Urei Theater

[UreiCollector]

You're very welcome. I think several of us here got started on the JBL path because of our fathers. Was your father a studio engineer? I was introduced to UREI by a friend who worked at a studio in Philadelphia.

Nope, just an audiophile

[Mr. Widget]

UreiCollector, I love the fact you're still in so deep almost 20 years after starting this thread. It's aspirational for folks coming up in the hobby as well as old timers. Good on ya! :-)

Who ya calling old!

Thank you! I appreciate your kind words! It's been a lifelong passion, and I have to thank my father for that...he sparked my interest as a child . It's great to be in touch with people who share the same passion for HiFi too, thanks for speaking up!

Very cool... my dad helped get me started by letting me tag a long when he was shopping for our first "real system", but he wasn't an enthusiast. Luckily for me some of his buddies were and they got me off to a good start.

I'm sure your your dad is or would be impressed by how far you've come.


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[DerekTheGreat]

You have an impressive stock of UREI's on hand! Thanks for sharing! At my peak I had 15 of them if memory serves, maybe more...ha ha ha. I had used the A series in the theater, my father had used the C series (which eventually became part of my collection). The A's were always my favorite, I think having gown up with the Altec 604's set me that way. There was a quality to the C's that I did like a lot, I think I felt like they were a little more "forward" or "assertive". Really they all are fantastic speakers!So yeah, the soffit mounting does go a long way in making them perform...i fought doing it for a long time, but after hearing my father's in soffits, I eventually followed suit. It's definitely a commitment! My wife is very understanding though, and she loves movies, so she does reap the benefits of the system too

Thank you! I'm trying to collect the UREI pieces I'm most intrigued by. I'd like to get my hands on at least one 6500 amplifier, have you ever tried one? There's a member on here, thierry, who highly recommends them.. Do you still have your father's C series? There are quite a few folks who prefer the A, which is of course why I'm curious. rusty jefferson pointed out a website which lists all the variants of the 604. There's rave & praise for the 813, A and B, but the C barely gets a mention, "..it sounds nothing like the previous versions."

I think that's what I found too, that the 813C's were forward. At the same time I was reading through the manuals rusty provided and then began to take frequency response measurements with AudioTool on my phone. Rudimentary, but I found the crossover knobs don't exactly correlate to the graphs depicted in the manual. "HF Trim", for example, spiked 8khz and ONLY 8khz, despite what the literature stated. This thread I just stumbled upon is a good read too: https://www.diyaudio.com/community/t...i-813c.357977/ A couple members who own or have experience with them echoed my own experience with them, that they need EQ and sounded a bit forward without it, especially free standing. But I broke down, bought an equalizer, put it in, made more measurements/adjustments and it's been fabulous listening ever since.


I'd love to have them soffit mounted, but I don't think I have the room and that I'd lose one of the windows in that living room. Would make the house hard to sell too. But if it's going to be our residence for several decades, does that really matter? My soon to be wife is also into the hobby! It's amazing. She's the one who insisted we drive to get the 813C's and then who later found the 811C's right in our backyard. She's even into ratty old cars & trucks like I am.

UreiCollector, I love the fact you're still in so deep almost 20 years after starting this thread. It's aspirational for folks coming up in the hobby as well as old timers. Good on ya! :-)

Some of you old timers are quite friendly to the newbies.

Thank you! I appreciate your kind words! It's been a lifelong passion, and I have to thank my father for that...he sparked my interest as a child . It's great to be in touch with people who share the same passion for HiFi too, thanks for speaking up!

I thank my dad for that as well! Funny to see how much further I've taken it compared to my dad. I think one of the coolest things is the jam sessions he plans before coming over. I must've done something right. The only two speaker systems he's ever commented (notably) on are these UREI's and then the XPL200's they replaced and which he now has. Which is funny to me because of all the stuff I thought he'd "pop" on, it was the old marantz gear I once had, which was tribute to what I remember seeing when I was growing up.

[hjames]

Hey, I wear that old-timers badge proudly - Much experience and joy getting to this point ...

I've just got 2 pair of the little UREI 809s in my multimedia room ...
(and a pair of spare drivers without cabinets).

But I've returned to this UREI Theatre thread many times over the years as a point of reference for great design.
Thanks again for popping back in with updates!

[BMWCCA]

I thank my dad for that as well! Funny to see how much further I've taken it compared to my dad. I think one of the coolest things is the jam sessions he plans before coming over. I must've done something right. The only two speaker systems he's ever commented (notably) on are these UREI's and then the XPL200's they replaced and which he now has.

I thank my Dad, as well, but at least one generation removed from your experience.

I "inherited" my Dad's mono JBL 030 system when he left it at the curb for Goodwill and I schlepped it into my closet for safe-keeping! Over 60-years later, I still have his mono JBL box and the used C37 mis-matched-cabinet audio-twin to it I purchased back in the '60s. But, I also have a pair of empty C35 cabinets I had shipped in from the west coast over 20-years ago for the sole purpose of building my Dad's originals into a matched pair of vintage JBL stereo speakers. That's a project for this year. The cabinets have never been in my house since picking them up from a freight depot about 20-miles away and stashing them in a friend's nearby basement for safe-keeping. Time for them to come "home".

It's a few months early, but Happy Father's Day!

[DerekTheGreat]

Ah, that reminds me of the marantz 2275 dad put to the curb when we moved. I was around ten at the time, couldn't lift it and dad said he was done moving it around. He still has the BIC Formula VI's he purchased with that marantz. Wish it was the other way around, as only the woofers and one mid-range actually function on those BIC's. Man, I'd have loved to live through the 60's, 70's and 80's.

[UreiCollector]

Hey, I wear that old-timers badge proudly - Much experience and joy getting to this point ...I've just got 2 pair of the little UREI 809s in my multimedia room ... (and a pair of spare drivers without cabinets).But I've returned to this UREI Theatre thread many times over the years as a point of reference for great design.Thanks again for popping back in with updates!

Thank you for the kind words, it feels great to know my work is serving as a source of inspiration for others!

[UreiCollector]

Derek, I only have a small handful of drivers left now, and 801AA, and 801A, and a pair of Altec 604G's. I never tried the UREI 6500, I've been a Hafler fan for decades and use them for everything above 90 hz. ////// Mr Widget, dad is still heavily involved in the hobby, he spends most days tweaking his system, which these days is primarily comprised of B&G planar midrange and tweeters, Thiel 8" drivers (which he bought a ton in bulk when they were selling excess stock), and a mix of JBL and EV 18" drivers (where he has 8 currently in the system).

[Mr. Widget]

Mr Widget, dad is still heavily involved in the hobby, he spends most days tweaking his system, which these days is primarily comprised of B&G planar midrange and tweeters, Thiel 8" drivers (which he bought a ton in bulk when they were selling excess stock), and a mix of JBL and EV 18" drivers (where he has 8 currently in the system).

I want to party with your dad... that sounds awesome!


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