In 1982 I was 13 years old and in the hunt for a good pair of speakers. I had 20 watt Pioneer stereo receiver and was salivating over the Boston Acoustics A60s. But at $200 a pair they were well out of my reach.
I asked a stereo salesman about building speakers. He told me to write to McGee Radio and request their speaker catalog. I remember the December afternoon when I came home from school and the catalog had arrived.
(PDF of the catalog is here: www.tinyurl.com/mcgee1982)
A few weeks later I mailed ‘em a check for $82, which got me a Peerless TP165F 6.5” woofer and Tonegen T011-020-0 Tweeter, the same unit Boston Acoustics used in their A60. (Both of these drivers are pictured on the front cover.) I built an ugly but quite functional set of speakers that sounded just as good as the Boston A60s.
By the time I was 17, I was selling my speakers to friends and advertising my biz in the newspaper. Then I got a distribution agreement with a dealer in Lincoln Nebraska, Sound Dimensions, who started selling my “Acoustic Design Ltd” brand next to KEF, Denon and B&W.
When I was 23 I moved to Chicago and worked for Jensen for 3 years where I designed OEM speakers for Honda, Mazda, Ford, Chrysler and Acura.
In 2022, speaker design is back to being a hobby; here is one of my recent designs:
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/ultimate-open-baffle-gallery.123512/post-6682515
The McGee catalog was terrible by today’s standards... it told you all kinds of irrelevant information (like the flux density of the magnets) but almost no specs you actually needed to know, like SPL or Qts. I’m not even sure the people who ran the place really knew that much how to design a speaker.
Nevertheless this humble catalog was where I got my start. Huge fodder for my teenage imagination. Even today I still enjoy flipping through this catalog and asking myself the question, “If you were ONLY allowed to source these 1982 components, what could you build then if you knew what you know now and had the tools you have today?”
Did anybody else buy stuff from McGee Radio in Kansas City?
Catalog: www.tinyurl.com/mcgee1982
I asked a stereo salesman about building speakers. He told me to write to McGee Radio and request their speaker catalog. I remember the December afternoon when I came home from school and the catalog had arrived.
(PDF of the catalog is here: www.tinyurl.com/mcgee1982)
A few weeks later I mailed ‘em a check for $82, which got me a Peerless TP165F 6.5” woofer and Tonegen T011-020-0 Tweeter, the same unit Boston Acoustics used in their A60. (Both of these drivers are pictured on the front cover.) I built an ugly but quite functional set of speakers that sounded just as good as the Boston A60s.
By the time I was 17, I was selling my speakers to friends and advertising my biz in the newspaper. Then I got a distribution agreement with a dealer in Lincoln Nebraska, Sound Dimensions, who started selling my “Acoustic Design Ltd” brand next to KEF, Denon and B&W.
When I was 23 I moved to Chicago and worked for Jensen for 3 years where I designed OEM speakers for Honda, Mazda, Ford, Chrysler and Acura.
In 2022, speaker design is back to being a hobby; here is one of my recent designs:
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/ultimate-open-baffle-gallery.123512/post-6682515
The McGee catalog was terrible by today’s standards... it told you all kinds of irrelevant information (like the flux density of the magnets) but almost no specs you actually needed to know, like SPL or Qts. I’m not even sure the people who ran the place really knew that much how to design a speaker.
Nevertheless this humble catalog was where I got my start. Huge fodder for my teenage imagination. Even today I still enjoy flipping through this catalog and asking myself the question, “If you were ONLY allowed to source these 1982 components, what could you build then if you knew what you know now and had the tools you have today?”
Did anybody else buy stuff from McGee Radio in Kansas City?
Catalog: www.tinyurl.com/mcgee1982
I started buying stuff from them in 1977, continuing right up until they went off the grid for good. Bought my first “real” speakers there - using the Varco 8’s and some cheap cone tweeter. But damn they sounded good compared to anything you could buy for under $200 a pair. Went thru several sets of Pioneers - not just the junk they sell in the stores, but stuff with some real kick and true 200 watt power handling and solid bass to about 40. Then on to Eminence and Pyle (which beat the pants off Eminence in those days - they were making stuff comparable to today’s Kappa Pro, but back in 1982!).
Some of the stuff they used to sell there was still around for another decade or so. Many of the Pioneer models, and woofers essentially the same as those square-magnet Eminence were sold by PE up until the early 2000’s. I still have a pair, with the lightning bolt on the dust cap. They sold the Plye Drivers thru Consolidated (which sort of became MCM). And that 6.5” Audax midrange might even still be around in one form or another. Madisound had it forever.
Some of the stuff they used to sell there was still around for another decade or so. Many of the Pioneer models, and woofers essentially the same as those square-magnet Eminence were sold by PE up until the early 2000’s. I still have a pair, with the lightning bolt on the dust cap. They sold the Plye Drivers thru Consolidated (which sort of became MCM). And that 6.5” Audax midrange might even still be around in one form or another. Madisound had it forever.
Paper page 54 (PDF p18), bottom-right: "deep throat tweeter".
Deep Throat may be:
Movie 1972
Watergate 1972
I'm sure in 1982 all the 13+ year old boys knew the references.
