Mystery Speakers???????? ALTEC? Trusonic - Tru-Sonic?
Hello -
I recently came across this pair of speakers and have been unable to determine who made them. Any help would be greatly appreciated. They are quite large and heavy - measuring 27 x 20.5 x 14" They are three ways - trusonic 15 - spelled tru-sonic in the casting. and trusonic 80fr. I have noticed other posts with ALTEC speakers having similar drivers?
Thanks.
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...s/DSC_0008.jpg
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...s/DSC_0009.jpg
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...s/DSC_0001.jpg
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...s/DSC_0003.jpg
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...s/DSC_0004.jpg
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...s/DSC_0006.jpg
and the link to the entire photobucket album
http://s279.photobucket.com/albums/k...oran/speakers/
Thanks and a couple more questions?
Hey thanks for the info - I was not sure if they were stephens because of the spelling of trusonic - tru-sonic - and it does not say stephens anywhere I can see on the speakers. It may well be a kit/homebuilt - but very nicely done - just need to clean up the outside a bit. Also one more bit of info - I hooked them up last night and when I dial the control knobs on the rear - there is crackling - otherwise they sound quite nice. Are these things desirable ?
Thanks -
DAVE
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I found a pair of these about 20 years ago...
... and I would like to share my thoughts.
First of all, these are not "one off" home brews. They may very well have been kits, but the fact that I found an identical pair in an old TV repair shop around 1995, makes it a commercial item.
My pair had a bad EV tweeter and a midrange that was suffering from bad voice coil rubbing. I sold both pair a long time ago. However I kept the 150W, which by the way, are GREAT woofers.
Going from memory here, as I recall, the crossover consisted of a single capacitor feeding the tweeter. Both woofer and midrange were wired in parallel. I suspect that they are both 16 ohm speakers. The DCR on the two FR80 was 5.6 and 5.1 ohms. I currently have a pair of older OEM FR80 that are 8 ohm drivers and came out of a Ampex studio monitor. They measure 4.8 and 4.8 DCR. The big 150W woofers measure 8.2 and 8.2 DCR.
I suggest that these driver come from the Tru-Sonic period of the mid to late 1960s. My Stephens manufactured "Ampex" FR80 are clearly early OEM jobs. They do not have the painted frame and have the pristine gold dust cap and red surround. The two that came with the speakers in question, are as pictured in the thread, aluminum dust cap and black surround. Pretty sure that this would be a late sixties version. The woofer however, while it looks like a green surround, I suggest you look more closely - or maybe remove it and look from behind - you will see that the green color is provided by a green painted on dope. At least in the case of my pair of 150W, the actual cloth surround is RED - with the green dope painted on. The woofer are outstanding and should not be taken lightly... which is easy, since they are very heavy. ;)
Having looked closer at the pictures in the thread...
... I can see the RED in the woofer surround peaking through. Also, note the location of manufacture on the magnet badge. :applaud: The FR80 is made outside California... at a later date. But of some interest, note the picture of the FR80 from behind... that is a RED surround covered with black dope on the front. ;)
BTW, I heard many years ago, that Heathkit may have offered for a short period of time, I speaker kit that fit this description, but I have not been able to collaborate that as fact. In any event, the drivers used in these speakers were not chopped liver.