It was a fortuitous summer season visiting and listening to friends' Hi-Fi setups. I've known about Dave since the 1980s, having built his Dyna PAS preamp modification published in The Audio Amateur. Even if we've corresponded via internet for many years and I've referred to his projects in this blog, I never had the pleasure of meeting him until this past summer.
It was a wonderful afternoon of talking shop and enjoying music with Dave and his son, Michael, also an avid audio DIY enthusiast, who is well versed with horns and drivers by Yoshimura Acoustic Labs as well as in restoring vintage Jensens, amongst others. I went home with a wealth of new audio knowledge + a pair of Fulton FMI 80s.😉
Earlier this summer, Tish and I drove to New England to visit friends and relatives. One of the highlights of our trip was a sumptuous dinner hosted by Jake and his wife, Edie. Other guests included Angela, Andrea, and Charles - all music lovers. After dinner, we retreated to Jake’s music room to enjoy music and sample fine bourbon whiskey courtesy of Angela. The room was filled with over a thousand LPs. It was also the first time I ever heard Jensen G610B speakers and was quite impressed!👍
After I took pictures, I asked Jake if he was willing to provide a virtual tour for this blog on how his personally curated Hi-Fi setup evolved. Thankfully, he obliged!🙏
L > R: Peerless MT225, Altec 3000H and Realistic 40-1375
Although I prefer listening to my Altec 755Asneat like a double shot of fine aged single malt, for certain well-recorded music, I hanker for richer harmonic overtones from the better spec'd Altec 755Cs.
Last time, the Altec 753Cs were driven by my Resto-mod Magnavox 8601 amp. In the spirit of my Vintage Japanese Driverspage from my old website, the same amp will now be used in the context of audio components and speakers I found in flea markets, thrift stores and yard sales + some DIY added to the mix.
One evening, I spotted the above pair of speakers on FB marketplace. The description was plain and simple, "a pair of speakers in wooden cabinets for $30." Since the seller was less than an hour's drive away, I immediately sent a message expressing interest. I received a quick reply and set an appointment to pick up the following morning.
To commemorate this special day, here's a recording of Salut d'Amour by Sir Edward Elgar performed by yours truly on the violin, assisted on the piano by my friend and colleague Albert Tiu from our CD Sentimyento for Bookmark Audio recorded in 2000.
The Graybar Building is a landmarked art deco structure on 420 Lexington Ave., NYC. It was once the corporate headquarters of Graybar Electric Company They distributed the Western Electric 755A, 756A, 728B wide range drivers, 753C, 757A studio monitor speakers + more, which inspired projects featured in this blog.
Since I use external crossovers for my Altec 753C, disconnecting (and reconnecting for comparison purposes) the Altec 32C/802 horn/compression driver is a breeze. The 753C-style cabinets essentially serve as bass bins in which the 414A woofers operating in wide range mode (unfiltered) + the 20275 diaphragmed 802 compression drivers mounted on the Lycan3R WP12024 horns are perched on top!
Whether it's an open baffle as conceived by G.A. Briggs or an enclosed box like the Western Electric utility boxes above, I've always been an advocate for a wide baffle design. The wide frontal area serves as an acoustic reflector that helps propagate sound toward the listener instead of escaping to the sides and back. Somehow the wide baffle, whether open or closed, always makes reproduced music sound more alive to my ears!
I finally got a chance to mount and listen to my 755Cs and PIM8Ls + other 8" wide band drivers. Hopefully, this article will encourage readers to DIY this mini-monitor sized box because it really offers a lot of musical pleasure per cubic inch!
It was past lunch, so I took one last sweep at the Kutztown Spring 2021 radio meet before heading home. That's when I noticed this cabinet with a familiar looking metal-grilled driver partially hidden behind a huge pile of equipment. Without haggling, I handed a couple of ATM bills to the seller and we shook hands.
As soon as I got home I went through my Japanese audio magazine shelf and pulled this Stereo Sound Special Issue about Vintage Speaker Units, published in 2002.
Not exactly the General Electric A1-401 featured in the magazine but the slightly earlier A1-400. Pretty good memory for someone pushing 60, huh? 😉
GE A1-400 specs
As stated in the spec sheet, the perforated metal grill functions as a mechanical roll off filter for the 12" driver and the non-polarized wax and paper capacitor filters frequencies below 1800 Hz from reaching the 2 3/4" cone tweeter.
I also recognized this period correct DIY tuned pipe enclosure designed for corner placement. It was built based on an article published in the May 1955 issue of Audio (go to page 18), authored by Raymond H. Bates.
Vocals are nicely rendered! The transition between the low and high frequency drivers is very coherent, as to be expected between two paper coned transducers. If I were forced to split hairs, I hear a tinge of nasal coloration in the lower region of male vocals, which I never notice with any of my Altec speakers.
