Allison IC-20'S (in original boxes for 20 years!)

[DavidR]

On 2/7/2022 at 12:52 PM, newandold said:

15 years only of careful usage

I never baby my ARs

[newandold]

3 hours ago, DavidR said:

I never baby my ARs

LOL…..I think you DO (sort of!)

Just finishing KONG SKULL Island 3D as I’m writing ✍️ this! ALA IC20 

[DavidR]

9 hours ago, newandold said:

.I think you DO (sort of!)

Only when listening to jazz.

[Paul the butcher]

On 9/10/2015 at 2:13 PM, newandold said:

On 9/10/2015 at 1:28 PM, tysontom said:

Bill,

"Another thing: the treble dispersion on the IC20 is so outstanding that the integrated acoustic-power output is better than almost any other speaker, and therefore the high-frequency output into the reverberant field would more than offset the slight attenuation that might be occurring at the frequency extremes! Yeah, perhaps that last half-octave in the 15-20 kHz region is down a bit on axis, but the power response is probably ruler-flat out to at least 15 kHz, so what's not to like about that! There are any number of exotic speakers with great "imaging" and ruler-flat on-axis frequency response in the direct field that would fall flat (no pun intended) trying to put energy into the reverberant field. Poor off-axis performance assures that a directional speaker that sounds "spacious" and "3-dimensional" in the direct field, toed-in pointing to the listener a few feet away, will almost always sound dull and lifeless once that listener moves back into the room's reverberant field. It is amazing how much poor dispersion affects the overall performance of a speaker! Some speaker companies think that they can use a directional (read: "large-diameter") midrange driver and a small-diameter dome tweeter and solve the dispersion problem, but this isn't true. Much of the power response energy is in the midrange and lower treble."

Beautifully stated, Tom, and covers most of why I've been a fan of the A1, which shares most of this in addition to the IC.

"I would love to learn the story on your IC20 acquisition. Where did you find them and so forth...."

--Tom

Oh yeah, I will tell it again here (added to my original post)

From my first introduction to the IC from RA himself in 87 or 88?

To my rental truck in 2012!

In a few days.....

Bill

 

 

[Paul the butcher]

The black and white image of Bob Ricci brings back memories. I worked at Allison for many years. Great product. Thought he should have gone to an 8ohm unit. 

[newandold]

5 minutes ago, Paul the butcher said:

The black and white image of Bob Ricci brings back memories. I worked at Allison for many years. Great product. Thought he should have gone to an 8ohm unit. 

Hi Paul,

Thank You for putting a name to the face (Paul R.)

 I found that picture in a foreign publication, probably 12 years ago and until now, NOBODY has remarked on it nor attached a name to the face! (Mystery solved). 
Curious about your thoughts on an “8ohm unit….” a challenge perhaps to arrive there with that unique driver compliment?

[Paul the butcher]

It was and I tried to get Roy to change it as most consumers at the time including myself had an 8 ohm receiver abd weren’t willing to upgrade and some people blew up their receiver running the Allison’s on it. He didn’t want to give up the sound quality. 

[newandold]

25 minutes ago, Paul the butcher said:

It was and I tried to get Roy to change it as most consumers at the time including myself had an 8 ohm receiver abd weren’t willing to upgrade and some people blew up their receiver running the Allison’s on it. He didn’t want to give up the sound quality. 

That’s interesting…. I would not have thought a reasonably high powered receiver would have a tough time driving a nominal 6ohm load.

By the time I got into the Allison prisms (The A1 first) I was running separate components and 200 wpc.

[newandold]

Almost a decade now since I first acquired these extraordinary loudspeakers.

A few weeks ago I took a grille off for a quick inspection and noticed a trace of what looked like a tiny spot of rust where the protective metal screen meets the bezel on a few of the midrange and tweeters. 
I heard a few stories over the years of this getting out of hand and causing some drivers to lose continuity in extreme cases.

So I got it now with a few dots of rust reforming paint and a brush no larger than a ballpoint pen….all is good.

If this is all the worry I’ve got on a pair of now 35 year old systems then I’m sitting pretty (me thinks!)

 

 

[davidrmoran]

you guys do know about the very active Allison speaker group online, yes? 

allison-speakers@groups.io 

all questions answered plus tips 'n' tricks 

 

[DavidR]

52 minutes ago, davidrmoran said:

you guys do know about the very active Allison speaker group online, yes? 

allison-speakers@groups.io 

all questions answered plus tips 'n' tricks 

 

My anti-virus software stopped me from going there.

[newandold]

Right now it appears that Facebook has the most active Allison group I’ve seen in a very long time.

No surprise there, since Facebook is wildly popular 

[samberger0357]

On 8/30/2022 at 11:53 AM, newandold said:

Right now it appears that Facebook has the most active Allison group I’ve seen in a very long time.

No surprise there, since Facebook is wildly popular 

 

Is that the Roy Allison group?

[newandold]

18 hours ago, samberger0357 said:

Is that the Roy Allison group?

