AFS Kriket & BABB car audio??

[Zero Cool]

anyone here old enough to remember AFS Kriket Speakers or BABB???

would love to find info on these again. better yet a pair of Kriket 6x9's in good condition!

Babbs were odd in that they didn't have a spider to hold the VC in the gap. and they had aluminum cones with plastic stiffening ribs glued to them. very odd. but they sounded pretty good from what i remember of them.

[I Am An Idiot]

I remember the Kricket and Babb lines. Chances of finding a pair of Kricket drivers of any size are probably going to be slim to none. Even if there is a brand new never used pair of them out there, chances of the materials having survived the 20 or so years will not be good.

[Zero Cool]

yeah pretty much what i figure but a buddy did find a set of the good old school Jensen's with the blue foam surround still sealed in the box and they were perfect! about a zillion to one chance on that!

[tsmith1315]

I'm old enough to remember when the standard hot-rod install in my town was a pair of Kricket 6x9's with a Clarion EQB. Come back later with more money for the 4" up front.

Kricket couldn't possibly have imagined the abuse their speakers would have to take while under that Lifetime Warranty. Surely that's why they didn't survive as a brand?

Still have a pair of 4" Babbs, and my bro' has a pair of their 10's! Very good sounding speakers in absorbent cars, but way pricey for the early 80's. The 6x9's were my favorites, other 6x9's usually just couldn't quite match them.
Other 6x9's that I remember very fondly from those days were the Altec 4B's and Cerwin-Vega's with the little circuit breakers. I would pay for a NIB set of those Altecs now...

[jol50]

I think this place had some kriket a while back, also had some other old stuff like pyle. http://stores.ebay.com/Quikdrop-of-C...-Park-Michigan You might want to call them.

I had a set of babb 6x9, they had no tweeters. Thought they sounded nasty, tinny and weak bass but they might have been trashed when I got them. Got rid of them, they were interesting looking all plastic with alum cone. Kriket and sparkomatic, they were the same I thought. I had jensen coax and clarion booster in my first car, lol. There was kraco too. I still have some boosters, a nice 7 band sparko and a RS, couple others. Also got a junk clarion one day that is the big one with the led on the sides, need to see if it fires up but its really beat up. I only had the 5 band with no lights... Those were the days. Didn't take long and I had a coustic amp in there, should have kept those.

[tsmith1315]

I had a set of babb 6x9, they had no tweeters. Thought they sounded nasty, tinny and weak bass but they might have been trashed when I got them.

The whizzer cone was clear so you couldn't see it. Nowadays, that's called fullrange and costs extra.

Typically they were bright, thus the "absorbent car" comment.

But lacking in bass? Nope. High Q, low Fs... actual 40-50Hz bass at respectable (for 1984) volumes in most rear decks, if your tape deck could extract it. The wow factor was there with almost every install we did. Add a 50W amp, and you would be partying all night. Guaranteed.

Let's see, Jensen? Clarion? Pioneer? Nope, I can't even remember what my own first 6x9's were... man, that's sad. '68 Mustang with a Fujistu Ten tape deck and a Tancredi booster, maybe 1982. Even back then I couldn't go mainstream.

[tomtomjr]

Older speakers will work fine. BUT, you will have to re-foam the mids and subs. Tweeters seem to be ok. I have been hoarding vintage speakers for years to build my dream system. (just started on it the other day). I am going to be running 20 yr old New Old Stock Boston Acoustic mids, plates, and tweeters in my car. But with a new subwoofer. I had the mids re-foamed, and they should be fine. (I hope) . I plan on using a several sets of M&M 6x9 clear subs, along with some more Boston Acoustics in my Corvette that I am restoring. Those are also new, but have been re-foamed as well. But since I am in Texas, one thing I can't do is leave the car outside in the heat. I did this awhile back with some vintage Cerwin Vega's (10's). It got to 100+ degrees outside, and the subs just fell apart. So, will they work, yes. But re-foam them, and don't let the heat get to them, and you should be fine.

Also, if you ever find some Krickets , post some pics. I would like to see a set. Haven't seen any in 20 years or more. Would like to find me a set of the upper end Babb 6x9's too. They had one heck of a mounting depth to them. Looked neat popping the trunk of your car and seeing the 6x9's drop down a foot into the trunk.

[boxcustom]

I believe AFS Kricket speaker factory was purchased by MTX 20 years ago. If you look at some of the older MTX drivers especially the 6x9's and the 5 1/4 they seen to be identical.

[ICU812]

SPEAKING OF KRICKET AND BABB DOES ANYONE REMEMBER MIND BLOWERS ? THESE WERE MY FIRST SET (NEXT TO THE JENSEN TRI-AXIAL'S) BACK IN THE DAY- HMMM IF i COULD FIND A SET I WOULD BE ALL OVER THEM MAN I LOVED THOSE SPEAKERS

[tomtomjr]

Originally posted by boxcustom
I believe AFS Kricket speaker factory was purchased by MTX 20 years ago. If you look at some of the older MTX drivers especially the 6x9's and the 5 1/4 they seen to be identical.

Here you go... These are some first year MTX 6x9's new in box. Pretty old stuff. Don't see cones like this anymore.