If it were Brazilian, it would have cost about $3,000 more). If that wood is rosewood, it appears to be Brazilian, as Indian rosewood tends to have straight grain. I know it's only veneer, and that the tweeters may have been replaced (I think the SEAS and Scanspeak tweeters are probably equally good), but a pair of Dynacos with Brazilian rosewood veneer would be a pretty cool thing. Given that they have boxes, I'll expect that pair to sell for over $300. If the rosewood generates excitement, maybe it will be a really fun auction to watch.

Hi there

It is not unusual to see some Seas tweeters with Scan woofers occassionly or Scan tweeters with Seas woofers.

I need to check out this information further.

There is no less than 3 different Seas 1 1/2" dome tweeters, also Scan and I've seen another version as well.

There is at least 3 or more different Seas woofers and also Scan.

I love to see old speakers as they used a nice quality walnut veneer most often.

Wonder where the Dynaco speaker boxes walnut veneer came from?

I know that there is or at least was superior quality walnut veneer in parts of Europe.

[thechatterboxman]

I have been watching those speakers. I thought A-25's came in other finishes, like Teak, but I don't know a bunch about A-25's other than that. I do know that A-25's with the ports above the tweeters are supposed to be early versions.

I've owned every piece of Dynaco tube gear except an ST-35, (I never wanted one,) and a pair of Mark VI's. (They use 8417's...a useless and expensive chase.) At one time, I was running 4 rebuilt/upgraded Mark III's at once. They heated up the room on cold nights!

I never messed with their speakers though. I wish I had. I missed out.

Randy

[Horswispr]

You can still get a pair of A-25s for under $150. They're on eBay and Craigslist all the time.

[dynaco_dan]

You can still get a pair of A-25s for under $150. They're on eBay and Craigslist all the time.

Hi there

I would caution anyone buying from unknown sources to think about the following.

From my own experience use caution.

Woofers, Dynaco 10" in particular are a consideration, of particular importance.

They are the weak link and all damage is cumulative and not self healing.

This is not just Dynaco A-25's either.

If the cabinet looks rough and/or the grille clothe smoke stained then in all likelyhood the speaker has been mistreated.

Calculate the replacement from the same source if the logos, woofwers and/or tweeters need replacing.

The woofers and the tweeters could conceivably cost $100.00 for the 4 units as an extreme.

The photos usually show appearance defects only, if at all.

Missing logos can add perhaps $25.00 more.

As always it is preferred that the grille cloths were never removed.

The removal of the grille cloth to clean the material usually always leads to shrinkage and the glue edges will be in the front view.

Ideally a local pickup is preferred to shipping.

Shipping and handling is around $60.00 over and above the purchase price and special packing is needed or shipping damage can result.

The switches and resistors have not been of any concern but the caps may need replacing.

Sellers on the net sometimes speak with forked tongues.

[Horswispr]

True, but percentage-wise, I've had pretty good luck. And I haven't found that much of a relationship between scratches and such and condition of the drivers. Like you, I prefer buying locally to buying on eBay, but most of the Dynacos I've bought on eBay have arrived with all drivers Intact. I've encountered more silent tweeters (always due to capacitor issues) than blown woofers, though I know (at least from reading) that Dynaco tweeters are more hearty than their woofers. Cleaning the screens on Dynacos is a bit of a pain, and re-attaching them involves some muscle-work and patience, as they do shrink a bit when you clean them. That said, I almost always clean the screens on the Dynacos I sell here in the Bay Area. I use a hot glue gun to re-attach them--the only way to go, as you have to do some serious stretching to get them on right. I often replace the capacitors, but not always. Some sellers DO speak with forked tongue, or they just don't know audio stuff. I've gotten mixed pairs (one Scanspeak, one SEAS), a silent tweeter (bad capacitor), blown woofers, etc., but I'd say about 90% have arrived intact and ready for cosmetic refinishing.

[dynaco_dan]

True, but percentage-wise, I've had pretty good luck. And I haven't found that much of a relationship between scratches and such and condition of the drivers. Like you, I prefer buying locally to buying on eBay, but most of the Dynacos I've bought on eBay have arrived with all drivers Intact. I've encountered more silent tweeters (always due to capacitor issues) than blown woofers, though I know (at least from reading) that Dynaco tweeters are more hearty than their woofers. Cleaning the screens on Dynacos is a bit of a pain, and re-attaching them involves some muscle-work and patience, as they do shrink a bit when you clean them. That said, I almost always clean the screens on the Dynacos I sell here in the Bay Area. I use a hot glue gun to re-attach them--the only way to go, as you have to do some serious stretching to get them on right. I often replace the capacitors, but not always. Some sellers DO speak with forked tongue, or they just don't know audio stuff. I've gotten mixed pairs (one Scanspeak, one SEAS), a silent tweeter (bad capacitor), blown woofers, etc., but I'd say about 90% have arrived intact and ready for cosmetic refinishing.

