Just purchased a pair of vintage Westrex speakers this past weekend and couldn't stop playing the all day yesterday.
I am astounded at how good they are. They are definitely a lot better than my old 4333's and are certainly the equal of my Array 1400's and in some areas are better.
What is unusual about the in that the mid/hi horn driver has been reversed.
Whoa! My 093's long lost pappy. Built like like a tank I see.
David F
San Jose
Certainly well built, much heavier than a 4333.Originally Posted by DavidF
Whoa! My 093's long lost pappy. Built like like a tank I see.
sweet score....
They sound better than your 1400s? Wow. How old are they? Is that a factory cabiinet? What is the model number? That's a 2390A hf driver, correct? Is that cotton in between the dome and the lens?
I think that the compression driver is used in 'reverse' as a direct radiator
with no horn -- just the acoustic lens in front of the driver
Yes, it has been reversed and has a triangular damping plate over the dome. I would also assume that Westrex left out the phase plug. The 2080 bass drivers have a mass ring in the front of the cone.
They are very efficient, certainly more than the S8's or 4333's I have owned. A small single ended amp drives them extremely loud at about 11:00 o'clock on the volume control of a pre in passive mode.
The bass is the cleanest and most articulate I have ever heard.
They are certainly very rare.
They date from somewhere between the late 50's and mid 60's. The model number is 2390A wheras when used in its normal compression driver configuration it would have the designation 2090A. The cabinet is quite clever in its construction and the large port gives an excellent bass response that exhibits no woolliness, booming or chuffing.
After a little research I have discovered that they are Westrex 2326A speakers. The cabinets are factory original as are the drivers and they date from cira 1961. That makes them the same age as me
It seems everything on the internet about these speakers was posted by the OP. I just have a hard time believing that a 50 year old design can beat the 1400s, but the idea of using a compression driver in this manner is intriguing, and I'm going to give it a try, just for Sh*** and giggles.
Greater efficiency has a way of "sounding better" to alot of people. Sometimes it's for real.
Give it a go, but it's not as simple as just taking the back off. have a close look at the pics.
The arrays are very good speakers but the technology is basically the same as 50 years ago. The westrex was not built to a price point, the arrays were so it is less suprising than you think.
There certainly can be a "liveness factor", for lack of a better phrase, that often presents itselfGreater efficiency has a way of "sounding better" to alot of people. Sometimes it's for real.
from high-efficiency systems. When that "liveness" is a prime aspect of sound that floats your boat,
older, reasonably-designed such systems can still be quite intoxicating.
Well... I guess it depends on what you're looking for too. My guess is that you are finding the far more dynamic sound of the phenomenally efficient older Westrex system quite compelling. I wouldn't disagree with that... heck this sort of dynamic appeal has swayed lots of people enough that they have fallen in love with the rather inaccurate and often harsh sounding vintage Klipsch offerings. I believe what these folks and the fans of high sensitivity vintage Altecs etc. are captivated by is this dynamic "realism". It is quite compelling. That said, most high sensitivity systems are also far from tonally neutral and often have other issues that many of us won't tolerate, but for many, the suffocated dynamics of a typical "audiophile" system is intolerable and they are fine with the other distortions.... pick your poison I suppose.
Now, I have never heard this Westrex system, but let's assume it has a rolled off bottom end (physics) but assuming the Bell Labs engineers did everything else right and it is a very neutral sounding speaker, I could see how that might make them extremely compelling... still, they predate stereo and I am sure that since the dispersion is not as well controlled as the 1400 Array, I am confident that they will not image nearly as well in an ideal stereophonic setup. Of course that may not be as important to you as their dynamic character.
I find the strengths of the 1400 Array to be their surprisingly neutral tonality, their fairly extended bass, their fairly dynamic sound quality, and most especially their amazing imaging ability. They are certainly not a perfect speaker, but for many of us they represent a perfect blending of the necessary compromises.
Widget
These speakers are tonally very similar to the arrays, thats one of the pleasant surprises. Yes they are very efficient but probably bo more than most large JBL's. The arrays ore only hungry because of the bass driver used, that's why I use 550 watt amps with them.
The Westrex 2080 is based on the Altec 515A which rolls off quickly from 40Hz. The 2080H in my speakers has a brass mass ring around the dust cap that I can't remember seeing on normal 2080's or for that matter 515's. I assume this added mass would lower the FR slightly. They are very clean and fast and are flat down to about 40HZ and only slightly down at 32Hz. After that they roll off quite fast.
Whilst the drivers have their roots in the pre stereo era, as do many great JBL drivers, these speakers were developed in the early sixties stereo age and were first listed for sale in 1961. Both the drivers have been re-worked from the previous Westrex offerings. The bass drivers with the mass ring and the adaption of the 2090's into a dome mid/hi. The Westrex specs state 18kHz for the top end which is pretty impressive for a 2 way of the age. I know Tannoy's supposedly went to 20kHZ but I have my doubts that they were able to produce a compression driver with such an extended range when others who had far more experience with such drivers failed.
The imaging is superb as is the arrays. I have found the arrays do not like to pulled too far apart otherwise they develop the hole in the middle syndrome and the imaging starts to collapse. I'ts probably due to their dispersion characteristics. The Westrex's obviously have a greater dispersion and I have them sitting outside of the arrays. They give a far wider soundstage, a little more depth and good seperation too. The depth may be due to the valve amp rather than the speakers though.
As I have said previously on this forum, the Array 1400's are outstanding and I doubt that I'll ever part with them. The Westrex were a lucky find and as every bit as good as the arrays. They allow me to play with my valve amps which unfortunately the arrays do not. I have tried but the lower power amps that I prefer just won't cut the mustard.
I have another pair of speakers that are in the same league as both the Array's and the Westrex. They are BTH K10A's, and they have their roots back into the 1930's, way before stereo. They are basically a permanent magnet version of the Western Electric 4181a with a concentric compression driver/horn. The cones are interchangable with the WE / Jensen 18".
So, my experience is:
And I and consider myself fortunate to have these great loudspeakers.
- Well engineered modern speakers sound very good
- Well engineered old classic speakers sound very good
- Well engineered very old classic speakers sound very good
- It certainly helps if the manufacturer has a background in professional Cinema / theatre / studio / broadcasting. i.e proper engineering
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote