Ye Gods. You guys are so stingy with praise. Martin Colloms was one of the great enthusiasts. His Heybrook HB2 is still around in a Wilmslow homage:
WA HB2 Loudspeaker
Personally I always prefer people to be entertaining and funny, rather than strictly correct. Back in 1975 I discovered a HiFi shop in Edgware Road called Audio Factors. I still laugh when I think about it.
The manager, Dassos, was frequently dressed in black leather shorts and a black T-shirt with leather wristbands. A look that Marc Almond brought into the mainstream. I think you get the picture. Dassos admitted he made more money selling £10 electricity meters to property landlords than with HiFi.
But he and his friend Geoff had some excellent HiFi on demo. We listened to B&W DM2, DM4, D7, Wharfedale's linear phase models with the cool white dotted cones, and Chartwell's range of BBC derived monitors including the LS3/5A, PM100, PM200 and PM400. The Black Lecson amp was the prettiest thing I ever saw. He was also my go-to-guy for the Tannoy 15 inchers I wanted for Bedford College student disco.
Tannoys were so easy. Crossovers included, you just stuck them in a big box with a couple of holes and they just WORKED. True HIFi. I'd frankly become irritated with Goodmans 12" PA speakers masquerading as a good sound.
Geoff was an audio reviewer, and kept hold (as you do...) of a terrific 70 wpc Pioneer SA-9100 which Gordon J King had also reviewed. Quick blast at his flat with his Celestion Ditton 66's, and I pressed £200 into his sweaty palm for it. It had a really cool thing where it "clicked" and shut down for 20 seconds with a red light if you drove it too hard. I was a bit confused about which speaker was best, so just bought the biggest one that Audio Factors sold. The Chartwell PM400 for £400. Turntable ended up all Garrard 401, SME tonearm and Shure V15.
Maybe not the most slamming system, but hard to fault. Happy days. Good people. Enjoy the images. A golden age of HiFi, and Disco.
WA HB2 Loudspeaker
Personally I always prefer people to be entertaining and funny, rather than strictly correct. Back in 1975 I discovered a HiFi shop in Edgware Road called Audio Factors. I still laugh when I think about it.
The manager, Dassos, was frequently dressed in black leather shorts and a black T-shirt with leather wristbands. A look that Marc Almond brought into the mainstream. I think you get the picture. Dassos admitted he made more money selling £10 electricity meters to property landlords than with HiFi.
But he and his friend Geoff had some excellent HiFi on demo. We listened to B&W DM2, DM4, D7, Wharfedale's linear phase models with the cool white dotted cones, and Chartwell's range of BBC derived monitors including the LS3/5A, PM100, PM200 and PM400. The Black Lecson amp was the prettiest thing I ever saw. He was also my go-to-guy for the Tannoy 15 inchers I wanted for Bedford College student disco.
Tannoys were so easy. Crossovers included, you just stuck them in a big box with a couple of holes and they just WORKED. True HIFi. I'd frankly become irritated with Goodmans 12" PA speakers masquerading as a good sound.
Geoff was an audio reviewer, and kept hold (as you do...
) of a terrific 70 wpc Pioneer SA-9100 which Gordon J King had also reviewed. Quick blast at his flat with his Celestion Ditton 66's, and I pressed £200 into his sweaty palm for it. It had a really cool thing where it "clicked" and shut down for 20 seconds with a red light if you drove it too hard. I was a bit confused about which speaker was best, so just bought the biggest one that Audio Factors sold. The Chartwell PM400 for £400. Turntable ended up all Garrard 401, SME tonearm and Shure V15.Maybe not the most slamming system, but hard to fault. Happy days. Good people. Enjoy the images. A golden age of HiFi, and Disco.
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That's the AC1 Preamplifier, but the amplifiers were no less innovative.
The last group of stations I engineered in BC also had pairs of DM4s in storage. Forgot all about those gems.
Ye Gods. You guys are so stingy with praise. Martin Colloms was one of the great enthusiasts.
His Heybrook HB2 is still around in a Wilmslow homage:WA HB2 Loudspeaker
Hi,
Just a honest opinion. Many early designs published by
journalists were quite flawed. I don't think MC designed
the HB2, he did design the original Musical Fidelity MC2
and MC4, I've got a pair of the original MC2's, nice.
MC is still going see : http://www.hificritic.com/
rgds, sreten.
AFAIK Peter J. Comeau designed the original HB2's.
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MC designed for Monitor Audio in the early years. As a result, when he began writing for magazines such as Hi-Fi For Pleasure he used the pen-name F. M. Hughes.
The OP's speaker does look familiar. The use of tweeter/super-tweeter like that was a sign of monitor status in the early 70s (I am only half-joking).
I'd guess a design from Popular Hi-Fi or one of the other magazines. I don't think Hi-Fi News did anything like it but may be wrong. I'd keep it as is - if the cabinet is good, I doubt you'll improve it much.
The OP's speaker does look familiar. The use of tweeter/super-tweeter like that was a sign of monitor status in the early 70s (I am only half-joking).
I'd guess a design from Popular Hi-Fi or one of the other magazines. I don't think Hi-Fi News did anything like it but may be wrong. I'd keep it as is - if the cabinet is good, I doubt you'll improve it much.
Yup, I think I can stand corrected on muddling my Comeaus' and Colloms' there.
I suppose really we want to see a schematic here, and which KEF B200 is used. The smaller magnet one in closed box, I'd guess.
