Whetever happened to "Utah" speakers?

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Adam Smithee

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Joined 2021
#1
Been out of the DIY world since the late '70s; life and making a living got in the way.

And somewhere along the line I became (mistakenly) convinced that the terms "DIY" and "Amateur" were synonymous. I mean, who was I to think I knew more about building speakers than James B. Lansing (Altec-Lansing, JBL) or Henry L. Kloss (Advent, KLH)(RIP '02)???

At some point it dawned on me: "DIY" doesn't necessarily mean "Amateur Hour" What it REALLY means is that you're not constrained by having to build something for a "price point" that can then be marked up 2.5x or so in order to pay overhead and make a profit for a "corporation".

Back on Topic: In the '70s, "Utah" brand speakers were the speaker of choice for DIY'ers who wanted to build their own cabinets. (Well, the ONLY choice, really, my understanding is that there were the OEM behind Allied/Radio Shack and Lafayette and Heathkit brands plus any number of well-known "name" brand speakers.)

Whatever happened to them? Are they still around under a different name?

RIP Heathkit '92. Absorbed into Zenith who never knew what to to with them. RIP also Zenith, for that matter as well. The people who ran Zenith didn't even know what to do with Zenith, for chrissakes, let alone Heath as well.

RIP LaFayette Electronics '81.

RIP Radio Shack, ongoing. Apparently still around but not in MY area. Allied is still around, for "commercial accounts". They USED TO BE synonymous (Both owned by Tandy); In the '70s, if your local "Radio Shack" didn't have what you wanted, you could pick it out of the "Allied Electronics" catalog and the storeperson would get it for you. (This was WA-A-AY before getting it yourself on that inter-web-thingie.
 
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