Olympus S8R opportunity

[Wardsweb]

I have the chance to pickup some one owner Olympus C50. At least that's what I think they are. They have the woofer, passive and horn but no 075. The lattice grills are intact and the speakers have consecutive serial numbers. The guy is taking some pictures to send me. What do I look for or ask before dropping some coin on them?

[HCSGuy]

I'm not sure how to read the question - is he selling a pair of Olympus S8R's that are complete except they are missing the 075's, or are they "Complete" but never had 075's? S8R's were never sold without them, so if they are S8R's they should have two crossovers on the back panel - a LX5 and a N7000 and an obvious hole in the front panel. If there is only one crossover it is a S7R, and will have a black painted cover over the second crossover and front panel 075 hole. Also, behind the Koustic lens, the horn should be short and have a larger thoat - if it's a long horn, it's a S7R with a LE85 Driver. If he'll pull the drivers and take pictures it would be better, as the 375 driver in a S8R is the most valuable part of the speakers. Assume the LE15A's need a recone, unless he has already done it. Lastly, what do the cabinet tops look like? I think a pristine pair of S8R's is worth about $4,500; a beater pair of S7R's about $2K or less. Good luck!

[Wardsweb]

I asked for pictures of the drivers. The guy is asking how to best remove them and how to remove the lens. Should he lay the cab on its back and lift the woofer out? Does the defraction lens screw in from the back? If so, how do you get to it?

[yggdrasil]

The lens is mounted using velcro. Remove it by pulling it gently. Take care, since the plastic is close to 40 years and these lenses have never been strong.

Remove the passive radiator when you want to take pictures inside. This not as heavy as the woofer, so there is no need to lay it on the back.

[Mr. Widget]

The lens is mounted using velcro. Remove it by pulling it gently. Take care, since the plastic is close to 40 years and these lenses have never been strong.The early lenses were screwed on... velcro mounting came along later. I don't know the years, but these could be either.

If there is no 075, these may be S7Rs.

Widget

[Audiobeer]

Widget is right. My pairs screw in (Lenses).

[Wardsweb]

Odds are screwed in. The lady who sold them is 92 and these belonged to her husband. He's been dead for 20 years. Now when you say screwed in, are these screws accessable from the front? I've got a buddy taking the pics and he has never see an Olympus before.

[BMWCCA]

Does the defraction lens screw in from the back?

Most likely screws and, regardless, screws are on the front and obvious under casual inspection.

50060

[HCSGuy]

What's the market like in your area? I didn't see any good pictures of the tops, so I can only assume they are average condition. If the cabinets were exceptional, it might be worth putting them on eBay and someone would pony up the crating and freight charges - probably $800 or so, and you may see the auction end at $2,500 max. If the cabinets are above average or below, no one will be willing to pay the freight and you'll be left with a local pickup option, which may hit $1000 in Michigan or $1800 in San Francisco. If you pull the parts you'll get $1500-1800 for them but will have to get rid of the cabinets. Other opinions?

[HCSGuy]

If they're for you, and you have to drive 5hrs to get them, I'm not sure what advice I can give! I have a set of S7R's already, in a different cabinet, that we use for audio in the shop - they sounds fine, but won't ever be more than that. If you're just after the sound quality, used pairs of L-200 or L-200B's show up for $800-1000 that will give you basically the same sound quality. I do like the Olympus cabinets, and I have driven much farther for much less, but I'm not sure what I'd do. If the cabinets can easily be made pristine, so that they deserve Living Room placement, then I guess they are furniture and worth the drive. If they were that clean, I think $1,500 makes sense considering the drive ($1,800 if they were close). I would set about restoring them and looking for S8R upgrade parts - if something is going to take up that much of your Living Room, you had better be able to brag about it a little! Good luck, and post some better pictures after you've got them...

[Wardsweb]

Thank you for the information. I'm going to be in the area with my wife at a bed and breakfast in a few weeks. I was going to pick them up then, so I haven't considered the travel to get them.

Would it be hierarchy to add a N7000 with 2405 in place of a 075? I just like the sound of the slot tweeter better for home use. Bringing the cabinets to pristene wouldn't be a problem. I've built and refinished many speakers over the years.

These would actually go into my sun room. Here is a picture of the room with an inset picture of the stand and gear I moved in there this past weekend.

50113

[Wardsweb]

My living room already has a system in it. Widget will recognize these speakers. He started the build and I finished it.

