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

[Johng99]

Bill, that would be helpful. I haven’t made up my mind yet, and am seriously considering these. I’ll let you know.

John

 

2 hours ago, newandold said:

Hi John,

if you were to decide that you’re interested in pursuing this, I’d be more than happy to arm you with all the information you would need to make an informed purchase. I have been through those IC 20s inside out from top to bottom. If you have any questions they’ll all be answered before we get done.

.

Best regards, Bill 

 

 

Quote

[newandold]

On 2/25/2024 at 7:14 PM, Johng99 said:

I don’t live too far from Scottsdale and am an Allison fan. I currently have Model Ones, Twos and 2 pair Model Fours. I never gave the IC-20 much thought as I didn’t think there were many near me. I’ve spoken with the seller and he says he has owned for a few years and we’re in current condition when he purchased. He is oblivious to the image controls, so I’m guessing they don’t work. I’m interested but we’ll see.

…..No longer available according to the site….

would be interesting to know what happened, but on eBay no available information… So it goes 

[Johng99]

18 hours ago, newandold said:

…..No longer available according to the site….

would be interesting to know what happened, but on eBay no available information… So it goes 

Yes, I talked to the seller and they are gone. I’m a little disappointed but also relieved as I didn’t really know if I had space for them. As it is, I’m very happy with my Model Ones. I sorted through a bunch of tweeters and midranges (about 8 of each) and used those with the highest output. Frequency response wasn’t too different between each driver but there was a big difference in output with some much lower than others. End result is good and they measure pretty flat.

 

[newandold]

27 minutes ago, Johng99 said:

Yes, I talked to the seller and they are gone. I’m a little disappointed but also relieved as I didn’t really know if I had space for them. As it is, I’m very happy with my Model Ones. I sorted through a bunch of tweeters and midranges (about 8 of each) and used those with the highest output. Frequency response wasn’t too different between each driver but there was a big difference in output with some much lower than others. End result is good and they measure pretty flat.

 

This is good news…… And I wanted to wait until it was over before I said anything!

Unless there was a height issue in your listening space, you would’ve had plenty of room…… you only need a couple of inches in width and depth to accommodate the IC 20s,  that would just take over your original footprint. If you were adding them to your collection, that would be another story, of course.

Well, you certainly have me outnumbered with a quantity of spare drivers according to what you wrote. Anyone who was interested in the IC 20s REALLY needs to have a stash like that to be committed for the long-haul.

 

Interesting what you said about the output….i’ve never done that extensive testing of the drivers; only whether they work or not and whether the mid range drivers have any of the infamous voice coil rubbing that can happen with those.

Before Bill Legall stop servicing Allison out in Lansdale PA, he rebuilt a few of my IC 20 drivers…..the midranges that exhibited some of the voice coil rubbing and realigned the voice coils, using a signal generator. 
 

Curious if you tested the driver output out of the cabinet? There are several factors that could impact the individual DB output of the drivers if they were to be tested inside the cabinets.

 

The Allison:One is a magnificent loudspeaker. The only reason I had for going to the IC 20 was that the opportunity presented itself but if it had not, I would’ve been sitting pretty just the same.

 

I ran the A1’s in a surround-sound configuration for 12 years before I swapped them out for the IC 20s and it was magnificent

 

 

[Johng99]

18 minutes ago, newandold said:

This is good news…… And I wanted to wait until it was over before I said anything!

Unless there was a height issue in your listening space, you would’ve had plenty of room…… you only need a couple of inches in width and depth to accommodate the IC 20s,  that would just take over your original footprint. If you were adding them to your collection, that would be another story, of course.

Well, you certainly have me outnumbered with a quantity of spare drivers according to what you wrote. Anyone who was interested in the IC 20s REALLY needs to have a stash like that to be committed for the long-haul.

 

Interesting what you said about the output….i’ve never done that extensive testing of the drivers; only whether they work or not and whether the mid range drivers have any of the infamous voice coil rubbing that can happen with those.

