Name that Speaker

[RichP714 3,163]

Plasma tweeter?

[snow 240]

Dukane?

 

 

 

REGARDS SNOW

[OBI56 23]

That's it Rich! The original plasma tweeter was called the Ionovac and, as per the picture attached, was horn loaded. It was used in several large high end speakers by DuKane, Telefunken and Audax. DuKane also made a tweeter only version for hobbyists to put on the top of their existing speakers. The one in the photo is actually called the IonoFane and was a copy of the original DuKane Ionovac by Fane Acoustics. ElectroVoice had what is probably the most widely distributed version in certain versions of the Partician loudspeaker. Form the 60s onward, development went in 2 different directions; one being the Magnat massless plasma tweeter the other being the Hill Plasmatronic.

[OBI56 23]

Here is another unusual one for you guys. Not only did it feature a ribbon tweeter but something far more important in terms of technology. The woofer is a 10" unit with something special inside and the total enclosure volume is under 1 cubic foot, weighs about 50 pounds and can reproduce bass down to 24 Hz with a 3db down point and way out past 40KHz.

[snow 240]

Looks like an infinity bookshelf to me.

 

 

 

REGARDS SNOW

[OBI56 23]

 

 

Looks like an infinity bookshelf to me.

 

 

 

REGARDS SNOW

 

Not even close Snow. Wrong country, though I have to admit that they sounded pretty much like the huge old Infinity Reference Vs!

[snow 240]

Damn lol. I doubt it's UK made cuz those wankers dont like 3 ways :dd possibly some early Italian bookshelf speaker Sonus Faber?

 

 

 

REGARDS SNOW

[OBI56 23]

Closer Snow, right continent this time. Just follow the clues I left already.

 

BTW, I remember dozens of British 3 way speakers from IMF, Celection, KEP, B&W, Spendor and Linn for example.

[snow 240]

 

 

Closer Snow, right continent this time. Just follow the clues I left already.

 

BTW, I remember dozens of British 3 way speakers from IMF, Celection, KEP, B&W, Spendor and Linn for example.

True but the general belief is that 2 ways are the purest form of audio in the UK. Perhaps a Focal JM labs product? It is almost certain to be made before the mid 90's because of the foam surrounds

 

 

 

REGARDS SNOW

[OBI56 23]

No guesses guys? OK, time for a hint: It is French and the reason it is so heavy is that it was one of the first speakers to have a built in 150W amp,b ut the amp was not used to actually power the speaker ...... This technology has recently reappeard in high end subwoofers to make them more musical.

[PDR 1,194]

Like a servo?

 

[snow 240]

 

 

No guesses guys? OK' date=' time for a hint: It is French and the reason it is so heavy is that it was one of the first speakers to have a built in 150W amp,b ut the amp was not used to actually power the speaker ...... This technology has recently reappeard in high end subwoofers to make them more musical.[/quote']Hmmm.... Cabesse or Rehdeko perhaps? I think Perry is right about the servo controlled woofer but I thought Arnie Nudell of Infinity and Genesis fame first introduced that feature in loudspeakers.

 

 

 

REGARDS SNOW

 

[OBI56 23]

Pretty good guys! The technology is in fact a servo feedback amp. 3A first came out with it in a mass market bookshelf speaker, the Andante 40 and 60 (using a small horn tweeter) in the early 70s, closely followed by Philips of Netherlands. Philips used a piezo sensor to apply the feedback whereas 3A used a seperate feedback winding to measure the voice coil excursion and apply a correction signal through the internal servo amp allowing an almost flat woofer output. 3A then came out with the Master Control which is shown in the original pic. They next came out with a large floor standing model using a 15" woofer called the Master Control Studio (pic below, frequency response 24-35KHz +/-2db) and then the compact Ultra Linéaire with an 11" woofer and a dome super-tweeter replacing the ribbon. The next step was the Triphonic system which used 2 tiny satellite speakers and a large, coffee table subwoofer with either 3 or 4 woofers. These were particularly striking as they were styled to be elaborate furniture with hand rubbed finishes; one model of note was even done up in Chinese gold Cloisonné and burgundy or black laquer (wish I could find those pictures for you).

 

Infinity did come out with a servo woofer design in 68 that used an internal microphone to supply the signal to be corrected by the amp, but it proved so unrelaiable that they had to do a complete redesign and eventually gave up on the technology before coming out with their better known and loved designs of the day The ServoStatic was a hybrid electrostatic/ribbon/subwoofer design. It was very high end, expensive speakers well beyond the price points that 3A and Philips were at.