Urei 809a

[hjames]

I was between projects and had to let the UREI 811 speakers go, but I have collected 2 pairs of the smaller UREI 809A coaxial speakers
and have been VERY happy with the sound of them in our multimedia system. Basically, all they needed was to redo the surrounds,
and the quality of the single point source is amazing! I generally leave the grills on, tho they are off for most of these pictures.

They are VERY efficient and don't need a lot of power. We don't play stupid loud anyway at such a close distance.



I got the lower cabinets from a local AK seller - he had snatched a pair of Stevens coaxials from them, and sold me the empty wood cabinets
I put some JBL style dark blue monitor cloth on them just for fun - and really liked the look with the blond wood.
I found the cabinets were a perfect fit for some 2214 woofers I had, and subwoof gave me some tips on setting them up as helper woofers
[and stands] under the 809As I am using as front main.




I do have an 18 inch JBL 4641 sub in the front right corner for movies and TV sub use.
Its not really needed for music.






I had some spare teak dining room chairs I found on the curb - they needed reupholstering, but the danish design and wood is superb.
I found if I took the seat and back cushion off, they became great stands for the 2 side surround speaker








I do have a spare pair of coaxial drivers - I may take one and make a center channel from it -
Overkill, I know, but so far it hasn't been needed.

[Mr. Widget]

I do have a spare pair of coaxial drivers - I may take one and make a center channel from it -
Overkill, I know, but so far it hasn't been needed.

I think if it was my room, I'd take one of the rears and put that into Center service and use a pair of small "whatevers" for the surrounds. I just think the Center is far more important than the surrounds. We hear in front of us much better than we do to the side or rear... also, having a separate dialog speaker is usually a real step up.

You could certainly give it a try to see what you think. A pair of anything decent... even LSR305s will do fine as surrounds, especially for a quick test.


Widget

[hjames]

I think if it was my room, I'd take one of the rears and put that into Center service and use a pair of small "whatevers" for the surrounds.
I just think the Center is far more important than the surrounds. We hear in front of us much better than we do to the side or rear...
also, having a separate dialog speaker is usually a real step up.

You could certainly give it a try to see what you think. A pair of anything decent... even LSR305s will do fine as surrounds, especially for a quick test.

Widget

Thanks for the feedback - We actually DO have a center speaker - its a Vandersteen VCC-1 from the days when I ran the room on Vandys.
The VCC-1 is "a small 2 way, with a 6 1/2" die-cast basket polycone woofer and a 1" critically-damped, alloy dome tweeter".
Its the short black cube near the center, and it sounds very good for dialog - close, tho not a complete match for the UREIs.
(It has a wood base and top cap, but I made a black cloth "cap" to cover the top wood so it doesn't reflect light from the screen).

It just "barely" fits below the set without blocking the screen (just under an inch).
The 809As are much taller, even when I lay them sideways and block at least 6 inches of screen. I tried one there once.
The real problem is the TV is hoisted as high as it can be on the wall mount - I'll have to do something to the windowsill to get the TV any higher.
I can drop the wheels from the Salamander console to gain maybe 2-3 inches, but that's about it ... and that's not really enough. I tried that once.

I do have DCM TF600s as rear surrounds so the system is set up to do full 7.1 - the DCMs are a transmission line speaker that are quite thin
and can fit up against the rear wall for the few 7.1 films we do find and play.

[Don C]

I just re-foamed a pair of these myself. I loved it, the twin spiders hold the cone straight, making for the easiest re-foam I've ever done.

[Mr. Widget]

Thanks for the feedback - We actually DO have a center speaker - its a Vandersteen VCC-1 from the days when I ran the room on Vandys.

Obviously I didn't look or read closely enough.

Sounds like you you have it "wired" to fit your space and needs.


Widget

[fotodan]

I love the idea if using the chair as speaker stand.... OUTSTANDING Idea.....

[hjames]

I love the idea if using the chair as speaker stand.... OUTSTANDING Idea.....

Thanks. We have an expanding scandinavian table and another batch of those chairs in the kitchen,
but when I saw 4 of them on the curb, in good shape except for bad upholstery !!
it killed me to see them on the curb just waiting for the crusher trash truck!
Such a gorgeous design ... and real wood!

[hjames]

Someone suggested it would be a super addition to the L212s (!) but they are also upstairs with the Altecs.
I popped the grill off this morning and wiped it down wih Orange oil - seller told me it had been a while.
Plus, its hard to move when freshly greased like that
They do have some little chips around the bottom edge - but sounded great on Master and Commander and the Chris Bottie Live in Boston Bluerays!

[BMWCCA]

Good addition for you. Tilts your scale toward the JBL side once more. Forgive me if I missed it, but has the dust cap been discussed previously?

[hjames]

Good addition for you. Tilts your scale toward the JBL side once more. Forgive me if I missed it, but has the dust cap been discussed previously?

Seller said "The 2245 was reconed with a JBL kit by Speaker Exchange somewhere between 2000 & 2005. The foam is intact and I use the sub every day."
Another folk said the cone looks right, it just had an oversize cap

[hjames]

Good addition for you. Tilts your scale toward the JBL side once more. Forgive me if I missed it, but has the dust cap been discussed previously?

Yes, it has! I just found Don's original "For Sale" thread here on Lansing Forum and in March he pulled his driver and posted pictures.
You can see the JBL official stamp and writing on the backside of the cone.

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...460-Tampa-area

[hjames]

My friend Wilfredo picked these up for me at the last MidAtlantic AK Listening party near Frederick, MD.
They came from a collector (a Karlson Kab Kollector??) who brought them down from NJ for me -
the pictures intrigued me and I never played with Karlson cabinets before
Anyway, the story is they were made in SE Asia at different times (slightly different wood and inlay designs on top) -
and had that hideous 60s era brown grill cloth with gold threads ...

Anyway, I pulled the grill cloth yesterday and wiped the outer sides down with Orange oil - not sure what I'll do to the unfinished curved panels -
the wood veneer has a very nice grain (Cherry stain? Pecan? Danish Oil?). Something light to accent against the dark stain on the cabinet.

I have JBL 2214 woofers and inductors in the "blonde wood helper cabs" under the UREI 809As as front mains -
I plan to move those woofers and inductors into these Karlsons and see how they sound there under the UREIs.
I heard Karlsons are supposed to do bass well - and I do like the look of the karlson panels ... hope the sound is as good.

(They are just temporarily "staged" in the upstairs room - next to a pair of JBL L212s, and Von Schweikert VR-4s)

Size is 23" wide by 18" deep by 35" tall (including a 2" or 3" plinth/riser).
Cutout hole is 12" but the cab dimensions could work with a 15"

[hsosdrum]

Looks like it'll be fun! Interested to hear your opinion of how they sound once you get them done.

[rusty jefferson]

Those are Groovy!

[Chas]

Yes, I heard some tales of Karlson's doing an amazing job with bass. Unfortunately the only pair I ever heard had some crappy EV's that didn't work well in the box. I am very interested to hear your thoughts, once they are up and running.