Are These Finds Good Deals?

[Kvn_Walker]

To further my point... in Mark's own words...

The Jordan Watts Modular Loudspeaker

I have over time been updating my Jordan Watts page on my website. You will find the sales brochure, pictures, the Thiel/Small parameters and an interview I did with Leslie Watts. In my view this driver is easily the best wide band driver that has so far appeared, and we are going...

forums.audioholics.com

 

[zieglj01]

@zieglj01, what's the story with these Jordan Watts Jupiter speakers?

Seller's asking $400.

TLS Guy is the expert on Jordan Watts drivers ... they do look interesting ... I would say one also needs to listen with their ears and decide ... they should be heavy

Early Jordan-Watts Speakers

I have my father's Jordan-Watts speakers. Her brought them in the late 1960s, or very early 1970's and they cost a fortune then apparently. They are in wooden, possibly teak, cabinets about 3ft tall. Inside is lined with what looks like loft insulation. there are two white square speakers, with...

www.diyaudio.com

If you have google translate

Jordan Watts JUPITER TLSの仕様 ジョーダン・ワッツ

audio-heritage.jp

 

[zieglj01]

Pair of HK 20s for $120.

The HK Twenty are pretty good speakers and worth a listen ... I have owned the HK Ten ... they can be a little bright sounding but not harsh sounding ... they can still beat a lot of speakers today ... note: they were made for Harman Kardon by Audio Products International (API) in Canada, who owned Mirage, Energy, and Athena speakers ... and also note that someone else put the felt ring on the tweeter, HK did not do that.

 

[Kvn_Walker]

Bose 10.2 Series 2:

Bose 10.2 series II speakers - electronics - by owner - sale

Bose 10.2 series II stereo speakers Excellent condition Cash only If ad is up they are available

washingtondc.craigslist.org

Seems to be regarded as Bose's best ever speaker and built with flat response as well as ultrawide dispersion in mind. If I still had my Allison's I might have gone for these, to compare the two.

 

[Eppie]

Have a friend closing out a used items business and he had two KEF 103.2 speakers! Some cosmetic damage on the corners (top right, bottom left) but the drivers look ok. These seem to get very good reviews still, so I can't wait to get them home and give them a spin. No idea what they are worth, especially since the cabinets look a little beat up, but I'm not too bad at wood repairs and refinishing. Fortunately the grills are not torn.
Still listed on the US KEF web site here.

 

[Pogre]

Have a friend closing out a used items business and he had two KEF 103.2 speakers! Some cosmetic damage on the corners (top right, bottom left) but the drivers look ok. These seem to get very good reviews still, so I can't wait to get them home and give them a spin. No idea what they are worth, especially since the cabinets look a little beat up, but I'm not too bad at wood repairs and refinishing. Fortunately the grills are not torn.
Still listed on the US KEF web site here.
View attachment 45966View attachment 45967

Some old vintage KEFs! They look similar to the ones I found a few posts back. An updated (to the 80s, lol) version.

 

[zieglj01]

Have a friend closing out a used items business and he had two KEF 103.2 speakers! Some cosmetic damage on the corners (top right, bottom left) but the drivers look ok. These seem to get very good reviews still, so I can't wait to get them home and give them a spin. No idea what they are worth, especially since the cabinets look a little beat up

There are 5 pairs for sale on Ebay from between $400 to $525 ... even the $400 seems optimistic to me

 

[Eppie]

There are 5 pairs for sale on Ebay from between $400 to $525 ... even the $400 seems optimistic to me

On closer inspection, one speaker must have been sitting upside down on wet carpet, because there is water damage on top. Idiot! The bases extend 1/2" below the veneer edge and would have prevented any damage if sitting right side up. I listened to them for a good 3 or 4 hours. Quite nice sounding actually. Rich bottom end but lacking a little detail in the highs, but that's typical for soft dome tweeters of that era. Would be nice for a beginner hi-fi setup or spare system.

Question is, what are they worth with water damage? Drivers are fine but cabinets need a lot of work. 2 chipped corners on one, and the water damage swelled the top panel so that the veneer is 1/16" higher than the edge panels. To restore these I would have to plane the veneer top flat and glue new walnut veneer down, rebuild the chipped corners and patch with veneer, and then refinish all surfaces. It's within my abilities, but with speakers condition is everything. I don't want to insult him with a low ball offer, but in this condition I don't think they are worth more than $50? Any comments appreciated.

 

[Pogre]

On closer inspection, one speaker must have been sitting upside down on wet carpet, because there is water damage on top. Idiot! The bases extend 1/2" below the veneer edge and would have prevented any damage if sitting right side up. I listened to them for a good 3 or 4 hours. Quite nice sounding actually. Rich bottom end but lacking a little detail in the highs, but that's typical for soft dome tweeters of that era. Would be nice for a beginner hi-fi setup or spare system.

Question is, what are they worth with water damage? Drivers are fine but cabinets need a lot of work. 2 chipped corners on one, and the water damage swelled the top panel so that the veneer is 1/16" higher than the edge panels. To restore these I would have to plane the veneer top flat and glue new walnut veneer down, rebuild the chipped corners and patch with veneer, and then refinish all surfaces. It's within my abilities, but with speakers condition is everything. I don't want to insult him with a low ball offer, but in this condition I don't think they are worth more than $50? Any comments appreciated.

If the top panel got wet all the way through and swelled I'd wonder if it would have an effect of making it less dense and cause issues with resonances or something along those lines. Got a pic of the damage? If they're too far gone they might be ready for recycling...

 

[zieglj01]

On closer inspection, one speaker must have been sitting upside down on wet carpet, because there is water damage on top. Idiot! The bases extend 1/2" below the veneer edge and would have prevented any damage if sitting right side up.

Question is, what are they worth with water damage? Drivers are fine but cabinets need a lot of work. 2 chipped corners on one, and the water damage swelled the top panel so that the veneer is 1/16" higher than the edge panels. To restore these I would have to plane the veneer top flat and glue new walnut veneer down, rebuild the chipped corners and patch with veneer, and then refinish all surfaces. It's within my abilities, but with speakers condition is everything. I don't want to insult him with a low ball offer, but in this condition I don't think they are worth more than $50? Any comments appreciated.

$60-$75 if you want to be nice

 

[Eppie]

If the top panel got wet all the way through and swelled I'd wonder if it would have an effect of making it less dense and cause issues with resonances or something along those lines. Got a pic of the damage? If they're too far gone they might be ready for recycling...

Water mark extends down about 1/4". Wood expanded under 1/16". I drove them pretty hard a few times including some Audioslave which was bass heavy. Seemed to hold up ok.

 

[Eppie]

And the next thrift store find. A pair of Wharfedale PPX-1 picture frame speakers, without the matching PPS-1 subwoofer. Listened to them for the afternoon and these are not main speaker replacements, despite what other forums say. They don't go very deep and have poor sensitivity. Kept my subwoofer turned on, but could have turned up the crossover point higher for these. Had to crank the power up a lot to get the volume near what I like for music and ended up having to turn my sub down a lot to match. I didn't hang them on the wall, so that likely had a negative impact as these probably need to couple with the wall to sound better. Sound quality was average.

I may have a use for them though. Since the couch is against the back wall, my surrounds are mounted in the ceiling, and I have an unused channel for front height. The Wharfedale's are only 1.5" thick, so I can hang them on the wall behind the couch for surrounds and then move my ceiling speakers to the front, changing from a 5.1 setup to 7.1 with front height speakers. Current setup pictured here. I'll have to move one of my anime cels to make room, but these speakers have a unique feature. Apparently you can print a photo on light weight paper and use a low tack spray mount adhesive to glue it on the front, and the sound is not supposed to change. They sound good enough for surround effects and handle 70W. Most of the wiring is in place too. No rush but might make a fun project this spring.

 

[Pogre]

Water mark extends down about 1/4". Wood expanded under 1/16". I drove them pretty hard a few times including some Audioslave which was bass heavy. Seemed to hold up ok.
View attachment 46060

Oh, okay. That's not nearly as bad as I had pictured. Looks pretty much just cosmetic.

 

[Pogre]

I'm gonna be keeping an eye out for another one of these RBH 1212s. I'd love to have them both up front and move the HSUs to the rear.

 

[Pogre]

VERY optimistic @lovinthehd! Ha ha!

Hey, I found 1 of them!

 

[lovinthehd]

VERY optimistic @lovinthehd! Ha ha!

Hey, I found 1 of them!

You could get lucky! Might take a while, tho.

 

[Pogre]

You could get lucky! Might take a while, tho.

I'll tell ya, it made me a believer in passive subwoofers. It's really nice knowing I don't have to necessarily worry if an amp goes and it'll basically last forever if taken care of. I do think they're overpriced at retail tho. At least factoring performance. Not that it's an poor performer, but over $3k is pushing it. It's very beautiful tho and I'm sure a lot of the cost goes toward that aesthetic with the cabinet shape and finish

 

[lovinthehd]

I'll tell ya, it made me a believer in passive subwoofers. It's really nice knowing I don't have to necessarily worry if an amp goes and it'll basically last forever if taken care of. I do think they're overpriced at retail tho. At least factoring performance. Not that it's an poor performer, but over $3k is pushing it. It's very beautiful tho and I'm sure a lot of the cost goes toward that aesthetic with the cabinet shape and finish

More a difference in amp location and dsp/adjustments in an amp than an actual difference in the sub itself....they were more attractive at 2300 but still kinda pricey but they do have nice boxes....

 

[Kvn_Walker]

I'll tell ya, it made me a believer in passive subwoofers. It's really nice knowing I don't have to necessarily worry if an amp goes and it'll basically last forever if taken care of. I do think they're overpriced at retail tho. At least factoring performance. Not that it's an poor performer, but over $3k is pushing it. It's very beautiful tho and I'm sure a lot of the cost goes toward that aesthetic with the cabinet shape and finish

The cabinet is the largest materials expense of modern speakers.

 

[afterlife2]

Some stuff I saw. Didn't stay long maybe 25min. Didn't get anything there. Cool stuff for beginners.