Hi there

When I was rescuing off ebuy a few years ago I always saved photos for each auction I was interested in.

One gentleman shipped a pair of speakers to the wrong address.

They were returned to him.

I offered to pay half the shipping charges again, he shipped them with no further costs to me, a real gentleman.

Another seller sent me Dynaco woofer and tweeter, neithewr one was in that auction .

He stareted lying by saying that he only ever had the one set.

Low and behold he later actually found that he did have another pair and sent them to me at no further costs to me.

The second pair was the pair in the auction.

The first pair had a dead tweeter and the second had a large woofer cone cut from him or someone else dropping the tweeter onto the cone creating a huge hole.

I bought over 200 items and no less than 10% were thieves and liers, perhaps 25% were as honest as the day is long.

Just wanting to raise awareness to be cautious.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[craig]

I think anything A25 just makes me want to buy it, careful looking at too many pairs of dynaco A 25's can make a person crazy

[dynaco_dan]

I think anything A25 just makes me want to buy it, careful looking at too many pairs of dynaco A 25's can make a person crazy

Hi there

With the posting of Dynamax we now have even more reason to buy up their speakers.

[thechatterboxman]

The Rosewood A-25's have been listed for the third time on ebuy. The seller now has them listed with an opening bid of $400. Line up, Rosewood lovers.

Randy

[Horswispr]

I think he has a Buy it Now at $400 with a Make an Offer option. If the cabs were minty and the screens clean, they might sell for over $300. Rosewood (and original boxes) should increase the value. I put the auction on my Watch list today.

[craig]

wow i didn't know they made rosewood A 25's

[Horswispr]

I think they're fairly rare. That's why I'm surprised this seller isn't getting some bids. A devoted collector could get someone to refinish the cabs and wash and re-attach the screens. Even original boxes only generally increase the selling price.

[craig]

looks like the scan version, i wonder if you could replace the drivers with seas ones ? just love the way the seas drivers look. how do the highs and lows compare between scan and seas ? i'v only heard the seas version

[Horswispr]

The Scanspeak and SEAS versions sound very similar to me. The Scanspeak version MIGHT sound a little more authoritative, but that could be all in my head. I do recall the Scanspeak woofers being a little heavier when I took them out to work on a crossover. The rosewood ones on eBay are the Scanspeak type cabinets, and the woofers appear to be Scanspeak, but the tweeters appear to be SEAS. I think I see four screw holes. Quite unusual!

[thechatterboxman]

Refinishing a pair of A-25's shouldn't be a big chore...nasty, but not hard. The average ebay person probably thinks that the price is too steep for a pair of A-25's that look rough, regardless of the wood finish. I guess the rosewood factor is lost on them.

Can grille cloth which is that stained be restored? I thought trying to clean the grille material would be a lost cause, especially the one grille cloth that is the dirtier of the two.

Randy

[Horswispr]

I've learned how to clean and re-attach the screens. Refinishing Dynaco A-25 cabinets is easy and enjoyable. I use it as meditation. Cleaning and reattaching the screens is a pain, though I enjoy it now that I know how to do it. But you never know: some screens clean up nicely when you soak them (I use a combination of Oxyclean and dish soap overnight). Others never clean up right. And hot gluing them back on is a PAIN IN THE NECK that requires experience and patience. And the lines in the screens will NEVER be quite as straight as they were originally. Here's my current Craigslist listing. I washed and re-attached the screens on these.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/ele/2958034269.html

[thechatterboxman]

Those A-25's look very nice.

I used to restore large Edison disk phonographs that had "piano" style finishes when they were new. Those old finishes were a PAIN to get off, and very nasty chemicals were required to do so. "Oiled-Walnut" finishes on pairs of rather small speakers cannot compare to those jobs.

Grille cloths require experience. Is shrinkage a problem with the original material? It doesn't seem to be so, from looking at my dynaco speakers.

Randy

[Horswispr]

There's a bit of shrinkage. Getting the screens back on requires a careful eye and some muscle work. I'd say my success rate is about 90%.

[craig]

Just something about the way A25's sound, I could never reject a pair from a resale shop