It often seemed that speaker building was mix and match in those days. The MA5 used the same plastic Isophon KK8 tweeter as did Chartwell. KEF and Dalesford made most of the plastic cones.
Celestion, naturally used their own HF1300 in the popular Ditton 15 with a paper cone. Ditton 15 was a bit harsh sounding, IMO. Simple coil on the paper bass, not surprising you hear some breakup. And a supertweeter also helps the HF1300 because it doesn't output much above 10kHz.
Hence the Spendor BC1 which fixes these two issues.
I suppose really we want to see a schematic here, and which KEF B200 is used. The smaller magnet one in closed box, I'd guess.
It often seemed that speaker building was mix and match in those days. The MA5 used the same plastic Isophon KK8 tweeter as did Chartwell. KEF and Dalesford made most of the plastic cones.
Celestion, naturally used their own HF1300 in the popular Ditton 15 with a paper cone. Ditton 15 was a bit harsh sounding, IMO. Simple coil on the paper bass, not surprising you hear some breakup. And a supertweeter also helps the HF1300 because it doesn't output much above 10kHz.
Hence the Spendor BC1 which fixes these two issues.
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I do recall a three-way based on a B200 that WAS definitely in HFN/RR around that time. It was part of a small article featuring 3 home made systems submitted by readers. The one I was thinking of was an Infinite Baffle, had a B200, KEF T15 and then a HF1300 which was a little unusual. I'll dig it out of the archives one day but I am willing to bet it used the Daline cross-over.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Cheers,
Jonathan
Tempted by that bet given the Daline I built many decades ago used a B110.
Hi Andy19191, it is 6.45 am here in Oz and it is nice to start the day of with "win" ha ha.
By merest chance found the article after 2-3 min. Be glad I'm NOT a betting man (I am actually an Anglican priest so my forays into gambling are VERY few....ha ha.)
Let me quote, and I take the following from HFN/RR December 1976 page 107f.
"3 Readers' home built designs." There is a preamble about early iterations of his (Edwin Ashton) design, and then this on page 108 "After some further exhaustive experimenting the final arrangement was decided upon.This used the Daline 3-way crossover, and the Celestion HF1300 instead of the KEF T27." They had previously mentioned the T15 as an lower tweeter......
God bless, Jonathan
By merest chance found the article after 2-3 min. Be glad I'm NOT a betting man (I am actually an Anglican priest so my forays into gambling are VERY few....ha ha.)
Let me quote, and I take the following from HFN/RR December 1976 page 107f.
"3 Readers' home built designs." There is a preamble about early iterations of his (Edwin Ashton) design, and then this on page 108 "After some further exhaustive experimenting the final arrangement was decided upon.This used the Daline 3-way crossover, and the Celestion HF1300 instead of the KEF T27." They had previously mentioned the T15 as an lower tweeter......
God bless, Jonathan
I am surprised and do not recall DIY designs from the time being so poor they would use crossovers for drivers with substantially different electrical, mechanical and acoustical parameters. Perhaps they meant a Daline crossover arrangement but with component values changed to get a reasonable response using an 8" B200 instead of a 5" B110?
Yes Andy, I agree with you, all a bit odd. Btw, thanks for responding.
I was wanting to ask you: did the Dalines meet your expectations?
I read the original article several times and was tempted to build it. The claims did seem a little extravagant, how was the bass?
Getting back to HFN/RR. All I could think of was that he felt that both drivers had a large "peak" at around 2-3kHz and so the suck out circuit for the B110 would be suitable for the B200.
I found the arrangement of tweeters a bit odd too but then again I didn't hear them. I can understand the T15 being preferred as it could run lower than most smaller units but on the other hand it also had a more extended range than the Celestion too. I mean, tapers a bit after 12-13k but still more output in the next half octave than the HF1300. Now as it happens I have both units (some T15s and two versions of the HF1300) and one of my retirement plans is to experiment with them but by then of course I probably won't be able to hear 15k!!!
Cheers, Jonathan
I was wanting to ask you: did the Dalines meet your expectations?
I read the original article several times and was tempted to build it. The claims did seem a little extravagant, how was the bass?
Getting back to HFN/RR. All I could think of was that he felt that both drivers had a large "peak" at around 2-3kHz and so the suck out circuit for the B110 would be suitable for the B200.
I found the arrangement of tweeters a bit odd too but then again I didn't hear them. I can understand the T15 being preferred as it could run lower than most smaller units but on the other hand it also had a more extended range than the Celestion too. I mean, tapers a bit after 12-13k but still more output in the next half octave than the HF1300. Now as it happens I have both units (some T15s and two versions of the HF1300) and one of my retirement plans is to experiment with them but by then of course I probably won't be able to hear 15k!!!
Cheers, Jonathan
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Hi,
At that time people (DIY readers of magazines) really did
think you could use a crossover with different drivers.
The 3 way Daline also suggested the Peerless KO10DT
instead of the T15, with no x/o changes that I can recall.
rgds, sreten.
FWIW MJK (of TL work sheets fame) has roundly criticised
the Daline design as being far from optimum for the drivers.
They were built in the 70s and I opted for them because I could not afford a decent woofer but had access to tools and free wood. So the recipe was fancy cabinet to make up for modest driver. I recall them as being OK and bass light but I fairly quickly moved onto the next project. I cannot recall the claims but shallow against the wall worked for my room layout and was needed with a 5" driver. I think I still have one set of the drivers in the garage somewhere but the rest got skipped long ago when moving house.
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