Stephens Speakers ????????
 

Ran into a cabinet that was used on a stage setting, I presume they were musical performers and inside were installed two Stephens Tru-Sonic P52-L 15" heavy monsters, I noticed one on ebay at the Buy it Now price of 750.00 and others going for 250.00 and much higher. So what are these things, how good are they, what is there intended purpose, what is the history on these and do they have a purpose in guitar amplifiers, better for P.A. or just vintage nostalgia, any input will do, any links will be appreciated. Thanks

Stephens Trusonic manufactured very high quality speakers in the 60's and 70's for theater, commercial, and audiophile use. They were ranked with Bozak, Altec-Lansing, and JB Lansing. Later, they made a few enclosures and systems. They used cast aluminum baskets, large magnets, large edge-wound voicecoils, and featured free-cone suspension. Many people considered them to be more natural sounding than their competition and I had a pair of the 80FR speakers which I really regret selling.

The model you mentioned is not in my Stephens catalog, but I only have their audiophile product catalog. I'm sure the one you've seen is intended for commercial applications. They also made (and maybe invented) a toroidal tweeter with very high efficiency.

I don't think they ever used foam surrounds or anything that would be expected to deteriorate, so an old Trusonic driver may work fine today. Hope this helps.

correction
 

My excuse is that it was a long time ago. Actually, Stephens Trusonic was making speakers (both drivers and systems) for the audiophile market in the 50's and I suspect their involvement in theater systems preceded that. Some of their cabinetry was designed by Charles Eames -- fairly exotic looking.

They started out in Culver City CA and there was an attempt to revive the line in the 70's (same products plus a 50FR for auto applications it appears) out of Pasadena CA.

I found a cabinet with a Stephens Tru-Sonic P52L woofer in it. I did some research, and found if the identification plate has a Los Angeles address the speaker was manufactured prior to 1947. That is the year that Stepens manufacturing moved to Culver City. Stephens in Los Angeles from 1936?- to 1947. I also found that the next woofer after the P52L was the P52LX model, and has a slightly different cone.

I have a pair of Stephens trusonic 15 inch 206 xa speakers that I am designing and building enclosures for.They will be complete by SEPT.1st. Ralph

Hello, I have a pair of Stephens Trusonic speakers from the late 1950s, bought new by my parents and never moved in 50 years. The woofers, tweeters are in great shape, the cabinets are walnut, pristeen, and the grilles are also in good shape.
Would like to know what these are worth? I have had an offer for $600 for the pair, but as I have seen the woofers only being sold for $300/pair, maybe $600 is low. The cabinets are gorgeous (a little heavy).... they don't make them like that anymore.
Any help appreciated.
It has with it a Madison Fielding 320 amplifier which is from the late 1950s, also fabulous Mid Century look and works like a charm. I was offered $1,200 for the amp and speakers, I was reluctant to jump at that.

Are you offering these for sale? If so, your post should go in the Swap Meet section.

Oddly enough with a few exceptions the cabinets with the components installed frequently command lower prices than just the drivers on their own. This probably relates to the difficulty and cost of shipping the complete speaker system as compared to just the drivers. I'm not advocating that you dismantle them however. The best way to determine what they are worth is to follow eBay and see what the drivers go for - don't expect to get a lot for the cabinets. In most cases (not all) modern boxes are stiffer and less resonant than vintage boxes so it depends very heavily on the build quality of your cabinets as to what they are worth.

The MF amplifier is pretty rare, but I have no idea what the gear is worth. There is not a lot of demand for this brand. Also note that the amp should be recapped before use.

If indeed you are looking to sell these here you should post to the swap section of the forum, but if you are looking for information wrt worth this is thread is ok.

You might even consider keeping them.. (I would) :D

Clarification on "recapping"
 

Thanks. I wasn't looking for buyers here, just to get a sense of the value of the Trusonics and the Madison Fielding. I am not an experienced audiophile. Most probably will keep the amp and speakers.

Could you explain what getting the amp "recapped" means?

Thanks, Leslie

Hi Leslie,
Recapping refers to replacing the electrolytic capacitors in the power supply, any electrolytic cathode bypass capacitors and the coupling capacitors. Even though the amplifier is apparently in working order the capacitors are all beyond their retirement date by many years. The ramification is that if one of them should fail it may do serious damage to the amplifier.

I would really recommend finding a qualified technician in your area, other members living in your general area may be able to provide guidance - and then get those parts replaced.

I think the set up is well worth holding onto, with a little work and not too much money it will reward you with quite decent, possibly great sound. Perhaps there is also a good turntable lurking somewhere at your parent's place. A CD player or DAC can be plugged into the AUX or tuner inputs on your amplifier.