50115

[Wardsweb]

While I'm at it, here is the den with Klipsch Jubilee's. What you don't see is the Danley DTS-10 sub horn behind the curtain on the left.

Hello my name is Wardsweb and I'm an audioholic...

50116

[grumpy]

Hello my name is Wardsweb and I'm an audioholic...Hi, Wardsweb! :)

'Pre-owned' replacements for that style of '2308' lens pop up now and then.
I would take any issues with the fretwork grilles seriously.

Given your other systems (and past equipment's coming and going),
I'm not convinced that even upgrading to S8R (whether 075 or 077
is used), will give you better sound than what you have already.

For just having the experience, it might be fun to assemble parts to do
so (not needing to stay strictly with vintage parts would be less $$),
but it's not clear to me that paying for proper era 375s needed for a
restoration would be anything but a labor of love (might be hard to
get your $$ back out). I don't know if support/bracing is an issue in
going from 1" horn/driver to 2" in regard to reversibility.

[Wardsweb]

Hi, Wardsweb! :)
Given your other systems (and past equipment's coming and going),
I'm not convinced that even upgrading to S8R (whether 075 or 077
is used), will give you better sound than what you have already.

For just having the experience, it might be fun to assemble parts to do
so (not needing to stay strictly with vintage parts would be less $$),
but it's not clear to me that paying for proper era 375s needed for a
restoration would be anything but a labor of love (might be hard to
get your $$ back out). I don't know if support/bracing is an issue in
going from 1" horn/driver to 2" in regard to reversibility.

Ok I would like opinion. Considering I'm not replacing any of my larger systems and any new speaker does not have to surpass them in sound (they're just for the sunroom), what do you suggest? L200/300? some pro blue faced monitors? something newer?

[grumpy]

Don't get me wrong (I'm sure others will chime in)... if you are fond
of that style and have the space, don't let my opinion deter you.
If not A/B-ing, they can sound very good. 077 in those cabs?
You'd probably want to slouch to get into their vertical window.

I'm -guessing- that sub-$5k is a ballpark budget (?) given what a
nice pair of L300 or restored Olympus might run... Lots of options.

Not sure if you could pull off custom 4345s without a -lot- of DIY,
and the space (as -interpreted- in the sunroom pic) might be tough.
4344mkII might be a good find, if you're interested in that type of
system.

If you can deal with 4430 aesthetics ("butt cheek" horns), that or
the larger 4435 would be a comfy choice, and with a different
character from more 'normal' 15" two-way studio monitors. That
there is a possible Be diaphragm replacement keeps mine at home (4430).

Those Big Red monitors that were up for sale here a few days ago would
be another interesting choice.

Lots of options. I -do- like having more than one speaker system, with
one having more of a studio 'sound' and the other more of a well sorted
out consumer flavor, or even a fun/old sound... So I sort of understand...
I think :)

[Wardsweb]

Thanks...the games afoot.

[yggdrasil]

If you like the speakers looks - go for it. If you want to make the most of the speakers - build new crossover networks.

[Wardsweb]

If you like the speakers looks - go for it. If you want to make the most of the speakers - build new crossover networks.
Do you mean build from scratch or rebuild the existing crossovers with better parts?

[yggdrasil]

Either is better than the old stock crossovers.

IMO the stock crossovers remove details which is very evident when trying to play music with many instruments and/or a choir(this will be addressed with either upgrade). Also I'm not a fan of daisy chaining crossovers which you'll get when adding a UHF driver(this can be addressed by both solutions). Thirdly, the stock crossovers are generic, hence they don't address the Olympus specific issues, so there's at least some work to do around the 500Hz crossover point(requires at least some additional voicing).

[Wardsweb]

Thanks for the additional information on the crossovers. I'll look into building some from scratch. Do you have a schematic of one you like or use?

[Audiobeer]

I get a kick out of Wardsweb and his projects. I have never seen a project he gets in to that I can second guess when it's done. Wish I lived around him when he gets tired of something! :D

[Wardsweb]

For those following, yes I did get the C50 S7R speakers and am having the woofers dropped off at a JBL repair center tomorrow. They had been refoamed but many years ago. It was time to have them redone. I will pull all the drivers and refinish the cabs. I'll be researching crossovers using good modern parts and possibly adding tweeters. I'll also be tinkering with a frame for a cloth grill and keep the fretwork grills for if and when I sell these. Never say never when talking audio.

I love new projects...really speaks to my OCD.