Before Bill Legall stop servicing Allison out in Lansdale PA, he rebuilt a few of my IC 20 drivers…..the midranges that exhibited some of the voice coil rubbing and realigned the voice coils, using a signal generator. 
 

Curious if you tested the driver output out of the cabinet? There are several factors that could impact the individual DB output of the drivers if they were to be tested inside the cabinets.

 

The Allison one is a magnificent loudspeaker.The only reason I had for going to the IC 20 was that the opportunity presented itself but if it had not, I would’ve been sitting pretty just the same.

 

I ran the A1 in a surroundsound configuration for 12 years before I swap them out for the IC 20s and it was magnificent

 

 

I was lucky and found mids and tweeters from different sources parting out Allison Ones, Twos and Fours. I bought all of them and price was reasonable.

I first noticed the variation in output when repairing an AL-120. An external wire had corroded away (common issue) and upon repairing and testing I found output was markedly different. I measured out of the cabinets, using a signal generator, a scope and an SPL meter. I decide to test the model One drivers when I measured a significant output difference while measuring frequency response.. I found one tweeter and one midrange that were weak. That is when I tested the spares and picked the best. Now both speakers measure pretty flat out to 16k or so ( I don’t remember exactly as it’s been a few years and I didn’t keep notes).

I currently use my Ones and Fours in a 5.1 surround system and still think Allison’s are the most natural sounding speakers that I’ve ever heard. I’m still looking for a good, small center channel to go with them. Right now using KEF LS50 and I’m not satisfied, lol.

[newandold]

16 minutes ago, Johng99 said:

I was lucky and found mids and tweeters from different sources parting out Allison Ones, Twos and Fours. I bought all of them and price was reasonable.

I first noticed the variation in output when repairing an AL-120. An external wire had corroded away (common issue) and upon repairing and testing I found output was markedly different. I measured out of the cabinets, using a signal generator, a scope and an SPL meter. I decide to test the model One drivers when I measured a significant output difference while measuring frequency response.. I found one tweeter and one midrange that were weak. That is when I tested the spares and picked the best. Now both speakers measure pretty flat out to 16k or so ( I don’t remember exactly as it’s been a few years and I didn’t keep notes).

I currently use my Ones and Fours in a 5.1 surround system and still think Allison’s are the most natural sounding speakers that I’ve ever heard. I’m still looking for a good, small center channel to go with them. Right now using KEF LS50 and I’m not satisfied, lol.

The center channel I always wanted to try (and never got around to It) was on a singular, original version of the “Allison Eight”….(not the “CD Eight”.)

That’s the one (if you’re familiar with) the top firing woofer and mid range and tweeter, one of each facing outward in the center of the cabinet. 

[Johng99]

19 hours ago, newandold said:

…..No longer available according to the site….

would be interesting to know what happened, but on eBay no available information… So it goes 

 

6 minutes ago, newandold said:

The center channel I always wanted to try (and never got around to It) was to get a hold of a cingular, original version of the Allison eight….(not the CD eight.)

That’s the one (if you’re familiar with) the top firing woofer and mid range and tweeter, one of each facing outward in the center of the cabinet. 

I think that would be Ideal. Unfortunately I don’t have the space for it under the TV. 

[newandold]

4 minutes ago, Johng99 said:

 

I think that would be Ideal. Unfortunately I don’t have the space for it under the TV. 

 

4 minutes ago, Johng99 said:

 

I think that would be Ideal. Unfortunately I don’t have the space for it under the TV. 

Yes, and not only that my concerns were with the top firing woofer being too far out from the wall…… A compromise to get everything else lined up.

[newandold]

On 2/28/2024 at 11:41 AM, newandold said:

 

Yes, and not only that my concerns were with the top firing woofer being too far out from the wall…… A compromise to get everything else lined up.

I need to be honest and correct myself regarding the Allison top firing woofers……

I’ve mentioned it more than once over the years, but the only Allison designs I’ve never been a fan of, are any of the top firing woofer designs, which include the Allison 4, the 6 and any of those designs which put themselves at the receiving end of dirt. I get WHY they are designed the way they are, but for my money they need to belong to somebody else.