Hartsfield components in a C34 ??

[Sparkfire]

Hello all, I'm new here and I hope to find some info on this speaker I aquired recently at an estate sale. It appears to be a C34 stuffed with Hartsfield stuff. :applaud:
My main question is, was this a factory produced assembly or possibly a kit? I'll try to post some pics.
Any input would be greatly appreciated...
Thanks in advance.

[Don C]

That combination doesn't show up on any of the system sheets in the library. It's a great find anyway.

[JohnK]

I've see this combination before a long time ago on ebay. The 150-4c was designed as a front horn loaded speaker, that cabinet being rear loading.
Hard to say how that combo was brought together & why. Perhaps a matter of cost or space, or maybe it was a component upgrade from an 001 system?

Is it for sale??

[Mannermusic]

One thing for sure, there needs to be a baffle behind the lens! That horn/lens combo was sold as the HL89 - but you had to fabricate the 3/4 X 8 X 24 inch baffle yourself. Doesn't work correctly without it. Was a relatively popular "high end" approach here in the Detroit area in the seventies thanks to a system engineered by Pointe Electronics, Grosse Pointe, MI, which included LE15A, 375/HL89, 077 and tri-amped via Luxman 2003 using Marantz 7C pre and Crown power amps. Gorgeous Hi Fi. But, never saw one based on a C34 enclosure. The "reference system" at Pointe Electronics was based on a 4350B monitor. The rest of us used a hand built bass reflex, typically 5-6 cubic ft. of some sort. Mike

[Mr. Widget]

That combination doesn't show up on any of the system sheets in the library. It's a great find anyway.That is quite the find. If you are seriously into collecting you should keep them, however their current worth to collectors is significantly higher than their audio performance, for me it would be a no brainer. I would sell the drivers, the horns with lenses, the networks, and the woofers separately. With the $5K or so that you will get, you can get some very nice sounding speakers.


Widget

[subwoof]

That combo was sold as a theater system and also in the "disco" catalog. I assembled a few of them for a playhouse back in the late 70's and that's when I began to make the 4530 variants. It was a great combo for full range music and was the very first "PA" I did shows with.

Here is a pix from the 1971 pro catalog:

[Mr. Widget]

That combo was sold as a theater system and also in the "disco" catalog.:blink:

The vintage system that Spark has shares the horn and lens with the system you are describing, but uses a different HF driver, network and woofer... all three of which are highly collectable and not necessarily the best sounding general purpose high fidelity components today.


Widget

[subwoof]

Somewhere I have a theater catalog that shows the variations with the larger driver. My system used 2440's 2205's and so did the ones we built for sale. And we DID use the MA25 baffle..:)

We also flew 4 of the larger version ( 4520 / 2395 ) from the roof joists for a club install. The bass would of been better if the cabs were on the floor but NOTHING topped the visual. The owner wanted to embarrass the club down the street that had 4 of the Altec 1208 ( I think ) 15/511 combo's.

Ah the 70's....remember the "boner" process??

10 points for the person who can elaborate....

sub

[Mr. Widget]

OK, but his woofers and networks are the really "special" bits and they were discontinued in the late '60s.

I am simply thinking of these things as collectable since they have "375s with wax seals", 150-4Cs, and those crazy old networks.


Widget

[Sparkfire]

I've see this combination before a long time ago on ebay. The 150-4c was designed as a front horn loaded speaker, that cabinet being rear loading.
Hard to say how that combo was brought together & why. Perhaps a matter of cost or space, or maybe it was a component upgrade from an 001 system?

Is it for sale??

Hi JohnK, thanks for responding, Good question, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. If I had another one to make a pair I would be more inclined to keep it and enjoy as a vintage stereo system. But I'm probably not willing to spend the kinda dough it would take to duplicate this one unit I have.

[Sparkfire]

That is quite the find. If you are seriously into collecting you should keep them, however their current worth to collectors is significantly higher than their audio performance, for me it would be a no brainer. I would sell the drivers, the horns with lenses, the networks, and the woofers separately. With the $5K or so that you will get, you can get some very nice sounding speakers.


Widget

Thanks Mr.Widget, I'll take it that it is your opinion this setup is more desireable without the enclosure? and if so, do you think the components would sell higher grouped together or split up? Also what would you think the enclosure would be worth? I'm guessing maybe some value for a local buyer.

[Mr. Widget]

Sell them in pairs. A pair of 375s, a pair of networks etc. I have no idea what the cabinets are worth, but someone will want them. With really crisp photos showing the scratches accurately and the labels etc. you should be able to get quite a lot for the set... as long as you are willing to ship worldwide. If you do, please look at the packing info posted as a sticky on the Marketplace... it would be a terrible loss if a woofer or driver was damaged in shipping.

Good Luck, though it would seem you have already demonstrated that. :applaud:


Widget

[johnaec]

Sell them in pairs.It appears he only has one... :(

John

[Mr. Widget]

It appears he only has one... :(

JohnI guess so... that is really too bad... a single is worth less than 1/2 of a pair. Still I am sure he'll make several times his investment.


Widget

[jblwolf]

I remember Pecar electronics in Detroit selling mods like the one pictured in the late 60's.at the time people could do a trade up/in,even back than there was a lot of part swapping going on.Pecar's even had a small back room with loose parts,drivers,cabs.I'm pretty sure thats how this system came to be.a added bonus was they had more stuff on hand than Pointe electronics,I always seemed to get more bang for the there.I always dealt with a saleman named Bob Bazzy,great guy,he was real easy to work with.

[jblwolf]

I remember Pecar electronics in Detroit selling mods like the one pictured in the late 60's.at the time people could do a trade up/in,even back than there was a lot of part swapping going on.Pecar's even had a small back room with loose parts,drivers,cabs.I'm pretty sure thats how this system came to be.a added bonus was they had more stuff on hand than Pointe electronics,I always seemed to get more bang for the buck there.I always dealt with a saleman named Bob Bazzy,great guy,he was real easy to work with.

[Harvey Gerst]

We never shipped anything like that from the factory. We did use it in the C45 and C55 systems, so they did work for rear loaded horns. But, those components in a C34 cabinet? Never.

[Mannermusic]

We never shipped anything like that from the factory. We did use it in the C45 and C55 systems, so they did work for rear loaded horns. But, those components in a C34 cabinet? Never.

Hot Rod C34. Cool! And, I'll bet it dates back to pre stereo days with that 2130 serial on the 375. So, there's only one. Mike

[Sparkfire]

I'm also curious about the method of covering the original HF hole... Why use the two pieces of plywood shown versus one?? Any thoughts ??

[Don C]

Remove the smaller board in the back, and there is a hole left that's the right size for a bullet tweeter. Remove both boards, and there is hole the right size for a potato masher midrange horn.