while putting finished equipment on the rack in the back of the shop, i noticed a strange device that looked like a giant "boom box". it's a "Tube Woofer" made by Acoustic (the same company that made guitar amps). it stands about 3 to 3.5 ft high and is about 20 inches or more in diameter. it is made of wood with circular 18" ports on each end covered by brown grill cloth, and in the middle of the top is an amplifier. the device is about 4 feet long. at first i thought it was some bizarre antique radio until i got a closer look at it. the amp is solid state (don't know if it works, but if it's cut from the same stuff as their guitar amps, if it's fried, it must be replaced.), but the frame looks more like something from the late '30s to mid '50s.
if the amp is fried, it will have to be replaced. Acoustic had quasi-complementary designs that could NEVER be repaired after a power transistor failure. one could replace EVERY component in the blown amp, and it would self-destruct as soon as the ac line voltage reached 60 (yes, even on a variac, bzzt and that was it). i've heard the same from several amp techs.
my guess is this thing was made back in the late '60s or early '70s, and am wondering if it would be a worthwhile restoration project (with a different amp, of course. has anybody seen one of these before?
if the amp is fried, it will have to be replaced. Acoustic had quasi-complementary designs that could NEVER be repaired after a power transistor failure. one could replace EVERY component in the blown amp, and it would self-destruct as soon as the ac line voltage reached 60 (yes, even on a variac, bzzt and that was it). i've heard the same from several amp techs.
my guess is this thing was made back in the late '60s or early '70s, and am wondering if it would be a worthwhile restoration project (with a different amp, of course. has anybody seen one of these before?
bump........
actually i was able to find out a bit more about this odd device.....
Acoustic Controls made this cabinet for a year or two in the mid '80's, apparently trying to get a foot in the door of the Consumer Audio market. it's one of the earliest powered subs i've ever seen, and if i can get pix of it, i will post them..... it's too short, however to be useful as a sub, but i'll try to also get a response curve out of it if the 18" driver is still intact. the amp is most likely shorted, but if the driver is ok, i'll be able to do some measurements. i have Speaker Workshop installed on my PC, and should be able to get a reasonable impedance curve out of the driver.
actually i was able to find out a bit more about this odd device.....
Acoustic Controls made this cabinet for a year or two in the mid '80's, apparently trying to get a foot in the door of the Consumer Audio market. it's one of the earliest powered subs i've ever seen, and if i can get pix of it, i will post them..... it's too short, however to be useful as a sub, but i'll try to also get a response curve out of it if the 18" driver is still intact. the amp is most likely shorted, but if the driver is ok, i'll be able to do some measurements. i have Speaker Workshop installed on my PC, and should be able to get a reasonable impedance curve out of the driver.
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