Some of these are old friends. Others are not!: KSN1005 "seen in the finest sound systems". Six bucks!! Ya know, the response of a KSN1005 just fits my hearing loss-curve, mmmm..... Yes, they did infest "fine sound systems, and an otherwise decent hi-fi salesman played me a set "did you ever hear a trumpet so realistic??" Uh yeah, an hour ago, in Prof Foster's class; and trumpets are air in brass not paper in plastic.
Thanks for memories.
Deep Throat may be:
Movie 1972
Watergate 1972
I'm sure in 1982 all the 13+ year old boys knew the references.
Your 1995 design might have persisted into my 2002 Accord. (Honda was more concerned about making the headlights hard to repair than about audio innovation.) Oh, and the 1996 Odyssey still runs and speaks.
Some of these are old friends. Others are not!: KSN1005 "seen in the finest sound systems". Six bucks!! Ya know, the response of a KSN1005 just fits my hearing loss-curve, mmmm..... Yes, they did infest "fine sound systems, and an otherwise decent hi-fi salesman played me a set "did you ever hear a trumpet so realistic??" Uh yeah, an hour ago, in Prof Foster's class; and trumpets are air in brass not paper in plastic.
Thanks for memories.
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Six buck KSN1005’s were actually pretty ”good” - for six bucks. Todays KSN1005 clones suck. Really suck.
You had to cross them over high (with a real high pass). The all-McGee-sourced system I had using C30GU20 square-frames, B11EC80 mids, and the KSN1005 was used at many a gig until I could scrounge up big enough amplifiers to require 3” VC woofers. It was actually quite listenable - ran them with an old Fisher tube amp forever until the amp died (tubes ran away and red plated, and burnt out the power trafo).
You had to cross them over high (with a real high pass). The all-McGee-sourced system I had using C30GU20 square-frames, B11EC80 mids, and the KSN1005 was used at many a gig until I could scrounge up big enough amplifiers to require 3” VC woofers. It was actually quite listenable - ran them with an old Fisher tube amp forever until the amp died (tubes ran away and red plated, and burnt out the power trafo).
OP's post brings fond memories..
Circa 1985 I had moved to take a job in the Kansas City area after college. Wanting better speakers i visited their store downtown and bought a 3-way diy kit. 8 inch woofers, mids, tweeters and x-overs. I repurposed an older set of nice cabs. Maybe not the end-all setup but they got the job done until I could afford better.
Circa 1985 I had moved to take a job in the Kansas City area after college. Wanting better speakers i visited their store downtown and bought a 3-way diy kit. 8 inch woofers, mids, tweeters and x-overs. I repurposed an older set of nice cabs. Maybe not the end-all setup but they got the job done until I could afford better.
I grew up in KC, so McGee radio was a great spot I found early. I built two 15" cabinets with 15" JBL's I got on a deal. High school, so probably 67 or so. The crossovers I think were possibly from Burstein Applebee's, which was another mail order operation here that some here may have ordered form. But possibly one from here.
I remember the tweeters here, and had the 5" midranges in my cabinets. The cabinets were made from 3/4" particle board, and were as good as I could get them. nearly a sheet of material per cabinet. Fun to cut with my dad's Shopsmith. I know the fellows who have been here will probably remember David Beatty, Accent Sound, possibly Stereo bug. Those around in the late 60s also possibly got stuff from Bendix Surplus on 95th street.
But the weekend circuit always included going by McGee to see what specials were in the store. Accent Sound to see what used stuff Herb Mooney had, then C&J Photographic in Mission. (off topic). probably more times / week during the summer.
Still have the speakers, hope to get them set up sometime soon, now that I'm back in the KC area. Miss all these places. Not near so much fun as then.
Oh to others in Missouri, anyone probably would hit Gateway and Electronics surplus exchange in St. Louis from time to time. Gateway was a better friendlier version of Radio Shack, in that I knew them for 40 years (actually closer to 50). Miss them a lot, closed in 2021.
I remember the tweeters here, and had the 5" midranges in my cabinets. The cabinets were made from 3/4" particle board, and were as good as I could get them. nearly a sheet of material per cabinet. Fun to cut with my dad's Shopsmith. I know the fellows who have been here will probably remember David Beatty, Accent Sound, possibly Stereo bug. Those around in the late 60s also possibly got stuff from Bendix Surplus on 95th street.
But the weekend circuit always included going by McGee to see what specials were in the store. Accent Sound to see what used stuff Herb Mooney had, then C&J Photographic in Mission. (off topic). probably more times / week during the summer.
Still have the speakers, hope to get them set up sometime soon, now that I'm back in the KC area. Miss all these places. Not near so much fun as then.
Oh to others in Missouri, anyone probably would hit Gateway and Electronics surplus exchange in St. Louis from time to time. Gateway was a better friendlier version of Radio Shack, in that I knew them for 40 years (actually closer to 50). Miss them a lot, closed in 2021.
I bought stuff from McGee around 1970-72 - an 18" CTS woofer which had a rubber donut shaped "weight" cemented to its dustcap- Philips dome tweeters - a 6.5" double magnet fullrange which got a run in a large BVR. - It was a lustful time to see cast frame Goodman's speakers amonst the stamped frame Oaktron, Cletron, etc.. Its interesting in this 1982 catalog to see the rare "line source" piezo tweeter - I bet those would be fun and pretty good with a step-up transformer. McGee's early cut and paste art hard copy catalogs were fun