I am not a Facebook member, but it must be

[samberger0357]

55 minutes ago, newandold said:

I am not a Facebook member, but it must be

I just joined it and you're right there is quite a bit of activity. Still a  lot of love for Allison speakers.

[newandold]

On 9/26/2022 at 4:34 PM, samberger0357 said:

I just joined it and you're right there is quite a bit of activity. Still a  lot of love for Allison speakers.

Any discussion there about the IC20 Loudspeaker?

[samberger0357]

None. But very little in general. I was the last one to post anything on 10/7.  So much like here. A little more on the Allison mail group.

[newandold]

1 hour ago, samberger0357 said:

None. But very little in general. I was the last one to post anything on 10/7.  So much like here. A little more on the Allison mail group.

Thank you for that update! no surprise really…… Whenever I look around at the forums or on the web there has been nothing interesting or new for the longest time now. The Allison acoustics that I embraced (and many others) has been off the radar now for a quarter century… Unfortunately. I am grateful however, that I became an Allison scavenger about 22 years ago. during that time I’ve scarfed up enough stuff to keep me in play probably till I’m old enough that I won’t care anymore.

[newandold]

On 10/12/2022 at 7:48 PM, newandold said:

Thank you for that update! no surprise really…… Whenever I look around at the forums or on the web there has been nothing interesting or new for the longest time now. The Allison acoustics that I embraced (and many others) has been off the radar now for a quarter century… Unfortunately. I am grateful however, that I became an Allison scavenger about 22 years ago. during that time I’ve scarfed up enough stuff to keep me in play probably till I’m old enough that I won’t care anymore.

 

[newandold]

On 10/12/2022 at 6:39 PM, samberger0357 said:

None. But very little in general. I was the last one to post anything on 10/7.  So much like here. A little more on the Allison mail group.

I still look occasionally, but nothing really.There is little left to do but enjoy what we have and certainly that is not a bad thing at all. All the years I spent accumulating spare parts was a great insurance policy to continue on. (And that’s not a bad thing at all!)

[samberger0357]

On 10/12/2022 at 4:48 PM, newandold said:

Thank you for that update! no surprise really…… Whenever I look around at the forums or on the web there has been nothing interesting or new for the longest time now. The Allison acoustics that I embraced (and many others) has been off the radar now for a quarter century… Unfortunately. I am grateful however, that I became an Allison scavenger about 22 years ago. during that time I’ve scarfed up enough stuff to keep me in play probably till I’m old enough that I won’t care anymore.

Not many are having the benefit of dipping their toes in the classic Allison speaker pool since those of us who own them are  keeping them. I love my A1's, and will never sell until I absolutely have to. I'd love to own a pair of 2 and 3's also, not to mention the Model Five's which have come up in a couple of discussions lately that indicate they too are a great speaker. But in the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy my A1's and be grateful that I've had the opportunity to marvel in their sound.

[newandold]

1 hour ago, samberger0357 said:

Not many are having the benefit of dipping their toes in the classic Allison speaker pool since those of us who own them are  keeping them. I love my A1's, and will never sell until I absolutely have to. I'd love to own a pair of 2 and 3's also, not to mention the Model Five's which have come up in a couple of discussions lately that indicate they too are a great speaker. But in the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy my A1's and be grateful that I've had the opportunity to marvel in their sound.

I believe it was two very fine pair of ALLISON threes that have gone through eBay during the past year or so. They are a good one to pursue for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that there are only three drivers per cabinet, which makes them a good choice since the age of these things makes it quite difficult to keep them going with the scarcity of drivers.

[samberger0357]

1 minute ago, newandold said:

I believe it was two very fine pair of ALLISON threes that have gone through eBay during the past year or so. They are a good one to pursue for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that there are only three drivers per cabinet, which makes them a good choice since the age of these things makes it quite difficult to keep them going with the scarcity of drivers.

I haven't seen Three's, just Two's. Of course, I'd much prefer to find a pair locally then to deal with somebody shipping them. And finding a pair of sale in CA is near impossible. That said, I try to keep my eyes and ears open and with many, many other speakers in my possession, I can afford to be very patient.

[newandold]

4 minutes ago, samberger0357 said:

I haven't seen Three's, just Two's. Of course, I'd much prefer to find a pair locally then to deal with somebody shipping them. And finding a pair of sale in CA is near impossible. That said, I try to keep my eyes and ears open and with many, many other speakers in my possession, I can afford to be very patient.

Oh, I didn’t realize you were on the West Coast that makes local pick up a tough one. I’m a New Yorker and even here the pickings are very scarce these days that being said, if I weren’t here, the pair I have now would certainly not be in my possession.

[newandold]

On 9/8/2015 at 1:18 PM, Carlspeak said:

Howard F. used to post here regularly some time ago but left after a row with a now deceased troll. Perhaps someone who knows him well could coax him back?

He has a wealth of knowledge about Allison for sure.

Last I heard his pair of modified 20s were dismantled and parted out