Musical instruments and percussion are also well reproduced! Bass extension and definition of the A1-400 in the tuned pipe corner cabinet is at par with the Altec 756B in a 2.5 cf box, if not a couple of Hz more extended. Top end overtones are silky smooth and airy. Even if this cone tweeter lacks the ultimate transient speed and shimmer of a fine horn/compression driver combination, it's probably the finest I've ever heard!
I guesstimate its sensitivity to be in the high 90s/W/M because it'll boogie, driven by the 1250 mW SE triode connected 46 or 1500 mW SE10 amp. Although I can also listen to my Altec mini 757 with those aforementioned amps at respectable SPLs, it needs at least an SE2A3 for full dimensional monaural listening pleasure.
Kudos to Mr. Bates' corner loaded tuned pipe cabinet for the aforementioned impressive bass performance and my perceived easy-to-drive/high sensitivity nature of this speaker system. Kids, this enclosure was designed during the slide rule era!👍
Now I'm inspired to pursue my 285mW SE112A mono amp project.😊
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I really enjoy this speaker with a GE RPX or VRII phono cartridge tracing Atomic/Space Age/Exotica Lounge/Bachelor Pad mono LPs from the 50s by the likes of Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman, Walter Wanderley, etc.
After 21 years of hunting, I finally got a satisfying taste of the GE co-ax. I've seen this on eBay between $150-175, which I believe is a fair price for a unit with intact cones and no voice coil rubbing. A couple of my Instagram contacts even expressed fondness and admiration for this speaker when they saw a glimpse of it in my posts!
I now regret leaving my RCA 501-S1 in the attic 😔 because it would have made for a very interesting shootout. If I can trust my sonic memory though, the RCA didn't have the nasal coloration in the lower midrange I noted earlier. OTOH, the top end of the RCA could be deemed more reticent or refined depending on the listener's taste.
I debated whether to refinish the cabinet but the patina grew on me.😊
In the context of my monaural hi-fi system, it shall remain second only to the Altec mini 757 because when I played a young Sinatra LP for my buddy Ding, he initially thought it was Bing Crosby.😄 Sinatra only sounds like Sinatra LIVE or on an ALTEC!👍😎
Let's see what the gentlemen at Stereo Sound thought of its younger A1-401 brother two decades ago...
The scan below is from Stereo Sound Vintage Analog 2, 2014
Because of the dearth of units left in the States and my indifference towards engaging in a bidding war versus fellow Asian hobbyists, I patiently hunted them for 20+ years via other channels.
The 405A is a 4" 60-15,000 Hz wide range driver with a sensitivity rating of 92dB/4ft/1W. It's equipped with a massive Indox magnet that's almost the same diameter as its cone.
Our dear friends Charito and Joey, whom we haven't seen for over five years, were in NYC visiting for a couple of days. On short notice, Tish was able to take a day off so we were able to meet up with them. Joey is an avid audio DIYer and was a frequent collaborator especially during the annual November Hifi Show when I was still based in Manila. He represents G.I.P. Laboratory in the Philippines.
The WE756A is the middle child in the Western Electric series of wide range drivers introduced in the late 40s.
I've seen and heard a couple of WE/Altec 728Bs + a dozen or so pairs of 755As, but I've never heard a WE756A and have only seen one in the metal at a radio show many years ago. Although still quite scarce, its Altec 756B brother isn't quite as elusive.
Spring and Fall are the best seasons to enjoy food and drinks on our deck. To complement the beautiful atmosphere, I assembled an e-z to set up and dismantle hifi system!
Music Source
This stack consists of a Raspberry Pi 3B loaded with Volumio music player/streamer tethered to a Signstek USB to SPDiF converter which connects to a Muse TDA1543x4 Non-OverSampling DAC.
Volumio offers a wide choice of radio stations streaming MP3 files up to 320 Kbps. The Radio Paradise channel has even started broadcasting FLAC files. 👍
Amplifier
In the late 80s, I built my first amplifier from scratch using transformers from a cosmetically challenged Dyna SCA35. I used the floating para-phase circuit published in the Dynaco Transformer Catalog with a 6SL7 driving a pair of push-pull 6V6s. Musically, I preferred this amp to my then highly modified Dyna ST70 and pair of MKIVs.
3.057 Vrms into 8Ω = 1.17 W of triode power per channel I'm not worried about the slight overshoot/ringing, rumor has it, the Sony/Tamradio OPTs have nickel content
Triode connected 6V6s mimic directly heated triodes much better! 🎻🎸
Speakers
This pair of Electro-Voice Sonocasters came from the flea market. I guesstimate the sensitivity to be in the mid 90s dB @ 1W @ 1M. Driven by 1.4 triode watts per channel from the SE6V6 amp, I sure won't be annoying the neighbors. 🤣
The 8" drivers are unmarked but look very much like MC-8s - not quite an Altec 755C or Pioneer PIM8L in terms of refinement or realism, but not too shabby either + a lot more rugged!
