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View Full Version : Does anyone know what brand drivers were used in the Harman Citation 7 series speaker



wsilva
11-19-2009, 07:21 PM
Does anyone know what brand drivers were used in the Harman Citation 7 series home theater speakers? I know the sub used the JBL LE14H-1, but I was curious who made the drivers in the front, center, rear speakers.

The specs online say that the 6.5" drivers had 3" voice coils, which is not very common.:)

svollmer
11-20-2009, 09:05 AM
I've heard the satellites and surrounds were designed by John Dunlavy. I can't confirm that, though. The tweeters and woofers looked either like Morels or Dynaudios. Below is the Dunlavy SC-1A/V. Below that are the Citation 7.2. They used to sell for very low prices on Ebay in the late 90's and early 00's.

Morel is know for having woofers with very large voice coils compared to driver diameter.


http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_6_3/images/dunlavy-sc-1av-speakers-single-natural-oak.jpg

http://www.av-accents.com/image/Citation%207.2.jpg

wsilva
11-20-2009, 01:35 PM
:)Thank you Sir

HCSGuy
11-20-2009, 06:59 PM
I am almost sure they were Morel's. It's been about 8 years since I opened one up, though... If you're looking at the set on Ebay, consider carefully as the set is probably parts value only, especially since the buyer just relisted the auction at a higher price.

First, the subwoofers sounded great - there's a reason Le14H-1's are legendary. Very articulate for music. However, they don't play particularly loud way down low and sound really bad when they bottom out. Because they were passive, HK couldn't put any protective limiting on the amplifier to prevent bottoming, so it wasn't uncommon to have damaged woofers after movie nights, especially when teenagers were involved. To sell a high end THX system in those days and then tell your client not to turn it up too loud was a very hard sell.

Second, the LCR's were really mediocre sounding - they didn't image and didn't have a lot of presence, though you could turn up the treble and give them some sizzle. This was a problem of all the early THX speakers that used double tweeters to limit vertical dispersion, per THX. However, the parts are all good, so you can pull the drivers and make some good speakers out of them...

Hope this helps, and if you already have a set, sorry for bashing them - shoot me an angry PM and go enjoy your listening. :)

wsilva
11-20-2009, 08:07 PM
HCSguy

Thanks for the great information, I do not own any of the Citation speakers, but I was interested in the Ebay ones until the seller did the sudden price change. I appreciate your honest thought on them, that is what I needed to know :)