Crazy loudspeaker days! A bevy of two-way monkey coffins available; good sound at low prices

mhardy6647

I am coming to grips with the local loudspeaker surplus; I've been refoaming, rehabbing & listening and the time's come to find new homes for some of these.

Here's a listing of the models available and the asking prices in USD (other offers certainly considered). All are offered "as is", cash or carry from Northern New Hampshire's Connecticut River "Upper Valley" (West Lebanon/Hanover vicinity), or I could meet a buyer at a mutually convenient locale such as the NH rest areas on I-93 near Manchester. Alternatively, I'm planning to attend the usual New England swapmeets (NEARC/Westford and NEAR-Fest) in the next few months, and would be happy to bring these along to deliver to their next owner, too!

* Pair of KLH Model Twenty Four Series II $25
* Pair of Advent Baby II (Jensen era) $30
* Pair of Advent Legacy II (Jensen era) $40
* Pair of Boston Acoustics A70 $60
* Pair of EPI 110C $60

More info and photos will appear below.

Thanks for your interest and attention!

mhardy6647

Batting lead-off, we have an all original, as acquired pair of small KLH Model Twenty Four Series II, two-way sealed box loudspeakers. These were originally made for or bundled with a KLH FM stereo/phono "all in one" (the Model 24, methinks) and, as such, feature RCA input jacks.

006 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

These are perfectly respectable sounding little acoustic suspension loudspeakers -- I was listening to Frank Zappa's "Apostrophe(')" as I typed this and they're toe-tappingly good.

Not perfect in any way but veneer is good; one grille is stained and both grilles are discolored by age -- but overall the speakers are not at all unpresentable.

I could ship these (they're small/light enough) but I doubt they're really worth the trouble or expense unless someone's really Jonsein' for a pair of these.

Stands not included. I can throw in a pair of RCA plug to stripped/tinned wire speaker cables if requested.

I also have a KLH Model Twenty all-in-one that I don't think I've ever even turned on. I'll throw it in with the loudspeakers if anyone's interested. I can also provide photos of the latter; just ask (in this thread or via PM).

$25 USD cash & carry

mhardy6647

Next, a pair of very cute little (Jensen era) Advent "Baby II" two-way acoustic suspension loudspeakers. I've refoamed these and replaced the truly cheezy 3 uF NP electrolytics originally present in the XO with 3.0 uF PartsExpress "DaytonAudio" (Bennic OEM, methinks) metallized polyproplyene capacitors. These are in fine working order, sound quite respectably good, and also are in good cosmetic condition (including grilles, though one has a two small pulls, which I have not remediated).

004 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

These also are small and light enough that I could ship them -- but I'm not sure that it would be cost-effective for most folks.

123 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

How do they sound? They're quite warm sounding and a tad bit rolled off (in other words, they honor their "real" Advent heritage!), but they are also surprisingly transparent, with very good midrange. I am actually impressed by the quality of vocals they reproduce. They also do have rather amazing LF extension for such tiny boxes, of course at the expense of sensitivity. As a sort of acid test, I listened to the 1990s remastered/expanded CD of the Black Crowes' "Shake Your Money Maker". In its own way, this is a good sounding, gritty R&R recording -- but it is (to be charitable) aggressively mastered, to the point of being nearly unlistenable on some loudspeakers. It was quite enjoyable on the Baby IIs. The reproduction was certainly not effortless but it was convincing enough to be smile-inducing (not to mention toe-tappin').

Overall, they're quite pleasant little loudspeakers. Indeed, I'd opine that these (while admittedly markedly larger -- but still pretty small) will not only eat the lunch of a pair of R/S Minimus 7s... they'd also chase the Minimi around the kitchen and then force the poor little Radio Shacks to make another sammage for them ;-)

126 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

Stands not included.

$30 USD cash and carry

mhardy6647

Next up the ladder, a pair of Jensen-era Advent Legacy II two-ways. Cosmetically very similar to the Baby II, but much bigger boxes with 10" woofers (and also much nicer dome tweeters). I have recently refoamed these. They're in fine working order, sound remarkably good, and are in good overall cosmetic condition (including grilles, though not shown).

While Jensen/Advent meant for these to be floorstanders, they do better up off the floor a bit. Stands, however, aren't included.

002 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

122 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
113 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

117 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
109 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

$40 cash and carry

001 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

mhardy6647

Now we get to more serious hardware :- )

085 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

I just refoamed a very decent pair of Boston Acoustics A70 loudspeakers using Rick Cobb's excellent surrounds. These are the later version of these two-way sealed box loudspeakers, with tweeters labeled "Boston Acoustics" (rather than the earlier, SEAS dome tweeters with round escutcheons). This pair of A70s is in good cosmetic condition overall and they sound very good. Very good.

Note that the dust caps on woofers are pushed in -- I figured I'd do more harm than good trying to "out" them.

072 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
076 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

081 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
088 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

Grilles are in very good condition.

N.B. the two foam trim rings are not currently installed on the woofers, but will be included with the loudspeakers or reinstalled upon request.

I was listening to CSN&Y's "So Far" on these as I took some of the photos, and the depth and imaging these achieve is absolutely dandy.
Just sayin'.

Stands not included.

$60 cash and carry

mhardy6647

And finally -- a pair of EPI (Epicure Products Inc.) Model 110C two-ways. These are essentially a "Burhoe module" (Epicure's unique 8" woofer run "free range" crossed over using only a 1.0 uF capacitor to EPI's renowned "airspring" concave dome tweeter) in a slightly larger box than the more common Model 100. These have been refoamed by me, but are otherwise neither restored nor molested. Grilles are nice; vinyl "veneer" is fair (some scratches on tops) -- sound is predictably excellent. If you've never heard a pair of any of the EPI loudspeakers, you should. If you've never owned a pair, here's your chance!

007 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

Stands not included.

011 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

$60 cash and carry

[Deleted User]

Would love to try out the EPIs.
These are gifts for some lucky peeps.
GLWTS

BlueMDPicker

Very cool gear, Mark! Wish I were close enough to get a chance to hear them. That white stuff out the window and I don't get along.

GLWTS!

mhardy6647

We have a love-hate relationship (that white stuff & I)... there's an icky, crusty three fresh inches of it out there this morning -- yay.

Listening to the EPIs a I type this, though :- )

pumpkinman

Would love to have the Boston A70's but it's about a five hour drive.

mhardy6647

You're only FIVE HOURS from here?
How close are you willing to get? ;- )
(not tryin' to be all weird or nothin' but it does get a little -- quiet -- up here in the wintertime, y'know?)

mhardy6647

Seriously -- know anyone in the Boston metro area, e.g., who could help fence them?
Alternatively, the Westford show's tons of fun if you like middle-aged to elderly, bespectacled, balding, (largely) pale white men peddling musty old electronics ;- )

They're not worth a five-hour drive in and of themselves, I'd say, but bundled with something else (skiiing, white-water-ing in the summer, leafpeeping in the fall) it might be a better deal. They've been taking up space here for years, they COULD stay a wee bit longer if need be.

EDIT: and they do sound very good...

leftwinger57

Now you know I just got a set of Advent Prodigys and your to far even if really wanted a set. When are the the 3-ways and exotics going on sale ? Can't wait to see what you have. Looking at your Scotts, Marantz, Fisher and over flow of Yammies.
Prices, out of my league but fun to look at. For the right package P-Man has been known to put on some mileage.

classic carl

I'd love to grab those EPI 110C, but too far away. You may want to try and use some electrical tape to pull those dust caps out. I've done it several times without damaging them. A vacuum cleaner hose will also work sometimes.

mhardy6647

Thanks for the suggestions.
I made one feeble attempt to pull out with tape, but decided discretion was the better part of valor. Stronger/stickier tape (such as the electrical tape you suggest) might do the trick.

The dust caps on the BA drivers are fairly large in diameter, so I had sort of discounted the vacuum cleaner approach, truth be told.

aprazer402

Mark, not trying to mess with your thread. I know very little of the Boston Acoustics line, but I did hear some of them at a dealer when they were new (late 70's?) The ones in the photo are being offered local to me. Says they have new surrounds on woofers. Seems like a reasonable price. Have you ever heard this model? Thanks.

mhardy6647

Interesting thread derailment ;- )
Actually, I don't mind at all...
I haven't heard that model; I imagine they're pretty darned good. The three-way Bostons get pretty good press.
Worth (edit) $125? I dunno -- maybe. Looks like they're refoamed; if in very good shape... probably.

mhardy6647

Note: there is a potential sale of the lot pending; further details as events warrant.
Thanks to folks who've expressed interest and/or encouragement!

classic carl

aprazer402 wrote: »

Mark, not trying to mess with your thread. I know very little of the Boston Acoustics line, but I did hear some of them at a dealer when they were new (late 70's?) The ones in the photo are being offered local to me. Says they have new surrounds on woofers. Seems like a reasonable price. Have you ever heard this model? Thanks.

I have a pair of the A200 3-ways and they sound wonderful in my living room system. I have 16 ft. cathedral ceilings and they fill the room nicely. I bought mine off CL for $100 but would have paid more.

classic carl

classic carl wrote: »

aprazer402 wrote: »

Mark, not trying to mess with your thread. I know very little of the Boston Acoustics line, but I did hear some of them at a dealer when they were new (late 70's?) The ones in the photo are being offered local to me. Says they have new surrounds on woofers. Seems like a reasonable price. Have you ever heard this model? Thanks.

I have a pair of the A200 3-ways and they sound wonderful in my living room system. I have 16 ft. cathedral ceilings and they fill the room nicely. I bought mine off CL for $100 but would have paid more.

Doh! I actually have the A150s. I've been away from home for a month and the ones in the photo above didn't look familiar. I believe mine may be older as the woofer is lower in the cabinet and mine have the light beige grills. They sound great though.

mhardy6647

I should probably mention that these loudspeakers are currently "under agreement" as the real estate agents like to put it up here in New England.

mhardy6647

All five pairs are sold. Thanks to all for your interest & encouragement!